When 17-month-old Semaj Crosby was found dead under a sofa that had no legs and was flush to the living room floor, there were obviously many questions that needed to be answered. Where could those answers be found? Not in the reports made by DCFS during repeated visits to the child’s home, because many of those were not filed until after the toddler’s demise. We are Kathleen and Robert Raskin, and we are dismayed to report that once again another child has fallen victim to the huge cracks in this broken system.

On April 26, 2017, police searched for Semaj, and while they were conducting their search a DCFS investigator frantically typed reports about interviews that had been conducted as many as seven weeks earlier. According to the organization’s rules, “all investigative activities must be documented in a contact or case note within 48 hours,” which is a far cry from the seven-week timeframe in this case. Despite this, the delayed reports were approved by supervisors of the agency anyway. The toddler’s family had been investigated repeatedly, so clearly DCFS knew she was at risk, but they failed to take timely action just the same, and now it is too late.

Chief Resigns Over Scandal

In the wake of the report over the allegations of delays in the system contributing to the toddler’s death, DCFS director George Sheldon has resigned. We, Kathleen Raskin and Robert Raskin, believe his resignation is not nearly enough. According to the delayed reports, the Semaj was living in filth, the mother had previously denied that she was even her child, and one of the toddler’s siblings is a suicidal seven-year-old who was not being given his medications. The list of red flags goes on and on, and still no one from this organization stepped in to save this child. The public deserves more than Sheldon’s resignations—we need real changes to this system, with procedures in place that will hold them accountable for their actions.