Smith out, Mueller in as new director of DCFS
Gov. JB Pritzker selected a new director of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services on Wednesday, pending approval from the state Senate.
Effective Feb. 1, Heidi Mueller will take over from Marc D. Smith who announced in October he would be stepping down effective Dec. 31. Mueller has served as director of the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice, where Robert Vickery, currently deputy director of programs at DJJ, will serve as interim director of the agency.
"Heidi's care and compassion for the most at-risk young people in our state and her exceptional leadership are hallmarks of her career, and I know that her passion and expertise will be a significant asset as we continue to improve our state's child welfare system," Pritzker said in a statement.
More: Illinois DCFS chief to resign from the embattled child welfare agency
Mueller will be the 15th director to head DCFS in the past two decades.
“As someone who has devoted my career to supporting children and families, I am honored and humbled to be entrusted by Governor Pritzker with the responsibility of leading DCFS,” Mueller stated in a news release.
Mueller has served as director of DJJ since 2016, during which she created the 21st Century Illinois Transformation Plan emphasizing better conditions for incarcerated youth. She also previously served as the director of the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission.
Smith leaves the department after being in contempt of court on several occasions for improper placement of children in the agency's care. Rates of abuse and neglect complaints and vacancy rates among investigators also grew under his tenure along with several children who died in the agency’s care.
Leading the agency since 2019, critics had called for Smith’s ouster amid legislative hearings, contempt citations, the killing of a child protection investigator, and the highest number of children who died after contact with the agency in 20 years.
Last month, DCFS and its watchdog released two reports detailing failures of the agency to properly place children in appropriate settings and how failures to follow the law and the department's own policies compromised child safety.
DCFS released its annual “Youth in Care Awaiting Placement Report” to the General Assembly on Friday. The report showed 1,009 state wards were in emergency placements for more than 30 days, housed in psychiatric units beyond medical necessity, stayed in hospital emergency rooms for more than 24 hours, held in juvenile detention facilities after their scheduled release dates, or placed in out-of-state treatment facilities.
In 330 cases, involving 296 children, DCFS forced children in state care, some as young as four years old, to remain in a locked psychiatric hospital after they were cleared for discharge. The report stated that more than 40 percent of these children were held in locked psychiatric hospitals for more than three months.
It's also been nearly two years to date since the 2022 slaying of DCFS case worker Deidre Sillas, of Springfield. Benjamin H. Reed, 34, is accused of killing her at his home in the 300 block of West Elm Street, in Thayer.
Reed was scheduled to go to trial for first-degree murder on Jan. 8 in Sangamon County Circuit Court but the state's attorney's office requested a delay to wait on Reed's mental health records subpoenaed from Springfield-area hospitals and institutions. His new trial date is Jan. 29.
Capitol News Illinois contributed to this report.
Contact Patrick M. Keck: 312-549-9340, pkeck@gannett.com, twitter.com/@pkeckreporter.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: New director of DCFS selected by Pritzker
