Resource: For the Good of the Group: Using Class Actions and Impact Litigation to Turn Child Welfare Policy into Practice in Illinois

This article will provide a brief history of the child welfare system nationally and within the state of Illinois. It will examine child welfare class action and impact litigation as an alternative to traditional legislative policy change in Illinois, focusing on four major efforts for reform: The B.H. Consent Decree, Ashley M. v. the Department of Child and Family Services, a series of class actions regarding safety plans, and In re Aristotle P. Finally, this article will look at the successes of these actions and determine the prospects of using this means of change in the future and how to discern if these methods of change are effective.