* Decatur Herald & Review…
Illinois lawmakers want answers about how 2-year-old Ta’Naja Barnes slipped through the state care system designed to protect her and was instead allowed to die of starvation and neglect in a Decatur home.
A House of Representatives Adoption and Child Welfare Committee hearing on Tuesday shined a spotlight on the nine-month active involvement of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services in Ta’Naja’s case. Lawmakers heard how a Decatur organization, Baby TALK, had called a hotline to report concerns about Ta’Naja and her 1-year-old brother on Nov. 6, after the case had been closed, but the allegations did not fit criteria to pursue further investigation. […]
Ta’Naja’s cold body was found Feb. 11 wrapped in a urine-soaked blanket in a Decatur home police officers described as filthy and rodent-infested. Her mother, Twanka L. Davis, 21, and the live-in boyfriend of Davis, 25-year-old Anthony Myers, have both been charged with first degree murder alleging they caused the child’s death through a combination of starvation and neglect. […]
Ta’Naja’s biological father, Dartavius Barnes, told reporters last week that he had tried to obtain custody of his daughter and even thought of kidnapping her to remove her from what he knew to be poor conditions.
Six months of DCFS aftercare services, designed to be provided when a child is returned home, began in March when Ta’Naja was placed with Barnes instead of in August when she was returned to her mother. Ta’Naja’s younger half-brother was placed with Myers and Davis in March; he had been allowed to sleep in a heated room with his parents, while Ta’Naja was left alone in a bare, freezing room. The boy has since been taken into state custody.
Rep. Delia Ramirez pointed out that the six months would have ended on Feb. 8, three days before Ta’Naja’s death, if they had started when she was returned to Davis and Myers.
* WICS TV…
We now know that during the time that Ta’Naja was involved with the Department of Children and Family Services from December 2017 to October of 2018, she had three different case workers [from social service provider] Webster-Cantrell Hall.
* OK, this is just insane…
State Rep. Sue Scherer, D-Decatur, who is not a member of the committee but called the hearing, asked if caseworkers are notified that a child has been in and out of DCFS if the agency gets a call about a family.
Dyer-Webster said there is not.
“The history of the family’s involvement with DCFS is already on the computer,” she said. “The worker has to go and put that identifying information (in) to find it.”
DCFS needs an internal alert system.
* From a letter the governor sent to committee members the day before the hearing…
DCFS has taken several initial steps to address some of the IG’s findings; among the steps DCFS has taken are: reducing caseloads, implementing new technology, collaborating with the Department of Human Services to provide critical services that support children and families, and moving higher-risk cases back to DCFS from private agencies.
DCFS promised to shift higher-risk cases to in-house employees way back in 2017.
- Brendan - Wednesday, Mar 6, 19 @ 11:46 am:
Webster Cantrell Hall are the ones who allowed this to happen. Totally Whistle blowing here and I don’t care.
- Mama - Wednesday, Mar 6, 19 @ 11:46 am:
2 Questions:
1. Baby TALK: Is Baby TALK a local, state or federal organization?
2. Does IL or the Feds have a crisis phone number for people to call when they see child abuse happening in their neighbors?
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Wednesday, Mar 6, 19 @ 11:51 am:
So in August the home was neat and tidey and all the mechanicals worked? And there were fire alarms, smoke detectors and the water heater was set on low? And there was food in the fridge and cabinets, and little Ta Naja seemed comfortable with her mom and the boyfriend.
So what happened in between August and Feb. 11?
- Mama - Wednesday, Mar 6, 19 @ 11:52 am:
Oops… neighbors should read neighborhoods
Sorry
- Mama - Wednesday, Mar 6, 19 @ 11:57 am:
Brendan, is Webster Cantrell Hall a private-sector child facility for abused children?
If yes, who owns it?
- JoanP - Wednesday, Mar 6, 19 @ 12:03 pm:
@Mama -
DCFS has a hotline to report suspected abuse or neglect. They do say that if the danger is immediate, you should call 911.
The federal government would not have a number for reporting in Illinois, though presumably there is one for federal jurisdictions.
- Mama - Wednesday, Mar 6, 19 @ 12:10 pm:
“DCFS has a hotline to report suspected abuse or neglect.”
Please share that number. Thank you.
- Blue Dog Dem - Wednesday, Mar 6, 19 @ 12:16 pm:
Twanka and Anthony should never be allowed to bring children into this world again.
