Public child welfare systems operate within a politico-legal context that expects them to be able to achieve positive outcomes for the children and families that they serve. All states must participate in Federal Child and Family Service Reviews (CFSR) that seek to measure their performance on certain core or "mission-critical" outcomes involving child safety, permanence, and well-being.
Even prior to the establishment of the Federal Child Welfare Performance Review Process and the establishment of national indicators, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and the Children and Family Research Center had developed an outcome monitoring process in response to mandates related to the B.H. consent decree. In fact, the Children and Family Research Center was created, in part, to be "responsible for evaluating and issuing public reports on the performance of the child welfare system operated by DCFS and its agents. The Research Center shall be independent of DCFS and shall be within an entity independent of DCFS" [from B.H. v. McDonald (1996). Joint Memorandum in Support of Agreed Supplemental Order, No. 88-cv-5599. (N.D. Ill 1996)].
Researchers at CFRC were pioneers in the shift from process-oriented efforts at monitoring system functioning to the now widely-accepted outcome-based performance measures. Several of the early publications on this subject are listed below, as well each of the B.H. monitoring reports, the first of which was produced in 1998. The early B.H. monitoring reports include measures of child safety and permanence via reunification and adoption. Limitations in the availability of reliable and valid administrative data on indicators of child and family well-being prevented any sort of systematic data reporting. To fill this gap, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services funded the Center to conduct a series of Illinois Child Well-Being Studies, beginning in 2001, and four waves of results were reported. These studies provided critical data on the educational status, physical health, and mental health of children living in substitute care in Illinois. More recently, data on child well-being among children in or at risk of substitute care in Illinois have been gathered from the Illinois Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being.
Conditions of Children in or at Risk of Foster Care in Illinois: FY2023 Monitoring Report of the B.H. Consent DecreePDF
Tamara Fuller, Martin Nieto, Yu-Ling Chiu, Cady Landa, Stacey Shipe, Steve Tran, Satomi Wakita, and Shufen Wang
Since its inception in 1996, the Children and Family Research Center (CFRC) has produced an annual report that monitors the performance of the Illinois child welfare system in achieving its stated goals of child safety, permanency, and well-being. The FY2023 monitoring report uses child welfare administrative data through December 31, 2022 to describe the conditions of children in or at risk of foster care in Illinois. Following an introductory chapter, the results are presented in four chapters that examine critical child welfare outcomes, including child safety, continuity and stability in care, legal permanence, and racial disproportionality.
CFRC
Illinois is one of few states that includes a type of maltreatment based on the “risk of harm” to a child. This research brief provides information about the definition of risk of harm, its relative frequency in substantiated child protection investigations, and its relationship to child safety.
CFRC
Federal law mandates children living in substitute care be placed in close proximity to their parents’ home unless their best interests would be better served by a more distant setting. Each year, some children removed by their homes by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services are placed in group homes or institutions outside of Illinois. This research brief provides information on the number of children in these out-of-state placements, their characteristics, and the length of time they spend in the placements.
CFRC
Children who are removed from their homes by the child welfare system should not languish in foster care. Once a child is placed in substitute care, the goal is to move them out of care as quickly as it is safe and reasonable to do so. Therefore, length of stay (LOS) in substitute care is one of the outcome indicators used to measure the performance of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) in the annual Monitoring Report of the B.H. Consent Decree. Results of the most recent report suggest that children in Illinois have longer stays in substitute care compared to children nationally, that the median LOS for Black children is longer than that for children of other races, and that children in the Cook region stay in care much longer than children in other regions. This research brief examines LOS by race and region together to provide a better understand of this performance indicator.
Conditions of Children in or at Risk of Foster Care in Illinois: FY2022 Monitoring Report of the B.H. Consent DecreePDF
Tamara Fuller, Martin Nieto, Kyle Adams, Yu-Ling Chiu, Cady Landa, Steve Tran, Satomi Wakita, and Shufen Wang
Since its inception in 1996, the Children and Family Research Center (CFRC) has produced an annual report that monitors the performance of the Illinois child welfare system in achieving its stated goals of child safety, permanency, and well-being. The FY2022 monitoring report uses child welfare administrative data through December 31, 2021 to describe the conditions of children in or at risk of foster care in Illinois. Following an introductory chapter, the results are presented in four chapters that examine critical child welfare outcomes, including child safety, continuity and stability in care, legal permanence, and racial disproportionality.
