Family sues Illinois DCFS workers over monthslong separation from infant child

(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A new federal lawsuit claims workers with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) ignored doctors' opinions and unnecessarily separated an infant boy from his downstate parents for several months.

The young boy, referred to only as “GL” by family members and attorneys, was removed from his Spanish speaking family by DCFS in July 2023. He wasn’t returned to his parents until October 2023.

Lawyers said GL was 7 months old when his mother took him to a doctor to address a minor, sun-related burn. During the visit, she was asked to explain the burn and several spots on his leg, but the hospital failed to provide her with an interpreter.

According to the complaint, which was provided to WBBM Newsradio, the doctor called the DCFS hotline, which instructed the on-call DCFS caseworker to take GL into custody.

Records obtained by family attorney Michelle Coady Carter showed that, one day later, a DCFS caseworker reached out to the a child abuse pediatrician who serves as a forensic consultant for the department.

The doctor told DCFS that they believed the spots on GL’s leg were common among the Hispanic community and due to exposure to lime or citrus. She also said the marks on the infant’s leg were not bruising.

“DCFS knew within 24 hours, by their own medical experts, that GL did not have any injuries as a result of neglect or abuse,” said Coady Carter.

Coady Carter said a culturally inappropriate and adversarial response from the DCFS employees caused months of injury to the boy, including separation from his breastfeeding mother, multiple hospital stays and multiple placements of feeding tubes. GL was placed in five non-Spanish speaking foster homes, attorneys said.

“During a very central time for his own language development,” she said. “He suffered from language delays as a result of that.”

Coady Carter added: “Why is a DCFS investigator not trained to know that that type of mark on his leg is common in Hispanic populations if she’s investigating in a Hispanic population?”

GL’s father Victor Lucha told reporters there are no words to describe the pain this has caused his family.

DCFS is not named in the federal lawsuit, but the state will be named in a companion case that will be filed this week in the Court of Claims. DCFS has not responded to a request for comment.

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