CPS supervisor fired after 9-month-old girl fatally abused in Detroit
Kinsley Evans, 9-months-old, died with signs of abuse on her body. The girl's family said they had been trying to get custody of her for weeks.
***WARNING: This story includes graphic details of child abuse***
DETROIT (FOX 2) - A Children’s Protective Services (CPS) supervisor was fired after the death of a 9-month-old baby at the hands of her father, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) said.
Kinsley Evans died in Detroit over the summer after authorities say she endured more than three weeks of abuse. Her father, 24-year-old Charles Evans, is now facing charges for the abuse and death.
Kinsley's family pointed fingers at both Charles and CPS, saying that CPS failed to address their concerns.
At the time of her death, Kinsley had been in the care of her father since Memorial Day, according to family members. His visitation was only supposed to last a couple of hours. But when the family went to retrieve her, they were rebuked, her family said.
Family of fatally abused 9-month-old blame father of child, CPS
"Had you lifted her shirt you would've saw she had bruises, a puncture wound. Those are things that DPD missed and CPS would've caught if they actually came out," said Juanita Straughter, Kinsley's aunt.
For weeks during that time, her grandmother Asia Nelson said the family did everything they could to regain custody of her. They called Detroit police, who did a welfare check and said the baby was fine. They begged the state to listen to their concerns regarding her well-being, but no one listened.
"(CPS) never even came out," Nelson said.
In addition to reaching out to CPS several times, the family petitioned the courts to get Kinsley back. They even went to the Michigan Department of Corrections to report Evans for a potential probation violation.
The MDHHS released a statement regarding the firing of a supervisor involved in Kinsley's case:
"The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services always take swift and appropriate action whenever there’s a child death. When a child dies, the department must and does review any previous contact with Children’s Protective Services so that we can grow as advocates for children and families and hold ourselves accountable for doing everything in power to protect children. While the department cannot discuss specifics of the case, a supervisor involved in this case has been dismissed following a department investigation."