Chicago Tribune Has Major Story on DCFS Employee Carlos Acosta, Who Had AJ Case

That’s the internet headline in a front page story in the Chicago Tribune today.

Here’s what the front page story looks like in the paper versionL

Capitol Fax refers to the Tribune story under the headline

Not exactly employee of the year

This part of the story is exerpted:

The last child welfare investigator who made contact with Andrew “AJ” Freund before the young Crystal Lake boy was allegedly killed by his parents is a local elected official with a history of workplace complaints and a recent suspension, according to documents reviewed by the Tribune.

Carlos Acosta

In one case, the investigator was disciplined for ignoring a court order to connect a family with support services, delaying help for four children in a home with a record of domestic violence and alcohol abuse, the documents show. Separately, prosecutors wrote a letter saying he failed to alert them about a mother’s heroin use and that he refused to hold a child because he was worried about bedbugs.

The investigator, 53-year-old Carlos Acosta, serves on the McHenry County Board — first elected in November following a campaign that highlighted his decades of experience in social services.

Acosta, who represents Woodstock and several other communities, did not return multiple calls seeking comment. A spokesman for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services said Acosta was not authorized to discuss agency matters. The department declined to comment further.

Board Chairman Jack Franks said in an interview that Acosta is a “model board member” who works hard and is always prepared. Issues under review at the state agency do not affect Acosta’s status on the board, Franks said.

Comments

Chicago Tribune Has Major Story on DCFS Employee Carlos Acosta, Who Had AJ Case — 68 Comments

  1. Not a surprise to me.

    Cal, your link to the Trib story goes nowhere.

    The last child welfare investigator who made contact with Andrew “AJ” Freund before the young Crystal Lake boy was allegedly killed by his parents is a local elected official with a history of workplace complaints and a recent suspension, according to documents reviewed by the Tribune.

    In one case, the investigator was disciplined for ignoring a court order to connect a family with support services, delaying help for four children in a home with a record of domestic violence and alcohol abuse, the documents show.

    Separately, prosecutors wrote a letter saying he failed to alert them about a mother’s heroin use and that he refused to hold a child because he was worried about bedbugs.

    The investigator, 53-year-old Carlos Acosta, serves on the McHenry County Board — first elected in November following a campaign that highlighted his decades of experience in social services.

    This one works
    https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-aj-freund-dcfs-investigator-carlos-acosta-20190624-iyrsfksrc5eallvugu7q67bsdq-story.html

  2. Board Chairman Jack Franks said in an interview that Acosta is a “model board member” who works hard and is always prepared. Issues under review at the state agency do not affect Acosta’s status on the board, Franks said.

  3. You just have to marvel, on how ass-clowns like Franks and Acosta, manage to get elected.

  4. Acosta started at DCFS in 1990 and left in 2005 to work at other organizations, according to his personnel file, which the Tribune obtained in a public records request.

    He returned to DCFS in 2010, records show, and made $94,400 last year, according to data from the Illinois comptroller’s office.

    Acosta also earns $21,000 as a County Board member and is listed as a family court mediator in McHenry County with an hourly rate of $200.

    He served as president of the McHenry County Latino Commission from 2005 to 2009, when the nonprofit closed over financial hardship, according to news reports.

    Acosta was also appointed to serve as a union steward for DCFS and other public employees, calling himself an “active member” of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 2833, according to his campaign website.

    Anders Lindall, an AFSCME 31 spokesman, declined to comment on Acosta’s suspension, saying it is “an unresolved, pending personnel matter.”

  5. Criminal negligence:

    ”A person acts with ‘criminal negligence’ with respect to a result or to a circumstance described by a statute defining an offense when he fails to perceive a substantial and unjustifiable risk that such result will occur or that such circumstance exists.

    “The risk must be of such nature and degree that the failure to perceive it constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable person would observe in the situation.”

  6. Time for this POS to resign from the DCFS as well as the County Board.

  7. Paul Revere, It is criminal negligence.

    Absolutely right!

    Carlos Acosta should do the dignified thing and just resign!

    He has no place on McHenry County Board either!

