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State DCFS Director Resigns

State of Illinois

The head of Illinois' child welfare system resigned Friday afternoon.

A press release from the governor’s office says Richard Calica has been diagnosed with cancer. Calica became director of the Department of Children and Family Services two years ago following a rapid succession of directors. In a release from the governor’s office, Pat Quinn says Calica has taken DCFS in the right direction. Quinn credits Calica for adding 138 investigators to check in on families and drastically reducing caseloads for workers.

DCFS Chief of Staff Denise Gonzales will become acting director of the department. Calica’s resignation comes in the wake of recent media reports on the child welfare system including an investigation that showed reported child deaths resulting from abuse and neglect are up - even after the department had investigated the families. The number of deaths linked to child abuse may hit an all-time high in Illinois. A recent report from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services showed that credible evidence of abuse or neglect was discovered in the deaths of 94 children around the state last year. With some 40-cases  still under investigation and awaiting an official ruling, Illinois is likely to surpass the previous yearly high of 102 deaths, set in 1989. The governor’s office indicated Calica’s resignation had nothing to do with the results of that investigation.

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