A new report released Tuesday by the Auditor General shows problems within the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) still persist despite several calls from Senate Republicans to overhaul and reform the broken agency.  

The audit, released on September 26th, revealed that the department repeatedly failed to immediately report evidence of abuse and/or accusations of abuse to state’s attorneys and other officials. The audit also specifically called out “misstatements” that it said were “both material and pervasive.” 

Despite numerous promises from the Governor to improve the situation at DCFS, the most recent findings show an increase in the number of areas where the agency was found to be noncompliant to a total of 33, with 23 findings repeated from previous audits. 

On top of numerous scathing audits and reports on DCFS, the agency and its director have also been found in contempt of court multiple times for failing to properly place children. So far, Governor Pritzker has stood by the embattled director of the agency.