The employee who headed the Denver Department of Human Services child-abuse intake section when 7-year-old Chandler Grafner died has been moved to a different position while the city conducts an investigation of procedures leading up to the death, documents show.
Margaret Booker, who headed the Investigation of Child Maltreatment and Intake Services, was moved Sept. 11 to the department’s Resources Section, according to an e-mail written by Family and Children’s Services Division director Allen Pollack.
“(T)hese changes may or may not be permanent and an ongoing internal investigation is continuing that could result in additional changes, and disciplinary action,” Pollack wrote in the e-mail obtained under state open-records laws.
Booker declined comment Friday, directing questions to the department spokeswoman.
Chris Mootz, director of Human Services’ Legal Section, said Booker and Donna Hamburg, who once headed the intake unit, have switched jobs because city officials want “fresh eyes” looking at procedures in the intake area.
The intake unit deals with child-abuse and neglect complaints, deciding which merit further investigation.
“The reassignment is for the events (that) occurred around the Chandler case – not necessarily what happened to Chandler,” Mootz said. “It’s not what someone did or didn’t do, but it’s about communication issues and procedural issues.”
In Chandler’s case, a complaint about his treatment was not thoroughly investigated. Denver officials declined to investigate a complaint from officials at Chandler’s school the month before he died that said the boy had been missing from kindergarten.
“The referral was screened out because the county concluded that there were no allegations of abuse or neglect as defined by law,” the state fatality review said about the April 17 referral.
The city did investigate a complaint in January from the school, saying Chandler had bruises, but determined the abuse allegation was “unfounded.”
Chandler died on May 6, and his guardians are facing murder charges that allege they starved him to death.
Denver officials point out a state fatality review released last month that said Denver officials were not responsible for Chandler’s death.
A state investigation did find communication problems and other mistakes by Denver and Jefferson County human service agencies.
Denver has changed its policy to investigate all complaints coming from school officials, to communicate better with other counties and to mark future complaints like the January incident “inconclusive” instead of “unfounded.”
Booker’s transfer was announced while she was away, and Pollack noted in the e-mail that he was going home to prepare for “a very emotional day tomorrow when Margaret returns to work.”
He declined to take a call from The Denver Post on Friday.
Booker will oversee contracts, foster care, adoption and home studies, according to an e-mail from Hamburg also provided under open-records laws.
Arapahoe County, which had provided services to the family, has not made any personnel changes, and Jefferson County officials could not be reached for comment.
Mootz said the Denver internal investigation will be completed in weeks or a few months, but he did not know an exact time.
Staff writer Arthur Kane can be reached at 303-954-1244 or akane@denverpost.com.
