SPRINGFIELD — The head of Illinois’ embattled child welfare agency announced Wednesday that he will be stepping down at the end of the year.

Marc Smith was appointed to director of the state’s Department of Children and Family Services by Gov. J.B. Pritzker shortly after the governor took office in 2019. The announcement of Smith’s impending departure comes a little more than a week after the state’s auditor general issued a scathing report on the agency that among other things cited significant delays in reporting abuse and neglect to local prosecutors, other state agencies and to officials at children’s schools.

In a video town hall to staffers Wednesday morning, Smith declared that DCFS is “the premier child welfare agency in the country, no doubt” and offered words of encouragement to its employees.

“We are running and working at the highest level I believe that this agency has ever worked at,” he said during the town hall. “Do not let anybody take that away from you because I’m sure as hell not letting them take it away from me.”

Smith was a frequent target of Republicans in the Illinois General Assembly who accused him of poor management, criticism that extended to Pritzker and how he runs state agencies under his control.

He also was held in contempt of court a number of ties last year for violating court orders to find children appropriate placements in a timely manner. Those orders were later vacated.

The court actions that led to the orders were brought by Cook County Public Guardian Charles Golbert, who on Wednesday said Smith leaves “a mixed legacy” after 4 1/2 years leading the agency.

Golbert gave Smith credit for bringing “much needed consistency in leadership” following a decade-long revolving door of agency directors — Smith was the 15th DCFS director in 20 years — and for navigating DCFS through the COVID-19 pandemic.

But Golbert criticized Smith for failing to “substantially expand desperately needed placement capacity” despite an increase in state resources.

“As a result, under Smith’s watch, we started to see children sleeping on the hard, cold floors of offices instead of in a warm, comfortable bed in an appropriate placement for the first time since the 1990s,” Golbert said.

Golbert also said dozens of children in DCFS care “remain incarcerated in juvenile jails for weeks and months after a judge has ordered them released to their guardian because DCFS has nowhere to place them.”

“This causes profound, irreversible damage to children and must be addressed with a sense of urgency,” Golbert said.

DCFS for more than three decades has operated under federal court oversight due to litigation from the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois calling for reform in the child welfare system. The department made slow but steady progress in the 1990s, but then entered an era of massive turnover and controversy.

“It is critical that the Department keep its focus on meeting its commitments under the consent decree — including recent implementation plans,” said Heidi Dalenberg, the interim legal director for the ACLU of Illinois. “Children under their care need and deserve the individualized services and care that will allow them to flows and be safe.”

Smith received an 8% raise in January through legislation passed by the lame-duck legislature that gave increases to statewide elected officials, agency heads and lawmakers, and another 5% hike in July, boosting his salary to $210,000 per year.

In his bid for reelection last year, Pritzker defended Smith and noted the revolving door in DCFS leadership.

“That’s just a way of scapegoating somebody for problems that actually needed to be fixed within the agency,” Pritzker said about a month before easily winning a second term.

Republican state Sens. Steve McClure, of Springfield, and Sally Turner, of Beason, indicated in a joint statement on Wednesday that the problems at DCFS “go much deeper” than Smith’s leadership.

“We hope the Governor takes this opportunity to finally fix the issues that plague DCFS and have led to heartbreaking stories of children waiting months for placements, or those who tragically have lost their lives,” according to the statement. “Governor Pritzker needs to undertake a comprehensive review of agency operations, prioritizing solutions that protect children who cannot protect themselves.”

House Republican Leader Tony McCombie who has worked with Democratic lawmakers on matters that promote the safety of DCFS workers, reacted to Smith’s announcement by saying “DCFS is undeniably a dysfunctional agency in our state, and immediate change is critically necessary.”

“As children in our care and agency workers continue to be harmed or worse, the House Republican caucus will strongly advocate for common-sense proposals to structurally reform the functions of the agency,” said McCombie, of Savanna. “It is our duty to protect children in state’s care.”

Democrats also agreed that the problems at DCFS are longstanding and go beyond Smith.

“I will be following the transition really closely,” said state Sen. Julie Morrison, a Lake Forest Democrat who has been critical of DCFS. “I believe that the agency needs to be reorganized as opposed to just having a new director.”

Petrella reported and Tribune reporter Christy Gutowski contributed from Chicago.

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