text: Your comments: Watchdog seeks information on DYFS, dead Irvington girl | NJ.com
  Your comments: Watchdog seeks information on DYFS, dead Irvington girl
  on June 08, 2011 at 4:44 PM, updated June 08, 2011 at 5:42 PM
  Christiana Glenn shown in a family photo taken in 2006. The death of the Irvington 8-year-old from malnutrition and an untreated broken leg earlier this spring have raised numerous questions about the care she received from her family and state agencies.
  A child advocacy group as well as the monitor for New Jersey's Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS) is looking for more information about the agency's involvement with the family of an 8-year-old girl who died last month from malnutrition and an untreated broken leg.
  The Star-Ledger reports that DYFS investigated the mother of the dead girl, Christiana Glenn, four times from 2006 to 2008 based on accusations that she beat her three children and left them unsupervised. Each time, caseworkers determined the allegations were unfounded.
  "Four unfounded complaints are a huge red flag," said Nancy Parello, a spokeswoman for Advocates for Children. "If investigations were not properly conducted, the outcome might have been different for these kids." Commenters are responding to The Star-Ledger story. NJ.com user VoiceofReason31 wrote, in part: The real culprits are the family and friends who saw this take place and did nothing. DYFS does not employ mind readers, nor do they predict the future, they only go on what is reported and can only make decisions on available evidence. These people need to stop trying to scapegoat a system that protects thousands upon thousands of children a year, only to be dragged through the mud by the unfortunate exceptions that take place. Another NJ.com user, allathe1, wrote:
  What a sad situation! The Division of Youth and Family Services should be more involved in the lives of these families. Even when they can't find anything at first, they should at least check on the kids a few more times unannounced. Join the conversation by going directly to the comments section of this article.