Blog note: this article references a grand jury report.
SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - San Diego County Supervisors are responding to a Team 10 investigation detailing the death of a child in foster care.
Tyler Walter died Sept. 22, 2018. The cause of death listed on his autopsy is blunt head trauma.
In a claim filed against the County of San Diego, Lisa Walter stated that her son Tyler, "was healthy when he was in my care he was thriving, he needed his mother and placing him with my 19-year-old niece was negligent."
A representative for San Diego County Supervisors Greg Cox and Nathan Fletcher, Co-Chairs of the county's Child & Family Strengthening Advisory Board, says they can't comment on the specific situation in question because it represents ongoing litigation.
The supervisors did release a statement about the child welfare system overall saying, "Any day a child dies is a horrifically sad day. Our child welfare system in America exists to protect children and preserve families, and we take that responsibility seriously. As a County, we are currently engaged in the process of evaluation and change to ensure we are doing everything possible to protect children and preserve families."
In March the County Board of Supervisors approved creating the Child and Family Strengthening Advisory Board to help prevent and respond to child abuse and neglect.
According to county officials, the new advisory board will serve as a platform for collaboration and transparent monitoring of the child welfare system to ensure the safety and well-being of children and families.
A grand jury report released in June found multiple gaps in institutional safety and training in the Child Welfare Services division of San Diego County's Health and Human Services Agency.
The grand jury found that most social workers are overworked and often spend as much or more time on administrative work than interacting with foster children and families, resulting in poor communication and coordination.
CWS staff and foster parents also lack the proper training to offer trauma-informed care or support for victims of human trafficking, according to the report.
September 23, 2019
ABC 10 News San Diego
By Adam Racusin
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