McHenry County sheriff will place deputy with DCFS to aid case workers, children, families

The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office will partner with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services to place a deputy in the Woodstock DCFS office for three years.

The partnership was approved in an unanimous consent-agenda vote without discussion by the McHenry County Board on Tuesday.

The deputy will be at the DCFS office starting Oct. 1 and remain there until June 30, 2028, according to the intergovernmental agreement. If all goes well, the partnership has the potential to be extended and even expanded, Sheriff Robb Tadelman said.

The special unit, comprised of a sheriff’s deputy and a child protection specialist staff member, aims to “enhance safety and protocols and measures for CPS when conducting home visits,” according to the agreement. Home visits include safety assessments and well-being checks for families who are under DCFS supervision and can include the removal of children from families and placing them into protective custody.

The deputy will be available at the office from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. five days a week, according to the agreement.

DCFS will reimburse the sheriff’s office for salary, benefits and equipment costs at a rate of $150,629.40 for the first year, $206,596.02 for the second year and $210,496.24 for the third year. The salary rate for the deputy is set at about $120,000 for the first year, $123,600 for the second year and $127,300 for the third year, according to county documents.

The partnership was touted by Tadelman in his recent announcement that he will run for a second term.

“This collaboration will help enhance child protection investigations and ensure vulnerable children receive the support and safety they deserve,” Tadelman said in a statement announcing his candidacy.

The sheriff said he hopes that the two agencies working directly together will “fill the gap” in communications that can happen between the agencies.

“We sometimes get these reports days later, when we should have been out there on the front end of it,” he said. “So, they recognized that there was an issue.”

DCFS started working with law enforcement agencies in Illinois in 2022, DCFS Communications Director Heather Tarczan said in an email to the Northwest Herald.

The partnership comes after a former employee of Illinois’ child welfare agency was convicted in 2023 of mishandling the AJ Freund case months before the Crystal Lake boy was killed by his mother.

The partnership isn’t a direct response to the AJ Freund case, but it’s “another opportunity” to prevent another tragedy like that from happening again, Tadelman said.

The sheriff’s office will interview deputies to find the right fit for the position, Tadelman said. Since DCFS is reimbursing the costs, there will be no extra costs or loss in staff to the sheriff’s office, he said.

“I think this is an opportunity for us to bridge that gap between the families that are involved, DCFS and law enforcement to really make sure that nothing falls in between the cracks on them,” Tadelman said.