Report faults DCF for licensing Auburn foster home

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/10/01/governor-baker-discuss-death-child-auburn-foster-home/ZPAl2dSv94tHsTlXIe5bQL/story.html



Avalena Conway-Coxon died suddenly in foster care in Auburn on a hot Saturday in August.

Report faults DCF for licensing Auburn foster home
By Michael Levenson and Andy Rosen Globe Staff October 01, 2015

The two little girls who were found unresponsive in Auburn this summer were living in a foster home that should never have been licensed and entrusted to a foster mother who had repeatedly been accused of neglect, according to a harsh report released Thursday by Governor Charlie Baker.

The report, which detailed failures at almost every level of the Department of Children and Families, confirmed that 2-year-old Avalena Conway-Coxon, who died, and 22-month-old Samara, who remains hospitalized, suffered from heat stroke and had bruises that suggested that they may have struggled to get out of car seats.

No one has been charged in the case, which remains under investigation, but Baker said two DCF workers had been placed on administrative duty. Officials said the workers, a manager and a social worker who has been with the department for 25 years, could be disciplined or fired.

“The report made clear there were many instances of blatant lack of oversight by DCF staff,” Baker said, striking a familiar tableau as he stood with his two top child welfare officials to grimly review the details of a child’s death for at least the third time in the last several months. “The failure to recognize and report certain issues with this foster home and parent is unacceptable.”