The Relationship Between Emotional and Behavioral Needs Identified When Children Enter Substitute Care and Their Problems While in CarePDF
Theodore Cross, Steve Tran, Eliza Betteridge, Robert Hjertquist, Tawny Spinelli, Jennifer Prior, Neil Jordan, and Soonhyung Kwon
Screening children who are entering out-of-home care is widely implemented but not thoroughly studied. Using a sample from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, we examined whether emotional and behavioral needs identified by an Integrated Assessment (IA) at entry predict needs and services while in care. This research brief is reproduced from Chapter 5 of the 2021 Monitoring Report for the B.H. Consent Decree and adapted from a journal article by the authors. Data from the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) measure completed in the IA were combined with data from a point-in-time study of the well-being of children in out-of-home care. Having a behavioral or emotional need identified at entry predicted having a similar need and receiving mental health services during out-of-home c are. The relationship did not diminish with length of time in care; IA CANS predicted needs and services even for children in substitute care for an extended period. These results provide evidence for the validity of the IA CANS for screening for children’s needs in out-of-home care. The persistence of problems suggests the value of baseline screening as a guide for service delivery throughout children’s stay in care, and the need for more effective mental health services specially tailored for children in substitute care.
Tamara Fuller, Cady Landa, Satomi Wakita, and Kyle Adams
Child welfare systems across the nation share the concern that children from some racial and ethnic groups may be disproportionately represented in the child welfare system compared to their representation in the general population. This report examines racial disproportionality in the Illinois child welfare system at five critical decision points during 2014–2020, including: 1) screened-in maltreatment reports/investigations, 2) protective custodies, 3) indicated maltreatment reports, 4) child welfare case openings (intact family services), 5) substitute care entries, and 6) timely exits from substitute care. The results are presented for the entire state as well as by region.
Conditions of Children in or at Risk of Foster Care in Illinois: FY2021 Monitoring Report of the B.H. Consent DecreePDF
Tamara Fuller, Martin Nieto, Kyle Adams, Yu-Ling Chiu, Theodore Cross, Cady Landa, Laura Lee, Steve Tran, Satomi Wakita, and Shufen Wang
Since its inception in 1996, the Children and Family Research Center (CFRC) has produced an annual report that monitors the performance of the Illinois child welfare system in achieving its stated goals of child safety, permanency, and well-being. The FY2021 monitoring report uses child welfare administrative data through December 31, 2020 to describe the conditions of children in or at risk of foster care in Illinois. Following an introductory chapter, the results are presented in five chapters that examine critical child welfare outcomes, including child safety, continuity and stability in care, legal permanence, racial disproportionality, and child well-being.
Tamara Fuller, Michael Braun, Satomi Wakita, and Kyle Adams
Child welfare systems across the nation share the concern that children from some racial minority groups may be disproportionately represented in the child welfare system compared to their representation in the general population. One of the goals in the Department’s Child Welfare Transformation Strategic Plan is to track racial equity at critical decision points to help inform planning and decision-making. This report provides information relevant to that goal by examining racial disproportionality in the Illinois child welfare system at five critical decision points (see Figure 1) during 2013–2019, including: 1) investigated/screened-in maltreatment reports, 2) protective custodies, 3) indicated maltreatment reports, 4) post-investigation service provision, including substitute care and intact family services, and 5) timely exits from substitute care.
Children and Family Research Center
The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) is responsible for assuring the safety, family permanence, and well-being of the children who have been investigated for abuse or neglect or who have been removed from their homes and placed into substitute care. For over two decades, the Children and Family Research Center (CFRC) has produced an annual monitoring report that tracks the performance of the Illinois child welfare system on over 40 measures of child safety, family continuity, placement stability, permanence, as well as new indicators involving racial disproportionality. The full report, which is available on the CFRC website, examines each measure over the past seven years and provides detailed tables and figures that examine differences among child age and racial groups. This brief highlights five noteworthy findings from the most recent report, which tracks performance through FY2019.
Conditions of Children in or at Risk of Foster Care in Illinois: FY2020 Monitoring Report of the B.H. Consent DecreePDF
Tamara Fuller, Martin Nieto, Kyle A. Adams III, Michael Braun, Yu-Ling Chiu, Laura Lee, Steve Tran, Satomi Wakita, Shufen Wang
Since its inception in 1996, the Children and Family Research Center (CFRC) has produced an annual report that monitors the performance of the Illinois child welfare system in achieving its stated goals of child safety, permanency, and well-being. The FY2020 monitoring report uses child welfare administrative data through December 31, 2019 to describe the conditions of children in or at risk of foster care in Illinois. Following an introductory chapter, the results are presented in four chapters that examine critical child welfare outcomes, including child safety, continuity and stability in care, legal permanence, and racial disproportionality.