- Responsa - Wednesday, Mar 6, 19 @ 12:21 pm:
In this age of computers and computerized record keeping and ease of input it is just incomprehensible that agencies can’t keep track of at risk people in their system and keep connected departments and agencies in the loop for follow-up. Nobody even remotely associated with Ta’Naja’s ahort sad life looks good here. Poor child.
- Captain Obvious - Wednesday, Mar 6, 19 @ 12:22 pm:
The DCFS hotline call on Nov. 6 was from another provider, because the two-year old was not immunized.
1. A mandated reporter was alarmed enough to call — red flag.
2. A high-risk child is ineligible for licensed child care — red flag.
3. A two year old who is not up-to-date on immunizations might not have been to see a doctor in over a year — red flag.
I wanna hear from Baby TALK, what did they say when they called.
I wanna hear more from DCFS: okay, you didn’t take the call as a report, did you make a referral for community-based services?
I wanna know when the last time was that she saw a doctor.
And I wanna read the DCFS death report ASAP. In fact, I wanna read all of the death reports from Macon County for the last five years.
- Anonymous - Wednesday, Mar 6, 19 @ 12:23 pm:
The number to report suspected abuse/neglect is 1-800-25-ABUSE. Here’s some additional info: https://www2.illinois.gov/dcfs/safekids/reporting/Pages/index.aspx.
- Union thug - Wednesday, Mar 6, 19 @ 12:28 pm:
I work with the DCFS system everyday. If a family already has active involvement ie: an open case, the caseworker does get notifications of any new reports. When a report is made, one of the things the worker does is check for past involvement based on the information received.
- Mama - Wednesday, Mar 6, 19 @ 12:32 pm:
On a normal day, how many cases does each caseworker oversee?
- Stuff Happens - Wednesday, Mar 6, 19 @ 12:32 pm:
@Mama, the number is 800-25-ABUSE.
Nothing’s going to change until the caseworker attrition rate is reduced.
After that, hings will get better once DCFS stops looking at children and cases with a formulaic lens and instead switch to a hybrid approach that uses fewer checkboxes and more of ‘this is what’s right for *this* child.’
- Last Bull Moose - Wednesday, Mar 6, 19 @ 12:33 pm:
Baby TALK is a Decatur based organization that works to improve parenting by changing how parents communicate and engage with their children. What I know about it is favorable.
Webster-Cantrell was a non-profit that used to be an orphanage. Not sure what their legal structure is now.
The DCFS system used to provide the history of allegations for adults and children. I am surprised the BabyTALK phone call had no response.
Sounds like W-C has caseworker churn. That is not easy to manage. Churn may be a problem statewide. Pay is low and the work emotionally taxing. Something the legislators should learn more about.
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Wednesday, Mar 6, 19 @ 12:34 pm:
Davis and Meyer’s home had a new furnace yet they kept it off. Didn’t they know gas providers have charity funds? Or were they too rich to use a charity fund? Why did they leave the furnace off?
- Jack - Wednesday, Mar 6, 19 @ 12:36 pm:
This may seem nitpicky and irrelevant, but it drove me crazy yesterday: learn how to pronounce her name. Yes, these are systemic issues that need systemic changes. But Ta’Naja deserves for the people, who are talking about her in a hearing after death and who failed her in life, to say her name right.
- Mama - Wednesday, Mar 6, 19 @ 12:39 pm:
Thank you for providing the following information on reporting abused and neglected children to the proper authorities:
“The number to Report Suspected Abuse/Neglect is 1-800-25-ABUSE. Here’s some additional info: https://www2.illinois.gov/dcfs/safekids/reporting/Pages/index.aspx. ”
Thank you.
- Iris - Wednesday, Mar 6, 19 @ 12:45 pm:
So much blame to go around…in my experience as a foster parent, DCFS doesn’t appear to provide much oversight of the 3rd party providers. And neither DCFS, nor the 3rd party provider, nor the Office of the Public Guardian, nor the States Attorney’s office (Cook), nor the Chief Judge’s Office, seems to have incentive to move cases to completion. Perhaps if kids
were moved out of care, more resources would be available to prevent such heartbreaking cases as Ta’Naja and her little brother.
- Anonymous - Wednesday, Mar 6, 19 @ 12:57 pm:
“Perhaps if kids were moved out of care, more resources would be available to prevent such heartbreaking cases as Ta’Naja and her little brother.”
