CHICAGO — A new lawsuit says DCFS has failed to turn over information detailing how often kids wind-up sleeping in state offices.
It’s a problem first exposed by WGN Investigates last month. Images taken last year show kids sleeping in the DCFS office in Chicago’s South Loop.
Now the Cook County Public Guardian is suing the child welfare agency for failing to respond to public records requests after his office uncovered a case in which two teenagers were forced to sleep on a floor because no shelter space was available. One of the teens ran away the next morning.
A DCFS spokesperson told WGN earlier this month that it would be impossible to track how often kids fall asleep at an office while waiting for placement. But, the agency insists offices are not being used as makeshift shelters.