In August, the Rhode Island Office of the Child Advocate released a 371-page report detailing findings from an investigation into 30 child fatalities and 11 near-fatalities of children between 2019 and 2026. All of the families noted in the report previously had cases with the R.I. Department of Children, Youth and Families.
“The impact of child fatalities and near fatalities reverberates far beyond the immediate family, affecting siblings, extended family members, schools, neighborhoods, service providers and entire communities,” the report reads. “The Panel recognizes the immense grief experienced by those who have lost a child, as well as the lasting trauma experienced by children, families and professionals when system failures contribute to preventable harm.”
The report details cases where DCYF investigators dismissed initial reports for lack of evidence. OCA also found gaps in the DCYF’s screening protocol and Child Protective Investigator caseloads that exceeded industry standards.
The Council on Accreditation, which nationally accredited DCYF in 2025, recommends that CPI caseloads should not exceed 12 active investigations at a time and that CPIs should not take on more than eight new investigations in a month. But in August 2026, 28% of active DCYF investigators were carrying caseloads that exceeded the COA standard by “a significant margin,” according to the OCA report.
Latisha Hill, a social caseworker at DCYF and Local 580 member, said that despite concerns raised by caseworkers, DCYF had not established a “meaningful internal pathway to prepare experienced employees to become Child Protective Investigators” in a statement shared with The Herald.
DCYF hired five additional CPIs in late August, and seven investigators hired earlier this year completed training and gained experience carrying cases, according to a statement from DCYF Director Ashley Deckert shared with The Herald.
Some screening problems came from “continued reliance on unverified self-reporting by parents or household members and a persistent failure to consistently consider prior DCYF history,” Kara Foley, public policy and communications manager for the OCA, wrote in a statement to The Herald.
According to Foley, concerns regarding CPS screening practices became more urgent in January 2026 “due to the severity of allegations being screened out, coupled with delays in DCYF’s response to concerns elevated by the OCA.”
In one incident, a family was reported to DCYF three times in a nine-month period preceding the death of their three-year-old child. The family had also been the subject of reports dating back 11 years. During the final report, one month before the fatality, the CPI did not enter the home before declaring a report of neglect unfounded. According to the report, in the DCYF’s investigation following the fatality, there were windows missing screens, trash and garbage strewn around and a “large cannabis production” in the basement.
The report also found that the DCYF’s Structured Decision Making tool did not properly consider previous incident reports or patterns of behavior while making decisions. The tool is used to determine whether reports called into the DCYF hotline should be investigated, screened out or otherwise handled. While the tool is meant to standardize decision making, the OCA found that the SDM tool, statutory requirements and DCYF policy were not always aligned.
“Significant inconsistencies remain in the application of the SDM tool, resulting in DCYF Hotline calls with similar fact patterns being handled differently, with some assigned for investigation while others are screened out,” Foley said.
Deckert also found problems in DCYF’s previous documentation practices. “I wish we had previously required the level of documented supervisory rationale that we now expect for screening decisions,” Deckert wrote.
In addition to strengthening documentation practices, DCYF is working to improve training, fidelity monitoring and quality assurance. “The question is not whether every past practice can be judged using what we know today, but whether we respond responsibly when concerns reveal an opportunity to improve,” Deckert added.
Some reports that are screened out are deemed to still warrant supportive services through the Support and Response Unit. In June, 80 screen-outs were sent to the SRU for a Prevention Response. Of those cases, 11 were sent back to CPS, and two cases showed no record of SRU engagement. Of the 67 cases remaining with the SRU, 99% failed to comply with the designated response times, and 87% percent were not assigned to an SRU worker within one business day.
“We are also strengthening the Support and Response Unit, including additional staffing, and examining its policies, referral practices and service model,” said DCYF spokesperson Jonathan Darling in a written statement to The Herald. “The Department will use the OCA’s findings to further inform and accelerate this work.”
“I don’t find Rhode Island’s data out of line with what I see in other states,” according to Tiffany Lindsey, co-founder and chief operating officer of the Center for the Helping Professions, which hosts the National Partnership for Child Safety. She said the OCA found that DCYF screen-in screen-out rates were similar to national findings.
“This work has made (it) so clear to me that we need cross-system approaches to prevention and support,” she said. “Safety is all of our responsibilities, and I think OCA’s report did a really great job of highlighting that.”
Michaela Hanson is a senior staff writer covering community and culture.
