[Larry_OHF]

I dunno what's wrong with social workers these days. Look at what happens when they do not do thier job. source

A 10-foot (3-meter) chain was wrapped three times around the boy's neck and held in place by a padlock when he was found Saturday in a South Side home.

"When we pulled the cover off him, we saw the chains. They were pretty tight," said Officer Oscar Arteaga. "If he fell off the bed, he could have choked."

His foster mother, Mary Bryant, 64, said the boy was chained because he stole food, according to police. She and the boy's foster father, Melvin Bond, 49, were charged with misdemeanor child endangerment. Melinda Bryant, 29, Mary Bryant's daughter, was charged with felony child endangerment and weapons and drugs charges.

The boy and four of the other children living in the home, ranging in age from 3 to 11, were taken into the custody of the state Department of Children and Family Services. An older child was left in the home.

Cook County Public Guardian Patrick Murphy slammed DCFS for placing so many children in the home.

"Here's a woman who's 64 years old who has six very troubled kids and so she can't take care of them and starts chaining them to beds," he said. Five different social service agencies were involved in placing the children, with DCFS as the oversight agency, Murphy said.

The boy pointed to where officers could find the padlock's key.

"He ran right away and hugged one of the officers and looked at the chains like they were evil," Arteaga said.