Horrid story from the Seattle Times, repeated at government child welfare agencies across the country:

At the time of their death by starvation and dehydration last November, Justice and Raiden Robinson had fallen off Child Protective Services’ (CPS) radar despite their mother being accused of child neglect at least six times.

That critical lapse, according to a review of the boys’ deaths released yesterday, was the result of lackadaisical investigations by a rookie CPS caseworker carrying four times as many cases as the industry standard.

The worker’s errors were compounded by an absence of supervision and outdated laws that limit the state’s interventions in chronic-neglect cases, according to the review by the state Office of the Family and Children’s Ombudsman.

The boys’ caseworker in Bremerton blew one deadline after another, then filed inaccurate and overly positive reports about their mother, Marie G. Robinson.

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When government cares for your kids