DENVER—A state report reviewing the death of a 2-year-old child whose mummified body was found under a Sterling mobile home is riddled with almost 100 errors and missing details about the decisions that child protection workers made before his death.
An investigation released Thursday by an ombudsman says a state agency used incorrect dates, did not include details about ongoing drug use by the child’s mother and failed to note that caseworkers incorrectly completed risk and safety assessments.
Juanita Kinzie pleaded guilty last year to second-degree murder and child abuse resulting in the death of 3-year-old Caleb Pacheco.
Ombudsman Becky Miller Updike says the mistakes raise questions about the accuracy and credibility of the fatality review which was done by the Colorado Department of Human Services.
“If any good can come from the review of this death, it would be that we improve future child protection. I think the number of errors in this report raises concerns about that,” Updike said.
Updike said the Department of Human Services also omitted crucial details found in caseworker reports, incorrectly summarized contacts with Caleb’s family and failed to note policy violations.
Caseworkers received at least three calls from people concerned about Caleb before he disappeared in January 2011. Despite the warnings, caseworkers returned Caleb to his mother, who child protection workers knew had a history of drug abuse.
Caleb’s body was found Jan. 22, 2012. Kinzie was arrested in Denver the day before, high on methamphetamines. She told officers she had strangled her son and hid his body.
Kinzie pleaded guilty to one count of child abuse and one count of second-degree murder and was sentenced to 32 years in prison.
The state’s fatality review noted Kinzie consented to a drug test. The ombudsman report says the review omitted the fact that the drug test showed she was using meth.
By the time the drug test came back, Caleb and Kinzie had disappeared.
According to the Denver Post ( ), the department admitted to withholding the information, but said revealing the test results would have violated federal privacy laws because Kinzie was in treatment at the time of the test.
The report was the first released in a new format that Reggie Bicha, executive director of the Department of Human Services, promoted as an effort to create a more comprehensive and transparent account of child fatalities in Colorado. On Thursday, Bicha said that reviewing the report provided both the ombudsman and child welfare services guidance.
“At the end of the day, each side learned from each other, and we have better facts that will help us find better outcomes for kids,” Bicha said.
This was the first ombudsman investigation into a report completed by the Department of Human Services.
Child fatality reviews are completed for kids who entered child welfare services two years before their death from abuse and neglect. The reviews detail previous involvement with the child welfare system, including whether caseworkers and supervisors made mistakes.
———
Information from: The Denver Post,
