State representative Jed Davis (R-75) is demanding immediate and sweeping action and accountability after uncovering a systemic failure inside the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS): Interns — uncertified and unqualified under Illinois law — have been allowed to investigate families, leading to the removal of children from their homes.
“This collapse of lawful procedure isn’t a clerical error — it’s a moral failure and legal disaster,” said Rep. Davis. “DCFS is conducting formal child abuse investigations with uncertified interns, despite laws requiring certification before an investigator touches a case. Families are paying the price.”
Illinois statute leaves no room for differing interpretation. The Child Protective Investigator and Child Welfare Specialist Certification Act of 1987 (225 ILCS 420/), along with (20 ILCS 505/21(d)), requires certification before employment in any official investigative capacity. These safeguards exist to protect children, preserve family rights, and ensure only trained, legally certified professionals handle life-altering decisions.
“DCFS does not have the power to rewrite law for convenience,” Davis continued. “For years, the agency has allowed uncertified interns to conduct and carry out abuse and neglect investigations, file legal findings, and initiate family separations. This disregard for the law is both dangerous and unacceptable.”
Internal records and past agency statements confirm the certification requirement. In a 2009 federal review, DCFS acknowledged the mandate for all child protective investigators to be certified before employment begins. The law remains unchanged — only DCFS’s decision to ignore it has shifted.
“Picture your own family under investigation,” Davis said. “Picture your child removed — not by a trained, certified professional, but by an intern who never met the legal standard. This abuse of authority has inflicted trauma on countless families and undermined trust in our child protection system.”
Davis is calling on the Pritzker administration to act immediately:
•Stop using uncertified interns in official investigative roles.
•Review every case involving intern-led investigations and vacate or reinvestigate findings issued outside the law.
•Hold DCFS leadership accountable for these ongoing violations of Illinois statute and parents’ rights.
•Restore lawful, transparent practices across the agency.
In addition to demanding immediate corrective action, Rep. Davis is preparing multiple legislative solutions to help end these abuses and restore trust. One proposal creates an online verification system that allows parents and residents to instantly confirm the photo, identity, official position, and certification status of any DCFS employee or investigator.
“If someone knocks on your door claiming authority to investigate your family, you should know right then if they’re legally certified — no hiding, no guessing, no exceptions,” Davis said. “This misuse of interns is more than a policy issue — it’s a violation of rights, a threat to the next generation, and a betrayal of trust. Families across Illinois deserve an agency honoring the law, not one rewriting it. I will pursue every legal and legislative remedy to ensure this practice ends now.”
—Office of State representative Jed Davis