CHICAGO (WLS) — The new director of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services has been on the job since March.

Heidi Mueller was appointed by Governor JB Pritzker to head the department following the departure of its former director.

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The state agency, that has been criticized for past practices caring for children, is under new leadership, and Mueller spoke with ABC7 Friday.

“I can’t imagine being anywhere else this is where I was meant to be,” Muller

Director Heidi Mueller is 100 days into the job with 24,000 children in care. As the former Director of the Department of Juvenile Justice, she said she wants to focus on prevention and offering support to struggling families Carefully considering the long term consequences of removing a child from a home.

RELATED | Marc Smith, DCFS Illinois director, steps down at end of 2023, Gov. Pritzker announces

“One of our core goals at DCFS is to support families temporarily in crisis and help get them to a place where they can be stable,” Mueller said.

Mueller said she will use new federal funds available to allow more family members to step up as guardians when needed.

“We see this as a incredible opportunity for better permanency for better outcomes for kids to be able to be in homes with family, because a lot of our kids just want to be in a home,” Mueller said.

Mueller said she started new contracts for more home-like placements for the children with complex medical or psychiatric conditions to keep children in state. She says there are currently 20 children statewide awaiting for that type of placement.

‘Those kids are still our kids, and they deserve the same level of love and care I would want for my own daughter,” Mueller said.

She said she has already seen the positive impact of when families are supported and when children find stability with an adoptive family.

“To feel like you have helped a child find a forever home and find that love, it’s hard to put that in words. It’s so fulfilling and meaningful,” Mueller said.

Mueller says the key to creating more positive outcomes is upgrading out dated technology and continuing to add more social workers. She hopes to add 360 more front-line workers next year.

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Western Illinois farmer satisfied with planting progress so far

A western Illinois farmer says he’s satisfied with planting progress to this point.

Brady Holst, who farms in Hancock County, tells Brownfield a mid-April window was productive.

“We’re all done with corn and about 75% done with beans, but for our area it’s probably pretty close.”  He says, “I would say 80% of the corn is done in our area. So, we’re really far ahead of the other parts of the state.”

He says they’ve since seen beneficial rains.

“Emergence has been pretty good just because there was some hard rains that would have been crusting issues, but really it was wet enough where it didn’t ever dry out.”  He says, “So really kind of helped us with the not having to replant and things like that. It’s been so wet.”

Holst says they’ve escaped having to replant…so far.

“But we did plant on Mother’s Day so that usually is kind of the day that that ends up happening.”  He says, “It’s too early to tell so far.”

Holst says they only need two more days of good weather to finish planting.

AUDIO: Western Illinois farmer Brady Holst

ILLINOIS — On the weekend, we present a week in review of the top stories and headlines from all across Illinois. Here’s a roundup of some of the most-read stories across the state. You can also find your local Patch and catch up on those stories by clicking here.

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