BOSTON (AP) - The death of a 14-year-old autistic boy found malnourished and with fentanyl in his system in his father’s squalid home last October was the result of a “multi-system failure” made worse by the pandemic, according to an investigation released Wednesday.
The report by the Office of the Child Advocate in the death of David Almond said Fall River schools and the courts also failed the boy and two other children in the home, including one of David’s triplet brothers. The third triplet refused to live with his father.
The Department of Children and Families had removed the children from the home in 2017 but initiated the process to return them in March 2020 as the pandemic started.
“The (Department of Children and Families) area office decision to return the boys home was not clinically justified and failed to address the children’s special needs and safety,” the report said.
David’s father and live-in girlfriend are facing second-degree murder charges.
“The death of David Almond was tragic and should not have happened,” state Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders said at a news conference Wednesday. “We are deeply saddened and troubled by his death and we must do everything possible to ensure this does not happen again.”
Sudders said she accepted the report and its recommendations. She said two individuals in a leadership level at the agency have been fired.
“The safety net for our most vulnerable children failed this child,” Sudders added.
Department of Children and Families Commissioner Linda Spears said she was personally heartbroken by the death.
“The circumstances in this case are inexplicable to me,” she said. “There is no rationale that accounts for the decision to reunify these children given their risks and their concerns with this family.”
The child advocate’s office made several recommendations in the report, some of which have already been implemented.
“DCF took action to address critical issues raised, including urgently reviewing internal policies and practices to reduce safety risks for children,” the agency said in a statement.
The death caught the attention of top Democratic lawmakers on Beacon Hill.
Senate President Karen Spilka said in written statement that “David desperately needed protection, and he did not receive it.”
The Senate is ready “to address the numerous failures in the complex child welfare ecosystem to safeguard against this kind of tragedy in the future,” she added.
House Speaker Ronald Mariano said House leaders will “continue to improve any laws, regulations and oversight mechanisms in order to prevent another needless and inexcusable tragedy,”
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