There has been considerable outcry and no small amount of finger pointing in the wake of the Jamarion Lawhorn case. Jamarion, who at 12-years-of-age is Kent County’s youngest defendant facing murder charges, was severely abused by his mother and stepfather. Both of whom blame each other for the abuse inflicted on their children.

But one of the places where the finger of blame has also pointed rather emphatically is at Child Protective Services. The agency, who has a long and rather ineffectual history with the Lawhorn family, was labeled by the Office of Children’s Ombudsman as having failed. A detailed investigation by the OCO revealed that CPS had made a number of mistakes during their investigation, and had even violated the state’s “child protection law”.

A recent release of employment and disciplinary files from the agency shows that two CPS workers were punished in the aftermath of the OCO findings. This seems to support the idea that even CPS believes that they did not do their jobs properly in terms of protecting Jamarion from his parents.

A CPS investigator and an agency supervisor were both disciplined for what was listed as  neglect of duty. Agency paperwork acquired through the Freedom of Information Act revealed that both individuals were guilty of not following state law or agency policy in this case. They were both suspended without pay for five days, and required to participate in additional training.

Details included in the paperwork show that one of the specific incidents that led to disciplinary action took place  in May 2013. CPS visited the Lawhorn home and Jamarion was seen to have marks on his legs. He also shared with workers at that time that he was being abused. In fact, his parents even admitted the abuse themselves.

But CPS chose not to contact police to report their findings, which is required both by agency policy and by state law. Michigan law requires that a CPS worker notify both the police and the county prosecutor within 24 hours of being told of criminal child abuse.

Thankfully, some good has come out of this tragedy. In the wake of Jamarion Lawhorn’s arrest for murder, and all of the tragic and terrible details that emerged in the weeks that followed, CPS had been required to make some changes. Changes that will hopefully protect future children from abusive homes and prevent horrific situations like the death of 9-year-old Connor Verkerke – Jamarion’s playground victim.