Child welfare system often allows parents with drug problems to keep their kids. After AJ Freund, will that change?
Like hundreds of children in Illinois each year, Andrew "AJ" Freund was born with opioids in his system, a red flag that got him removed from his parents' custody. The removal, though, was only temporary: He was back with his family 19 months later.
That decision is being second-guessed in the wake of 5-year-old AJ's murder, a crime for which his parents stand accused. But child welfare officials say there is no simple
