Retired juvenile court judge calls for federal civil rights probe into DCF

A retired juvenile court judge is calling for a federal civil rights investigation into the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families, alleging discrimination against children with disabilities in the child welfare system.

Carol Erskine has submitted a request to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, arguing the agency failed to protect vulnerable children despite escalating risk assessments.

In her submission, Erskine points to three cases she says highlight systemic failures: Harmony Montgomery, David Almond, and A’zella Ortiz. All three children had disabilities. All three died by homicide.

She joined Kerry Kavanaugh on Boston 25 News Now at 3pm to talk about her filing.

Erskine said the failures persisted even as warning signs increased, raising concerns about how risk is assessed and acted on when children with disabilities are involved.

Erskine said she shared her submission with Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey. Boston 25 News reached out to the governor’s office for comment. We will update this story when we hear back.

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