Iris, which care are you speaking of? The child was being cared for by 3 or more different people.
- Mama - Wednesday, Mar 6, 19 @ 1:04 pm:
I feel the whole problem boils down to money. No one wants to spend more tax money to make sure these these poor children are in a safe place.
- Chicagonk - Wednesday, Mar 6, 19 @ 1:25 pm:
Easy to blame DCFS when the real blame needs to be on the parents and any of the other guardians involved. Not saying that there is room for DCFS to improve, but it is so often the scapegoat in these scenarios.
- Huh? - Wednesday, Mar 6, 19 @ 1:30 pm:
The wreckage of the past 4 years under the 1.4% administration crashed the social services industry in Illinois. The 2 year impass and not paying providers lead to fewer agencies available to the poor and needy.
Can this child’s death be attributed to the willful destruction by 1.4% of government social services? That will be for others to determine.
DCFS is a department that has historically been badly managed. JB has got to step up the reorganization and quickly improve this department.
- Mama - Wednesday, Mar 6, 19 @ 1:36 pm:
Chicagonk, I agree, but some people have no business being parents, and should not have children, but they have sex and reproduce. Having a baby does not make one a responsible parent. The question is: how do you help the child(s) whose parent and grandparents are so bad the child needs to be permanently removed from them?
- Mama - Wednesday, Mar 6, 19 @ 1:42 pm:
“DCFS is a department that has historically been badly managed. JB has got to step up the reorganization and quickly improve this department.”
True. However, that requires a lot more money and knowledge in the child crisis arena. Taxpayers don’t want to fork out more money to help children in crisis.
- Captain Obvious - Wednesday, Mar 6, 19 @ 1:53 pm:
=== Easy to blame DCFS when the real blame needs to be on the parents ===
DCFS was the legal guardian of the child, and then went along with the decision to return her to her mother.
This is not about who to blame. The goal is to figure out what happened, why it happened, and what if anything can be done to keep it from happening again.
If the police arrested someone for domestic violence, they were released without charges, and that individual then murdered their spouse, we would be asking the same questions.
Why? Because it’s DCFS’ job to protect children from their parents and other bad caregivers. One job, that’s it.
- Moby - Wednesday, Mar 6, 19 @ 2:00 pm:
I’m still waiting to hear what exactly happened to Sema’j Crosby in Joliet. Illinois does a horrible job of protecting little poor girls with apostrophes in their names.
- AlfondoGonz - Wednesday, Mar 6, 19 @ 2:03 pm:
Having worked in Juvenile Justice, I can’t speak lower of the quality of person, generally speaking, employed by DCFS.
1 in 5 could be bothered to even pretend to care.
- GetReal - Wednesday, Mar 6, 19 @ 2:13 pm:
No amount of money will fix poor judgment and how DCFS has raised the bar on what it means to be abused/neglected in Illinois.
- Red Skeptic - Wednesday, Mar 6, 19 @ 2:22 pm:
Has the DCFS Director been chosen?
For the sake of these children, I hope it is someone who can come in and clean up these sorts of issues so they don’t keep happening.
- Huh? - Wednesday, Mar 6, 19 @ 2:44 pm:
We, the People of the State of Illinois … in order to provide for the health, safety and welfare of the people; … eliminate poverty and inequality; assure legal, social and economic justice; … do ordain and establish this Constitution for the State of Illinois.
Do the words of our state constitution preamble mean anything to us? Are they lofty goals to which we aspire?
Mama - what we want and what we ought to do are very different things. JB if he is going to uphold his oath of office, had better start finding the money to properly support the poor and needy. We as the people of this state better start supporting the expenditure of our tax dollars to care for the poor and destitute.
- Tinsel Town - Wednesday, Mar 6, 19 @ 3:14 pm:
You can thank Bruce Rauner and DCFS Director Kalika (sp?). Kalika decided, in a cost saving measure pressured by Rauner, to eliminate DCFS case management services, and to provide Case management services by contracted private agencies.
With DCFS case management services, generally the case workers are more experienced and have better supervision and yes, better paid.
Contracted services thru private agencies are less skilled, along with less skilled management both of these levels have marginal pay, but if you look at the upper levels of management, director, ceo, they are very well paid.
