Illinois claimed success Sunday in tracking missing wards of the state, with 352 of 409 children missing when an investigative unit was formed late spring now in state care.
But 366 children currently remain unaccounted for, and the challenge of locating runaways remains acute, officials said.
The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services formed a task force last spring, and agency Director Bryan Samuels declared in May that it would be DCFS’ goal to find the 409 children who were missing at the time.
To more effectively locate missing children, the agency set up a 16-member investigative unit.
Officials concede that the 366 children currently missing shows how much work the unit has cut out for itself.
“Most of these kids are what we call our cyclical kids,” said Jennie Perkins, administrator of the unit. “We can pick them up today, and before we can get them processed in, they’re walking right back out the door.”
