Mary stares at the floor and shakes her head as lawyers andsocial workers discuss how her kids are getting along in foster careand what progress she's made toward getting them back.
The drug-addicted mother hasn't been showing up for counseling.She has missed scheduled visits with the children. Her last drugtest was positive. Two months after her kids were taken away, she'sstill on a waiting list to get into a treatment program.
This scene plays out dozens of times each day at Cook CountyJuvenile Court, where 80 percent of child abuse and neglect casesinvolve a parent with a drug or alcohol problem.
Yet they wait, 60 to 90 days, sometimes longer, to get into drugtreatment. That's enough time for kids to grow a shoe size. It'smore than enough time for a family to rip apart.
In a stinging critique of the state Department of Children andFamily Services released on Thursday, a House Judiciary subcommitteefound it "shocking" that only 301 rehabilitation spots in stateprograms are for mothers with children.
It is worse than shocking. It borders on negligence. Thefinding is a disservice to 39,154 Illinois children who were wards ofthe state as of March 31, including 29,115 in Cook County.
And while the report recommends doubling the number ofstate-subsidized drug rehabilitation beds to 4,500 - with all newslots reserved for parents with children in foster care - all shouldgo to Cook County, where the human toll of drugs is highest.
Yet Cook County needs more than just added resources from DCFS.Its children would be best served if DCFS were split in two, dividingCook County from the rest of the state. There are more Cook Countychildren in state custody today than there were statewide four yearsago.
Springfield has failed to manage the tide. Just last month,DCFS sent Cook County children to the farthest ends of the state justto find them foster homes.
While legislators consider what they can do to improve childwelfare, let them look at the numbers. Let them consider Cook Countyas a separate entity with unique problems. Maybe if the focus isspecific enough, the answers will be better and the actions moreeffective.
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