Rep. Tony McCombie | Facebook
Rep. Tony McCombie | Facebook
Rep. Tony McCombie (R-Sterling) is seeking answers in light of the contempt-of-court charges against Illinois Department of Children and Family Services Director Marc Smith.
The charges came after reports of youths being kept in psychiatric facilities despite being ready to be placed with families.
“We’re here to continue our call for immediate public hearings,” she said during a news conference. “DCFS is failing our state's most vulnerable children and we need transparency and public hearings about why.”
Chicago CBS reported Smith faced previous contempt-of-court orders.
“These two children are not certainly the only ones failed by DCFS and the state of Illinois,” McCombie said. “As legislators we have heard repeated stories of DCFS wards being left to linger in hospital beds when they no longer need the hospital's care because DCFS did not have proper placement lined up for time of discharge. According to the Cook County Public Guardian, over the past year more than 350 children in DCFS care were languishing in psychiatric hospitals an average of 55 days for no other reason other than DCFS had nowhere else to place them. This is unacceptable and a repeated finding.”
McCombie said the DCFS also needs to address the deaths of its workers.
“In addition to failing our state’s children, we have worker-safety issues,” she said. “Most recently the murder of Deidra Silas and Pam Knight in 2018, promising DCFS investigators whose lives were cut short in the line of duty where many others have just been assaulted. Questions need to be asked about all of these situations and candid answers provided by the director.”
This is the third contempt-of-court order issued against Smith as of late.
A judge noted that Smith disobeyed several court orders regarding children in the state's care.
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