A Department of Children and Families sub-contractor has been arrested on charges of misconduct and falsification of records.
Vanessa Arias was a caseworker at Gulf Coast Jewish Family & Community Services when the Florida Department of Law Enforcement says in January of 2015 she visited a Kissimmee home with five children. FDLE said Arias documented a visit and reported no visible signs that the children were being neglected or abused.
But Kissimmee police found no food in the house and the power had been off for three weeks.
One of the children told investigators that Arias failed to return more than a dozen calls.
Gulf Coast Jewish Family & Community Services says it conducted its own investigation, notified the state’s inspector general, and Arias has not worked there since 2015.