040914 js 0201RSPRINGFIELD – State Senator Julie Morrison’s (D-Deerfield) plan to improve the transparency, accountability and effectiveness of the Department of Children and Family Services has cleared the Illinois Senate. It now goes to the House of Representatives, where Representative Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago) will serve as sponsor.

“DCFS is one of the state’s most important agencies. It protects children who can’t protect themselves,” Morrison said. “We owe it to these kids to make sure that we do the very best we can for them.”

Morrison’s plan includes the following measures:

  • Senate Bill 3009 – Requires DCFS to make annual reports to the General Assembly about the effectiveness of its day care licensing system, which serves more than 300,000 children.
  • Senate Bill 3217 – Requires the Illinois Children’s Justice Task Force to development recommendations on developing a multidisciplinary team approach for investigating allegations of child abuse. During a series of hearings last year, leading pediatricians who specialize in child abuse recommended creating these teams of DCFS investigators, law enforcement, doctors and other relevant professionals.
  • Senate Bill 3421 – Encourages all mandated reporters of child abuse to complete training every five years.


The keystone of the package is Senate Bill 2909, which strengthens DCFS’ safety plans. These plans are put in place when DCFS investigators determine that allegations of abuse or neglect are serious, but do not yet warrant putting the child or children in protective custody or foster care. The requirements of these plans vary, but they can involve moving the child to the home of a relative like a grandparent or aunt, requiring one or more members of the household to temporarily leave the home, or requiring another family member to temporarily move in and supervise contact.

During a series of hearings Morrison hosted in late 2013 and early 2014, she learned that some of Illinois’ child welfare organizations, including the Family Defense Center, are concerned with DCFS’ implementation of safety plans. These organizations believe that DCFS never puts some plans in writing, never reviews some plans and fails to provide the adults involved in the plans with important information.

Morrison’s legislation requires DCFS to provide written copies of each safety plan to the adult caregivers named in the plan. Both the caregivers and the child protection supervisor must sign each plan, and the department must keep these signed documents on file. DCFS must also supply each caregiver with a list of their rights and responsibilities under the plans.

“Safety plans are at the core of DCFS’ mission to protect children,” Morrison said. “There’s no way the agency can do its job properly if it isn’t keeping a record of these safety plans and following up to make sure that the children involved are safe and healthy.”