    The actions of Carols Acosta suggest that AJ’s case was fixed!

    He had no intention of helping that child.

    A full accounting of his salaries should be disclosed to the public ASAP!

    A FULL DISCLOSURE!

  8. Sure hope the CLPD is obtaining a full disclosure of Carlos Acostas’s bank accounts!

  9. Revere, “He served as president of the McHenry County Latino Commission from 2005 to 2009, when the nonprofit closed over financial hardship, according to news reports.”

    There’s more to that story.

  10. Jack Franks quote from the Tribune piece…”“model board member””… Does that mean all his models have blood on their hands?

  11. As you read this article keep in mind that Jack Franks assisted Acosta’s campaign via the Illinois Integrity Fund.

    One of the targets of the Illinois Integrity Fund (Jack Franks) was Mike Rein.

    Mike Rein was shown as winning on election night but later after about 25,000 more votes were found, Acosta came out on top – not saying there was anything done illegally, I do not know, but there was a coordinated statement relative to the new found votes by County Clerk McClellan and Jack Franks.

    Meanwhile, it does appear that Jack Franks is attempting to make the life of the new County Clerk miserable with constant attacks and innuendo being printed by the MWH – attacks which one could easily believe originate with Jack Franks.

    Insofar as Acosta and the McHenry County Latino Coalition it is reported that when he was asked to do an accounting of the money the group received (taxpayer dollars), he could not comply.

  12. Could it be that Jack Franks is supporting Acosta because of Acosta’s affiliation with AFSCME?

    Ever since it was discovered that there is direct connection betweem Jack Franks and the Illinois Integrity Fund, contributions to his campaign fund appear to be dwindling.

    Since January of last year, AFSCME has spent $2,885,715.32.

    Some of that money went to Franks – maybe he wants more?

    BTW, AJ is still dead.

  13. Boo hoo boo hoo

    Jack is making my job hard because he makes me explain myself.

    Oh, I meant the county board makes me explain myself and I don’t always accept responsibility for what I have done.

    For example, when the ballots were wrong that was the vendors fault not mine.

    When I told everyone I won’t hire my wife, I did not say that I would not secretly work with her as the McHenry County GOP.

    I told them that I was paying for my defense.

    Because, I was paying part of it just not all of it.

    Kinda a part truth again not my fault.

    I answer questions when I don’t know the answer by having the person send it to me in writing so I can make sure the person who does know how to answer can help me.

    Boo hoo boo hoo all the way home.

  14. Compare this to the puff piece NW Herald put out.

    Why can AJ’s DCFS caseworker comment to the NW Herald reporter and not the Tribune reporter.

    Are the protesters at the trial also protesting and seeking answers at the County Board Meetings to how his case was handled?

    Jack thinks it doesn’t think there is a correlation

    maybe Jack would rethink his position if there was a little more pressure for answers at the Board meeting.

  15. This is what Mr. Lavona said about Acosta and apparently Jack Franks agrees:

    “Please consider giving your unconditional to Carlos Acosta in his campaign to be elected to the McHenry County Board.

    “Carlos Acosta is a true gentleman, accomplished social worker, committed union leader, family man, community organizer, and a genuine honest christian.

    “He has been involved in numerous voter registration campaigns as a believer in the principle of more voting participation as a means to a more vibrant and healthy democracy.

    “He also believes that a wider participation of all sectors of our society in local government will benefit all of us, not only the business community and the well connected.

    “He is also sympathetic to minorities and their struggles to fulfill the values and aspirations of the American Dream.”

    I do not believe too many people still agree.

  16. Why are the pictures of Carlos Acosta used by the media always devoid of the piercings and other bling?

    What really happened to the money used by the Latino Coalition?

    Why is Jack Franks supporting a government employee who was disciplined once before and now apparently may have facilitated the death of a child under his observation?

    Can we expect a hit piece next year on Jack Franks from the Illinois Integrity Fund?

    ‘Jack Franks supported a government employee who facilitated the death of a child?’

    Is that not the kind of garbage Illinois Integrity Fund used against Rein, Wheeler, Tirio, Brettman and Schuster?

