We didn’t need any more proof that the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services is deeply broken. But we got it last week.

The agency’s internal watchdog, the Office of the Inspector General, released a heartbreaking report that showed 123 kids died within 12 months of a family contact with the department.

This is a tragic situation. And it’s unacceptable.

The 384-page report pointed to familiar themes with DCFS: That children are taken back to abusive adults, that there are too few foster homes, that kids leaving the care of the state are subjected to severe neglect at an alarming rate.

We are reminded of 2-year-old Ta’Naja Barnes, a Decatur girl whose body was found wrapped in a blanket soaked with urine inside a house on East North Street, according to police. Authorities said the house was full of trash and rotten food.

DCFS removed her multiple times in her short life. But she was always returned. She died in February.

We are reminded of 5-year-old Andrew “A.J.” Freund, of Crystal Lake, buried in a shallow grave wrapped in plastic. His parents told police they had him take a cold shower for 20 minutes after he soiled his underwear.

He had a long history with DCFS.

We are reminded of 8-year-old Rica Rountree of Bloomington, who died Jan. 26, 2019, from complications following blunt force trauma. The girlfriend of her father was convicted of murder in her death and her father has been charged with felony child endangerment. DCFS had investigated allegations of abuse before her death but did not remove her from the home.