Illinois Department of Children and Family Services' top officials declined to be interviewed for this series.
Bryan Samuels, who was the director from 2003 until his resignation on Friday, declined repeated requests for an interview. No reason was given for Samuels' resignation. The News-Democrat sent written questions to Kendall Marlowe, deputy chief of communications, who declined to talk about specific cases.
Marlowe responded to two questions and did not answer five others. He also issued this statement:
"Through the Office of the Inspector General, death investigations and the (regional) Child Death Review Teams, DCFS examines each of these cases using a process that has been demonstrated over time to work.
"Both of these efforts use independent experts to investigate the department's performance in these cases and continually improve practices, through a process that is purposefully transparent and accountable to the public."
In response to a question about whether DCFS has a "zero tolerance" policy concerning child deaths, Marlowe said: "Refer to Procedures 300 on website." This is a lengthy section outlining how child abuse investigations are to be conducted.
A question about the effectiveness of worker training drew this response:
"The DCFS Office of Training and Development continually evaluates, revises and improves training provided to our employees. The department requires and provides core training for all caseworkers and investigators, as well as specialized education for specific positions, followed by ongoing training throughout an employee's service to the department."
Marlowe declined to answer these questions:
• Are DCFS regional offices understaffed?
• Are top DCFS officials aware of employees who have been cited for discipline in more than one child death case? How many are there? What are their names?
• Between 2000 and the present, how many recommendations for discipline were appealed through the employees' union or the Illinois Civil Service Commission? How many workers won their cases and were not disciplined?
• What is the maximum safe caseload for a child protection investigator? Do investigators in Southwestern Illinois have caseloads that exceed an accepted safe limit?
• Do child protection investigators have skills comparable to police?