  17. Carlos Acosta’s LinkedIn account does not indicate he is currently employed by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS).

    linkedin.com/in/carlos-acosta-3356646

    The LinkedIn account indicates his employment with DCFS ended in June 2005.

    However Chicago Tribune story by Elyssa Cherney titled, “DCFS Investigator Under Review in AJ Freund Case Faced Prior Discipline, Sits on McHenry County Board”, linked in the blog post, tells a different story.

    “A department veteran of more than 20 years, Acosta was assigned to investigate AJ’s family in December after DCFS received a complaint that AJ had a large bruise on his hip and that he and his younger brother were living in squalid conditions.”

    “Acosta started at DCFS in 1990 and left in 2005 to work at other organizations, according to his personnel file, which the Tribune obtained in a public records request.

    He returned to DCFS in 2010, records show, and made $94,400 last year, according to data from the Illinois comptroller’s office.”

    chicagotribune.com/news/ct-aj-freund-dcfs-investigator-carlos-acosta-20190624-iyrsfksrc5eallvugu7q67bsdq-story.html

    +++++++++++++

    The Chicago Tribune story indicates Mr. Acosta is a CPAS (Child Protection Advanced Specialist) with DCFS.

    +++++++++++++

    The Chicago Tribune story also indicates that Mr. Acosta’s caseload with DCFS was significantly higher than a DCFS federal consent decree.

    That coupled with Mr. Acosta’s positions outside his DCFS job leads one to wonder, was Mr. Acosta over extended?

    Mr. Acosta’s positions outside his DCFS job:

    – McHenry County Board member, district 5

    – AFSCME Council 31, Local 2833 union steward

    – McHenry County Democratic Party Central Committee, District 5 Chair

    – McHenry County Democratic Party precinct committeeman, Dorr Township, precinct 9

    – mediator at Blair Counseling & Mediation, Crystal Lake

    – licensed social worker in Wisconsin

    – Angel Llavona’s repeated assertions on the blog that Carlos Acosta is a rising star in the Democratic party.

  18. First, the report that Carlos Acosta makes over $94,400 as a DCFS employee just stunned me.

    How is it that government employees can earn such a high salary?

    And being he is an an active member of AFSCME Local 2833 (he was “appointed Steward for the local DCFS and DHS offices”), how much of his time at work is dedicated towards that Union activity?

    nd as an aside, I as a private citizen can only dream of the pension that he will be getting, let alone such a high salary.

    But it doesn’t end there – he gets an additional $21,000 a year as a McHenry Board member PLUS, he is a family court mediator in McHenry County with an hourly rate of $200?

    I thought these DCFS employees are allegedly overworked with a huge caseload?

    When does he have time for these activities?

    Just how much of his time as a McHenry County Board member AND a family court mediator plus his union activities cut into his ability to handle his DCFS caseload?

    His own website bio states that he is a “Child Protection Advanced Specialist for the Ill. Dept. of Children and Family Services, he also maintains private practices in Illinois and Wisconsin.”

    It sounds to me that he is stretching himself thin in an effort at additional income, and frankly – his DCFS caseload is MUCH more important than his extra curricular activities.

    And I’ll point out even one more thing…… he is a legal immigrant who is now a US Citizen (so am I), and yet his efforts with the “McHenry County Latino Commission” (an organization according to his website bio that “was involved in the passage of legislation providing in-state tuition for undocumented Illinois students”) shows me that he is a social justice warrior (advocating using taxpayer funds to benefit Illegal Aliens). As a fellow legal immigrant & US Citizen, I am confused as to why he would advocate for those who do not come to the United Sates legally.

    I think it is his attitude about the lack of following federal immigration law (he is picking and choosing what laws to follow and not follow) that contributed to his being disciplined for ignoring a court order to connect a family with support services, delaying help for four children in a home with a record of domestic violence and alcohol abuse.

    Any DCFS employee engaging in not following a court order (which was entered into to protect children) should give all citizens of McHenry County pause.

