CHICAGO, IL – Illinois’ Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) will undergo an operations study to better its policies and services, including how administrators investigate and respond to child abuse and neglect allegations.
The study will be led by the Center for Innovation in Population Health (IPH Center) at the University of Kentucky with the support from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Northwestern University.
A project team will gather information on issues facing the child welfare system in Illinois through a series of programs ―Precision Analytics, Safe Systems and Workforce Development. During the study, an advisory board of 13 members will show input and leadership to the project team about DCFS operations as they work to deliver a final report.
The study will take course over a two-year period with recommendations sent to DCFS throughout, so immediate action can be taken where needed.
The study comes alongside the release of The Illinois Child Welfare Insights Tool, a new online data dashboard available to the public with near real-time information used by DCFS administrators.
Data from the last 12 months shows how many DCFS reports have been taken, the statistics of what children and families experience while receiving services and percentages by county of healthcare administered to children and living situation insights.
This is the first time the public, including child welfare advocates and the families receiving services, have had online access to this real-time data.
How Big of a Problem is Child Abuse and Neglect in the United States?
Child abuse and neglect are serious public health problems and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). At least 1 in 7 children have experience child abuse or neglect in the past year in the U.S. This is likely an underestimate because many cases go unreported. In 2020, 1,750 children died of abuse and neglect in America.
Experiencing poverty can place a lot of stress on families, which may increase the risk for child abuse and neglect. Rates of child abuse and neglect are 5 times higher for children in families with low socioeconomic status.
In the U.S., the total lifetime economic burden associated with child abuse and neglect was nearly $592 billion in 2018. This economic burden rivals the cost of other high-profile public health problems, including heart disease and diabetes.
What Are the Consequences?
Children who are abused and neglected may suffer immediate physical injuries such as cuts, bruises or broken bones. They may also have emotional and psychological problems, such as anxiety or posttraumatic stress.
Over the long term, children who are abused or neglected are also at increased risk for experiencing future violence victimization and perpetration, substance abuse, sexually transmitted infections, delayed brain development, lower educational attainment and limited employment opportunities.
Chronic abuse may result in toxic stress, which can change brain development and increase the risk for problems like posttraumatic stress disorder and learning, attention and memory difficulties.
How to Prevent Abuse and Neglect
Certain factors may increase or decrease the risk of perpetrating or experiencing child abuse and neglect. To prevent child abuse and neglect violence, we must understand and address the factors that put people at risk for or protect them from violence. The CDC developed a Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Resource for Actionto help communities use the best available evidence to prevent child abuse and neglect. This resource can impact individual behaviors and relationships, family, community and societal factors that influence risk and protective factors for child abuse and neglect.
Different types of violence are connected and often share root causes. Child abuse and neglect are linked to other forms of violence through shared risk and protective factors. Addressing and preventing one form of violence may have an impact on preventing other forms of violence.
