‘Stuck kids’ docket details challenges for DCFS wards in improper placements

‘Stuck kids’ docket details challenges for DCFS wards in improper placements

By BETH HUNDSDORFER
Capitol News Illinois
bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com

SPRINGFIELD – The weekly docket for children who are wards of the state and waiting for placements recommended by the Department of Children and Family Services after an assessment of their needs took place as scheduled Thursday in Cook County.

It’s the docket that has spawned nine contempt of court citations and $1,000 daily fines against DCFS director Marc Smith for failing to comply with court orders to move the children to appropriate settings, as recommended by DCFS’s own assessments.

There would be no contempt citations Thursday. But besides the judge, lawyers, administrators, DCFS caseworkers, the Illinois Attorney General and the Cook County Public Guardian’s Office, Capitol News Illinois requested and received permission to listen via Zoom call to the so-called “stuck kids” docket.

Juvenile hearings are closed to the public, but media can attend with special provisions regarding media coverage. A judge granted a reporter access due to the level of media attention and public scrutiny the proceedings have produced amid the contempt findings and fines against Smith.

Lawyers for the children in the docket, which include children locked in psychiatric units beyond their discharge dates and beyond medical necessity, detailed the challenges faced by children with low IQs, psychiatric disabilities, troubled homes, traumatic abuse, lack of resources, lack of placement options.

Cook County Circuit Judge Patrick T. Murphy began the hearing with a direction to the media not to identify the juveniles whose cases were before the court. Capitol News Illinois has used pseudonyms in this report for all juveniles whose cases were heard Thursday.

One of the placements involved 15-year-old Allie. She was taken into care five years ago when DCFS found she had been sexually abused and neglected.

Since then, the girl has been in 16 or 17 placements, including spending days in hospital emergency rooms, sleeping on a cot in the basement of one foster home and being abused at another. She was then sent to a residential care center, then back to foster care where she became disruptive until she was sent to a locked psychiatric facility.

Doctors determined that she was ready to be released on Dec. 6, 2021, but Allie remained behind locked doors in the psychiatric hospital waiting for DCFS to place her. On March 4, Allie’s case was the basis for the sixth contempt citation against Smith.

Whether it was the contempt citation or circumstance, Allie was moved to a specialized foster home on April 11. For a time, it seemed she would settle in. On Easter Sunday, Allie went to visit a friend with the approval of her foster mother. During that visit, an elderly family member with dementia threw bleach on the children, Allie’s lawyer Kellen Michuda, of the Cook County Public Guardian’s Office, told the judge. Allie was briefly hospitalized.

A few days later, Allie ran away. Michuda told the judge she was concerned Allie was with an adult man.

“I am not in a position to determine how being for months in a place you don’t need to be affects your stability. But I would like to note that she has never been a runner,” Michuda told the judge.

DCFS lawyer David Fox countered that Allie was in an appropriate specialized foster home with a foster mother who was concerned about her well-being and had gotten Allie a place in a charter school in Chicago.

“We tried to ensure that we wrapped her in services and that everything was in place prior to putting her in this home,” said DCFS senior public administrator Jacquelyn Dortch. “So, we made a concerted effort to make it the best appropriate placement for this minor. It seems like she may have had some plans prior to discharge to hook up with folks. I do believe we tried to do everything humanly possible to put her in the best setting.”

But Allie had run away, Michuda said, so she was concerned the home wouldn’t be the best setting to meet Allie’s needs. Michuda asked for two weeks to see if Allie returned home before revisiting the case.

Assistant Attorney General Alex Moe, who represents Smith on the contempt citations, asked Murphy to purge the citation against Smith in Allie’s case, stating that DCFS had complied with the previous order and placed Allie in an appropriate setting.

“The fact that she’s on the run now is unfortunate but does not change the fact that your orders were satisfied,” Moe said.

Murphy denied the request, noting the case and the fine were stayed pending review by the appellate court.

Just before the hearing ended, there was word about Allie. She returned to her foster home. Murphy asked about her. A DCFS worker responded, “She’s fine.” Allie’s next court date is scheduled for May 12.

The court then heard the case of an 11-year-old girl held in a psychiatric hospital for more than a year after doctors cleared her for discharge. She has an IQ of 50. A judge ordered the girl to be removed from the hospital in February and put into residential placement, but she remains in the hospital.