    There is much to be concerned about here about this public servant, but AJ Fruend deserved getting 100% of the attention of his DCFS caseworker…. and one has to wonder just how many other DCFS caseworkers are also not adhering to court orders & who are engaged stretched thin not just by their caseloads – but also by their other political activities.

  19. “Please consider giving your unconditional to Carlos Acosta in his campaign to be elected to the McHenry County Board.

    “Carlos Acosta is a true gentleman, accomplished social worker, committed union leader, family man, community organizer, and a genuine honest christian.

    “He has been involved in numerous voter registration campaigns as a believer in the principle of more voting participation as a means to a more vibrant and healthy democracy.

    “He also believes that a wider participation of all sectors of our society in local government will benefit all of us, not only the business community and the well connected.

    “He is also sympathetic to minorities and their struggles to fulfill the values and aspirations of the American Dream.”

    – Angel Llavona’s repeated assertions on the blog that Carlos Acosta is a rising star in the Democratic party.

    Carlos Acosta, irresponsible attacks from fake pro lifers, compassionate conservatives on this sunshine blog does not change the reality that we support you unconditionally.

    Stay tuned…tic, tock, tic, tock, tic, tock, meeeeeoooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwww…

  20. Angel, he might be Jesus Christ in your eyes….. but AJ is still dead.

  21. The article should Read:

    “CARLOS ACOSTA BRINGS SHAME TO McHENRY COUNTY!”

    “CARLOS ACOSTA SHOULD BE BROUGHT UP ON CHARGES OF SECOND DEGREE MURDER!”

    GENUINE HONEST CHRISTIANS DON’T WILLING AND KNOWINGLY LET CHILDREN DIE!

    THIS IS A CALL FOR THE RESIGNATION OF CARLOS ACOSTA!

    OK, WHO’S GOING TO START THE PETITION TO HAVE HIM REMOVED?

  22. THIS IS A CALL, FOR CARLOS ACOSTA TO REMOVED FROM THE MCHENRY COUNTY BOARD AND DCFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

    TIME FOR RESIGNATIONS!

    THE PEOPLE OF MCHENRY COUNTY WILL ACCEPT NO LESS!

    DO THE DIGNIFIED THING AND RESIGN CARLOS!

    YOU ARE NO LONGER NEEDED IN MCHENRY COUNTY!

    YOU HAVE PROVEN THAT YOU ARE INCAPABLE OF REPRESENTING THE PEOPLE OF MCHENRY COUNTY!

    WE WILL NOT STOP UNTIL YOU HAVE RESIGNED!

    RESIGN CARLOS NOW!

  23. Does Carlos Acosta have the legal right to reside in the US?

    Inquiring minds, would like to know!

    Time for some NON VIOLENT PROTEST!

    Resign CARLOS ACOSTA!

    RESIGN!

  24. BANK RECORDS PLEASE!

    WHOSE GOING TO PRODUCE THE MONEY TRAIL?

    LET’S SEE HE WORKED FOR A NON PROFIT AND SOME OTHER THINGS.

    HE IS A PUBLIC SERVANT AND THE PEOPLE HAVE THE RIGHT TO KNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  25. Carlos was born in Barranquilla, Colombia, immigrated to the US with his parents when 3 years old, and became a naturalized citizen at 19 years old.

    He grew up in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago and graduated from Lane Technical High School.

  26. So, Jack Franks espouses the greatness of Acosta on the McHenry County Board; Lavona supports Acosta unconditionally.

    Franks is being sued and sued and sued and sued and sued for campaign activity that was at the least questionable and is a proven liar.

    Lavona is allowed to teach your children.

    Both are devout Democrats like Hilary.

  27. Both Franks and Acosta need to be removed. They are both part of a big problem here in Illinois.

    Acosta still needs to resign!

    A child is dead and all those that participated in the ultimate death of AJ Freund need to go.

    Clearly, there is a chain of events that took place because AJ Freund was allowed to die. His death could have been prevented.

