The number of missing youth in care from Illinois’ child welfare agency has been updated to show an increase from the year before.
Last month, the Center Square requested public records from the Department of Children and Family Services to show the number of missing youth in care with whereabouts unknown per year since 2019. Friday, the agency’s communications director–not the Freedom of Information Act Officer–provided updated numbers. Statehouse candidate Bailey Templeton said the numbers she received early last month are “completely blown out” by the latest release.
Data the agency provided to the Center Square show 222 youth in care missing with whereabouts unknown in 2019, up to 284 in 2021. The number of missing children for 2025–though October 9th–is 193.
The agency said it has a dedicated unit to tracking and finding missing children.
Story from Illinois Radio Network
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