I’m a Mom Fighting for Custody — & the Parents Giving it Up for College Aid Make Me Sick

A group of Illinois parents has been in the news recently for taking advantage of a legal loophole in order to get their kids college financial aid: The parents are giving up custody of their kids in order to game the system. As a mom who’s currently engaged in a difficult custody battle of my own, these parents are rubbing salt in my wounds. Not only are they taking for granted the very thing that so many of us parents fight long and hard for — custody of our children — but they are relinquishing it in order to get financial breaks they don’t deserve.

Similar to the college admissions scandal a few months ago — during which rich Hollywood parents used bribery to get their not-necessarily-deserving kids into college — here we are again, faced with the sobering reality of class warfare. But how did we get here? How did college admission and aid become a war? Why can’t the privileged check themselves and give the financial assistance to vulnerable families who truly need it?

More >> I’m a Mom Fighting for Custody — & the Parents Giving it Up for College Aid Make Me Sick

Illinois DCFS: Agency didn't track kids sleeping in offices

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services has acknowledged it didn't track how many children were forced to sleep in its offices until recently.

The agency reports 16 children were forced to sleep in DCFS offices between May 6 and June 28 of this year. It says it didn't track those numbers before May 6.

More >> Illinois DCFS: Agency didn't track kids sleeping in offices

A police officer tried to report suspected child neglect to the state’s 24-hour hotline. He was told to leave a message and wait up to 4 days for a callback.

A small police department in the northwest suburbs had received several calls about a local family, raising the possibility that young children might be living in a dangerous home.

Concerned citizens began contacting the McCullom Lake Police Department in March to relay a number of allegations: The children were playing alone in the street and on the roof of the house, a baby strapped into a car seat was left unattended on the front porch and someone inside the home threatened to beat the children, according to police reports obtained by the Tribune in a public records request.

More >> A police officer tried to report suspected child neglect to the state’s 24-hour hotline. He was told to leave a message and wait up to 4 days for a callback.

‘A deeply broken process’: DCFS on how kids in its care end up sleeping in offices

The recent revelation that children under the care of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services had been sleeping in administrative offices may be “merely the tip of a very large iceberg,” a county watchdog says.

Internal emails show DCFS recognized last month that it had a “deeply broken process” that led to children spending the night in office space, sometimes on the floor.

More >> ‘A deeply broken process’: DCFS on how kids in its care end up sleeping in offices

DCFS Proposes Stricter Rules for Illinois Foster Homes

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services is proposing new rules for licensed foster homes that include vaccination of children and a no-smoking policy.

 DCFS spokesman Jassen Strokosch says the proposed rules are meant to comply with National Model Foster Family Home Licensing Standards adopted in February by the Children's Bureau of the Administration for Children and Families, a part of U.S. Department of Health and Human Service.

More >> DCFS Proposes Stricter Rules for Illinois Foster Homes

Stricter rules proposed for Illinois foster homes

Licensed foster homes in Illinois will likely have to comply with a host of new rules starting later this year, including strict vaccination and no-smoking policies, as well as rules governing kitchens, bathrooms, swimming pools and transportation.

The state Department of Children and Family Services announced the proposed rules July 12, when they were published in the Illinois Register, the official state document for public notices of rulemaking by state agencies.

More >> Stricter rules proposed for Illinois foster homes

After DCFS Caseworker Killed on the Job, Her Husband Works for Change at the Troubled Agency

Recent child deaths in Illinois have shined a light on the Department of Children and Family Services, the agency charged with protecting vulnerable children in a home, often their own. One man is speaking out to honor his wife and is on a quest to change things at DCFS for her.

More >> After DCFS Caseworker Killed on the Job, Her Husband Works for Change at the Troubled Agency

Under New Illinois Law, Parents Of Justice-Involved Children Don’t Have To Trade Custody For Treatment

A new Illinois law aims to ensure that parents of justice-involved youth who need costly mental health services don’t have to trade custody for treatment for their child.

Cook County Public Guardian Charles Golbert advocated for this change to the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Administrative Act.

More >> Under New Illinois Law, Parents Of Justice-Involved Children Don’t Have To Trade Custody For Treatment

Insurer wins coverage dispute over foster child’s death

A foster care agency’s insurer has prevailed in coverage litigation over the murder of a 4-year old girl by her foster mother.

Foster care agency The Baby Fold, based in Normal, Illinois, placed Kianna Rudesill in the care of Joshua and Heather Lamie in 2010, according to Friday’s ruling by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago in Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Co. v. The Chicago Trust Co., as administrator of the Estate of Kianna Rudesill, and The Baby Fold.

More >> Insurer wins coverage dispute over foster child’s death

Women adopted from South Korea learn they're sisters and grew up 30 minutes apart

Two women who were born in South Korea have developed a close bond after learning they're actually sisters and share the same biological mother.

