The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has officially approved a $20 million settlement for the family of 4-year-old Noah Cuatro, who was tortured and murdered by his parents in 2019. This landmark decision, approved on Tuesday, comes after a lawsuit was filed by Noah’s great-grandmother, Eva Hernandez, which alleged that the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) failed to carry out a judge’s order to remove the young boy from his abusive parents just weeks before his death. Warning: Details of child abuse and death to follow Noah’s parents, Jose Cuatro Jr. and Ursula Juarez, pleaded no contest in 2024 to the torture and death of their son, who died in July 2019, just days shy of his fifth birthday. Jose Cuatro Jr. received a sentence of 32 years to life in prison, while Ursula Juarez was sentenced to 22 years to life. The couple had initially claimed Noah drowned in a community pool, but his injuries were inconsistent with drowning, raising suspicions about how he truly died. Tragically, Jose Cuatro Jr. also sexually assaulted his son on the same day the murder took place at their Palmdale apartment. This heartbreaking case highlights a devastating failure within the child welfare system. Noah had spent the first three months of his life in foster care and was later removed from his parents’ care a second time after his mother fractured his sister’s skull. He then spent six months with his great-grandmother before being returned to his parents. A year later, Noah was back with his great-grandmother due to neglect and malnutrition, but shockingly, he was again returned to his abusive parents. Family successfully sues child killed because of the DCFS During one of these returns, Eva Hernandez recalled the distress her great-grandson felt, saying, “He always begged me not to send him to his parents. I tried to explain to him so many times, but he didn’t understand. He’d take his little hands and look into my eyes and say, ‘Don’t make me go there.’” The lawsuit claims DCFS repeatedly failed to protect Noah and his siblings, who were also subjected to abuse and neglect. In fact, an amended complaint brought in 2023 stated that new information showed DCFS workers knew of and failed to report their “reasonable suspicion” of abuse toward Noah’s siblings. For example, one of Noah’s older siblings later revealed he was often forced to “physically fight and beat up” Noah by Jose Cuatro. @LACountyBOSAt this point, you could almost have a scorecard. How many children???Grandma to receive $20m payout after terrified boy, 4, was tortured and killed by his parents https://t.co/O4u8dZSbHH via https://t.co/33jS6HElrw— USAUltraMagaChingona619 (@Kambearoz_rocky) October 1, 2025 The sibling also said he and Noah were always hungry and that he was “scared of his dad because he would beat him up” by punching and hitting him with his belt. The final, fatal breakdown came when a caseworker filed a 26-page petition to have Noah permanently removed from his parents’ home, and a Superior Court judge approved it. In a completely unacceptable failure, DCFS failed to carry out this judicial order, and Noah was dead within weeks. The lawsuit went on to accuse social workers of later making threats against Hernandez in an attempt to silence her about Noah’s case and potential lawsuits, allegedly telling her that any public statements would cost her guardianship of her three surviving great-grandchildren. Following the settlement, DCFS released a statement, saying in part, “It is DCFS’ hope that this resolution gives Noah’s family a sense of peace. His death and other child tragedies reveal the complexities of child welfare work, which often involves helping families heal from issues of generational trauma, untreated mental health, domestic violence and drug use, among other deeply personal challenges.” The agency went on to state that it remains “committed to learning from the past, improving its work, and operating with transparency.”