Two Illinois couples say state child welfare workers showed up within hours of delivery and took their newborns, leaving stunned parents trying to claw their way through the juvenile court system to get their babies back. They blame confusing court “stipulations” they signed years earlier, along with medical allegations that later looked shaky, and say they never understood that paperwork could be used to separate them from their children. In Springfield, lawmakers have now filed a bill that would force clearer waivers and itemized notices for parents caught up in juvenile cases.
Lakeith and Mykel Ray say that after they welcomed a son on Jan. 3, DCFS caseworkers arrived at the hospital. When the couple refused to hand the infant over, an officer from the Peru Police Department took the child from Mykel’s arms, the parents told CBS Chicago. Mykel says she was blocked from breastfeeding or bonding while the baby was in state custody. Another couple, identified as Nita and Earl, told the same outlet that their newborn was taken from a Harvey hospital last August after an initial drug concern that later testing did not confirm. Both couples say old case stipulations and murky paperwork were central to DCFS’s decision to remove their children.
Bill Would Force Clearer, Itemized Stipulations
State Rep. Jed Davis has filed House Bill 5254, which would require that any parental stipulation be broken out into separate, numbered line items that parents must initial and sign, along with a plain-language section that explains the legal effect, according to the bill summary on LegiScan. The proposal also spells out rules for waiving temporary custody or shelter-care hearings and states that it does not create a private cause of action or change evidentiary standards. Supporters say the goal is to keep parents from unknowingly giving up rights that can later be used to justify taking their children.
Agency Already Under Scrutiny
The push for clearer rules comes as DCFS is already under broader fire for failing to produce required incident-specific reports after child deaths and other serious cases, a problem highlighted by the Illinois Answers Project and other local reporting. Coverage by ABC7 Chicago and the Chicago Sun-Times has also detailed lawsuits and family accounts that accuse the agency of wrongful removals and of breakdowns in communication between hospitals and caseworkers. Advocates argue that those patterns make procedural safeguards, including crystal-clear stipulations, especially urgent so that hospitals and courts are not acting on paperwork parents never truly understood.
Parents And Advocates Push For Change…