The Illinois Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS) allegedly imprisoned hundreds of children in its care, a federal class action lawsuit claims.
The lawsuit, filed in a U.S. district court on Thursday, claims that the state department “willfully and wrongly” incarcerated the children despite court orders for their release, stating that it caused significant harm and led to “exacerbating their trauma and mental health issues.”
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Cook County Public Guardian Charles Golbert is the plaintiff in the lawsuit, representing nine individuals “on behalf of themselves and a class of other children similarly situated.”
The lawsuit alleges that, at one point, each child had come into contact with the juvenile justice system and placed in juvenile jail. However, Golbert claims that after a court ordered their release to a guardian, the defendants “failed to place these children in a safe and appropriate environment.”
The document references several individual cases in which children were allegedly either deprived of education services, mental health services, or physical care. In one instance, John, who was a minor in the care of Illinois DCFS, was jailed at the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center (JTDC). He did not receive additional aid to help with his ADHD and intellectual functioning diagnoses, as well as “several mental health diagnoses,” the lawsuit claims.
“DCFS failed to provide John with needed mental health care during his incarceration, including medication monitoring, therapy, and anger management,” the lawsuit states. “John’s mental health issues have been exacerbated by his wrongful incarceration at JTDC.”
The lawsuit alleges that another child, Janiah, was wrongfully incarcerated for 166 days over a one-year period, despite having a return upon request order, or RUR, in place for all 166 days.
“DCFS left her to languish in juvenile jail,” the lawsuit said of Janiah, who has a history of physical abuse and a slew of mental health and learning disorders. “Incarceration has caused a significant deterioration in her mental health and has put her safety at risk.”
The lawsuit claims that children in the care of Child and Family Services, who have all experienced “significant trauma in their short lives,” were left to stay in jail contrary to court order. It is part of a “widespread and disturbing practice” going back more than 30 years, the lawsuit claims.
“Despite this knowledge, Defendants have done absolutely nothing to end the practice,” the complaint states.
Department of Child and Family Services Director Marc Smith was repeatedly held in contempt of court last year for failing to comply with court orders to place state wards in appropriate areas, according to USA Today.
An appellate court reversed several of those citations last month, finding that he did not willfully ignore orders, but instead was unable to do it.
The department’s decision imposed unnecessary trauma on children who already have suffered unstable lives and depend on the state to provide appropriate care, the lawsuit claims.
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“Defendants’ decision to allow Plaintiffs and the class members to languish in [Juvenile Temporary Detention Center] without an end in sight also conveys a clear message to the children that they do not matter,” the lawsuit states.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Golbert and DCFS Communications Director Bill McCaffrey for comment.
