Jamie Harwood has seen a lot of horrible things in his 20 years as an emergency room nurse and five years as the Peoria County Coroner. He said he had never seen a worse case of child abuse and neglect. Harwood was the coroner in the case of 8-year-old Navin Jones, who died Tuesday evening at OSF healthcare St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria. Navin was in the care of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services when he died. The family of Jones had contact with the Department of Children and Families before his death. The parents of Navin Jones are facing murder charges in connection with the boy's death. There should be an internal investigation by the Department of Children and Family Services into this case. The Peoria Journal Star reported that Dave Kenny, the state's attorney, said that Navin's parents were living in a state of disrepair. The child was last seen in late October or early November, when he was in relatively good health, according to the newspaper report. Harwood declined to comment on Navin's condition at the time of his death, but said that the cause of his death was homicide and that the manner was abuse and neglect. The death of a 3-year-old girl was being investigated by another coroner. She died at a hospital in Whiteside County. The cause and manner of her death are still being investigated. The family had contact with the Department of Children and Family Services. The first annual report on the department's plan to address investigator caseloads was filed by the director on Tuesday. There is a current statewide rolling vacancy percentage of 21 percent, and the Department of Children and Families has a goal of reducing it to 6 or less. In the report, it was stated that they have added 198 investigators to the payroll since March of 2021, but due to the high number of employees leaving and retiring, the overall headcount went up by only a dozen investigators. The agency pointed to the labor crisis and rising child abuse investigations as obstacles to meeting the goal. If the Department of Children and Families had kept up with hiring over the past few decades, it would not be in this situation today, according to the Cook County Public Guardian. Children and investigators alike are at risk of serious harm and even death if the investigators are not given the support they need. The death of Deidre Silas in January was mentioned as an impediment to hiring. If the investigators have too much work, it is dangerous for kids and workers. The 12-month average of investigations in March was 6,535. In March 2022, that rose to 7,726. Children having more contact with mandated reporters may be the reason for an increase in reporting. The increase may be related to an increase in family stress. The Department of Children and Families is moving staff from other locations to volunteer for weekend shifts to help complete investigations. In the northern region of the agency, there were 13 blitzes where 148 staff worked a combined 2,500 weekend hours to help with investigations. The court granted a three-year extension to the Department of Children and Families to meet caseworker hiring goals. 30 years after the parties agreed to make changes, the agency is still struggling to be in full compliance with the decree. There have been cases of children who have died after having contact with the Department of Children and Family Services. Four children have died from child abuse since January. Smith has been cited for contempt of court eight times. The citations were based on improper placement of children in state care. Smith was cited for contempt for the eighth time. A 14-year-old girl entered the care of the Department of Children and Families in September. According to a release by the Cook County Public Guardian's Office, she has been in 21 placements with the Department of Children and Family Services. There were times in a locked psychiatric ward, hospital emergency rooms, emergency foster homes and a temporary shelter. The girl was placed in a residential placement. When the kids were placed in their recommended setting, the contempt order was removed from two of the eight cases. There were two cases involved. An 8-year-old girl was placed in a locked hospital for seven months. A boy is in a shelter in Mt. Vernon was nearly five hours away from his family. He was placed in an office before the shelter. The contempt order remains in place in all but one of the previous cases. The cases involve: A boy was placed in a locked hospital for more than four months because of medical necessity. A 16-year-old girl was housed in 25 different places in two months, including hospitals, emergency shelters, a shelter in Indiana, and temporary foster homes. She was in a locked hospital for nearly two months after being recommended to be moved. An 11-year-old girl was medically approved for discharge from a locked psychiatric hospital and was waiting for a transfer to a residential placement. A 15-year-old girl has been in a locked psychiatric hospital since December 6, 2021, and is currently waiting for her transfer to a specialized foster home. A 16-year-old boy spent more than 300 days in a temporary shelter that was unable to meet his special needs because of his low intellectual function. The Cook County public guardian's office represents each of the seven children in these cases. Judge Murphy was the Cook County Public Guardian for 25 years. Harwood is the coroner in Navin. He and his husband became foster parents in the fall of 2017 and adopted Jacob, who was taken into state care after he was born premature. Harwood was the coroner when Jacob's mother died from drug exposure. Harwood is troubled by the death of the 8-year-old who died in his county Tuesday, while grateful for his own son, who was once a state ward. We were fortunate. Harwood said that he is our miracle. Capitol News Illinois is a nonpartisan news service that covers state government and is distributed to more than 400 newspapers statewide. The Illinois Press Foundation is the main funders. She was confused by his behavior. A woman in Australia had horn-like bulges on her forehead after having a fox eye thread lift. Gym receptionist Jessie Carr had a procedure based on a TikTok trend in the hopes of looking like another person. The trend uses makeup to create the illusion of almond-shaped eyes, which is believed to be inspired by Asian features. 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