Children and Family Research Center
The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) is responsible for assuring the safety, family permanency, and well-being of the children who have been investigated for abuse or neglect or who have been removed from their homes and placed into substitute care. For over two decades, the Children and Family Research Center (CFRC) has produced an annual monitoring report that tracks the performance of the Illinois child welfare system on over 40 different measures of safety, placement restrictiveness, placement stability, and timely, stable, and permanent family relationships. The full report, which is available on the CFRC website, examines each measure over the past seven years and provides detailed tables and figures that examine differences among child age and racial groups. This brief highlights five noteworthy findings from the most recent report, which tracks performance through June 2018.
Conditions of Children in or at Risk of Foster Care in Illinois: FY2019 Monitoring Report of the B.H. Consent DecreePDF
Tamara Fuller, Martin Nieto, Shufen Wang, Kyle A. Adams III, Satomi Wakita, Steve Tran, Yu-Ling Chiu, Michael Braun, Theodore P. Cross, Laura Lee, Aaron Burnett, Heidi Meyer
Since its inception in 1996, the Children and Family Research Center (CFRC) has produced an annual report that monitors the performance of the Illinois child welfare system in achieving its stated goals of child safety, permanency, and well-being. The FY2019 monitoring report uses child welfare administrative data through December 31, 2018 to describe the conditions of children in or at risk of foster care in Illinois. Following an introductory chapter, the results are presented in five chapters that examine critical child welfare outcomes, including child safety, continuity and stability in care, legal permanence, racial disproportionality, and child well-being.
Martin Nieto, Satomi Wakita, Tamara Fuller, and Shufen Wang
In 2017, media attention in Illinois focused on a perceived increase in the number of child deaths following the “privatization” of Intact Family Services (IFS), meaning that cases were being served by private child welfare agencies through contractual relationships with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) rather than through DCFS itself. Following a request by the B.H. Expert Panel, the CFRC conducted an independent analysis to examine if the privatization of intact family services (IFS) was associated with an increase in child deaths due to maltreatment. The results suggest that Intact Family Services have been provided by both DCFS and private child welfare agencies since 2000, and that complete privatization of IFS did not occur, even after 2014. In addition, when all maltreatment reports involving child deaths are examined, only a small percentage (between 10-15%) have been involved with IFS within the past year or at the time of the reported death. When the child deaths that were involved with IFS were examined, there were no differences in the risk of either investigated child deaths or indicated child deaths among children served by DCFS and those served by private child welfare agencies.
CFRC
Child welfare systems across the nation share the concern that children from some racial minority groups may be disproportionately represented in the child welfare system compared to their representation in the general population. One of the goals in the Department’s Child Welfare Transformation Strategic Plan is to track racial equity at critical decision points to help inform planning and decision making. With special concerns about children age 0 to 5, the Children and Family Research Center per a request from Illinois DCFS prepared this report by examining racial disproportionality specifically for this population in the Illinois child welfare system at critical decision points during 2012-2018.
Tamara Fuller, Steve Tran, Yu-Ling Chiu, and Michael Braun
The highlights of each chapter from the FY2018 Monitoring Report of the B.H. Consent Decree.
Tamara Fuller, Yu-Ling Chiu, Michael Braun, Martin Nieto, and Kyle Adams
Child welfare systems across the nation share the concern that children from some racial minority groups may be disproportionately represented in the child welfare system compared to their representation in the general population.One of the goals in the Department’s Child Welfare Transformation Strategic Plan is to track racial equity and disparity at critical decision points to help inform planning and decision making.This report provides information relevant to that goal by examining racial disproportionality and disparity in the Illinois child welfare system at five critical decision points over the past seven years.
