When it’s your job to ensure the safety of children, failure should never be an option. Yet the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), the state agency charged with protecting children, had failed spectacularly time-and-time again. The abuse, torture and subsequent murder of five-year-old Andrew “AJ” Freund at the hands of his parents stunned his community, but it was DCFS’ failure to protect AJ that shook the state.
In the latest Capitol Crimes podcast episode, Dean Abbott takes us through the horrific and heartbreaking story of little AJ’s murder, how he was failed by DCFS, and the efforts of two lawmakers, State Reps. Tom Weber and Steve Reick, determined to fix the ineffectual systems that should have protected AJ and other children from the abuse that ultimately led to their deaths.