Dortch told the judge that DCFS wanted to conduct another psychological assessment to determine why the child was not improving.

“The kid’s got an IQ of 50 and you’re locking her up in a psychiatric hospital because the state’s closed all the facilities for developmentally delayed kids. And of course, she’s flailing out there. You know, from her perspective, she doesn’t know what’s going on except the fact she’s locked up,” Murphy responded.

Murphy went on to reference previous testimony given in his courtroom from a DCFS supervisor who stated that once a child is hospitalized beyond medical necessity, Medicaid stops paying.

“So, according to her testimony, hospitalization is $600 a day for the first month and $1,000 a day thereafter. In this case, DCFS paid the hospital $348,000 out of the Illinois taxpayer funds…not federal funds, to keep this kid locked up beyond the date of medical necessity,” Murphy said. “You could have bought the Taj Mahal for the cost of this placement. This is bizarre!”

These were two of the cases where Smith faces contempt citations. Of the other seven, two have been purged. Five are pending, with each of the $1,000 daily fines stayed in the appellate court.

Public Guardian Charles Golbert has said it’s unprecedented for a director of a child protection agency to be held in contempt. He’s never seen it in his 30 years handling juvenile cases.

But the details of the children in these cases demonstrate that psychiatric conditions and developmental delays complicate the placement.

Smith and Gov. JB Pritzker have said that the elimination of specialized care during the previous administration has left the agency scrambling to rebuild services.

On Wednesday at an unrelated event in Springfield, Pritzker pointed to increased funding for DCFS and progress at the agency’s tip hotline which has a 99 percent answer rate compared to 50 percent when he took office.

“Five hundred beds were let go under the prior governor,” Pritzker said. “You can’t snap your fingers and put those back. It takes years to build back residential beds for these kids. So when kids are having to lag longer than they should in psychiatric hospitals where they may have started out because they have severe mental health challenges… that’s not something any of us likes. But it is something we’ve been working on steadily to improve.”

Pritzker has said accepting Smith’s resignation would not solve any problems.

DCFS has also faced scrutiny since December after at least five children died after contact with the state’s child protection agency. They are Damari Perry, 6, of North Chicago; Sophia Faye Davis, 1, of Dawson; Zaraz Walker, 1, of Bloomington; and Tamsin Miracle Sauer, 3, of Nelson.

And DCFS investigator Deidre Silas was murdered earlier this year while checking on the welfare of children at a Sangamon County home.

 

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government that is distributed to more than 400 newspapers statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.

Leave a Comment





Local News

BVball Stagg kill 10 alt

Boys Volleyball | Stagg ends Marist Invite with win over Riverside-Brookfield

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Jason Maholy Sports Editor Stagg outlasted Riverside-Brookfield in a marathon first set, winning 36-34, then followed that with a 25-20 clincher on March 23 to finish seventh in the Silver divison at the 20th Marist RedHawks Invitational. The Chargers went 2-3 in the tournament. They opened pool play on March 22 at…

Shepard senior Jake Klein goes up for the kill against two Lincoln-Way East players during a match on March 22. Photo by Jason Maholy

Boys Volleyball | Shepard finishes 4th in Bronze at Marist Invite

Spread the love

Spread the loveShepard served as one of three host sites for the 20th Marist RedHawks Invitational, and kicked off play in Palos Heights by facing Lincoln-Way East on March 22. The Griffins defeated the Astros, 25-10, 25-15. Marian Catholic beat Shepard, 25-23, 25-9, in the Astros’ second match of the day. The Astros fell to…

The Obbie’s Pizza sign will remain a familiar sight on Archer Avenue. Taking time out for a photo are new owner John Caputi; his son, Giovanni; and Obbie’s longtime managers, Jim Triak and Jeff Twaragowski. --Photo by Cosmo Hadac

Obbie’s Pizza to stay ‘unique and delicious’

