In June, the mother of two-year-old Mitchell Robinson III told authorities she found the toddler unresponsive in her home. An autopsy later revealed the boy died from acute fentanyl toxicity.
The mother, Whitney Ard, is now in jail and charged with negligent homicide. Records show the little boy had previously been treated at the hospital twice for suspected drug exposure.
In the spring, his parents were both arrested after a drug bust at their home. Despite reports to the Department of Child and Family Services, Mitchell Robinson stayed under the care of his mother.
According to DCFS, the social worker on the Mitchell Robinson case was on sick leave between the previous reports of drug exposure and his death.
The agency said while that worker’s supervisor should have taken up the case, it never happened.
The head of DCFS recently told a state senate oversight committee that her agency is severely understaffed, and caseloads are pushing workers beyond their limits.
The agency certainly is facing unique challenges, but a staffing shortage is not one of them. Since the pandemic, labor/staffing shortages have seemingly penetrated practically every industry or field of work.
So, where have some of the workers gone? The answer is not so simple, and the consequences of not having enough workers can sometimes be dire.
