Kendall County Times

Rep. David Welter (R-Morris) joined Republican colleagues at a press conference March 17 to discuss concerns regarding the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.

Welter accuses DCFS of not providing the appropriate level of care to foster children, leading to an increasing number of cases of abuse and neglect.

"In Fiscal Year 2021 there was a staggering 41,970 children indicated as abused or neglected in the DCFS system. 13,960 children were indicated as re-abused. Re-abused! Every year since the governor was elected that number has grown," Welter said. "Last year in DCFS's system, there were 20 deaths attributed to abuse and 68 deaths due to neglect. 4,622 children were indicated as sexual abuse victims. Among those were 54 indicated as victims of human trafficking. That is not what leadership looks like. This should be a top priority for the legislature right here in Springfield and it should be a top priority for Gov. Pritzker. We need to act now. We must demand full transparency. That is what is so important. Decisions that are being made by this governor's administration are passing by with limited to no transparency."

DCFS director Marc Smith has been held in contempt of court six times total now. The most recent order involves the agency sending a 16-year-old girl in foster care to nearly 25 different placements, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. The most recent contempt of court order is the fourth in a six-week time span.

A 19-month-old named Sophia Faye Davis died on Feb. 8. In her final month of life, there were child abuse allegations that were deemed unfounded. Cierra Coker, the girlfriend of Sophia Faye's father, was charged with first-degree murder and aggravated battery to a child. She is accused of beating the toddler to death.

In 2019, AJ Freund, a 5-year-old boy, was murdered by his parents and buried in a shallow grave in Crystal Lake. The two former DCFS workers who oversaw his case have been charged with endangering the child's life.