The Los Angeles County has been ordered to pay $20 million as part of a settlement agreement with the family of four-year-old Noah Cuatro, who was tortured and killed by his parents in 2019.
The horrific case brought intense scrutiny of the nation's child welfare system because it was found that the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) failed to remove the victim from his parents despite a court order telling them to do so.
Paying $20 Million for 4-Year-Old Boy's Death
The department was given 10 days to get the four-year-old boy away from his parents and get him seen by a doctor. The order came after several reports of neglect and abuse. Despite this, the DCFS ignored the court order.
The young boy was then reported to have died two months after that incident, before he was able to celebrate his fifth birthday. The parents of the child pleaded no contest to murder and torture charges, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The boy's great-grandmother, Eva Hernandez, said that Noah always begged her not to send him back to his parents. She then sued the DCFS in 2020, arguing that the department failed her grandson and should have intervened to save his life.
Read more: Fairfield Teenager Found Dead at Ohio State University Stadium, Prompts Official Investigation
At the time, Noah was under the supervision of the agency from the time he was born due to his mother being accused of fracturing his half-sister's skull. Officials with the child welfare department said that since the boy's death, it has hired thousands of social workers to decrease caseloads and retrained social workers on interviewing techniques and the use of forensic exams.
In a statement, L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said that Noah's death was a "heartbreaking tragedy." She said that while there was nothing they could do to undo the harm he experienced, the money would hopefully provide some measure of support to his surviving family members, ABC7 reported.
A Tragic Loss of Life
She added that the four-year-old's life was not in vain, noting that his case reinforced the need for ongoing review of child welfare cases, stronger partnerships with schools, and a stabilized child welfare workforce.
Noah's case hit a high point when his parents reported a drowning in their family pool in the 1200 block of East Avenue St. in Palmdale on July 5, 2019. The boy was quickly taken to Palmdale Regional Medical Center and later transferred to Children's Hospital in Los Angeles, where he was pronounced dead.
Medical staff grew concerned about the young child's injuries, becoming suspicious of how he got them and how he lost his life. They said that the trauma he suffered was inconsistent with drowning, as per FoxLA.