Spread the love

Spread the love. New owner vows to serve same popular menu .  By Tim Hadac Archer Avenue’s long-time king of pizzerias will continue to rule. Same recipes at Obbie’s Pizza, 6654 W. Archer. Same pizza and ingredients. Same pasta, broasted chicken, shrimp, perch, Italian beef/sausage/meatball sandwiches, sides and pop. Same seasoned, Middleby Marshall pizza oven…

countryside logo

Countryside City Council tackles long list of items

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Steve Metsch Water leaks, a new truck and abandoned vehicles were among a laundry list of items tackled by the Countryside City Council at its latest meeting. They were all from the infrastructure committee chaired by Ald. Mark Benson (3rd). All of the following were approved by a unanimous 6-0 vote on…

Mahdi Ali (from left), Team AlBary, Ghina Albary, Abla Daoud, Minna Sulieman, Iman Ezzhory, Medinah Yusef,  and Argo Teacher Nadia Elkhatib. (Supplied photos)

Argo High School holds Iftar Dinner for community

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Carol McGowan More than 100 people gathered at Argo Community High School last week for a now annual Ramadan Iftar dinner organized by Argo teacher Nadia Elkhatib. Elkhatib was happy with the turnout for those coming Thursday night to break bread with the school’s Muslim students and their families. “I will continue…

regional palos heights logo

Pool improvements advance in Palos Heights

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Nuha Abdessalam Palos Heights aldermen last week approved contracts advancing improvements at the municipal pool. Alderman Jefry Key motioned for approval of a letter of agreement with the American Institute of Architects between Williams Architect and the City of Palos Heights for the pool improvement project. Since first proposing pool improvements in…

Palos Hills young people sang their hearts out for karaoke night at a neighborhood coffee house. (Photo by Nuha Abdessalam)

Teens enjoy Green Hills karaoke party

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Nuha Abdessalam Palos Hills tweens and teens sang their hearts out for karaoke night at a neighborhood coffee house. Green Hills Library invited all tweens and teens for a karaoke night at Strange Brew Cafe on West 103rd Street and 87th Street on Feb. 22. Organized by Green Hill Library Youth Program…

Luis Garcia, of Oak Forest and the owner and chef of Cervantinos Authentic Mexican Restaurant #2, 12778 S. Harlem Ave., Palos Heights. (Photos by Kelly White)

Cervantinos Authentic Mexican Restaurant opens in Palos Heights

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Kelly White When choosing a location for his second business location, Luis Garcia knew he wanted it to be Palos Heights. “I absolutely love it here,” Luis Garcia, of Oak Forest and the owner and chef of Cervantinos Authentic Mexican Restaurant #2, said. “It’s a great area, nice clientele and I’m happy…

The corner of Crandall and Depot in Worth will be the future site of the Garden Center Services apartment complex. (Photo by Joe Boyle)

Worth Polar Plunge raises record amount

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Joe Boyle The FOP Worth Polar Plunge has been deemed a major success and local officials said the amount raised has set a new record. The annual event, sponsored by the Worth Police Department, took place in a large swimming pool that was put up in the parking lot of the Marrs-Meyer…

Kris Sumner, Youth Programming Librarian at Green Hills Public Library, is responsible for organizing the Eid Clothing Bazaar at the library, 10331 Interlochen Dr., Palos Hills. (Supplied photos)

Green Hills Public Library hosts Eid Clothing Drive

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Kelly White The Islamic calendar has two major holidays each year: Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan and celebrates an entire month of fasting, and Eid al-Adha, the festival of the sacrifice that occurs during the culmination of the Hajj pilgrimage season. It takes place two lunar months after Ramadan.…

Neighbors

BVball Stagg kill 10 alt

Boys Volleyball | Stagg ends Marist Invite with win over Riverside-Brookfield

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Jason Maholy Sports Editor Stagg outlasted Riverside-Brookfield in a marathon first set, winning 36-34, then followed that with a 25-20 clincher on March 23 to finish seventh in the Silver divison at the 20th Marist RedHawks Invitational. The Chargers went 2-3 in the tournament. They opened pool play on March 22 at…

Shepard senior Jake Klein goes up for the kill against two Lincoln-Way East players during a match on March 22. Photo by Jason Maholy

