Between 1997 and 2004, the agency seven times looked into reports that she was neglecting her children, according to a detailed DHS review of the circumstances leading to Danieal's death.

The first one was substantiated, and the family received social services for a time. The next five complaints were dismissed as unproven.

In 2005, the agency heard a seventh report of neglect in the Kelly family, by then living on the bottom floor of a beaten-up rowhouse off Fairmount Park in Mantua, one of the city's poorest neighborhoods.

This time, DHS substantiated neglect, but didn't take the children from Andrea. Instead, in October 2005, DHS hired MultiEthnic to help.

MultiEthnic's DHS contract said it would help with housing issues, update the family children's medical treatment, line up doctors for Danieal , and make sure the children attended school.

But even while MultiEthnic was on the job, Danieal never attended school in Philadelphia - and some of her brothers and sisters skipped school at staggering rates.

According to school records, seventh grader Daniel was truant 75 days last year. Fourth grader Andre cut 33 days, and first grader Toneya skipped 25.

Despite these truancy rates, these children were all promoted this fall. A school spokeswoman denied that these were "social promotions," saying the children had received good grades and high scores on standardized tests.

By 2006, Andrea Kelly was pregnant with her 10th child.

Vincent J. Giusini, her lawyer, said she was a well-intentioned woman who should have gotten more help.

In an interview, Andrea Kelly said she tried to be a good parent, but was simply lost when it came to such tasks as ensuring that the children attended school.

An unnerving visit

MultiEthnic also insists that it tried its best.

The firm says it contacted school officials to enroll Danieal in school in late 2005, within a month of taking the family's case. But it said the process had been stymied by Andrea Kelly, who delayed months in signing required forms.

School officials disputed that, saying they never learned about Danieal until the spring of 2006.

In the spring, they said, a special-education expert and an assistant principal from a nearby middle school showed up at the Kelly home with the enrollment forms.

What they saw alarmed them.

The educators were particularly unnerved by Danieal's condition, said Barbara Farley, a spokeswoman for the district. They found the girl in her wheelchair in a dark room - and she screamed when they tried to move her into the light.

School staff told a MultiEthnic caseworker about the concerns, Farley said. Weaver, MultiEthnic's lawyer, said the agency was unaware of any warnings from the school district.

MultiEthnic says the real fault lies with DHS. On July 5, Weaver said, DHS and MultiEthnic were supposed to meet to discuss enrolling the family in a program with more intensive care and scrutiny. According to the firm, DHS "was AWOL - did not show up."