Report finds problems in DHS
Updated: October 15, 2012
SPRINGFIELD -- A new report finds some serious problems with the Illinois Department of Human Services. It shows the agency did not properly look into the deaths of dozens of disabled adults.
These are cases where abuse is suspected. The report comes after months of investigating. It says as many as 20 deaths may not have been properly investigated and the people responsible may not have been held accountable.
This all started with an investigation by a southern Illinois newspaper earlier this year. It found DHS failed to investigate the deaths of 53 disabled adults.
That's what prompted the report by a state-appointed investigator. He found errors in more than a quarter of the death-related cases investigated by DHS. In some of those, state investigators failed to bring local law enforcement into the loop when a death may have been caused by abuse. In other cases, they just failed to consider important evidence.
The special investigator notified the police about all of the cases where he found errors. As part of the fallout from the investigations, the Inspector General for DHS resigned earlier this year. The governor issued an executive order stating immediate improvements must be made to the agency to avoid cases like this.
The report does not list the names of anyone involved, but offers recommendations to tighten up the program to make sure cases like these do not slip through the cracks again.
These are cases where abuse is suspected. The report comes after months of investigating. It says as many as 20 deaths may not have been properly investigated and the people responsible may not have been held accountable.
This all started with an investigation by a southern Illinois newspaper earlier this year. It found DHS failed to investigate the deaths of 53 disabled adults.
That's what prompted the report by a state-appointed investigator. He found errors in more than a quarter of the death-related cases investigated by DHS. In some of those, state investigators failed to bring local law enforcement into the loop when a death may have been caused by abuse. In other cases, they just failed to consider important evidence.
The special investigator notified the police about all of the cases where he found errors. As part of the fallout from the investigations, the Inspector General for DHS resigned earlier this year. The governor issued an executive order stating immediate improvements must be made to the agency to avoid cases like this.
The report does not list the names of anyone involved, but offers recommendations to tighten up the program to make sure cases like these do not slip through the cracks again.
