Illinois Department of Children and Family Services
FFY 2011 Annual Progress and Services Report
370
Marklund Children’s Home Association: Illinois Respite Coalition (IRC)
The IRC realize the importance of involving parents in leadership roles since in the past
year two parents served on the IRC Board and had strong voices and were very active in
the coalition’s efforts. One of the parents on the board was one of the most important
people involved in interviewing candidates for the Statewide Respite Coordinator
position. Also one of the parents resigned from the IRC Board to become the Lifespan
Respite Coordinator for the Lifespan Respite Grant administered through the
Department of Aging in which the IRC is a collaborative partner with very specific
roles and responsibilities to the Life Span Respite Grant. The coalition recognizes the
importance of the parents’ voice as parents are recruited frequently and are utilized to
advocate to legislators about the needs for respite in Illinois communities.
The Department has also implemented the "Partnering with Parents" initiative. This
initiative provides parents with an opportunity to have direct influence over how the
child welfare system works with parents. Through this initiative, parents may
participate in informational presentations about DCFS programs, policies and resources
within their communities. The "Partnering with Parents" initiative is for all parents who
have been, or who currently are being served by the Illinois child welfare system. The
"Partnering with Parents" initiative supports regional Parent Councils, Parent
Information Fairs, Annual Parent Summits and Resource links.
6) Creating and improving the use of multidisciplinary teams and interagency protocols
to enhance investigations; and improving legal preparation, including procedures for
appealing and responding to appeals of substantiated reports of abuse and neglect for
the appointment of an individual appointed to represent a child in judicial
proceedings (section 106 (a) (2)).
The Department continues to interact with a variety of stakeholders to determine how best
to meet the changing needs of the child welfare communities in Illinois. In establishing
multidisciplinary teams, DCFS has involved members from the public who are
knowledgeable in child abuse and neglect prevention, intervention and research. The over
arching goals of the multidisciplinary teams are to provide a means to facilitate the pooling
of information and to provide consistency in approaches and strategies for the prevention of
child abuse cases. These multidisciplinary teams provide a means for the Department and
the citizens of Illinois to gain a statewide commitment to preventing child abuse through
working together. The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services continues to
utilize the Illinois Citizen Review Panels (CRP) that were established based upon federal
requirements pursuant to section 106 (c) of the Federal Child Abuse Prevention and
Treatment Act. The panels examine the policies and procedures of state and local child
protection agencies. The panels are as follows:
The Children’s Justice and Task Force
The Statewide Citizen’s Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect (SCAN)
The Child Death Review Team (CDRT) Executive Council
