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Case Name
Burgos v. DCFS
CW-IL-0008
Docket / Court
1:75-cv-03974 ( N.D. Ill. )
State/Territory
Illinois
Case Type(s)
Child Welfare
Attorney Organization
MALDEF
Case Summary
On November 20, 1975, this class action was filed by several Puerto Rican parents in the metropolitan Chicago area, who alleged that they and their children, who were or had been in the custody of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), were being discriminated against based ...
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On November 20, 1975, this class action was filed by several Puerto Rican parents in the metropolitan Chicago area, who alleged that they and their children, who were or had been in the custody of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), were being discriminated against based on their race and national origin. They were represented by the Mexican American Legal Defence Fund, and sought injunctive relief under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, against DCFS and several of its officers.
The suit resulted in a Consent Decree, dated January 14, 1977, wherein DCFS agreed to make appropriate services and documents available in Spanish and to hire bilingual employees to work in specific certain areas. Spanish documents, including forms and informational brochures, were to be made available in numbers proportional to the Spanish-speaking community. The Decree required all Hispanic clients be informed of their rights under the Decree and how to maintain those rights. The Decree required that Spanish-language signs announcing the availability of these services in Spanish be posted in all metro-Chicago DCFS offices, displaying a phone number where a bilingual ombudsperson could be reached. It required DFCS to place children whose first language was Spanish with Spanish-speaking foster parents. Where bilingual social workers were not available, the Decree required that social workers assigned to Spanish-speaking clients be accompanied by an interpreter.
According to a summary of the Burgos Consent Decree,
available here,
the Court issued an agreed order in December of 1990 indicating that the DCFS was not in compliance with the Decree and appointing a Special Master. The Special Master prepared a compliance report, which led to the March 1992 the appointment of a permanent Court Monitor to oversee DCFS' compliance with the Decree. The docket last mentions the Monitor in 1999, and so it is unclear whether this position still exists.
The Consent Decree does not have an expiration date. The Court docket shows occasional activity, but no substantive orders have been issued for many years. It appears that at least as recently as 2010, DFCS did not have sufficient numbers of bilingual staff to meet the requirements of the decree, according to a state-issued DCFS Compliance Report
available here.
Alex Colbert-Taylor - 07/16/2013
compress summary
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Issues and Causes of Action
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Issues
Constitutional Clause
Equal Protection
Content of Injunction
Auditing
Develop anti-discrimination policy
Discrimination Prohibition
Goals (e.g., for hiring, admissions)
Hire
Monitor/Master
Monitoring
Other requirements regarding hiring, promotion, retention
Recordkeeping
Reporting
Defendant-type
Jurisdiction-wide
Discrimination-basis
Family discrimination
Language discrimination
National origin discrimination
Race discrimination
General
Disparate Impact
Disparate Treatment
Family reunification
Foster care (benefits, training)
Language access/needs
Parents (visitation, involvement)
Language
Spanish
National Origin/Ethnicity
Hispanic
Plaintiff Type
Private Plaintiff
Causes of Action
Title VI, Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000d et seq.
42 U.S.C. ยง 1983
Case Details
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Defendant(s)
Illinois Department of Children and Family Services
Plaintiff Description
Class of Puerto Rican parents in the metropolitan Chicago area, whose children were or had been in the custody of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.
Indexed Lawyer Organizations
MALDEF
Class action status sought
Yes
Class action status granted
Yes
Filed Pro Se
No
Prevailing Party
Plaintiff
Public Int. Lawyer
Yes
Nature of Relief
Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement
Source of Relief
Settlement
Form of Settlement
Court Approved Settlement or Consent Decree
Order Duration
1977 - n/a
Filed
11/20/1975
Case Ongoing
Perhaps, but long-dormant
Additional Resources
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See this case
at CourtListener.com
(May provide additional documents and, for active cases, real-time alerts)
Legal Accountability in the Service-Based Welfare State: Lessons from Child Welfare Reform
Date: Summer 2009
By: Kathleen G. Noonan, Charles F. Sabel, William H. Simon (Center for High Impact Philanthropy , Columbia Law School and Stanford Law School Faculty)
Citation: 34 Law & Soc. Inquiry 523 (Summer 2009)
[ Detail ]
[ External Link ]
Documents
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Court
Docket(s)
N.D. Ill.
09/01/2010
1:75−cv−03974
CW-IL-0008-9000.pdf
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Detail
Source: PACER [Public Access to Court Electronic Records]
General Documents
N.D. Ill.
01/14/1977
Consent Decree
CW-IL-0008-0001.pdf
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Detail
not recorded
04/11/2011
Burgos Consent Decree [informational brochure for DCFS clients]
CW-IL-0008-0002.pdf
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External Link
|
Detail
People
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Judges
McMillen, Thomas Roberts
(N.D. Ill.)
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CW-IL-0008-0001
Zagel, James Block
(FISC, N.D. Ill.)
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CW-IL-0008-9000
Plaintiff's Lawyers
Alop, Alan A
(Illinois)
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CW-IL-0008-0001
Mendoza, Patricia
(Illinois)
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CW-IL-0008-9000
Meza, Ricardo
(Illinois)
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CW-IL-0008-9000
Rivas, Alonzo
(Illinois)
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CW-IL-0008-9000
Valdez, Maria G.
(Illinois)
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CW-IL-0008-9000
Defendant's Lawyers
Goodman, Karen R.
(Illinois)
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CW-IL-0008-0001
Purves, Samuel A
(Illinois)
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CW-IL-0008-9000
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