DCFS Director Heidi Mueller, ’07, on Helping Vulnerable Youth and Families Navigate a Challenging System
Editor’s Note: This spotlight is part of a Q&A series focusing on UChicago Law alumni whose career paths have taken them into public service.
Heidi Mueller, ’07, director of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCSFS), has devoted her career to passionately advocating for children and families. Before being appointed to her current role in March 2024, she served as director of the Illinois department of Juvenile Justice for nearly ten years, where she oversaw the care, custody, and services provided to youth committed to the department by Illinois courts.
As DCSF director, Mueller works tirelessly with her team of more than 3,500 employees to be a voice for those who are most vulnerable and help make reforms and improvements to the agency. Mueller considers her work to be more than just a career—it’s a personal calling.
What inspired you to get into public service and how has "your why" evolved over time?
I come from a family of public servants. My parents were public school teachers and always demonstrated a strong sense of commitment to supporting and serving people in our community. I actually never imagined a future for myself that did not involve public service. As I have progressed in my career, my why has become less ideological and more connected to the people I have met. In my role as director of the Department of Juvenile Justice and now the Department of Children and Family Services, I have become deeply inspired by the strength, hope, and resilience of the youth and families I have met and staunchly committed to doing everything I can to support and empower them in every way possible. I also feel compelled to try to raise up the stories of the people I have come to know and push back against what sometimes feels like a misinformed and simplistic narrative about them.
What do you enjoy most about your role?
I love people. I love it when I feel like my hard work is having a positive impact for people I serve and people I work with.
Can you share an experience that had a major impact on the way you approach your work?
Before I worked in the juvenile justice system, I don't think I fully understood how harshly our systems treat vulnerable children and families and how the policies that have evolved in many of these systems actually prevent people from succeeding. In my first week at the Department of Juvenile Justice, I visited a facility where young teenagers with developmental delays were being held in a solitary confinement unit. I was horrified by the conditions I encountered, and I will never forget how, when I described the scene to my mother on the phone, she cried.
As someone who spent the first part of my career serving youth and families in a community organization, I was shocked by how out of touch "the system" was with accepted standards of care and was baffled by policies and procedures that made no sense. What I realized is that it is easy for heavily bureaucratic and process-driven organizations (like courts and government agencies) to lose sight of the human aspect of their work and develop practices that serve the system rather than the people navigating the system. My experiences have caused me to always try to center the experience of the children, youth, and families we serve in our policy and decision-making.
How did your Law School experience prepare you for what you're doing now?
My law school experience prepared me well in a few ways. First, the Law School taught me to prepare myself to argue a point confidently and persuasively. Advocacy and persuasion are huge components of my job—whether I am advocating for state funding or a particular piece of legislation, or defending a decision, or articulating a vision for transformation to my staff. Second, law school taught me to be diligent and detail oriented—which are also skills that have served me well over the years. Finally, the work ethic I learned in law school (and frankly, at the "Big Law" firm I briefly worked at) have served me well and prepared me for the intensity of my roles leading state agencies.
What has been one of the more surprising lessons you’ve learned from your work?
One of the most important lessons I have learned is the importance of emotional intelligence and how effective you can be as a leader when you invest love and care into the people you work with. When I first started as director of DJJ, I thought there was a "right way" to lead, and that to be effective, I needed to act like a different, tougher, less relational person. I have learned since that being my authentic self and leaning into the idea of pouring love into the people I serve, and my colleagues has resulted in far more impactful leadership for me. I have also seen that people who demonstrate emotional intelligence tend to be more successful and better respected than those who do not.
What do you see as the biggest misconception about public service work within the legal field?
I think there is sometimes a misperception about the talent of people who work in public service—especially those in state government. The truth is, those who work successfully in public service are people who are willing to tackle complicated problems with very few resources—and sometimes, they even enjoy the added challenge of trying to accomplish big things in the most challenging of circumstances.
What advice can you share with a student or fellow alum interested in doing public service work?
My recommendation is to start getting involved in clinics or projects as soon as possible during law school to build a bridge to public service work, if you don't have any public service already in your background. I was a bit lucky in that I had public service in my background before law school and it made the transition a bit easier. As an alum, I would say to not be afraid to take a risk. You don't have to start with the ideal position to get to where you want to be. You just have to be able to see the pathway and know that the step you are taking will help you get on a path you want. When I left my law firm, I took a 75 percent pay cut to work in a community organization in a role that wasn't even practicing law. I worried that I might have made a bad decision in the two weeks between leaving and starting the new role, but I took the job because I saw where it could lead, and that path was one I wanted to be on. Since initially getting on that path, each step has led me to a place I feel grateful to be.