Most people are aware of the foster care system in Illinois. Foster care exists because the home life for certain children may be dangerous to their physical, mental and/or emotional well-being.
When children’s birth parents or legal guardians are not able to adequately care for them, or they are in danger, the children are removed by social services and placed with foster parents.
Foster parents must be at least 21 years old. They must pass background checks and complete training. They must also be financially stable.
Sadly, the foster parents who are entrusted to provide a safe and stable home for the foster children sometimes fail and are abusive or neglectful.
What are some examples of social services abuse?
Physical abuse: Hitting, kicking or shaking the child, throwing objects at the child, excessive spanking/corporal punishment.
Mental/emotional abuse: Isolating the child, belittling or making disparaging comments to the child, withholding love, being highly critical.
Sexual abuse: Fondling, sexual assault, exposing child to sexual conversations or pornography, indecent exposure.
What are some examples of social services neglect?
Physical neglect: Not providing reasonable food, water or shelter. Not supervising the child adequately and/or leaving the child alone.
Medical neglect: Failure to get the child medical care when needed. Not following doctors orders or failure to give prescribed medication. Neglecting the child’s dental needs.
Mental/emotional neglect: Similar to the examples of abuse listed above. Not fulfilling the child’s need for parental love, support and affirmation.
Education neglect: Not registering the child for school or allowing the child to attend.
How do these sad and traumatizing situations happen?
Social services agencies are often overworked. The case workers may have more files than they can handle. That can lead to poor decision making and bad oversight.
When children are abused and neglected, it is often because the agency did not:
• Complete the necessary background checks.
• Adequately monitor the homes and foster families.
• Investigate reports of abuse or neglect.
• Act when there was evidence of abuse or neglect.
• Consider the families financial or physical challenges when making placements.
How can an attorney help in these situations?
We get involved in bringing lawsuits when children suffer major injuries such as sexual abuse, severe physical harm or even death in some cases. In other words, not every example of abuse listed is a case.
To get justice, an attorney would first complete an investigation of the situation to determine if the social services agency was at fault. If the agency is at fault, filing a lawsuit would be the likely next step. Going after the abusers themselves is a challenge as they usually don’t have any money. So we sue the social services agency for their negligent placement and/or supervision.
If you’d like to speak to an attorney about a possible case, we are happy to provide a free consultation. Note that there are time limits for bringing a lawsuit, so time is of the essence. Call us any time at 312-346-5320.