Conditions of Children in or at Risk of Foster Care in Illinois: FY2018 Monitoring Report of the B.H. Consent DecreePDF
Tamara Fuller, Martin Nieto, Satomi Wakita, Shufen Wang, Kyle Adams, Steve Tran, Yu-Ling Chiu, and Michael Braun
Since its inception in 1996, the Children and Family Research Center (CFRC) has produced an annual report that monitors the performance of the Illinois child welfare system in achieving its stated goals of child safety, permanency, and well-being. This year’s report contains several major changes that makes the results non-comparable to those in previous reports. The data source was switched from the Chapin Hall Integrated Database (IDB) to data contained in the DCFS data warehouse (Legacy Golden Copy/LGC). At the Department’s request, the Round 3 CFSR statewide data indicators were added to the report. The FY2018 monitoring report uses child welfare administrative data through March 2018 to describe the conditions of children in or at risk of foster care in Illinois. Following an introductory chapter, the results are presented in three chapters that examine critical child welfare outcomes of child safety, continuity and stability in care, and legal permanence.
Catherine Corr, Michael T. Braun, and Steve Tran
In March 2018, CFRC researchers Michael T. Braun and Steve Tran partnered with University of Illinois Special Education assistant professor Catherine Corr to present a webinar for the Early Intervention Training Program at the University of Illinois. The webinar, titled 10 Things Early Interventionists Need To Know About The Child Welfare System, focused on demystifying the child welfare system for early interventionists and service providers. Topics included an overview of the child welfare system, the process of making a hotline call, ways to support families who have experienced past trauma, and how early interventionists can work with child welfare workers to support children and families.
Conditions of Children in or at Risk of Foster Care in Illinois: 2016 Monitoring Report of the B.H. Consent DecreePDF
Tamara Fuller, Martin Nieto, Satomi Wakita, Shufen Wang, Kyle Adams, Saijun Zhang, Yu-Ling Chiu, and Michael Braun
This annual report provides information on the performance of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services with regard to the outcomes for children who are in or at risk of substitute care. This monitoring report, required as part of the B.H. Consent Decree, examines measures of child safety, family and placement stability, continuity, and permanence. In addition, this year's report adds a fourth chapter that examines racial disproportionality and disparity in the Illinois child welfare system.
Children and Family Research Center
The Children and Family Research Center (CFRC) produces the annual monitoring report of the B.H. Consent Decree, which tracks the performance of the Illinois child welfare system in achieving its stated goals of child safety, permanency, and well-being for children in or at risk of entering foster care. The full report, available on the CFRC website, contains information about Illinois performance on more than 40 measures over the past seven years. This brief highlights five key findings from the latest report, which tracks performance through the end of FY2016.
Michael T. Braun and Yu-Ling Chiu
Disproportionality in the child welfare system refers to the over- or underrepresentation of a group involved with the system compared to that group’s representation in a base population (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2016). This research brief defines racial disproportionality in the child welfare system, including how it is measured and how disproportionality rates should be interpreted. It is the first brief in a series exploring disproportionality in the child welfare system.
Michael T. Braun and Yu-Ling Chiu
Disproportionality in the child welfare system refers to the over- or underrepresentation of a group (usually a racial/ethnic group) compared to that group’s representation in a base population. This research brief explores rates of racial disproportionality in the Illinois child welfare system. It is the second brief in a series exploring disproportionality.
Conditions of Children in or at Risk of Foster Care in Illinois: 2015 Monitoring Report of the B.H. Consent DecreePDF
Tamara Fuller, Martin Nieto, Xinrong Lei, Satomi Wakita, Saijun Zhang, Yu-Ling Chiu, Michael Braun, Theodore P. Cross
This annual report provides information on the performance of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services with regard to the outcomes for children who are in or at risk of substitute care. This monitoring report, required as part of the B.H. Consent Decree, examines measures of child safety, family and placement stability, continuity, and permanence. Detailed break-downs of each indicator by child gender, race, age, and geographic region are provided in the appendix.
CFRC
This research brief describes highlights from the most recent monitoring report of the B.H. Consent Decree. Highlights include details on the use of emergency shelters, a look at the increase in maltreatment of children in care, and a comparison of runaway rates in Cook County and statewide.
Conditions of Children in or at Risk of Foster Care in Illinois: 2014 Monitoring Report of the B.H. Consent DecreePDF
CFRC
This annual report provides information on the performance of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services with regard to the outcomes for children who are in or at risk of substitute care. This monitoring report, required as part of the B.H. Consent Decree, examines measures of child safety, family and placement stability, continuity, permanence, and child and family well-being. Detailed break-downs of each indicator by child gender, race, age, and geographic region are provided in the appendix.
