(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The Cook County Public Guardian has issued a report detailing how the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) is, in his view, failing children.
The 12-page report from Public Guardian Charles Golbert listed what he said are systemic failures in the embattled agency, which has seen its director, Marc Smith, held in contempt of court a dozen times in six months.
The Public Guardian’s office found that, since December 2021, eight children have been killed despite DCFS involvement.
That number includes Amaria Osby, whose father DeMarcus Osby told CBS 2 that DCFS waited 60 days to visit the girl and her mother.
The mother allegedly killed Amaria Osby on the day of the visit.
“It don’t make no sense (sic) that my daughter’s lying in the ground 60 days after I made a call begging for help,” DeMarcus Osby said.
The report from the Public Guardian noted that children are being held in psychiatric care long after they should be released.
It said a shortage of investigators is a significant issue.
In the report, the Public Guardian’s office found that more than a third of cases there are recurring investigations, which Golbert said "indicates that DCFS' services are failing to help families and children."
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