(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The ACLU of Illinois is calling on Gov. J.B. Pritzker to choose the next director of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services carefully, following a report detailing the deaths nearly 100 children in contact with that agency between July 2017 and June of last year.
A report from the acting inspector general of DCFS claims of 98 children in contact with the agency died between the beginning of July 2017 and the end of June 2018, with 18 of those deaths homicides.
The report claims six of the homicides were from gunshot wounds, one was a stabbing, eight were caused by blunt force trauma, one was the result of a vehicle hitting a bicycle and two were the result of starvation or dehydration.
"This report makes clear one thing -- DCFS is broken. The past administration believed that problems in the agency could be covered by platitudes and public relation stunts. All the while, DCFS was failing at its core mission to protect children in our state," said Claire Stewart, an attorney with the ACLU of Illinois.
"There can be no more time wasted. We need new leadership in the department, leadership that is unafraid of doing the hard work and taking advice from experts to avoid a full collapse by this agency," Stewart added.
The acting inspector general for DCFS, Meryl Paniak, released a statement.
"DCFS has lost focus on ensuring the safety and well-being of children as a priority. This is evidenced by several recent cases and the clear lack of attention to assuring children and families receive adequate, thorough, and timely responses and needed services," Paniak said.
"Investigators, caseworkers and supervisors are unmanaged, and unsupported. Children are dying, children are being left lingering in care, children are being left in in psychiatric hospitals beyond medical necessity causing them to lose hope."
In addition to new leadership at DCFS, Stewart is calling on Gov. Pritzker to commit sufficient resources to make sure the agency has what it needs to ensure children under its watch receive the protection they need.
