DCFS cites series of errors in boy's death

Chicago Sun-Times

BY CHRIS FUSCO

Just before a Will County judge awarded temporary custody of 11-year-old Nicolas Zavala to his grandmother in February 2002, he was told of a glowing report about the woman, written by a Benton County, Ind., child-welfare worker.

What he didn't know was that the home study hadn't been certified by Indiana's Department of Family and Social Services and instead was inappropriately sent to an attorney for the boy's mother and grandmother, who distributed it. The study also said nothing about the grandmother being convicted of two child abuse-related misdemeanors in 2000.

Those findings are part of a new report from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services' inspector general into Nicolas' case, which ended tragically. The boy disappeared in August 2002 in Oxford, Ind., and was found dead in April. His grandmother, Margaret Williams, now faces felony child neglect charges that Indiana authorities say are unrelated to Nicolas' death, which remains under investigation.

Following a precedent set by his predecessor, DCFS Director Bryan Samuels would not make public the 12-page report into Nicolas' plight. He did, however, agree to discuss its findings through the agency's communications office. The document, DCFS spokeswoman Jill Manuel said, points out that "a series of errors and oversights that occurred by different parties" in Illinois and Indiana not only led to Nicolas being sent to live with Williams, but also could have contributed to him not being sent back to Illinois months before he disappeared.

Besides Williams' criminal background check not showing her recent convictions, DCFS officials did not heed a warning from Indiana about her. In late March 2002, the Indiana Department of Family and Social Services notified DCFS in a letter that Williams, who is in her late 50s, was not complying with foster-parent training.

"Placement is denied. Our case is closed. Caregiver Margaret Williams has refused to cooperate," the letter read.

DCFS officials could have told the Will County state's attorney's office to move up an Aug. 28 status date in Nicolas' case based on that letter, Manuel said. Instead, they dismissed it, apparently thinking that Indiana officials were noting that Williams would not receive taxpayer dollars to help pay for Nicolas' care. That wasn't viewed as important, Manuel said, because Williams hadn't requested any financial assistance.

"The issue of whether Margaret Williams was licensed was a technicality and not seen as a substantive problem," Manuel said.

Also problematic, the report notes, is the court hearing in which former Judge Thomas Thanas awarded temporary custody of Nicolas was not documented by a court reporter. Reports from the Joliet agency overseeing Nicolas' foster care, Guardian Angel Home, showed Thanas only ordered the agency to call Nicolas monthly to check up on him, but it's impossible to see if that's true without an official record of what took place.

Overriding the whole situation, Manuel added, was that all parties involved -- from the state's attorneys office to DCFS to a public guardian representing Nicolas -- believed Nicolas wanted to live with Williams, and that his mother, Cynthia Molina, who was living in Virginia, had wanted that, too.

"That was probably the strongest reason Nicolas was placed in the home," Manuel said.

The report concludes with several recommendations from DCFS Inspector General Denise Kane regarding interstate relations. Illinois currently has 394 wards placed in other states, while 713 wards from other states live here. Among the suggestions:

*When workers in another state perform home studies, DCFS should request that caseworkers go beyond state criminal background checks and seek information from local authorities.

*Judges should make clear exactly how they want Illinois caseworkers to monitor wards living out of state.

*When state officials receive information that out-of-state placements are denied, they should immediately inform attorneys or the judge on the case.