The people of Illinois demand that Governor J. B. Pritzker take immediate comprehensive action to reform the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and prioritize the welfare of Illinois children and families.
DCFS has a long and demonstrated history of gross bureaucratic deficiencies that constitute a breach in duty of care. Our leaders have failed to act in the best interest of Illinois families and failed to protect the welfare of our children. Illinois residents should not accept inadequacy from DCFS or complacency from our elected officials. We demand protection for our children and families now!
The Governor and the Illinois Attorney General have permitted DCFS and associated agencies to operate in absence of professional regulation without a license to practice social work as required by Illinois law. The high standards for obtaining the necessary credentials issued by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional regulations guarantee that social workers are knowledgeable and competent to perform the duties of the role. Without regulation and oversight, children have died, been locked in hospitals and offices, and families destroyed. The elected officials of the State of Illinois not only failed to meet their obligations but, to present continue to ignore the issue.
Governor JB Pritzker and Kwame Raoul seeking re-election is an insult to the people of Illinois!
2014 Illinois Compiled Statutes Chapter 225 - PROFESSIONS, OCCUPATIONS, AND BUSINESS OPERATIONS 225 ILCS 20/ - Clinical Social Work and Social Work Practice Act.(a) No person shall, without a currently valid license as a social worker issued by the Department: (i) in any manner hold himself or herself out to the public as a social worker …
According to the World Health Organization, social well-being is fundamental to the attainment of health. We require a director who prioritizes the health and welfare of our children and families. We need DCFS and its partnering agencies to adopt a focus of care as its primary model of operation. Directing and managing the welfare of our smallest citizens requires progressive change. As evidence-based practice suggests, It is time to adopt a child and family-centered approach to policy creation. We have to move away from data analysis, dollars, and cents as measures of success.
The report examined DCFS from 2016 to 2018 and revealed significant deficiencies and noncompliance in some areas. It said case files lacked required documentation and procedures weren’t performed in a timely manner, which could result in inadequate care of children, unauthorized services or misuse of state funds.
The policy of child separation has been condemned by numerous official bodies concerned with the health, welfare, and human rights of children. These include: o The American College of Physicians o The American Psychiatric Association o The American Academy of Pediatrics o The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has stated that the policy violates international law and directed that it be ceased.
STATE OF ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES COMPLIANCE EXAMINATION For the Two Years Ended June 30, 2018. Significant deficiency and noncompliance.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WICS/WRSP) — The ACLU of Illinois is responding after Inspector General reports on the Department of Children and Family Services found 35 employees had actions taken against them for either falsifying information or falsely testifying in court.
Traditionally, over the last two centuries, health has been defined as hospitals and doctors. While in the past there has been a recognition of the importance of health as a reflection of social determinants, in 1978, this recognition was formalised into policy. The 134 member states of the WHO declared good health was also the result of factors that included access to services, education, social and economic status and political and individual choices. The Alma Ata Declaration stated ‘Governments have a responsibility for the health of their people which can be fulfilled only by the provision of adequate health and social measures. The people have the right and duty to participate individually and collectively in the planning and implementation of their health care’ (p. 3).1 The Declaration supported by all member states of WHO put forward a new policy titled Primary Health Care (PHC) defined as ‘essential health care based on practical, scientifically sound and socially acceptable methods and technology made universally accessible to individuals and families in the community through their full participation and at a cost that the community country can afford to maintain at every stage of their development in the spirit of self-reliance and self- determination’1 (p. 3)
