06-03-2025
Sangamon County Sheriff's office ending partnership with DCFS
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) — The Sangamon County Sheriff's Office has stopped its contract with a state department.
Sangamon County officials confirmed with WCIA Thursday they are no longer having two deputies assist the Department of Children and Family Services full-time.
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The decision to discontinue the state agency's contract was made based on operational need at the Sheriff's Department, Sheriff Paula Crouch said in a statement to WCIA.
'Based on current staffing levels, I felt it was necessary to discontinue the DCFS contract and utilize those two deputies to assist with day-to-day operations within Sangamon County,' the sheriff said.
Crouch emphasized that DCFS case workers can still call dispatch to get an officer or deputy for visits they think think will have a risk to safety in any jurisdiction in the state. Both offices have discussed deputies assisting 'on a part-time basis.'
In Jan. 2022, DCFS case worker Deidre Silas was stabbed and killed during a house visit in Thayer. Benjamin Reed pleaded insanity, and a judge ruled him guilty but mentally ill. He was sentenced to life in prison.
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A DCFS spokesperson gave the following statement on the end of their partnership:
'Illinois DCFS appreciates the support that the Sangamon County Sheriff's Office has provided to the agency in the interest of our shared goals of child safety and well-being. DCFS and the Sherriff's Office are currently in discussions about ways in which we can continue to support each other.'
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