Bruce Rauner, as with the allegations surrounding his nursing home history, the cost of protecting children is not inexpensive. Children will continue to die at the hands of parents and their caretakers, a sick sad society.
This child’s death, although unfortunate is the cost of privatization.
On the other side of this coin, truth be told, who would expect a parent to allow their child to be abused, sexually abused, neglected and allowed to be murdered/killed?
It seldom happens in the animal world, but human beings seem to be exempt.
- Tinsel Town - Wednesday, Mar 6, 19 @ 3:19 pm:
It is a sad sick society, to think you’re going to hire someone else to assure the children you bring into this world are going to be cared for by someone other than the parents.
Place blame where it belongs…. on the parents.
Even Animals take care of their offspring. Human beings consistently fail…. place blame where it belongs…. on the parents.
- Last Bull Moose - Wednesday, Mar 6, 19 @ 3:31 pm:
Rauner and Calica did not overlap. So Rauner did not pressure Calica into privatization.
Most DCFS employees are dedicated. The problem is that if they stop being effective, it is difficult to remove them. Worse, there is no good way to work around them. Privatized services can be more responsive. But they still have to be actively managed.
- Captain Obvious - Wednesday, Mar 6, 19 @ 3:39 pm:
Sheldon was Rauner’s DCFS Director, not Calica.
We do not know the specifics of this case yet, we will have to wait a month or so for the Death Report.
At the very least, I think it’s fair to say that opportunities were missed. DCFS is clearly pointing the finger at the provider. But let’s rememebr that DCFS rewrote provider contracts to prohibit them from turning down cases. So if you are Cantrell and you are going through a hiring slump because you had one person leave and the next person didn’t workout, you do not get to refuse when DCFS wants to assign another case to you.
Mark Maxwell is probably trying to talk to Baby TALK right now.
- Can we Just Ban Tinsel Town? - Wednesday, Mar 6, 19 @ 3:43 pm:
Kass’s Law: As an internet argument persists, the likelihood that someone will compare African Americans to animals approaches 1.
- Anon - Wednesday, Mar 6, 19 @ 5:51 pm:
One thing people don’t understand or think about is once the child is taken and legal is taken by dcfs, that child does not go home until the judge orders it. The courts are involved in all of this, they have the say not really DCFS
- Mama - Wednesday, Mar 6, 19 @ 6:28 pm:
“It seldom happens in the animal world, but human beings seem to be exempt.”
The animal world is not addicted to drugs, etc..
- Anonymous - Wednesday, Mar 6, 19 @ 6:31 pm:
Maybe doctors need to put mothers and fathers in parenting classes prior to giving birth.
- Tinsel Town - Wednesday, Mar 6, 19 @ 8:22 pm:
Mama - Wednesday, Mar 6, 19 @ 6:28 pm:
“It seldom happens in the animal world, but human beings seem to be exempt.”
The animal world is not addicted to drugs, etc..
It is not always drugs… from first hand experience.
- Tinsel Town - Wednesday, Mar 6, 19 @ 8:24 pm:
To Can We just ban tinsel town.
NOTHING, ABSOLUTELY NOTING WAS STATED ABOUT RACE…. ABUSE AND NEGLECT OCCURS THRU ALL RACES PAL.
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Thursday, Mar 7, 19 @ 5:39 am:
==It seldom happens in the animal world==
It happens all the time in the animal world.
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Thursday, Mar 7, 19 @ 5:46 am:
=Maybe doctors need to put mothers and fathers in parenting classes prior to giving birth.==
Maybe we need more pychologists. Insurance plans treat pychologists like a red headed step child and if you want to find a psychologist that that takes Medicaid you may as well fo looking for a unicorn.
As a layman, these parents seem mentally ill. I don’think someone telling them “don’t let your baby freeze to death.” would have fixed this.
- Brendan - Thursday, Mar 7, 19 @ 8:43 am:
MAMA: Webster Cantrell Hall is a privately owned organization who currently is being run by the CEO Michael Warner. It currently has a residential unit for boys 12-18 and 2 female group homes and a foster care department. They also provide outpatient therapy and parenting classes which Ta’naja’s mom took these parenting classes and “passed” at webster cantrell hall.
- Brendan - Thursday, Mar 7, 19 @ 8:44 am:
Wesbster Cantrell is not in the clear in this at all. They would come into the classes smelling like weed all of the time. How she passed and got custody of that baby is a complete failure on webster cantrell.