Boys Volleyball | Shepard finishes 4th in Bronze at Marist Invite

Spread the love

Spread the loveShepard served as one of three host sites for the 20th Marist RedHawks Invitational, and kicked off play in Palos Heights by facing Lincoln-Way East on March 22. The Griffins defeated the Astros, 25-10, 25-15. Marian Catholic beat Shepard, 25-23, 25-9, in the Astros’ second match of the day. The Astros fell to…

The Obbie’s Pizza sign will remain a familiar sight on Archer Avenue. Taking time out for a photo are new owner John Caputi; his son, Giovanni; and Obbie’s longtime managers, Jim Triak and Jeff Twaragowski. --Photo by Cosmo Hadac

Obbie’s Pizza to stay ‘unique and delicious’

Spread the love

Spread the love. New owner vows to serve same popular menu .  By Tim Hadac Archer Avenue’s long-time king of pizzerias will continue to rule. Same recipes at Obbie’s Pizza, 6654 W. Archer. Same pizza and ingredients. Same pasta, broasted chicken, shrimp, perch, Italian beef/sausage/meatball sandwiches, sides and pop. Same seasoned, Middleby Marshall pizza oven…

countryside logo

Countryside City Council tackles long list of items

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Steve Metsch Water leaks, a new truck and abandoned vehicles were among a laundry list of items tackled by the Countryside City Council at its latest meeting. They were all from the infrastructure committee chaired by Ald. Mark Benson (3rd). All of the following were approved by a unanimous 6-0 vote on…

Mahdi Ali (from left), Team AlBary, Ghina Albary, Abla Daoud, Minna Sulieman, Iman Ezzhory, Medinah Yusef,  and Argo Teacher Nadia Elkhatib. (Supplied photos)

Argo High School holds Iftar Dinner for community

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Carol McGowan More than 100 people gathered at Argo Community High School last week for a now annual Ramadan Iftar dinner organized by Argo teacher Nadia Elkhatib. Elkhatib was happy with the turnout for those coming Thursday night to break bread with the school’s Muslim students and their families. “I will continue…

regional palos heights logo

Pool improvements advance in Palos Heights

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Nuha Abdessalam Palos Heights aldermen last week approved contracts advancing improvements at the municipal pool. Alderman Jefry Key motioned for approval of a letter of agreement with the American Institute of Architects between Williams Architect and the City of Palos Heights for the pool improvement project. Since first proposing pool improvements in…

Palos Hills young people sang their hearts out for karaoke night at a neighborhood coffee house. (Photo by Nuha Abdessalam)

Teens enjoy Green Hills karaoke party

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Nuha Abdessalam Palos Hills tweens and teens sang their hearts out for karaoke night at a neighborhood coffee house. Green Hills Library invited all tweens and teens for a karaoke night at Strange Brew Cafe on West 103rd Street and 87th Street on Feb. 22. Organized by Green Hill Library Youth Program…

Luis Garcia, of Oak Forest and the owner and chef of Cervantinos Authentic Mexican Restaurant #2, 12778 S. Harlem Ave., Palos Heights. (Photos by Kelly White)

Cervantinos Authentic Mexican Restaurant opens in Palos Heights

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Kelly White When choosing a location for his second business location, Luis Garcia knew he wanted it to be Palos Heights. “I absolutely love it here,” Luis Garcia, of Oak Forest and the owner and chef of Cervantinos Authentic Mexican Restaurant #2, said. “It’s a great area, nice clientele and I’m happy…

The corner of Crandall and Depot in Worth will be the future site of the Garden Center Services apartment complex. (Photo by Joe Boyle)

Worth Polar Plunge raises record amount

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Joe Boyle The FOP Worth Polar Plunge has been deemed a major success and local officials said the amount raised has set a new record. The annual event, sponsored by the Worth Police Department, took place in a large swimming pool that was put up in the parking lot of the Marrs-Meyer…

Kris Sumner, Youth Programming Librarian at Green Hills Public Library, is responsible for organizing the Eid Clothing Bazaar at the library, 10331 Interlochen Dr., Palos Hills. (Supplied photos)

Green Hills Public Library hosts Eid Clothing Drive

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Kelly White The Islamic calendar has two major holidays each year: Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan and celebrates an entire month of fasting, and Eid al-Adha, the festival of the sacrifice that occurs during the culmination of the Hajj pilgrimage season. It takes place two lunar months after Ramadan.…