

State Rep. Patti Bellock calls for tighter reins on DCFS

SPRINGFIELD - Up to 3100 kids in the state's custody were nowhere to be found in 2011 to 2012, a report filed Thursday by Illinois Auditor General Bob Holland says.

"There should be no higher priority for DCFS than ensuring the safety and welfare of children in the state’s care,” State Rep. Patti Bellock (R-Hinsdale) said. “These audit findings underscore the agency’s failure to meet that most basic necessity and how the lives of literally thousands of young people have been jeopardized as a result."

Holland's report responded to a House resolution passed last May, which instructed the auditor general to determine the number of children reported missing in 2011 and 2012 that are listed with the Department of Children and Family Services, whether the department staff made timely reports of missing children and what steps DCFS followed to locate and recover those thousands of missing children.