Prairie State Wire

Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, Statewide Parent Advisory Council met April 23.

Here are the minutes provided by the council:

Present- Parents – Theresa Leggins, Cassandra Williams, Rev. Lenoir, Jenni Fofar, Caitlin Hubbard, Shawnise Newton, Rachael Dorner, Le`olani Posten, Annmarie Murray, Arthur Anderson, Kelly Jones, Melissa Reed

Non-Parent Members – Amy Chase, Janelle Pulcher, Kristian Wanland, Rodolfo Rodriguez

Support & Other Staff – Director Heidi Mueller, Associate Deputy Michelle Grove, Associate Deputy Kara Hamilton, Kim Willis, Ray Gates, Luvenia Sims, Norma Machay, John Holtkamp, Kristie Schneller, Tahney Fletcher, Samantha Willeford, Ginger Smith, Tiffany Pierson Conners

Roll Call – Co-chair Cassandra called the roll, parent members first, then other members.

Court Improvement Committee – Kristie Schneller, of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, explained her work with a committee consisting of parents, judges, attorneys, and others. It is designed to recommend and implement improvements in court access and processes, in order to make court easier to access and more understandable for the citizens involved in it. They wish to develop and distribute videos for parents and others who use the courts, such that by watching the videos, court users will become more attuned with how the courts work and what to expect, etc.

Kristie then showed a power point presentation about the federally funded Court Improvement Project. She explained the various major moving parts and how they work together to make the court system more accessible to and understandable by the people who use it. Kristie pointed out that two parents from this council are actively participating in this work.

Nominating Committee – Cassandra pointed out that this committee is required by SPAC’s bylaws, in order to make sure the Council remains fully staffed. She deferred a status report until a future meeting.

Minutes of 3/26/24 – Rev. LeNoir noted that the minutes had been distributed to all. He asked if there was any discussion or corrections. Hearing none, he moved to accept the minutes as presented. There was no discussion. Ms. Leggins gave the second. There was no discussion. The motion passed unanimously.

PWP Local Chapter Reports

Cook – Noting that Javonna Smith was absent, Rev. LeNoir asked if anyone was able to report on the Cook County Chapter’s meeting. Luvenia Sims reported that their most recent meeting featured a representative who explained Norman Funds and how they may be utilized to support child welfare service recipients. The group also discussed possible strategies for increasing their membership.

Cook County PWP Chapter Chair Mr. Anderson said he has Norman flyers that he will send to anyone who needs one. He thanked Luvenia Sims and Quentin Brackenridge for their support of the Cook County PWP Chapter.

Springfield – Cassandra said the chapter met this month and they heard a presentation about child abuse neglect investigations. The parents who attended learned significant information about investigations. Next month they will have a presentation about advocacy.

Rockford – Rachael said the number of parents in attendance is dropping. She is spreading the word to try and get more parents to attend. Luvenia said she met with the program director there and will invite parents from other groups to attend. The mid-day meeting time may be problematic for some parents.

Southern Region – No report.

DCFS Director Heidi Mueller – Rev. LeNoir welcomed Director Mueller. He also invited her to return in the future. Then he gave her the floor.

Director Mueller said she is eager and excited by her new role, adding she is blown away by the great reception and acceptance demonstrated by staff, families, and youth at DCFS. Then, she explained her previous experience as Director of the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice. As Director there, she led a transformation to a system that partners with youth and their families to strengthen families.

At DCFS, she is working at all levels to determine how we want our system to look and what we want service recipients to experience. This work is coupled with work at all levels to determine a clear mission and how we go about achieving that mission.

Director Mueller explained how the SAFE Model and Illinois Connect, along with our increased funding, will help move us forward. We will be paying attention to the experience of service recipients like parents, youth, and others, in order to build on a framework of humanity, dignity, and respect. Our care goal is to meaningfully place resources into supporting intact families and reunifying families with placement cases. Director said she looks forward to attending future SPAC meetings and learning how we can better serve families.

Co-Chair Rev. LeNoir briefly explained SPAC’s work to improve practice with regard to visitation, noting that early and frequent visitation is a key factor in reunification. He asked the Director for her feelings about visitation.

Director Mueller said visitation is critically important and must be prioritized. We need to continue to increase staffing and enhance staff training about visitation. That should be coupled with rigorous follow-up backed and driven by data. All parties should be held accountable.

Rev. LeNoir said that dignity and respect are paramount. Director Mueller agreed, adding that we must set the tone and expectations for that at the top. The leadership team has been charged with articulating our values and then making sure our work is driven by those values. This will lead to culture change. She added that our vision and values will be our North Star.

Rev. LeNoir then explained the draft Parents’ Bill of Rights, and he asked Ray to give a brief history. Director Mueller then showed the bill of rights on her screen for all to see. Rev. LeNoir mentioned his conversations with members of the General Assembly about sponsoring a bill to codify the Parents’ Bill of Rights into law. Director Mueller said she supports such an approach, adding that the best time for that might be the spring session next year. Director said she will work with SPAC to advance this legislation. Rev. LeNoir asked if we may send the draft bill of rights to DCFS Legal for review, and Director Mueller said that would be OK. Ray said he will send the draft to Marjorie Moore.

Director Mueller said she had to leave the meeting because she was already late for her next meeting. She said she is looking forward to continuing conversations about how we engage parents as real partners in our child welfare work, reiterating that she would love to come back for future meetings with SPAC.

Visitation Workgroup – Cassandra said that Michelle Moreno is unable to make this meeting and she asked Cassandra to give a brief update on the status of the visitation committee’s work. Cassandra then read an update about the status of the tracking tool that is being designed to track visitation.

Topics for the SPAC Meeting on May 28 – Ray announced that, per SPAC’s request, he has scheduled Permanency Deputy Suzanne Isenberg-Chhabra to attend and address the council. In addition, Michelle Moreno will give a status report on visitation, and Melissa Box will speak about how to include parents in some work she is leading to enhance work with kinship caregivers. Ray asked all to once again be prepared to meet until 5:30.

Adjournment – When there was no other discussion, Rev. LeNoir made a motion to adjourn. Mr. Anderson gave the second. There was no discussion, and approval was unanimous. The meeting adjourned at 5:09 pm.

https://dcfs.illinois.gov/content/dam/soi/en/web/dcfs/documents/about-us/impact-public-policy/documents/spac/spac-minutes-042324.pdf