Tara M. was 8 when she was tortured and scalded by her DHS-subsidized foster parents earlier this year.
The foster parents, Elman and Anna Gradiz, pleaded guilty to abuse charges in August, but the case raised questions about DHS's care of the child and its supervision of the private agency that approved the couple as foster parents.
Tara lived in nine foster homes and reported being sexually abused in two. Apparently concerned because they'd seen Tara touching her genitals, the Gradizes admitted that they poured scalding water on her face, chest, arms and legs and smeared a mixture of Vicks Vapo-Rub and chili pepper on her genitals.
DA spokesman Bill Davol declined comment on the probe, as did Assistant District Attorney Gail Fairman of the office's special investigation unit, who is supervising the investigation.
State grand jury law prohibits investigators and others connected with the panel's work from talking about its probes.
DHS spokeswoman Patricia Bathurst said the department is ``cooperating fully'' with the DA, but declined to comment further.
DHS is charged with protecting Philadelphia children from abuse and neglect, and is burdened by both crushing need and a tangle of regulatory requirements.
Currently, DHS has 7,800 abused or neglected children in foster care or other settings, and provides in-home services to more than 20,000 other young people.
Earlier this fall, it received its fourth consecutive full-year license from the state Department of Public Welfare. In the past, the state often has issued only provisional licenses because of DHS' failures to correct various problems.
It is unclear how many DHS cases the grand jury is investigating. One city source said that ``they've been carting bucket loads of material'' from the department's Center City headquarters.
Another city source said the probe ``looks like a fishing expedition.''
