Boy’s death is mourned

Service held for child, 4, who died in foster care

BOSTON— Hundreds of people filled a Dorchester church yesterday for the funeral of a 4-year-old who died in foster care, applauding as a minister to the family urged the mourners not to blame the boy’s birth parents.

“They need your love, they need your support. They don’t need your judgment,” said Pastor William E. Dickerson II.

Authorities are investigating the March 6 death of Dontel Jeffers, who was placed in a foster home by the Department of Social Services less than two weeks earlier. The boy’s aunts and grandmother have criticized the agency’s handling of the case and claimed that Dontel was beaten by his foster mother.

Mourners filled the wooden pews at the Greater Love Tabernacle, where Dontel’s body lay in view in a casket flanked by bouquets of white lilies and carnations. Some mourners clutched single red roses while others wept into handkerchiefs. Some of the young men in the audience wore T-shirts with the boy’s picture.

Dickerson told mourners that “there’s a whole lot of finger-pointing” over Dontel’s death, but said his mother, whom Dickerson had known for years, deserved support, as did the father. If the boy had been brutalized, he said, whoever did it should be brought to justice.

“If there are perpetrators, the perpetrators need to be dealt with to the full extent of the law,” he said.

DSS had taken custody of Dontel and his sister in December from their biological mother, Christal Claiborne, who family members said had a drug problem. His father, Elary Jeffers, had been deported in October to the Caribbean island of Nevis after an alleged domestic violence incident.

Dontel was in a group care setting until Feb. 24, when he was placed in the foster home on Ballou Street in Dorchester. DSS Commissioner Harry Spence has said an accident on March 5 may have contributed to the boy’s death, but he declined to give further details.

A day later, Dontel’s foster mother, who has not been named, noticed that the boy was unresponsive. He was taken to Carney Hospital, where he died after going into cardiac arrest.

A DSS spokeswoman yesterday said investigators were still awaiting autopsy results to determine the cause of death. An internal DSS investigation into the handling of the case is also pending.

Dickerson, whose booming address brought mourners to their feet, acknowledged Spence in the pews, saying he invited DSS to the funeral “because they needed to know what was going on.”

Spence, reached afterward by phone, said he was deeply moved by Dickerson’s words and his calls for reconciliation and forgiveness. He said Dontel’s funeral was the first he’s attended for a child in DSS custody since he took over the agency in 2001.

“It was painful, obviously, for me at moments, because I’m part of and in fact responsible for the system that he’s rightly saying must be held accountable, if there is accountability to be held,” he said. “I felt challenged, but ultimately embraced, by both the sermon and by the assembled participants.”