Judge questions DCS workers about paralyzed girl's gruesome death

[KamaAina]

http://www.indystar.com/story/news/2014/10/11/judge-questions-dcs-workers-paralyzed-girls-gruesome-death/17124941/

Only days after a Department of Child Services visit, a paralyzed Indianapolis woman died in a filthy, cluttered home with blackened bedsores covering much of her lower body. Some were so deep they exposed bone and organs.

Neither the DCS employee nor a Damar Services therapist and case manager who visited the home only six days before Linda Kelley's death reported her perilous condition.

That failure to protect Linda, who had entered the DCS system as a child and recently turned 18, resulted in the firing of two DCS employees and a series of hearings. In one hearing in September, Marion Juvenile Court Judge Marilyn Moores called Linda's death "the saddest, most disturbing case" of her career....

Moores said she held the hearings to find out if DCS officials or the Damar Services workers had falsified documents. After seeing pictures of Linda and the home, Moores said she could not understand how the workers could submit such positive reports on the conditions there.

[uppityperson]

1. And, they were quite overworked. System failure.

During a recent hearing, questions also were raised about heavy DCS workloads in Marion County, where workers are reportedly handling as many as 28 active cases. State law mandates such workers average no more than 17 ongoing cases. The former employee involved in Linda's case said she was handling 27 ongoing cases.

[IVoteDFL]

2. It seems like DCS workers were being spread too thin

After reading the article through I'm a little confused about her residence. She was living with her parents at the time of her death? Surely there must be some charges there too? How can you live with someone and not be aware of their rapidly declining health?

[Lars39]

3. Bedsores have an unmistakable smell.

There is no way on this earth that those workers did not know she had them. That poor child.

[valerief]

4. Looks like more cuts need to be made to DCS. Cuz that's how the GOP fixes things

for the non-rich.

[GeorgeGist]

5. Republicans.