  28. Is Hillary Clinton responsible for the death of this young boy? Or should we blame teachers? Perhaps Jack Franks. Or is it that these compassionate conservative charlatans in this sunshine blog just can’t resist the temptation of cheap political gain after a tragedy? Carlos Acosta is a fine human being and all these diatribes and racially motivated insults will not change that reality. Respect the memory of this boy who died tragically and let the judicial process take care of the people responsible for his death. In the meantime, stay tuned…tic, tock, tic, tock, tic, tock, meeeeeoooooooooowwwwwwwwwwww…

  29. Angel- stop trying to twist everything people write.

    Clearly, your agenda is to protect Carlos Acosta and Jack Franks and any corrupt Democrat that appears in McHenry County!

    Muzzle it!

  30. Franks supports Acosta because negligent Carlos will do whatever Franks says.

    Franks comes out saying he “blames the system”.

    Franks was part of the system for over 18 yrs and didn’t do a thing about it!

    That’s a lot of nerve when Franks is in the paper every other day calling for Republican resignations simply because it’s his opinion.

    That’s political B.S. however, with Acosta and the DCFS issue, it is pure unadulterated negligence from a DCFS employee that has been disciplined before and now one of McHenry County’s sons is dead!

    Rest in Peace, Little AJ.

    (thank you States Atty Patrick Kenneally for your letter and for revealing this when DCFS is trying to minimize this)

    When is the next protest?

  31. A recap on Carlos Acosta’s LinkedIn account and his most recent employment at DCFS.

    ++++++++++

    Mr. Acosta’s LinkedIn account lists his present job and employer as Board Member, 5th District of McHenry County Board in Woodstock, Illinois.

    “Elected to serve as Board Member for the 5th District of the McHenry County Board.

    Received the most votes of 4 candidates in the November 2018 General Election.

    First Latino elected to the McHenry County Board.

    Currently appointed to the Administrative Services Committee and Law & Government/Liquor Committee.”

    ++++++++

    Mr. Acosta’s LinkedIn account indicates his employment at the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services ended in June 2005.

    ++++++++

    That contradicts with the June 24, 2019 Chicago Tribune article by Elyssa Cherney titled, “DCFS investigator under review in AJ Freund case faced prior discipline, sits on McHenry County Board” which states the following:

    “He returned to DCFS in 2010, records show, and made $94,400 last year, according to data from the Illinois comptroller’s office.”

    +++++++

    Sources:

    Google search: LinkedIn Carlos Acosta Board Member 5th District McHenry County Board

    chicagotribune.com/news/ct-aj-freund-dcfs-investigator-carlos-acosta-20190624-iyrsfksrc5eallvugu7q67bsdq-story.html

    ++++++++

    Is his priority an elected politician on the McHenry County Board representing McHenry County District 5 taxpayers, or as a CPAS (Child Protection Advanced Specialist) employed by DCFS funded by state taxpayers?

    ++++++++

    Another issue is the below article indicates that Mr. Acosta’s DCFS case load was higher than that set out in a Federal consent decree.

    Someone with a state DCFS case load higher than that set out in a Federal consent decree simultaneously pursues a county board political career?

    ++++

    Chicago Tribune

    AJ Freund’s DCFS investigators were overloaded with cases before boy was killed – a chronic problem at the agency

    by Elyssa Cherney

    May 9, 2019

    chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-met-aj-freund-dcfs-caseworkers-20190508-story.html

  32. Yes, we have Patrick Kenneally the County States Attorney, fighting for the rights of the people.

    People implicated in criminal negligence should be prosecuted.

    Acosta is not an honorable person and that is why he has not resigned.

  33. Angel-No Hillary is not responsible for this child’s death anymore than Donald Trump is responsible for the recent death of the father and daughter at the border.

    As Jacko said, blame the system.

    If Jacko is right in what he suggests, then we must blame Mr. Acosta as he was the direct representative of the system for the protection of AJ.

    Some wizz bang Child Protection Advanced Specialist.

    He should be stripped of that designation.

    Tic, tock, tic, tock, tic, tock.

    Meeeeeeeeeeeeeoooooooowwwwwww.

