Senate confirms new leader for DCFS

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WICS/WRSP) — The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) has a new director.

After over two years with the title of Acting Director, Marc Smith was confirmed by the Illinois Senate Tuesday.

Over the past few decades, the director position has felt like a revolving door.

Since DCFS was founded, directors are only in the position for an average of two years.

Smith became the 29th director since the establishment of DCFS in 1964.

Smith was appointed on April 15, 2019.

Once a director is appointed, lawmakers have 60 session days to hold confirmation hearings and make their decision about the job.

We asked Sen. Laura Murphy, the chair of the Senate Executive Appointments Committee, why it took so long to confirm Smith to be the full director.

"Because of the pandemic, we did not meet, so a lot of the appointments have been pushed back due to not having 60 calendar days," Murphy said.

Advocates say it’s the children in our foster system who suffer from all this turnover, so they’d like to finally see some consistency in the director position.

Lawmakers say DCFS is an agency that needs strong leadership and stability, and they’re hoping Smith provides that.

Before joining DCFS, Smith worked for one of the largest child welfare not-for-profits in the state.

He has a social work background.

The first director, Donald Brieland, served for one year.

The longest serving director is Jesse McDonald. He held the position for almost nine years.

The shortest serving director, Lise Spacapan, held the position for just 10 days.

In the last 10 years, the department has seen 13 directors, including Smith, which is an average of less than a year per director.