Prairie State Wire

Republican senators on the Senate Executive Appointments Committee interviewed Marc Smith before his confirmation as secretary of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS).

While Sens. Jason Plummer (R-Vandalia) and Steve McClure (R-Jacksonville) sought clarification on a few matters concerning DCFS, Sen. Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro) signified her intent to approve him.

“We’ve been talking about abuse and neglect, death, terrible things—what are metrics we can watch for these types of issues?” Plummer asked.

Smith explained that the department’s priority is safety. He said the department tracks permanency and has seen a significant uptick in children returning to their parents.

“Any explanation as to why abuse cases are down?” McClure asked. “Are they just not being reported?

The DCFS head said that they’ve seen a drop in the numbers but they continue to work with different organizations to help with determining cases of neglect.

Bryant seemed impressed with Smith's work.

“I was at a meeting with the director, maybe the first two or three days you were in office, and you laid out a lot of the changes you want to make,” Bryant said to Smith. “I think it’s been a struggle maybe with staffing and funding as well, but I think you’ve done a phenomenal job in putting the plan that you’ve envisioned in place as best as you can. I look forward to voting for your confirmation.”

He was appointed by Pritzker as acting director of DCFS in 2019.

Smith’s appointment was later confirmed.