Missouri’s Division of Family Services is defending itself in the wake of a performance audit which found the Division isn’t doing enough to deal with child abuse and neglect. The report concludes the Division fails to adequately investigate cases. Division Director Denise Cross says the criticism is unfair because it focuses on isolated cases. Cross adds the audit ignores the improvements made to the system in the last several years.She also notes her workers don’t follow-up on all hotline calls–some are referred to other agencies, like the police.
