State audit and child advocates call for change The Illinois Auditor General recommended a sweeping list of changes for the state s Department of Children and Family Services in regards to LGBTQ youth. The audit released earlier this month found the agency failed to comply with best practices – such as identifying youth in care who are LGBTQ and ensuring they are placed in homes that affirm their sexual orientation and gender identity. It includes information from 2017 to 2020, with department responses from this year. DCFS is not meeting the needs of LGBTQ youth in care as required by its own policy. We regularly hear from youth about the lack of basic respect for their identity as well as the challenges they face accessing affirming medical care, Ghirlandi Guidetti, staff attorney with ACLU of Illinois, said in a statement addressing the audit.