Child chokes in foster home within month of placement

DECATUR - Officials said Tuesday that the infant who died in a DeKalb County foster home accidentally choked to death on a piece of a hot dog. <br> <br> George Walker III, nearly 11 months old, died on November 7. The cause of his death was an acute airway obstruction, said Paul Kelhofer, chief investigator with the DeKalb County Medical Examiner&#39;s Office. <br> <br> Child welfare officials are investigating the boy&#39;s death, and state officials removed three children Monday from the DeKalb County home where Walker lived. Walker had been at the foster home only a little more than a month. <br> <br> Division of Children and Family Services spokeswoman Renee Huie declined to comment on the case Tuesday because the agency is still investigating. <br> <br> She says the agency has not had the chance to review the child&#39;s file. Foster parents, she added, receive ``extensive foster care training&#39;&#39; and are educated about ``things most dangerous to children&#39;&#39; in the home. <br> <br> The child&#39;s biological family previously had complained to state officials about alleged neglect in the foster home. <br> <br> Hearings were scheduled twice to determine where the boy should be placed. The first was postponed after six hours. At a second hearing on October 21, state child welfare workers said they planned to make a decision on the baby in December.

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