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Parents ask DCFS to investigate handling of day care probe

Pantagraph - 8/7/2018

Aug. 07--BLOOMINGTON -- A Normal woman is asking the inspector general of the state Department of Children and Family Services to investigate the agency's handling of accusations that she injured her son and lied about it to authorities.

The state has dismissed felony charges of obstruction of justice and misdemeanor domestic battery against Tricia Danyus. A felony count of filing a false police report was reduced to misdemeanor disorderly conduct; it was related to a August 2017 Facebook post stating that her son was injured at Shining Star Learning Center in Normal.

Danyus was placed on six months of court supervision, meaning that no conviction will be entered if she satisfactorily completes the six-month term.

The 32-year-old mother renewed her assertion Monday that she did not harm her 1-year-old son. Danyus said she has asked the in-house oversight unit of DCFS to investigate a three-month gap between when she accused the day care of abusing her child and the review of surveillance video that led to four license violations being filed against Shining Star.

Shining Star owner and executive director Jyl Waller said Monday that a DCFS website listing December rule violations incorrectly included an allegation that the facility did not appropriately supervise children and protect them from "exploitation, neglect and abuse." Waller learned of the incorrect entry after The Pantagraph asked her about the alleged violation.

Waller said the claim was deemed unsubstantiated by DCFS. An agency spokesman confirmed removal from the website of a clerical error that left the misinformation on the website for more than several months.

Four substantiated violations include failure of staff to show flexibility, understanding and patience, respect for adults and children, and listening skills needed to respond to children, according to a DCFS compliance report. Staff lacked adequate skills to provide care, said the state.

Waller said staff received training after the citations were issued. The day care has denied injuring Danyus' child.

The child care described in the compliance report differs sharply from the "exemplary" care Normal police Detective Kendra DeRosa described at a court hearing in Danyus' criminal case. The officer said she watched the surveillance video and saw no signs of aggressive or improper handling of children.

Police and prosecutors working on Danyus' case were not notified of the state's decision to file the violations related to the surveillance tape and in-person visits to Shinning Star. The violations, which have since been corrected, were not sent to authorities "because they were licensing violations and did not rise to the level of abuse or neglect," DCFS spokeswoman Alissandra Calderon said Monday.

The state's dismissal of the felony charges against Danyus follows a judge's ruling that much of her interview at the Normal Police Department would be barred from a jury based upon improper promises of leniency made to Danyus by a DCFS worker.

Danyus' defense lawyer, Steve Skelton, said the interview raises concerns about NPD's use of child welfare workers as part of the interrogation process.

"It's fraught with problems," Skelton said of the practice that can lead to legal challenges and false confessions.

When case workers are essentially playing two roles by assisting police and urging parents to admit alleged misconduct, "it can have disastrous consequences," he said.

A video played in court showed Danyus admitting she struck her son during a diaper change. That statement came after DCFS child protection specialist Theresa Ciardini assured the mother that her children would not be removed from the home if she acknowledged causing the injury, according to the taped interview.

Normal Assistant Police Chief Eric Klingele said Monday the department works jointly with DCFS on child welfare cases, but "we'll look at our practices and, on a case-by-case basis, see if we need to make changes."

The criminal case and placement of Danyus' two adopted sons, ages 2 and 1 at the time, with her sister for several months caused major upheaval in the family's life, Danyus said in an interview with The Pantagraph. After charges were filed, Danyus lost her job at a local high school, she said.

Danyus said she made a false admission to the DCFS worker "because I thought they were coming after me" and she feared police would try to accuse her 14-year-old foster daughter, who was taken from school and questioned by Normal police without a lawyer present, she said.

Danyus and her husband, Justin, hope to bring their foster daughter home soon from a relative's home where she's been staying since her removal by the state a year ago.

During the four days her sons were at Shining Star, Danyus said she complained to DCFS about the boys' care, including the mark on her son's bottom that resulted in the criminal charges. Police said those complaints were not forwarded to them for investigation.

Contact Edith Brady-Lunny at (309) 820-3276. Follow her on Twitter: @pg_blunny

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