Building a Child Welfare Response to Child Trafficking Handbook (2011)

In 2007, the International Organization for Adolescents (IOFA), under the leadership of Katherine Kaufka Walts the then Executive Director, developed and launched the Building Child Welfare Response to Child Trafficking project. The purpose of this project is to build the capacity of child welfare agencies and service providers to identify and respond to this often invisible and underserved population. The primary goals are to ensure that children are correctly identified as trafficked persons and that they receive the appropriate protections and referrals to specialized services to which they are entitled under federal and state laws. This project, supported by funding from the Chicago Community Trust, takes place over a two year period ending in mid-2011. IOFA identified the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (IDCFS) in Illinois as the first implementing partner for the project. IDCFS is one of the largest state government child welfare agencies in United States; it addresses the needs of thousands of children and youth every day. IOFA and IDCFS worked together to develop innovative and sustainable training and advocacy efforts on child trafficking for the child protection units within the agency. The project was designed to increase identification of cases, ensure that child trafficking victims receive full access to the legal and human rights afforded to them under the law, and ultimately to prevent further child trafficking. The project team focused on enabling child protection staff to identify and access key protections and services for victims, including special visas for undocumented victims, public benefits, job training programs, foster care, assistance in the criminal justice system, and mandatory restitution offered under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (2000) and applicable state laws. The Building Child Welfare Response to Child Trafficking project in Illinois is a comprehensive effort, and IOFA and IDCFS continue to collaborate on additional activities in the second year of the project

Predictors of Recurrent Child Maltreatment

The purpose of this study was to clarify the relationship between child maltreatment recurrence and several predictor variables in 7 rural counties in central Illinois, an under-studied population in the child maltreatment literature. Additionally, factors that contributed to the decision by Illinois Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS) to provide post-investigative services were also examined. Data were obtained from an integrated database maintained by Illinois DCFS. All indicated cases of maltreatment occurring between January 1, 2000 and March 31 of 2001 were examined for a 12-month period following the initial indicated report for child revictimization or perpetrator recidivism. The final sample consisted of 34 7 victims of child maltreatment. Of these initial maltreatment cases, 49 cases were indicated for recurrent abuse or neglect and 51 cases were opened for postinvestigative services. Results indicated that female perpetrators, multiple victims and neglect were associated with recurrent child maltreatment. The findings also suggested that the combination of having multiple victims and a female perpetrator enhanced the risk of reabuse and reneglect. Factors related to the decision to open a case for services were younger female victims, younger perpetrators, female perpetrators, younger female perpetrators, and neglect. Moreover, cases with a combination of multiple perpetrators and female perpetrators enhanced the likelihood that cases would be opened for post-investigative services. A surprising finding was that although cases with multiple victims were at more risk for recurrence, cases with multiple perpetrators were more likely to be opened for post-investigative services. Suggestions for future research as well as further DCFS policy recommendations are discussed

Predictors of Recurrent Child Maltreatment

The purpose of this study was to clarify the relationship between child maltreatment recurrence and several predictor variables in 7 rural counties in central Illinois, an under-studied population in the child maltreatment literature. Additionally, factors that contributed to the decision by Illinois Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS) to provide post-investigative services were also examined. Data were obtained from an integrated database maintained by Illinois DCFS. All indicated cases of maltreatment occurring between January 1, 2000 and March 31 of 2001 were examined for a 12-month period following the initial indicated report for child revictimization or perpetrator recidivism. The final sample consisted of 34 7 victims of child maltreatment. Of these initial maltreatment cases, 49 cases were indicated for recurrent abuse or neglect and 51 cases were opened for postinvestigative services. Results indicated that female perpetrators, multiple victims and neglect were associated with recurrent child maltreatment. The findings also suggested that the combination of having multiple victims and a female perpetrator enhanced the risk of reabuse and reneglect. Factors related to the decision to open a case for services were younger female victims, younger perpetrators, female perpetrators, younger female perpetrators, and neglect. Moreover, cases with a combination of multiple perpetrators and female perpetrators enhanced the likelihood that cases would be opened for post-investigative services. A surprising finding was that although cases with multiple victims were at more risk for recurrence, cases with multiple perpetrators were more likely to be opened for post-investigative services. Suggestions for future research as well as further DCFS policy recommendations are discussed

Dreaming of Abolitionist Futures, Reconceptualizing Child Welfare: Keeping Kids Safe in the Age of Abolition

Drawing on the wisdom of prison abolitionists past and present, as well as evidence from interviews and analysis of Illinois’ Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) procedural documents, this work argues that Illinois’ DCFS and the child protection system more broadly are an extension of the carceral state. Both the criminal punishment system and the child protection system (henceforth referred to as the family regulation system) use a diffuse network of actors to surveil, regulate, and punish the behavior of queer subjects: impoverished people and people of color. The present-day family regulation system builds on a long history of family regulation that predates the founding of the U.S., as is seen in chattel slavery, the cultural genocide of Native Americans, neoliberal and anti-welfare policy regimes, and continues today at the U.S.-Mexico border and in the formalized family regulation system (child protective services). This work explores how to keep children safe in the age of abolition, focusing on non-carceral responses that center strong, accountable communities and divest from dependence on the state

Factors Affecting Indication Rates of Child Abuse and Neglect for Similar Counties in Illinois

