Legislator demands DCFS set record straight on child welfare interns

By Greg Bishop | The Center Square
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – A state legislator is demanding the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services correct the record and apologize to families for the use of interns as investigators.

Months ago, state Rep. Jed Davis, R-Yorkville, brought the issue into the forefront after he said he found out an investigation leading to a family being separated from their child was led by an intern who didn’t have the proper qualifications.

DCFS pushed back in August, saying Davis didn’t have the facts or the law correct.

This week, Davis revealed public records of a Civil Service Commission official acknowledging making a mistake on intern classifications.

“So I would want to provide an olive branch, I guess, to the department that maybe they were relying on an expert’s statements that turns out were incorrect,” Davis told The Center Square. “We got the legal evidence and we’re right, interns don’t meet the experience requirements. They should not be doing it.”

A spokesperson for the DCFS on Thursday maintained that Davis remains legally and factually incorrect and said continued debate on the issue wastes valuable agency resources from ensuring children are safe and well cared for.

“As DCFS has stated on multiple prior occasions, Child Welfare Services Interns are entry-level investigators who are qualified and often experienced professionals who must complete investigator-specific training, pass an examination and receive an investigator-specific Child Welfare Employee License (CWEL) in order to conduct an investigation,” the statement said.

The statement further said that upon further review earlier this year, the Illinois Civil Service Commission confirmed “that there was no merit to the claims that DCFS ‘violated the Personnel code’ with the use of Child Welfare Services Interns.”

Davis countered that.

“With regard to supposed Civil Service Commission decision that DCFS is apparently referencing, this yet is another example where both the Civil Service Commission and DCFS are going to need to correct the record,” Davis told The Center Square in a text.

Documents obtained by The Center Square show a Civil Service Commission administrative law judge stated the decision to dismiss an allegation of DCFS violating the personnel code “was based upon a lack of jurisdiction over the rules as alleged in the appeal,” and not that there were no merits.

Davis is calling for the record to be corrected, for an apology to families, and also for the agency to reinvestigate any cases where an intern’s report led to actions disrupting families.

“Go back to the families that have been ones that were interns where the lead and reinvestigate them and just either substantiate it or maybe you’ll find out that there was some things missed, we owe that,” Davis said.

Asked to review documents provided by Davis to The Center Square, the agency spokesperson said continued debate with Davis on the issue “is a waste of valuable agency resources.”

“The Department has spent a significant amount of time attempting to help Representative Davis understand the regulations that apply to the DCFS child protection investigations unit and has provided documentation, including federal court records, clearly outlining the legality of this entry level investigator position.”

Reacting to the latest statement from DCFS, Davis said: “They clearly didn’t read the release, or they’re intentionally avoiding the evidence it presents.”

“I’m not sure which one is worse. One is laziness, the other is deliberate malfeasance,” Davis told The Center Square in a follow up message.