(NECN: Greg Wayland, Boston) - According to Olga Roche, the commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families, there were massive failures to protect the life of five-year-old Jeremiah Oliver of Fitchburg.
The commissioner confirmed that a social worker and supervisor have been fired. The area program manager was also fired last week.
"The manager never ensured that there was a followup to the multiple reports that we received on abuse and neglect of the children.
The child's mother, Elsa Oliver, and her boyfriend, Alberto Sierra, now face multiple charges, including child endangerment and abuse.
Was this, as someone suggested, a case of social worker overload?
The commissioner says it was not, and that the case load for the social worker and the supervisor was average - whatever that might be in a department that handles thousands of children's cases every month.
