People v. Smith

Intervenor Tara Smith and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) appeal from a juvenile court order granting the guardian ad litem’s (GAL’s) motion that the minor child, R.M., be removed from Smith’s foster care and placed with foster parents Kent and Pamela Lawton. Both Smith and DCFS claim on appeal that the juvenile court acted outside its statutory authority when it entered an order removing R.M. from Smith’s home and requiring that R.M. be placed with a specific foster parent. Smith and DCFS also claim that the court’s decision was in error since the GAL failed to…