DCFS

The May 21 gunfire damaged the building's front windows and door.

In a statement, a DCFS spokesman said, “Out of an abundance of caution, the Joliet office is currently closed.”

The DCFS timeline of the reports and investigations of the Sauer family released in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.

The 11-year-old girl at the center of the case has been in the care of DCFS since she was five

The Whiteside County coroner released the 3-year-old Nelson's girls cause of death.

The report found DCFS was unable to provide home safety checklists, which are mandated when a child leaves state care to be returned to their home, in 192 of 195 cases studied.

Even with recent budget increases – Gov. Pritzker and lawmakers have increased the DCFS budget by at least $100 million each year since 2019, including by $250 million this year – the effort to build back the lost placements has been slower than the decline.

A Cook County judge found DCFS Director Marc Smith in contempt. It’s the ninth time this year that Smith has faced contempt citations for failing to place children in settings that comply with the agency’s recommendations and court orders.

No one has been arrested for the April 2017 death of Joliet Township toddler Sema'j Crosby.

A McHenry County child welfare advocacy group created a display of children’s shoes in the Illinois Statehouse on Thursday to bring awareness of child abuse to legislators.

In the wake of the recent deaths of five children who were in contact with the state’s child protection agency and eight contempt citations against the agency’s director, House Republicans on Wednesday asked for a performance audit at DCFS

A Kingston man facing charges after police say he attacked a man with a gun and baseball bat is now, along with his wife, under investigation by the state’s child protective services for child neglect.

Cook County Public Guardian Charles Golbert, whose office represents about 7,100 children in state care, said Thursday that if DCFS had been keeping up with hiring over the past few decades it would not be in such straits now

Results of an autopsy conducted Tuesday on the 3-year-old Nelson girl who died early Saturday are inconclusive, Whiteside County Coroner Joe McDonald said Wednesday.

For the seventh time in 10 weeks, a Cook County judge found Illinois DCFS Director Marc Smith in contempt for failing to comply with a court order.