Child Abuse and Neglect Awareness

DHS dropped the ball and did not open an investigation into abuse despite multiple reports, and a 2-year-old child died at the hands of her mother’s boyfriend.

State child-welfare workers failed to follow their policies involving a 2-year-old Salem girl who allegedly was killed by her mother’s boyfriend.

An initial investigation report issued Friday found that Oregon Department of Human Services did not open a child-welfare case for Natalia Lee, although the agency created a safety plan after receiving reports concerning Natalia and her brother.

Salem resident Russell Ros, 22, was arrested March 9 by Salem Police on murder and first-degree sex-abuse charges after Natalia died at Salem Hospital. The cause of death was blunt-force trauma, Marion County Deputy District Attorney Courtland Geyer said.

Ros had a criminal history of abusing Natalia’s older brother. A safety plan was created for the two children by DHS, but an official case was not opened. DHS officials are continuing to examine why that did not happen.

There are no words for me to describe how this makes me feel. This agency was created to prevent exactly what they allowed to happen through their failure to follow their own established policies.