Rescued From Filthy Apartment, 19 Children Strive for Better Life in Foster Homes

The cops went in looking for drug dealers and found a heartbreaking scene instead: 19 children, from 6 months to 14 years old, crammed into an apartment littered with feces and crawling with cockroaches.

Six of the children huddled under a dirty blanket on a single mattress; five slept in their underwear on a hardwood floor. Two toddlers fought with a German Shepherd over a chewed bone. A filthy refrigerator stood almost empty.

Now, a year later, the case that Vice President Al Gore called a “warning bell” for America’s poorest neighborhoods may yet have a happy ending.

The children are in foster homes and most appear to be thriving.

“They’re going to school, they’re getting fed, they’re sleeping in their own bed,” said attorney John Savittieri, who worked for the public guardian’s office. “They are in much better shape out of the custody of the adults at Keystone.”

When they were found in the apartment on Keystone Avenue, the children seldom went to school, didn’t receive medicine for chronic illnesses, and lacked adequate food and clothing--even though the mothers were collectively receiving about $66,000 a year in welfare.

The situation quickly became a symbol for the plight of America’s drug-ridden urban neighborhoods.

“People sat back and said, ‘Is this what is happening? Is this where we’re going?’ ” said Patrick Murphy, the Cook County public guardian.

Information about the children is limited by confidentiality laws, but a picture of their lives today emerges from court records, case files and interviews with attorneys familiar with the case, some speaking on condition of anonymity.

Nine are with families who would like to adopt them if their parents’ custody is terminated--a step that is still months or even years away.

Five of the children’s six mothers, who are sisters, have been convicted of misdemeanor child neglect and endangerment. So has one father. They avoided jail by agreeing to undergo various drug counseling and job and parenting classes, but could still be incarcerated if they drop out.

The sixth mother is awaiting trial on felony cruelty charges.

“But for the number of children, people need to understand that this is not the exception,” said Yvonne Holte of the public guardian’s office. “These situations exist all over the country and need to be addressed.”

Michael, 5, is one child who is faring much better. Last February, he couldn’t walk and ate only from a bottle. He suffers from cerebral palsy and seizures but was receiving no medication.

Today, he walks with a brace and is beginning to talk and feed himself. Once reluctant to be touched, “he hugs and kisses--he’s a very loving kid,” said an attorney familiar with the case. He is on a fast track for adoption, living with a foster-care couple who hope to become his parents.

Some of the mothers have taken encouraging steps too. Denise Melton soon may be ready to leave an inpatient drug treatment facility, according to attorneys. Her children, ages 6 and 4, live with maternal cousins. She visits them every Saturday.

But there have been setbacks too. Diana Melton, mother of two of the children found, delivered a cocaine baby days after the police search. Authorities took it away.

She hasn’t tried to visit the three children in almost a year, and has been jailed twice since then.

Records indicate she was tossed out of a jail drug-treatment program. She will soon give birth to another child.