  34. Suddenly, our compassionate conservative friends forgot their favorite motto: “it takes a family to raise a child” These insults have nothing to do with a genuine sadness coming from a tragic death of a boy; just petty cheap political attacks. Because I know this person, and I know how irresponsible these sunshine commenters are, I stand with Carlos Acosta. Stay tuned…tic, tock, tic, tock, tic, tock, meeeeeoooooooowwwwwwwwwwww…

  35. “it takes a family to raise a child”?

    Your absolutely correct.

    And when that family fails DCFS is supposed to step in.

    Obviously they failed.

    Who was the direct representative of that failure?

    You can stand with him, you will also fall with him.

  36. Sorry I forgot. tic. tock, tic, tock, meeeeeeeeooooooowwwww.

  37. Here is the article mentioned in the blog post.

    ++++++++++++

    Chicago Tribune

    DCFS investigator under review in AJ Freund case faced prior discipline, sits on McHenry County Board

    by Elyssa Cherney

    June 24, 2019

    chicagotribune.com/news/ct-aj-freund-dcfs-investigator-carlos-acosta-20190624-iyrsfksrc5eallvugu7q67bsdq-story.html

    ++++++++++

    – “Acosta” is mentioned 44 times in this article.

    ++++++++++

    – This article did not mention that Acosta holds the following Democratic Party political positions, as referenced in the June 25, 2019 12:26PM comment above:

    1. McHenry County Democratic Party Central Committee, District 5 Chair

    2. McHenry County Democratic Party Precinct Committeeman, Dorr Township, Precinct 5

    +++++++++

    – This article did not mention the attack ads against Acosta’s Republican opponent, Michael Rein, in the November 6, 2018 General Election for McHenry County Board member representing District 5.

    A person or people with with money obviously wanted Mr. Acosta to win that elected position.

    +++++++++

    Once again, was Mr. Acosta overextended, as he has several activities outside his full time DCFS job, and his DCFS case load was above that stipulated in a Federal Consent Decree.

    +++++++++

    This Tribune article did reference, and link to, a May 24, 2018 letter from McHenry County State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally to Carole Ruzicka in the Aurora DCFS office.

    “Acosta was also named in a May 2018 letter that McHenry County’s top prosecutor sent to DCFS detailing his concerns about investigators.”

    Following is the Tribune article which links to that letter.

    +++++++++++

    Chicago Tribune

    Read State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally’s letter about how DCFS handled cases in his county

    April 30, 2019 8:10PM

    chicagotribune.com/news/ct-patrick-kenneally-dcfs-letter-20190430-htmlstory.html

    +++++++++

    The Tribune article seems to indicate that AJ Freund’s case is 1 of 4 DCFS cases in which the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s office have expressed concerns about Mr. Acosta’s conduct.

    1. AJ Freund

    2. “A judge and a prosecutor ordered him on Dec. 18 to refer the family to support services, but he didn’t until Jan. 24.” [Mr. Acosta didn’t attend the December 18th hearing…why…what time was the hearing and what was he doing at that time.]

    3. “One of the cases was from July 2016, when Acosta investigated allegations that a McHenry mother of two and her boyfriend were using heroin in the home and frequently left the kids unattended for hours when they drove to Chicago to purchase the drugs.”

    4. “In a separate case, the letter said, Acosta didn’t take diapers, shoes or clothing for four children whom he removed from a home after their 3-year-old sister accidentally hung herself while playing in a closet 2017, according to the letter and case records.”

    – It seems these are 4 separate cases from the article, but maybe not.

  38. December 18, 2018

    ++++++++

    Per the June 24, 2019 Chicago Tribune article by Elyssa Cherney, “At a hearing in mid-December, which Acosta did not attend, the judge instructed DCFS to refer the parents to service providers for extra support.”

    chicagotribune.com/news/ct-aj-freund-dcfs-investigator-carlos-acosta-20190624-iyrsfksrc5eallvugu7q67bsdq-story.html

    ++++++

    Per the June 4, 2019 Northwest herald article by Katie Smith, “Dec. 18 and 19 were Acosta’s first and last times meeting AJ’s family.”

    nwherald.com/2019/05/30/dcfs-investigator-shares-details-of-december-visit-to-aj-freunds-home/amuo7w1

    ++++++

    The Chicago Tribune article indicated the December 18th hearing involved a different Crystal Lake family (not AJ’s family).