This exploratory study examines child abuse and neglect by concentrating on one aspect of this complex public issue: the current state of advocacy in Illinois. Following a review of the literature, this paper explores the vital role of the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and its participation in advocacy for abused and neglected children. A sample of six demographically similar counties from the state of Illinois is selected for study. Although demographically similar, the counties have statistically significant differences between their indication rates--those children found to be abused and neglected through investigation by DCFS. Current and respected theories in the fields of sociology, social work, and criminology are examined to explain these differences in indication rates. Although there is statistical significance and face validity indicated between some of the variables and indication rates, the small sample restricts this to an exploratory study. Two final hypotheses are examined. The first regards the possible influence of the organizational structure and cohesion of each individual DCFS office on its indication rate. The second studies the possible effect of public visibility of the individual agency on its indication rate. Data was obtained from telephone interviews of the six agency directors. Of all the variables considered, the visibility of the DCFS office in the community is found to have the highest correlation to indication rates both statistically and on face validity. These findings are discussed and recommendations are made for continued study in the hope that this information will increase public knowledge of child abuse and neglect, thereby increasing protection of the vulnerable child

2017 Report on Child Care in Cook County

The year ending June 30, 2016 saw several significant shocks occur to child care services in Cook County. An unprecedented restriction of eligibility in the Illinois Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) imposed a period of great uncertainty on parents and child care providers alike. This challenge — and the state's continuing budget crisis — reversed Illinois' long-term trend of increasing investments in a robust system of early care and education. In just the second year of the state's efforts to improve child care quality through its ExceleRate Illinois quality rating and improvement system, child care providers faced falling enrollments, unpaid bills and staff layoffs

The Impact of Work Supports: The Self-Sufficiency Standard for Illinois 2009

This document models the impact that work supports have on family income and expenses in two different ways. Both model a family with one parent and two children (a preschooler and a schoolage child) on the south side of Chicago (Cook County) Illinois. The document begins with a description of the work supports and child supports that are modeled, followed by an explanation of how and why the taxes and tax credits are treated differently in this document than in the Self-Sufficiency Standard itself. The first modeling section of this document shows the impact of work supports on monthly costs. The second modeling section in this document shows the impact of work supports on wage adequacy

Working Later in Illinois: Work Schedules, Incomes and Parents Access to Child Care

New research using federal government data shows that substantial numbers of Illinoisans work nonstandard schedules. Some 41 percent or about 2.5 million Illinois employees work either weekends or predominately non-daytime hours. The larger portion works weekends, but 19 percent or about 1.2 million employees work mostly non-daytime hours. In families with children under age 14, including single parent families and two-parent families with both parents employed, 42 percent work nonstandard hours. While nonstandard work schedules are found in some higher income occupations in Illinois such as nurses and doctors, they are more commonly concentrated in occupations that pay below the typical Illinois income, such as retail sales and building cleaning occupations. The trend, moreover, is probably upward: In the ten occupations with the largest projected job growth, 48 percent of employees work nonstandard schedules. Among the substantial challenges nonstandard work schedules present to Illinois working parents, one is finding suitable child care. According to state data, relatively few center-based and licensed home child care programs in Illinois offer care during evening, night or weekend hours. Many working parents, then, must respond to the mismatch between child care and nonstandard work schedules in one of two ways. They might stagger their work schedules so that one parent is always free for child care. This is obviously an option only for families with two parents. Other parents must find another relative, friend or neighbor to provide informal child care. (In this case parents must still coordinate their child care and work schedules with that informal provider.) Working nonstandard schedules, then, tends to force working parents to use either staggered parental care or informal family, friend or neighbor care. Lower earnings in jobs with nonstandard work schedules and the high cost of child care programs also tend to push parents toward staggering their work schedules or using informal child care. According to Illinois data, center-based and licensed home child care for one infant averages a prohibitive 15 percent of the typical family income (25 percent for an infant and a three-year old). Since family, friend and neighbor child care tends to be substantially cheaper than center and licensed home programs, working parents are likely to favor such informal care for reasons of cost as well as schedule. Data show that in fact a majority of children in Illinois do receive informal care from relatives, friends and neighbors rather than licensed or center-based care. Many children probably receive staggered parental care, although we do not have good data on this practice. Findings of the new research are consistent with the view that Illinois parents with fewer employment opportunities must accept nonstandard work schedules offered to them. For example, Illinois parents with lower than average earnings are more likely to work nonstandard schedules

Building on our Success: Moving from Health Care Coverage to Improved Access and Comprehensive Well-Being for Illinois Children and Youth

Building on our Success, a new report released by the Mid-America Institute on Poverty of Heartland Alliance, focuses on children's health in Illinois and documents the barriers in Illinois to achieving a healthy life in the areas of physical, mental and oral health, as well as nutrition issues and insurance coverage, and makes recommendations for improving well-being for children and youth.While Illinois has been a leader in expanding health insurance coverage for children, for many low-income families there is a gap between having insurance and accessing the comprehensive care children need to become and stay healthy. There are significant gaps in Illinois' health care and nutritional systems that leave many children and youth vulnerable to adverse health outcomes

Hunger Report

In August 2008, as part of The Chicago Community Trust's and the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning's (CMAP) joint effort to develop a long-range plan for the Chicago region, a "hunger advisory committee" comprised of 20 individuals representing an array of community-based nonprofit organizations, government agencies and private corporations came together for the first of six meetings. The purpose of the advisory committee was to produce a planning document that would provide an overview of hunger in our region, identify the challenges and opportunities in responding to hunger, and identify strategies that would lead to the elimination of hunger and, in turn, create a stronger and healthier community. Over the course of nine months, the Hunger Advisory Committee defined a vision of equitable access to quality food, along with supporting principles that laid the groundwork for a set of recommendations that will redefine the way families and individuals access emergency and supplemental food within our region.While the Hunger Advisory Committee recognizes hunger as a symptom of poverty and, thus, is unlikely to be entirely eradicated in three decades, we also believe that an enhanced, streamlined system can ensure that all individuals in our region -- regardless of age, gender, race, economic circumstances, or citizenship status -- should and can have access to quality, nutritious food delivered in a dignified manner