Two-year-old Ja’hir Gibbons was found dead earlier this week in his Washington Park home — his mother Brittany Hyc and her boyfriend Dejon Waters have been arrested in connection to the boy’s death.
Court papers say Waters beat the child until he foamed at the month and died.
Ja’hir had previous injuries and his mother, prosecutors say, had looked up how to hide bruises on the internet.
Allegations of abuse began with older siblings back in 2010. Last weekend, a caseworker contracted by DCFS visited the home and reported Ja’hir and his 5-year-old brother were safe. The next day the worker filed another report saying only the older child was at home.
In 2018, a case worker said they had heard what they thought was a child being beaten by Waters.
DCFS has opened an investigation and barred the worker from any contact with families and said falsifying records will not be tolerated.
The governor says a nationwide search is underway for a director in place to replace the interm director.
There have been 12 directors of this agency in the past decade.