Conditions of Children in or at Risk of Foster Care in Illinois: 2013 Monitoring Report of the B.H. Consent DecreePDF
CFRC
This annual report provides information on the performance of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services with regard to the outcomes for children who are in or at risk of substitute care. This monitoring report, required as part of the B.H. Consent Decree, examines measures of child safety, family and placement stability, continuity, permanence, and child and family well-being. Detailed break-downs of each indicator by child gender, race, age, and geographic region are provided in the appendix.
Conditions of Children in or at Risk of Foster Care in Illinois: 2012 Monitoring Report of the B.H. Consent DecreePDF
CFRC
This annual report provides information on the performance of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services with regard to the outcomes for children who are in or at risk of substitute care. This monitoring report, required as part of the B.H. Consent Decree, examines measures of child safety, family and placement stability, continuity, permanence, and child and family well-being. Detailed break-downs of each indicator by child gender, race, age, and geographic region are provided in the appendix.
CFRC
Increasing the number of children placed in a single foster home is an understandable response to a shortage of foster care providers, but may stress both children and families, heightening the risk that children will need to be moved to a different foster home or will run away. In this report of an analysis of Illinois DCFS administrative data, the number of unrelated children in the home was significantly related to the risk of placement disruption and running away. However, the number of siblings living together in a foster home had no effect on the risk of disruption and actually was related to a lower risk of running away.
CFRC
This annual report provides information on the performance of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services with regard to the outcomes for children who are in or at risk of substitute care. This monitoring report, required as part of the B.H. Consent Decree, examines measures of child safety, family and placement stability, continuity, permanence, and child and family well-being. Detailed break-downs of each indicator by child gender, race, age, and geographic region are provided in the appendix.
CFRC
This annual report provides information on the performance of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services with regard to the outcomes for children who are in or at risk of substitute care. This monitoring report, required as part of the B.H. Consent Decree, examines measures of child safety, family and placement stability, continuity, permanence, and child and family well-being. Detailed break-downs of each indicator by child gender, race, age, and geographic region are provided in the appendix.
CFRC
This annual report provides information on the performance of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services with regard to the outcomes for children who are in or at risk of substitute care. This monitoring report, required as part of the B.H. Consent Decree, examines measures of child safety, family and placement stability, continuity, permanence, and child and family well-being. Detailed break-downs of each indicator by child gender, race, age, and geographic region are provided in the appendix.
CFRC
This annual report provides information on the performance of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services with regard to the outcomes for children who are in or at risk of substitute care. This monitoring report, required as part of the B.H. Consent Decree, examines measures of child safety, family and placement stability, continuity, permanence, and child and family well-being. Detailed break-downs of each indicator by child gender, race, age, and geographic region are provided in the appendix.
CFRC
This annual report provides information on the performance of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services with regard to the outcomes for children who are in or at risk of substitute care. This monitoring report, required as part of the B.H. Consent Decree, examines measures of child safety, family and placement stability, continuity, permanence, and child and family well-being. Detailed break-downs of each indicator by child gender, race, age, and geographic region are provided in the appendix.
CFRC
This annual report provides information on the performance of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services with regard to the outcomes for children who are in or at risk of substitute care. This monitoring report, required as part of the B.H. Consent Decree, examines measures of child safety, family and placement stability, continuity, permanence, and child and family well-being. Detailed break-downs of each indicator by child gender, race, age, and geographic region are provided in the appendix.
CFRC
This annual report provides information on the performance of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services with regard to the outcomes for children who are in or at risk of substitute care. This monitoring report, required as part of the B.H. Consent Decree, examines measures of child safety and permanence. Detailed break-downs of each indicator by race and geographic region are provided in the appendix.
CFRC
This annual report provides information on the performance of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services with regard to the outcomes for children who are in or at risk of substitute care. This monitoring report, required as part of the B.H. Consent Decree, examines measures of child safety and permanence. Detailed break-downs of each indicator by race and geographic region are provided in the appendix.
CFRC
This annual report provides information on the performance of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services with regard to the outcomes for children who are in or at risk of substitute care. This monitoring report, required as part of the B.H. Consent Decree, examines measures of child safety and permanence. Detailed break-downs of each indicator by race and geographic region are provided in the appendix.
CFRC
This annual report provides information on the performance of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services with regard to the outcomes for children who are in or at risk of substitute care. This monitoring report, required as part of the B.H. Consent Decree, examines measures of child safety and permanence. Detailed break-downs of each indicator by race and geographic region are provided in the appendix.
