“People don’t understand the trauma we face”

Carlos Acosta will address the court Thursday during his sentencing hearing before Lake County Judge George Strickland. Acosta, a former employee of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, who was convicted of mishandling AJ Freund's case before the Crystal Lake boy was killed by his mother, was sentenced to six months in prison and 30 months of probation.
Gregory Shaver/Shaw Media

As a prosecutor spoke to the media Thursday following the sentencing of 5-year-old former child welfare investigator AJ Freund, Department of Children and Family Services employees in the Illinois expressed their frustration.

McHenry County State's Attorney Patrick Kenneally met with reporters outside the courthouse after Carlos Acosta, 58, a former DCFS investigator, was sentenced to six months in prison and 30 month of probation. Kenneally told reporters he was pleased with the sentence and prayed that AJ's death would not be in vain.

“We pray that everything he suffered has already saved lives. … This (case) is fundamentally about accountability,” Kenneally said, adding that Acosta failed to do his job and let the Crystal Lake boy, who was later killed by his mother, “face a sociopath and a sadistic.”

“We hope this is a wake-up call,” Kenneally said. “This is someone who showed complete and utter indifference towards a child.”

As Kenneally spoke to reporters, Alex Medina, identified as a 30-year DCFS employee, shouted that prosecuting Acosta, who — unusually — has been criminally charged and convicted of child endangerment, was a “witch hunt”.

Eventually, Medina, who was one of seven DCFS employees present in court to support Acosta, took over the microphones set up by various television stations. He said people at higher levels of DCFS should be held accountable, that investigators “are people too,” that caseloads are higher than legally allowed and that their work takes them away from their own care and those of their own family.

“You have no idea what (investigators) are going through,” Medina said.

He went on to say there was a “complete disregard” by DCFS officials for the legal caseload and blamed the media for not telling the real story.

“It’s a broken system,” he said.

Kenneally later responded that “anyone who claims this is a witch hunt is deliberately or deceitfully ignoring the clear facts of this case and the careful findings of an impartial judge.” For many, accountability is a difficult thing to accept, especially for those who have operated with impunity for so long.

Outside the courthouse Thursday, Chyaire Brown, a former DCFS investigator and now a supervisor in the Joliet office, said Acosta had a lot of support from DCFS employees. She said AJ's death was tragic and Acosta may not have done everything he could, but their job was dangerous and stressful. Since 2022, DCFS workers who work in the field have been trained to wear protective equipment and use mace.

“We're human beings, too,” said Brown, who lives in Downers Grove and has been an investigator with DCFS for five years and has worked in child welfare for 21 years. “We shouldn’t have to wear bulletproof vests as investigators.”

The caseload, legally allowed to be 12 per caseworker per month, is actually between 31 and 82, Brown said in his office overseeing Will and Grundy counties. Managing all cases, including writing all notes for each case, easily translates into days of at least 12 hours. Investigators should also be available 24 hours a day, Brown said.

She said she had to seek protection orders and restraining orders from harassment and contact. Clients threatened DCFS investigators and someone “barged” into the Joliet office, she said. She also said a client once disclosed personal information about a DCFS investigator on TikTok.

“People don’t understand the trauma we face every day,” Brown said. “Not just the trauma we have to see, but the trauma we have to go through. All they think is that we're taking children. We want to make sure kids are safe — that's our first priority — but we're not safe. How can we actually conduct a full investigation to determine if a child is being abused or neglected? »

Brown highlighted the deaths of two DCFS investigators, Pamela Knight of the Dixon office in 2018 and Deidre Silas of the Springfield office in 2022. Silas' killing prompted DCFS employees to be equipped with bulletproof vests and mace , she said.

Brown believes Acosta's conviction will set a precedent for things to come.

“It can happen to any of us, to anyone in the field,” she said.

Brown said she and other DCFS members are planning a public meeting in Joliet to address issues and educate the public about DCFS and its jobs. Medina and Brown said they were speaking as private citizens and not as representatives of DCFS.