Illinois' troubled child welfare agency must outline a detailed plan to make improvements at residential treatment centers and in other areas by February 2016 under a federal court agreement.
Judge Jorge Alonso has entered an agreed order that's part of a years-old consent decree aimed addressing poor management at the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. Earlier this year, the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois sued over ``dangerously inadequate'' care. Court-appointed experts were dispatched. They detailed claims in a scathing report, including ``over-bureaucratization.''
The head of DCFS accepted the report and agreed to implement changes.
The agency in February must provide a plan draft that the ACLU will review. A final copy is due in court on Feb. 23.
Meanwhile, the court-appointed experts will continue their work.