The Department of Children and Family Services has hired 326 full-time workers since July, which increases their staff to 3,589. The agency has been under fire after several high-profile child death cases. DCFS Secretary Terri Ricks said while she’s pleased, they still want and need more employees.
“We cannot be happier with the fact that people are showing up and then they want to work at DCFS. They want to be part of the solution,” said Ricks.
DCFS has held 12 statewide hiring fairs to increase staffing of the Child Welfare Division. Ricks said people feel called to take on what’s very often a difficult job.
“They showed up, they come from lots of different backgrounds, and even some who’ve returned to DCFS service from having worked here in the past,” said Ricks.
Ricks said as they continue to hire more employees and the agency is also taking steps to retain existing employees with a bump in pay.