Michigan’s Office of Children’s Ombudsman is in the preliminary stages of an investigation to determine whether or not CPS did their jobs with regard to the recent deaths of two toddlers. In both cases the babies were determined to have died as a result of severe abuse. But what the state’s watchdog agency is trying to determine now, is if CPS could have prevented the abuse, and as a result, the deaths.

On July 9th of this year, 17-month-old Alileeona Clark of Matawan died at the hands of her mother’s boyfriend, Matthew Knobloch. He admitted as much to the police, and has already been charged with open murder. The second child, 19-month-old Ny’Shuin Lewis, died as a result of blunt force trauma to the head on July 14th in Kalamazoo Township.

But what does CPS have to with their deaths? According to Orlene Hawks, the director of the Office of Children’s Ombudsman, the answer may be… a lot! Apparently CPS had contact with both families prior to the children’s deaths, but how much and to what end, has not been shared with us.

Suffice it to say, while very little of the behind-the-scenes information is available to the public, the fact that OCO has chosen to investigate both of these deaths says something. Apparently the investigation is expected to take about six months, with the intention of probing “the actions and decisions of the agency and see if there was any wrongdoing.”

The investigation will also be looking at whether all policies and laws were properly followed by CPS personnel with regard to these particular cases, and whether or not the deaths could have been ultimately prevented. Perhaps earlier intervention, or offers of assistance, maybe even a case of warning signs overlooked? Who knows?

But the question remains, did CPS do everything they could to prevent the deaths of those two children? And if not, what could have been done differently? And how can it be prevented from happening again?

For those of you who have not encountered the Michigan Office of Children’s Ombudsman before, here is a rough overview of their purpose. Their job is to independently investigate complaints about children who are involved with child protective services, foster care, adoption services, and juvenile justice in the state of Michigan.

One of the many roles they play is the independent investigation of cases involving children who have died as a result of child abuse or neglect, in situations where there has been prior involvement with a child welfare agency.