Following the release of another scathing audit of Illinois’ Department of Children & Family Services (DCFS), Director Marc Smith announced today that he will step down from his leadership position on December 31. In response to Smith’s resignation announcement, State Senator Don DeWitte (R-St. Charles) issued the following statement:
“Having met with Marc Smith and members of his staff on many occasions, it is clear he recognizes the problems at DCFS run very deep. Unfortunately, our Governor has refused to make the same acknowledgment or take steps to fix this agency from the ground up. Changing the individual at the helm is not enough to fix DCFS; deep organizational changes are needed to prevent tragedies like the murder of AJ Freund of Crystal Lake from happening again. We need to seek national expertise and identify best practices from states that are doing a good job with the welfare of children because the system in place in Illinois is clearly failing the most vulnerable children and families among us.”