Two months after it was first requested, the Illinois Department of Children Family Services released a timeline of involvement with a Fairview Heights foster child who died in the agency’s care.

Mackenzi Felmlee had 10 caseworkers from 2019 to 2024 while in state care.

The last contact Mackenzi’s caseworker made was a phone call with the foster mother that occurred two days before her death.

This summary was prepared by the editors and reporters who worked on the story.

Two days before police found Mackenzi Felmlee gasping for breath at the bottom of the stairs, her caseworker noted the foster mother told her the girl was “struggling.”

On May 11, 2024, Mackenzi, an 18-year-old foster child, died at a local hospital after she was found unresponsive in her Fairview Heights home. Shem

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