DHS policy not followed with Jozlynn

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - A new report suggests local child welfare workers failed to follow policy in its handling of complaints involving Jozlynn Martinez and her baby brother before Jozlynn disappeared.

Those mistakes led the Office of Children's Ombudsman to recommend changes at the Kent County Department of Human Services office, according to the report obtained Monday by 24 Hour News 8.

Jozlynn died Feb. 22 in a home she shared with her mother, little brother and the boy's father, Jeffrey Malmberg.

Malmberg is awaiting trial for second-degree murder after telling police he kneeled on Jozlynn's chest until she stopped breathing, then disposed of her body in a nearby Dumpster. Police haven't found her body.

The Ombudsman's office, an independent agency that investigates cases handled by DHS, suggested the local office failed to follow policy. It recommended five changes to the Kent County office. Among them:

• Caseworkers make their required monthly contacts with clients and update its service plans for clients
• Intake workers properly screen complaints and review a family's history with DHS to determine whether those complaints are new and require an investigation
• New complaints involving ongoing cases are assigned for investigation

Already, the Kent County office has made some changes, the report says.

"Kent County DHS has taken steps to strengthen the intake process," the report says. Among the steps already taken: that intake workers fill out paperwork to show they've reviewed a family's history whenever a new complaint comes in.

The local office has said it would review the policies with its workers by Aug. 31, the report shows.

Attorney Robert Kruse, who represents Jozlynn's little brother, said he reviewed the entire DHS case involving the family and found holes.

"There were things that didn't seem buttoned up or addressed," he told 24 Hour News 8.

Among the holes: It didn't appear DHS followed up when Malmberg got back into the family's life last fall, despite a troubled past, Kruse said.

"It didn't seem that that tripped any alarms -- that this could be a big source of danger for the kids," he added.

Jozlynn suffered minor injuries a short time before her death, and her mother, Consuela Martinez, suspected Malmberg was to blame, but she continued to allow him to care for the children.

The state removed the boy from his mom's home shortly after Jozlynn disappeared. The boy is living in a local foster home.

"He's doing great," his attorney said.

Kent County Child Welfare Director Savator Selden-Johnson on Monday refused to say whether the lapses led to disciplinary action, citing confidentiality, or whether following policy could have prevented the death.

"We have to establish whether or not the case has met a standard that would require a more intensive intervention," she said. "This case did not appear at that time to require a more intensive level of intervention.

"I guess when you say it didn't work, tragedies happen. We do our best to ensure safety to be proactive and predictive in terms of saying do we have enough safeties? Is the mom cooperating?"

She said changes already are being made.

"We as a system need to be more more proactive in terms of making sure supervisors and intake staff adhere to policy to the strict letter of that policy," she said.