Files report on status of recommended changes
The Oswego County Department of Social Services has submitted a report on how they are improving the agency. The improvements are based on the "Child Protective Services Improvement Plan" created by the county's Health and Human Services Committee in 2009.
The report details a three-year plan for the Child Protective Services Team. Phase 1 of the plan focused of increasing staffing. DSS says it hired new workers in August, many of whom completed training in December. Phase 2 looks at increasing supervision and training for employees, improving efficiency, and also improving relationships with schools and establishing a community advisory board. The department says it has begun implementing those changes.
The department came under fire in 2008 for its handling of the Erin Maxwell case. Erin died in August 2008 when she was 11 years old. But before her death, she lived in a home filled with garbage, animals, and animal waste. She was also locked in her room occasionally. DSS had received and investigated complaints about the Maxwell home but did not remove Erin.
Erin's stepbrother Alan Jones was found guilty of her murder. Her father and stepmother were found guilty of misdemeanor child endangerment.
