Safeguarding Children
The Office of the Attorney General is committed to making sure our children are able to grow up healthy and safe. As part of this commitment, we have established a number of advocacy programs to protect children if they are online, in their homes, at school or in the community.
Keeping Children Safe Online
The Attorney General's Office supports parents and teachers in their efforts to educate students regarding safe technology use. Our Internet Safety Specialists provide age-appropriate presentations for students, as well as for parents, educators and youth service providers throughout Illinois.
To contact an Internet Safety Specialist, please call 1-888-414-7678 or email e-info@ilag.gov
The Attorney General's new website, OnlineSafeOnlineSmart.com, is a comprehensive site for online safety resources developed for students, parents, and educators.
To fight cybercrimes, Attorney General's High Tech Crimes Bureau operates as a specialty team of experts in the area of computer crimes, including online child pornography, online sexual abuse, online fraud, e-mail threats, identity theft and computer hacking. The bureau offers investigative and prosecutorial assistance with cases and coordinates the Illinois Crimes Against Children Task Force to find and stop child predators.
Protecting Children at School
When our children are at school, we assume and hope that they are in a safe environment. However, we know that violence in schools has become a serious problem. Students are usually the first to hear about impending violence at school. The Attorney General has initiated several programs and partnerships to create ways for young and teen students to spot signs of troubling behavior and then get assistance when threats arise.
Child Support Enforcement to Provide What Children Deserve
The Child Support Enforcement Division of the Attorney General's Office works closely with the Department of Healthcare and Family Services (DHS) and other agencies and advocacy organizations to ensure that families throughout the state receive the support they need to raise their children. The Office of the Attorney General, in conjunction with the DHS, handles child support enforcement in 89 counties across the state of Illinois.
Measures to Make Homes Safer for Children
Even as families create homes to raise their children in a secure and safe environment, there can be dangers that are not always obvious.
Children's Product Safety Recalls
Every year during the holiday season, the Attorney General's Office issues an annual Safe Shopping Guide that highlights hazardous toys, children's products and household items that have been recalled over the past year to help Illinois families ensure a safe shopping season.
The Attorney General's Safe Shopping Guide includes detailed descriptions and photographs of children's products that were recalled - from popular children's toys and games to children's furniture, cribs and strollers. This easy-to-use resource can help families avoid recalled products on the second-hand market and items that may already be in their homes.
Downloadable Resources For Home Safety
Download these printable materials for details on preventing poisoning from lead-based paint and products and avoiding injuries from furniture tip-overs.