'Know Your Rights' resource connects Illinois residents with critical information during and after DCFS investigations

New guide provides information on legal rights, state processes, and available community resources

About one in three American children — and more than half of all Black children — will at some point be at the center of an investigation by child protective services. Although the vast majority — more than 80% — of these investigations will end with no action taken against the families involved, the investigation itself is intrusive, stigmatizing and harmful to the integrity and health of families.

A new "Illinois Know Your Rights Guide," produced by the National Center for Youth Law in partnership with local community members and advocates, aims to cut down on these harms by providing young people and families in Illinois with vital information and resources. 

The guide, available both as a downloadable resource and as a website, clarifies and describes what happens during an investigation by the Illinois Department of Children & Family Services (DCFS), the implications of such an investigation, a person’s rights during and after an investigation, why it's important to know one’s rights, timelines of investigations and potential court involvement, and definitions of commonly-used terms. Additionally, the guide includes a variety of resources in Cook County that can support individuals and families navigating these processes. 

"Our hope in creating these materials is to arm individuals with knowledge and resources to navigate the DCFS investigation process with confidence and understanding," said Tanya Gassenheimer, an attorney with the National Center for Youth Law and one of the guide's authors. "We strive to ensure that individuals, families, and communities facing DCFS investigations understand their rights, have access to legal guidance and supportive community-based resources, and achieve the outcomes they seek for themselves."

The information and materials included in the guide could have profound impacts to reduce or mitigate the harms of DCFS investigations on Illinois families and communities.

Most children who become involved with child protection agencies are grappling with the stressors of poverty, a lack of meaningful and accessible community-based services, and funding schemes that push them into the child welfare system in order to receive services. This is particularly problematic because the state disproportionately surveils certain neighborhoods and populations, so the system of reporting and investigating people relies on a faulty framework with a history of structural racism.

In 2023, more than 120,000 Illinois children were involved in a DCFS investigation. Black children were investigated at twice the rate of their presence in Illinois’ child population, and that over-representation extended to families separated before any judicial review, cases being screened into court, and children separated from their families at the conclusion of an investigation. Black families, meanwhile, were under-represented in being reunified.

Despite the devastating impacts of investigations and legal repercussions, particularly for Black families and communities, those being investigated are not provided attorneys or sufficient information about their rights or resources to support them and their families in navigating these processes. Our "Illinois Know Your Rights Guide" aims to help fill this critical gap.