Illinois § 5

§ 5.

Findings. The General Assembly finds the following: (1) In 1994 the African-American Family Commission was created by Executive Order to assist the Department of Children and Family Services in developing and implementing programs and public policies that affect the State's child welfare system. (2) However, in 2004 the Commission was renamed and its role expanded to focus on the development of services and programs that aim to strengthen and preserve the social and economic well-being of African-American families. (3) This holistic approach to strengthening African-American families and communities, though necessary, has yet to adequately address the disproportionate number of African-American children in foster care. (4) According to a 2017 fact sheet published by Child Trends, in 2015 African-American children represented 50% of Illinois' foster care population even though they only make up 15% of the State's general child population. (5) In contrast, white children represented 38% of the foster care population in 2015 even though they make up 52% of the State's general child population. (6) Hispanic children are underrepresented in Illinois' foster care system as they only accounted for 9% of the foster care population in 2015 despite making up 24% of the general child population. (7) Unfortunately, the disproportionate number of African-American children in foster care is a national dilemma. (8) According to an April 13, 2020 report published by the Annie E. Casey Foundation's KIDS COUNT Data Center, even though "the share of children who are black and in foster care remains much smaller than it was nearly a decade ago . . . black children are still overrepresented among youth in foster care relative to the general population" as they account for 23% of all kids in foster care even though they only represent 14% of the total child population in the United States. (9) In light of these grim statistics, the General Assembly finds the need for a separate advisory commission that is exclusively focused on identifying those causes and factors that contribute to the overrepresentation of African-American children in Illinois' foster care system and the policy measures needed to safely reduce the number of African-American children in foster care and keep them with their families. (Source: P.A. 102-470, eff. 8-20-21.)