In several cases recently, children have suffered ignominious deaths while DCFS was providing services to their parents to prevent the neglect which ultimately caused the children’s demise. The public is outraged. Politicians are calling for reform.

As terrible as the death of an innocent child is, though, we must carefully institute any reforms lest the reforms, as has happened in the past, create even greater problems.

Child care workers are involved with a vulnerable and fragile population. Frontline workers deal on a daily basis with hundreds of children and parents in the most trying of circumstances and in the overwhelming majority of caseworkers do an outstanding job of protecting children and enhancing families.

They are human and occasionally blunder. In my own career I have highlighted many of those errors. But it is important to understand that mistakes are few. For the most part, caseworkers labor tirelessly, professionally and empathetically.