  39. The sunshine blog reports…you decide…tic, tock, tic, tock, tic, tock, meeeeeoooooooowwwwwwwwwwww…

  40. The next protest is July 16th at the McHenry county courthouse 7:30-11:30 am.

    This is JC and AF next court appearance where we remind the judicial system we are watching and demanding justice be served for everyone involved with this child’s death.

    Stay tuned there may be another one same day 7:00 pm.

  41. AJ would still be here and this tragedy could have been prevented if DCFS Carlos Acosta would have intervened and acted on his behalf back on that December day.

    Instead the caseworker Carlos Acosta made the fatal decision to release AJ back to his “father” as a safety precaution the “father” was asked to stay in the home.

    This so called “father” lived in the home, this so called “father” in the least knew of the abuse if he didn’t participate, he didn’t prevent it, or take action to report it.

    This “father” as well as “mother” were known drug users with past history of neglect and abuse. With prior children taken away from their “care” from this “home”.

    Carlos Acosta how is it possible to view that as a safety precaution???

    This child’s life was taken by his “parents” hands, as well as DCFS’ failure to protect him.

    Administrative duty is NOT by far close to the action DCFS should take. Is this their “safety precaution” because again it’s not enough!!!!!

    At the very least if you are not taking accountability for your own lack of action DCFS should take action for you and you should be terminated immediately and removed from the board. You blame the system clearly indicating you knew the system was flawed.

    Yet instead of doing something about it, speaking out, reaching out to others up the chain and being part of the change Carlos decides to not be bothered with it and just do the bare minimum to still collect his pay check, all the while working all these various positions knowing children are at risk!!!!!

    He’s a selfish “person” who absolutely should not be involved in the decision making on the behalf of others!

    #deliberateindifference
    #roarforaj

  42. And, Lauren Underwood defends Carlos Acosta by refusing to call for his resignation!

    THE PEOPLE SHOULD BE OUTRAGED!

  43. AJ should have been removed from his parents along time ago …

    And now he is dead at the young age of 5 because his mommy beat him to death.

    Parents stored in in basement then his daddy buried him in a shallow grave in Woodstock…..just. Unreal

  44. All of you people on here blaming 1 person for AJ’s death don’t have a clue what you are talking about. He should have done this, he should have done that. Do you have any idea what the job of a social worker entails? Do you have any clue what the rules are for having a case be founded or unfounded. You do not. Do your research before you go spewing your hate.
    I am not defending Carlos I am defending all social workers. The decisions they have to make on a daily basis are incomprehensible to each and every one of you. I love when people complain about the fact that he had an overload of cases, ACCORDING TO FEDERAL GUIDELINES mind you, so he shouldn’t be allowed to be pursuing other jobs or interests? Have you ever been overloaded at work? Did you spend your days and evenings doing nothing else but your work – NO!!! (I’m sure someone will say yes, and if you do – you are lying. 100% lying so don’t bother.) Oh yeah and whoever said Carlos knew the system was broken and should have done something about it…ha. You agree with every policy your work has. Do you go any change it somehow (you know without the money to do so and not the support you would need)? How can you even say that? Do you know what his other cases were? Do you know how many children he has removed and saved throughout his career? No you have no idea. Yes AJ’s case TO US ON THE OUTSIDE seems so black and white. “He didn’t care, he was just collecting a paycheck”. Again it’s just ignorance talking. It’s not as easy as you want to think it is. And one very important thing I will not tolerate is to call any social worker selfish or only in it for the money. No one and I mean NO ONE who does this kind of work can be selfish. It is IMPOSSIBLE. It would be like calling a policeman or fireman cowardly. It takes a very specific kind of person to do this job. It’s like being a policeman or fireman, it’s a calling. You wouldn’t last a week if you were selfish.
    Let’s see some of my other favorite comments….he makes too much money for a system that is underfunded. Seriously? They need money for more employees. They need money for more resources. Let’s bump down Carlos’s pay to 60,000 – is that low enough for you – the left over money isn’t enough to hire enough people to take over his overload of cases. Should we pay all of them 20,000 and then there would be enough money to go around. Sure but would you work for 20,000 a year. Probably not and definitely not with the kind of work they have to do.
    I have watched this story play out since day 1 and the way this has turned into a “Let’s all blame Carlos” has just been ridiculous. Do you know the names of the other social workers that had contact with AJ. Carlos was not the only one – I assume all you know-it-alls know that. If you are going to blame him you have to blame them all. Several people could have removed that child before his senseless death. Everyone has such tunnel vision and only looking at the last 6 months of this poor child’s life. AJ was in the system from the day he was born. Plus don’t forget his mother had a file even before AJ was born. I mean if we are going to go on a witch-hunt let’s burn them all. Every case worker, supervisor, judge who put him back with his parents.
    The system is broken people. Sure let’s get Carlos fired….then what. What are you going to do after that? Is your self-righteous crusade over then? Of course it is. If any single one of you truly cared about this boy’s life you would be trying to help find a solution to the bigger problem. Firing Carlos isn’t going to stop this from happening again. When all you do is bitch about one small part of the problem and then move on the problem continues.
    I have not read one sincere comment on this page. Not one that really cares about AJ. Just a lot of misdirected anger.
    This is 100% honestly not a “defend Carlos” comment. This is a “I’m so tired of people acting like they care about something bigger when in reality all they care about is blasting one person and then moving on.”
    If any of you who want to see Carlos get fired from his job, resign from his elected position, or even go to jail really care about why you want those things to happen please let me know what you are going to do after that because I will say it again…..
    regardless if Carlos is on a county board or in jail THIS WILL HAPPEN AGAIN.
    So what are you going to do about it?

