J.H. V. Johnson

J.H. and J.D., minor siblings, were sexually abused by their respective foster fathers in foster homes selected for them by Ada S. McKinley Community Services, Inc. ("McKinley"), a licensed private child welfare agency under contract with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services ("DCFS"). After the abuse came to light, the foster fathers, Richard Hill and William White, were both convicted of aggravated sexual assault. The case before us today is about the responsibility of various DCFS employees for the placement of J.H. and J.D. in the two homes in which they were abused. J.H. and J.D.'s father, Todd Higgin ("Higgin"), has brought this 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claim on their behalf against Gordon Johnson, Gary T. Morgan, Amy Remington, Lynn Crowther, Michael Horstman, Ina Denton, Gloria Lewis, and Luis Soto for allegedly violating their constitutional right to be free from placement in a foster home where the state knew or suspected that abuse was likely to occur. The district court granted the defendants' motion for summary judgment. For the reasons stated herein, we affirm.