Abused children may have been ignored because state officials assigned cases to employees who weren't there to work them, sources say and records suggest.
The State Journal found evidence in at least three counties that supervisors logged inaccurate information about employee caseloads and other activities that were court-ordered as part of a federal lawsuit filed after a string of child deaths, including Williamston's Ricky Holland in 2005. Current and former employees said supervisors are trying to make the state appear in compliance with the federal court order.
In Muskegon and Marquette counties, documents show cases were assigned to employees who were out of the office on extended leaves of absence. In Barry County, where state investigators in 2015 confirmed a supervisor falsified records of required meetings, similar behavior appeared to continue as recently as December.
The practice affected cases. A former Barry County worker, for example, said she inherited a case in 2015 that was nearly dropped for lack of evidence because no one had drug-tested the parents for months. A Delton father who was fighting to get his daughter back said he couldn’t reach anyone at the state for months.