Santa Clara County Child Welfare Agency Silent on Ongoing Investigation in San Jose
- Ten social workers from Santa Clara County's Department of Family and Children's Services have been placed on administrative leave following the death of a 2-year-old toddler in foster...
- The child, identified as Jaxon Juarez, was found unresponsive in his crib at a foster home in San Jose on April 5, 2026, and later died.
- The county’s child welfare agency has not commented on the case, citing the ongoing investigation.
Ten social workers from Santa Clara County’s Department of Family and Children’s Services have been placed on administrative leave following the death of a 2-year-old toddler in foster care, according to a report by the Mercury News cited by NBC Bay Area.
The child, identified as Jaxon Juarez, was found unresponsive in his crib at a foster home in San Jose on April 5, 2026, and later died. Authorities have accused a 17-year-old boy — the foster family’s son and the child’s cousin — of molesting and killing the toddler.
The county’s child welfare agency has not commented on the case, citing the ongoing investigation. Santa Clara County’s Department of Family and Children’s Services has been under state monitoring since January 2023 after an investigative report concluded that its policies prioritized family preservation over child safety.
This incident has drawn renewed scrutiny to the agency, particularly after it was accused of withholding a November 2025 state report that identified serious issues, including handing over physical abuse cases directly to police without investigation and declining to open new investigations when new allegations of abuse or neglect arose.