A West Side woman questioned Friday in the death of her 6-year-old foster son–who died in a bathtub of freezing-cold water–had been accused last May of forcing the boy to take cold showers, but state officials allowed her to keep custody of the boy, authorities said.
Allen Kalfus died Thursday night in his home of hypothermia, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. His body was found in 5 inches of frigid water, and the boy’s temperature had dropped to about 80 degrees, police said.
The medical examiner’s office ruled the death a homicide.
The boy’s foster mother, a 30-year-old woman who has another 2-year-old foster son and two teenage nieces living with her, was being interviewed by detectives but had not been charged as of late Friday.
One of the nieces was home at the time of the boy’s death and also was being questioned, said Cook County Public Guardian Patrick Murphy. The 2-year-old boy has been placed in a different foster home, Murphy said.
Allen’s foster mother called police Thursday afternoon and said she found Allen in the tub of water, fully clothed and unresponsive, Chicago police spokeswoman Patrice Harper said.
When police arrived, they noticed a bump on the boy’s temple and a burn mark under one eye, Harper said.
Murphy called the case a tragic illustration of how flaws in the state’s child welfare system endanger foster children by allowing them to remain in homes where there are strong suspicions of neglect or abuse.
“There’s a real institutional neglect problem here that goes across the board,” Murphy said.
In May, the Department of Children and Family Services began an investigation into a tip to the agency’s hot line that Allen’s foster mother had forced the boy to take cold showers after wetting his pants, Murphy and DCFS Director Jess McDonald said.
DCFS investigators deemed the allegations unfounded, McDonald said. “They didn’t find credible evidence to support the allegation.”
The case was turned over to South Central Community Services, the agency that placed the boy in the foster home, to decide whether the woman was fit to retain her foster license.
In the fall, South Central Community Services decided that the woman wasn’t cooperating with the agency and that the boy should be removed, McDonald said.
But state law allows a foster parent being investigated by a placement agency to demand a hearing and mediation.
A DCFS mediator was brought into the case, and the foster mother, South Central and the mediator agreed it was best to leave the boy in the woman’s home.
South Central Community Services officials could not be reached for comment.
More Top Picks Best Smith Machines For Home Gyms
In overseeing such cases, DCFS mediators or administrative law judges weigh the interests of the child against the foster parent’s right to continue raising the youth.
“They need to be using one standard and one standard only–the best interest of the child,” Murphy said. “Foster parents have no rights in that regard. They’re not like biological parents.”
McDonald agreed, saying he would like to see the process handled by social workers–who have a background in child welfare–rather than attorneys. He said he may ask state lawmakers to take up the issue in an emergency session as early as next week.
“I would view this as fitting into the emergency category,” McDonald said.
He said he wanted to bring the issue to lawmakers earlier but has encountered opposition from groups that represent foster parents and placement agencies.
“The regulatory process is cumbersome, and it’s best to have as many sides in agreement as you can before you proceed with something like this,” McDonald said.
Although foster care placement agencies–not DCFS–have responsibility for investigating whether someone is fit to have a foster care license, McDonald said he expects DCFS to assume that role soon.
“The feeling is that there should be a more independent agent looking into these allegations,” McDonald said.
Murphy agreed, saying: “The foster care agency has a vested interest in finding no abuse–because if they do, they could be penalized by DCFS. They could lose their contract and they could lose money.”