More >> Women adopted from South Korea learn they're sisters and grew up 30 minutes apart

DCFS placed boy in foster home with sex offender, he was abused: lawsuit

A new allegation claims the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services placed a child in a home with a convicted sex offender, and he was sexually abused. That’s according to a pair of lawsuits filed by the Cook County public guardian against DCFS, the foster mother and the sex offender.

“DCFS is supposed to run a background check," public guardian Charles Golbert said. “They did not do that in this particular case so they ended up placing a 12-year-old boy with a convicted child sex molester.”

More >> DCFS placed boy in foster home with sex offender, he was abused: lawsuit

Change underway for Illinois DCFS after controversial children’s deaths

Changes are on the way for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services after recent deaths of children in their care.

Between July of 2017 and June of last year, there were 98 deaths of children in DCSF care, 34 were under the age of 3.

More >> Change underway for Illinois DCFS after controversial children’s deaths

Illinois Lawmakers Demand Child Welfare Officials Better Serve Spanish-Speaking Families

Illinois lawmakers and advocates are calling on state child welfare officials to better comply with a federal court order to serve Spanish-speaking families, an issue they say has become more critical amid heightened fear among immigrants of interacting with government agencies.

The calls come in response to a ProPublica Illinois investigation last month that found that the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services has, for decades, repeatedly violated a 1977 federal court order that mandates the agency provide services to Latino families in their primary language.

More >> Illinois Lawmakers Demand Child Welfare Officials Better Serve Spanish-Speaking Families

Illinois man sentenced in killing of DCFS child welfare worker

A man charged with murder in the death of an Illinois child welfare worker entered into a plea agreement with prosecutors and was sentenced Wednesday to 21 years in prison.

Andrew Sucher, a 6 ft. 4 in., 270-pound weightlifter, was accused of attacking Department of Children and Family Services worker Pamela Knight, 59, when she tried to take a child into protective custody in September 2017. Knight, who worked out of the agency's Sterling office, learned the child was with Sucher, who was accused of abusing a six-year-old and was under court orders to stay away from the 2-year-old.

More >> Illinois man sentenced in killing of DCFS child welfare worker

DCFS kids locked inside psych hospitals after they are cleared to go

The Cook County Public Guardian said the Department of Children and Family Services is breaking multiple laws and spending millions of taxpayer dollars in ways that harm children.

According to the public guardian, at this exact moment, there are Illinois children inside locked psych hospitals even though they don’t have to be there simply because DCFS doesn’t have a place to put them.

More >> DCFS kids locked inside psych hospitals after they are cleared to go

Man accused of killing Illinois social worker pleads guilty

A Rock Falls man accused of beating a social worker to death signed a plea deal admitting he beat social worker Pam Knight to death.

Court documents show Andrew Sucher was sentenced to 21 years in prison without parole.

More >> Man accused of killing Illinois social worker pleads guilty

Inspector General found no beds at DCFS office where children slept

A surprise inspection of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services office, where some children reportedly slept on the floor, revealed no evidence of beds, pillows or other items kids might need if they slept there.

In June, WGN Investigates was first to report on a letter filed in federal court by the Cook County Public Guardian claiming two teenagers had been forced to sleep on the floor of the DCFS office at 1911 S. Indiana Ave. in Chicago.

More >> Inspector General found no beds at DCFS office where children slept

Public Guardian calls out DCFS private agency for "made-up" service

We continue our investigation into the Department of Children and Family Services as we look into facilities called Interim Care Centers.

This comes after the man appointed to protect the interest of thousands of kids in DCFS custody is calling out a DCFS private agency.

More >> Public Guardian calls out DCFS private agency for "made-up" service

Children’s tragic deaths turned the spotlight on failures at DCFS

As cases of children facing abuse and losing their lives continue to stun the public, lawmakers are looking for answers from the government agency tasked with keeping them safe: the Department of Children and Family Services.

The deaths of 17-month-old Semaj Crosby, 2-year-old Ja’hir Gibbons and 5-year-old AJ Freund brought issues at the agency to the forefront. In case after case, the children lost their lives even after DCFS had been called out help.

More >> Children’s tragic deaths turned the spotlight on failures at DCFS

'This is an egregious case': AJ Freund's estate considering lawsuit against DCFS

A McHenry County judge appointed a bank to serve as the administrator of slain child AJ Freund's estate Monday, clearing the way for a potential wrongful-death lawsuit against the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.

AJ and his family had dozens of contacts with the state agency before the 5-year-old was found dead April 24 in a shallow grave near Woodstock, six days after his parents reported him missing.

More >> 'This is an egregious case': AJ Freund's estate considering lawsuit against DCFS

• Attorney for estate of AJ Freund suggests lawsuit is likely in beating death of 5-year-old Crystal Lake boy