  45. Lola 24

    There are bad employees in every line of work. From customer service, to food line cooks, there are also bad police officers and bad firefighters.

    If a fireman refused to carry a child out of a burning building and made them walk out or crawl out on their own would you still think that’s courageous?

    The police officer who shows up to a mass shooting and waits in his car while hearing gun fire is that courageous?

    No, it’s doing the bare minimum to keep your job and collect a check.

    Just skating by in such positions where lives are at stake is not acceptable.

    If your child said who hurt them and how they hurt them would you ignore your child?

    Because that’s exactly what happened here and it is his job to intervene on behalf of the child and he didn’t and a child is dead!

  46. Lola 24…

    Acosta needs to be held accountable for his negligence.

    The Las Vegas officer that froze during a mass shooting got fired.

    The Parkland school guard is sitting in jail with criminal charges.

    There are bad social workers who aren’t good at their job and Acosta is one of them.

    In any other line of work if you make mistakes you get let go.

    Acosta’s mistakes cost the life of a child and after he gets fired then changes can be made within DCFS

  47. There is absolutely no excuse in the world for not saving that little boy.

    The mess in the house and the dog feces on the floor was enough to remove AJ Freund and his brother.

  48. What happened to Lola24.

    Had her rant and moved on?

    Yet asked others what they are going to do about it????

    Hmmmmm

  49. Excellent post by Lola! These irresponsible fake pro-lifer compassionate conservatives with their questions do not fool anybody here. Nobody in his/her right mind believes they care about the dead boy at all; it is only about a cheap and filthy political agenda; obsessed with other people’s salaries, benefits and private lives. We know these republikkklans too well. Stay tuned…tic, tock, tic, tock, tic, tock, meeeeeeoooooooowwwwwwwwwwww…

  50. Funny how Hope used two mass hoax examples in their explanation of accountability.

    Something is really stinking about this whole situation.

  51. Do “genuine honest Christians” have the GOD like ability to be in two places at once???

    like say at a County board meeting and DCFS at the same time?

    tic tock tic tock………ME f’in OW

  52. Angel, I noticed you bypassed my original comment altogether (tic toc indeed).

    lola24, you really need to not generalize and keep on point regarding the issues (and FYI – I HAVE done the research).

    My breakdown of the issue of Carlos and his multiple gigs spells out in detail why there should be a concern.

    And FYI, A.J. is still dead….. and that is an incredible injustice.