SALEM, Ore. -- Just last month, the Oregon Department of Human Services found it missed the warning signs of abuse with Jeanette Maples, a Eugene teen who was found dead in her home last year.
Now the agency is looking into whether age plays a factor when welfare workers choose which cases to investigate.
State investigators are looking at whether the flawed screenings in Jeanette Maples' case were due to individual misjudgments or a systemic problem of screeners relying upon a child's age as part of their evaluation of a child's vulnerability.
State investigators said Maples' age appears to have been considered as a major factor in the conclusion that she was not vulnerable.
Their audit of a sample of closed cases is expected to be completed by March 1st.
