In March 1986 J.'s case came before Juvenile Judge Adele Faske, then 70 and technically retired. At that time, she conducted virtually all "judicial reviews."

The law requires such hearings each six months for foster children under 13. The idea: return a child home or put him up for adoption. State law says no child should remain in foster care more than a year.

Three times in J.'s first 18 months in foster care, Faske postponed her final decision. The judge kept giving Dinah the chance to fulfill state requirements to get her son back.

In April 1986 Dinah signed a contract with the state. She agreed to get therapy at Jackson, take her medication and attend parenting classes and vocational training.

In September 1986 HRS caseworker Nelly Martinez reported to the judge that Dinah had "partially complied." The judge gave Dinah another six months.

In December 1986 the state put J. in a second foster home. He arrived dirty and infested with lice.

His new foster parents, Jon and Shelley McLeod, lived in a roomy home in Miami Shores with a big back yard. Jon McLeod owns a gun and scuba shop. Their two children are grown.

They knew nothing of the boy's emotional problems. He looked like Tom Sawyer, with his blond hair, blue eyes and upturned nose.

"HRS brought him to me saying, 'This is a sweet little boy who just needs nurturing.' That wasn't so," said Shelley McLeod.

J. was an athletic 4 1/2, but he acted half his age. Shelley McLeod, a preschool teacher for 20 years, was astounded J. had never attended preschool. "The obvious things that ought to be done weren't."

She took the boy to the preschool at Miami Shores Presbyterian Church, where she was the administrator. The McLeods paid $1,300 from their own pockets.

In January 1987 the Mailman Center re-evaluated the boy. He did not recognize colors. He was unable to draw a square.

About the same time, Dinah got a job as a typist. She quit psychotherapy and stopped taking medication as her contract required.

"During the time (the mother) participated in the group, it was evident that she was extremely ill," wrote Jackson social worker Steve Barsky and Benjamin Brauzer, director of adult psychiatric ambulatory services.

"The patient disclosed that people were against her and that an organization (the Mafia) would be after her 'diary' . . . it would seem highly improbable that (she) could sustain the kind of care and consistency that her son would need."

J.'s court-appointed advocate, Linda Binder, argued the boy should be put up for adoption. His mother "has no family, no friends, no church and no support system" and had failed to fulfill her contract.

Nonetheless, a caseworker reported to the court that the mother was in compliance because she attended parenting classes and counseling.

In March 1987 Faske gave Dinah another chance, stalling adoption.

That summer, the boy, now 5, became compulsively neat. He wouldn't sleep under the covers because he would mess up the bed. He lined his shoes up precisely. A piece of paper on the floor made him want to vacuum.

When he talked, he was difficult to understand and got frustrated. The McLeods turned to charity, not HRS, for help.

North Shore Medical Center donated $700 for speech therapy. The Optimists gave $500. The McLeods paid $450 for summer camp. J. took gymnastics but had to be withdrawn from the class because of constant clamoring for attention.