DCFS looks to NIU for help in assessing children

by Tom Parisi

Under a new partnership with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, NIU will help the agency provide necessary services to abused and neglected children in state custody.

NIU is one of several Illinois universities and hospitals that will play key roles in the new “Integrated Assessment Program,” a major reform effort that aims to provide intensive mental health assessments of children entering the state’s child welfare protection system and to develop long-term service plans.

“This program emphasizes prevention and early identification of emotional or behavioral problems,” said Charles Miller, chair of the NIU Department of Psychology and project director for the NIU portion of the program.

NIU will receive $1.2 million over the next year to launch the initiative in the DCFS northern region, which covers the top portion of the state, excluding Cook County. Miller will use the funds to hire a program coordinator and team of eight clinical psychologists and licensed clinical social workers who will conduct the assessments.

“The clinical screenings will be done within the first 45 days of placement,” Miller said. “The assessments should allow the state to better coordinate medical and behavioral health services for each child. In the long run, this could help avoid problems that otherwise might crop up during a placement.”

About 25,000 children are in Illinois’ child-welfare system. During an Oct. 8 press conference, DCFS announced the Integrated Assessment Program along with several other major reforms designed to streamline services and provide a “lifetime approach” to child welfare.

“For too long, child welfare systems have treated children coming into care as if their stays would be short,” DCFS Director Bryan Samuels said. “Research shows, however, that the average child in Illinois remains in care for 4.5 years. We must work to move a child forward or we risk missing critical developmental opportunities – years that can never be regained.”

NIU has been working with DCFS to help the agency in other areas as well.

The state agency, for example, turned to NIU in 1997 for a partner to help its young clients with their school lives, resulting in the launch of the NIU Center for Child Welfare and Education (housed in the College of Education).

Sharon Freagon, a professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning, directs the NIU center, which works to ensure academic success and social competence for every child in the state foster care system.

11-1-04