There's a horrifying story out of Fitchburg, Massachusetts involving a potentially catastrophic fail by child welfare authorities. It's potentially egregious enough that I'm reposting from yesterday to help get more eyes--and possibly save the life of a little boy.
Five-year-old Jeremiah Oliver has been missing since September--and yet, even though a social worker was supposed to be checking on him regularly, no one reported him missing until just last week. For those of you keeping score, that means it's been three months since anyone has confirmed seeing him. Now polic the boy's mother and boyfriend are up on criminal charges, two social workers have been deservedly fired and police fear Jeremiah may be dead.
The story begins in September 2011, when the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families first became involved with Jeremiah's family. He, his brother and sister were supposed to get monthly visits from a DCF social worker. But those regular visits never occurred.
The last documentation of an interaction with Jeremiah was in May, according to Department of Children and Families spokesman Alec Loftus.
In June, Loftus says the social worker was told that Jeremiah had moved to Florida to live with his grandmother, but never bothered to follow up or verify whether that was the case.
The last time a visit to the home occurred was in November, at which Loftus says the social worker left behind a business card indicating that this would be DCF's final visit.
Just days later, on December 2, Jeremiah's 8-year-old sister disclosed to counselors at her elementary school that her mom's boyfriend, Alberto Sierra, 22, had abused her, according to a police affidavit.
Multiple calls to Sierra's attorney have gone unreturned.
"As a result of those statements" the affidavit continues, "[she] and [another brother that isn't Jeremiah] were removed from the home and taken into protective custody."
When cops asked Elsa Oliver, 28, where her third child Jeremiah was, she told them that he had moved to Florida, a law enforcement source involved in the investigation told CNN.
This time, however, she was going to have to prove it.
When Elsa--who showed visible signs of abuse--failed to comply with a court order to produce Jeremiah within 72 hours, she was arrested and charged with reckless endangerment and being an accessory after the fact of an assault with a dangerous weapon. After interviewing her, her lawyer requested that she undergo a mental evaluation to determine if she is even competent to stand trial. Sierra was arrested hours later and charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and assault on a child causing bodily injury. No word yet on whether the charges pertain to Jeremiah. A hearing is set for Christmas Eve.
The social worker and her supervisor were fired in short order. DCF commissioner Olga Roche held the supervisor responsible for failing to make sure the social worker was keeping an eye on Jeremiah and his siblings. According to a scathing column by the Boston Globe's Yvonne Abraham, the social worker and her supervisor were actually ready to close the case despite Elsa's mental problems and drug use, as well as numerous concerns expressed by others who dealt with the kids on a regular basis.
Their union rep claims that the two workers are scapegoats for an overburdened agency--a claim that doesn't sound believable since, according to Roche, the social worker failed to make required visits to eight other families as well. Regardless of what the truth is, Governor Deval Patrick is personally determined to get to the bottom of this. In an interview with WGBH in Boston, Patrick says he has asked Roche to determine if blame for this potentially catastrophic blunder rests with anyone else--"and I have reason to believe it does."
There are a bunch of recriminations all around. The boy's father, Jose, got a friend to drive him from New Britain, Connecticut (he doesn't drive) to try and help track down the son he hasn't seen in over two years because his estranged wife kept them from him. He and his brother are seriously considering suing DCF for not following up on reports that Jeremiah was being abused as early as May, among other things.
It goes without saying that a lot of heads need to roll here--especially if this is as gross a case of systemic dysfunction as it looks.