PA teen murdered by those meant to protect

"The Department of Human Services (DHS) strives to protect children from abuse, neglect, and delinquency. We also work to strengthen and preserve families by enhancing community-based prevention services. Our ultimate goal is to ensure the safety and permanency of DHS youth in nurturing home environments."

"Unable to help herself because of her cerebral palsy, she wasted away from malnutrition and maggot-infested bedsores that ate her flesh. She died alone on a putrid mattress in her mother's home, the floor covered in feces. She was 14 but weighed just 42 pounds."

I will say nothing about her parents, there is no combination of words that can appropriately address or explain my rage.

But the Department of Human Services (DHS) is another matter. They knew what was going on in that home, and they lied, falsified documents, and left that child there to die. After she was dead, they attempted to cover their tracks.

Perhaps the system is over burdened, perhaps the caseworker(s) were under trained and overwhelmed, and perhaps a million other excuses. Because in the end, that's what they are: excuses.

God grant her the rest and comfort she did not get in this life.

UPDATE: If you wish to contact the PA DHS and tell them your thoughts on the matter, their commissioner, Anne Marie Ambrose, can be at:

AnneMarie.Ambrose@phila.gov
215-683-6000