Two public agencies had investigated a Northwest Side family in the months before police found three young boys living in deplorable circumstances, their guardians allegedly high on drugs, according to state records reviewed by the Tribune.

On Dec. 5 Chicago police found the boys — ages 8 months, 2 and 4 — in a basement apartment on the 5100 block of West Agatite Avenue. They had rashes and bruises, were living without food among beer cans and dirty diapers, and within reach of what police believed was heroin, the records show. Their mother’s boyfriend was found passed out, naked, on the kitchen floor, according to police records.

Cook County Public Guardian Robert Harris raised questions about the quality of the child welfare investigations, which would have included visits to the home, and suggested that at the very least, caseworkers should have plugged in supportive services to help the family keep its children safe.

“Fortunately, it didn’t end up with a kid ingesting heroin or getting run over by a car,” Harris said, “but those are the natural consequences of what happens when you have parents who are, for whatever reason, not able to care for the kids.”

When arrested, the boys’ mother, Nicole Zarei, 27, was on conditional release from a previous child-endangerment case. Authorities have charged her and her boyfriend, Heber Gomez, 28, with three new misdemeanor counts of child endangerment, one for each of the children. The adults also have been charged with one felony count each of possession of a controlled substance.

According to records, law enforcement and child welfare authorities had been involved with the family multiple times this year but had not moved to pull the children from the home or give the family supportive help.

Illinois child welfare officials had looked into Zarei for allegations of neglect in June and February. Zarei and the boys’ grandmother also were investigated for abuse this year. But the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services did not find enough risk to remove the young sons, said spokesman Kendall Marlowe.

DCFS is investigating the family for allegations of neglect, related to the Dec. 5 incident, Marlowe added.

After the most recent incident, a child welfare worker acknowledged the two previous investigations in a court document reviewed by the Tribune, and added: “There is an air of concern that this family keeps coming to DCFS attention.”

DCFS, which declined to comment further on the specifics of the case, has won a $1.8 million grant from the federal government to begin next year offering voluntary support to families who may initially demonstrate a low risk of harming their children.

“Some of the most difficult child welfare cases are those that present low to moderate risks due to neglect, rather than high risk due to abuse,” Marlowe said. “We hope that this new approach can engage families voluntarily and help us protect children that the investigative process does not let us reach.”

Chicago police had also known of the troubled family.

In November, according to state records, Zarei had a seizure and passed out; her children were found running around an alley. The children were left with a neighbor so the mother could go to the hospital.

Another police officer had recently responded to the home when Zarei’s sister alleged that Zarei stole her prescription medication, records show. The officer found Zarei in a T-shirt and shorts despite cold weather.

“The children were in the basement. However, officer did not enter” during that visit, according to DCFS records. Police were called to the family home Dec. 5 by Zarei’s father, who said he had not seen his daughter in some time. In addition to finding the squalid conditions, police arrested the parents after finding what they believed to be an illegal substance. The parents were taken to a hospital for evaluation, officials said.

The boys were interviewed by caseworkers, the same records show. The 2-year-old boy, who wore Mickey Mouse pajamas, had a healing cut on his face. When asked how he got it, he just answered: “Pow” and gestured, according to the documents. His 4-year-old brother said that his mother’s boyfriend “did it with the door.”

Told by the worker that “it was not nice to hit,” the 4-year-old boy responded: “That is what Mommy does.”

Zarei appeared in Cook County court Wednesday and state’s attorney officials filed a violation on her conditional-release sentence, according to a spokesman from that office. They also filed an order of protection for her to have no unlawful contact with her children. Her bail was set at $25,000, and her next court date is Jan. 19.

Gomez’s next court appearance was scheduled for Dec. 24.

ocasillas@tribune.com