CHICAGO — An Illinois family is suing the state’s Department of Child and Family Services, claiming that the agency ‘unjustly’ took their 7-month-old son from them, resulting in a separation that lasted three months.
Victor Lucha, a Cass County resident, shared his story on Monday, hoping others in similar situations would learn from his experience.
“This has been really traumatizing to a point where there’s no words to explain,” Lucha said.
The temporary separation occurred after the boy’s mother visited a clinic in Beardstown. The attorney said the family was there to have a burn on the boy’s arm and skin discoloration on his legs examined.
The lawsuit claims that after the boy’s mom took him to get his skin issues checked out, a case worker did not provide her with a Spanish-speaking interpreter to communicate properly. The complaint added that a nurse practitioner called DCFS and agents took the child into their custody.
“The family has no history of abuse or neglect. They really didn’t attempt to cooperate with family. It was a real struggle to get DCFS to take the right action in this,” said Michelle Coady Carter with the Coady Law Group.
The complaint names DCFS, the state of Illinois, two DCFS case workers and two investigators for their alleged involvement in the matter.
“DCFS only has the authority to remove a child from a family if it is the only remedy that is available,” Coady Carter said. “In this case, that clearly was not the circumstance.”
Attorneys say, as a result, the boy entered five foster homes despite the willingness of extended family to care for him. Lawyers added that feeding tubes had to be administered to the boy because he wasn’t eating after having been exclusively breastfed.
“In the multiple foster placements he had, he started having breathing issues. He started losing weight. He was traumatized,” Coady Carter said. “He was in a new home where he didn’t speak the language. He started to fail to thrive.”
Attorneys indicated that during the discovery process, a case note in which a doctor who reviewed the medical records showed the discoloration on the child’s legs was not bruises but hyperpigmentation, resulting from exposure to citrus juice, which they noted, is common in Hispanic populations.
The complaint highlighted that the doctor also stated that the burn did not appear to have been inflicted. Lawyers added that the determination was made within 24 hours of the child’s initial visit to the clinic.
It still took three months for the child and parents to reunite.
“The cooperation of the Cass County State’s Attorney Office in dismissing the case is the only reason he went home,” Carter Coady said.
Grateful to have his son back home, Lucha and his family still seek monetary damages and accountability from DCFS.
The state agency did not immediately respond to WGN News’ request for comment.
“We just want other families to know that there are people out there that help,” Lucha said. “So they don’t go through this really bad nightmare.”
