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Well, according to local news reports, the grandmother constantly called DCF (Department of Children and Families) inquiring about the whereabouts of the child, and basically, they gave her the run-around.
The caseworker hadn't visited the grandmother in over a YEAR, and was falsifying reports claiming that she visited the home, and the child was fine. Her supervisor knew about her bogus reports, and basically turned the other cheek. Both resigned back in March.
The father of little Rilya is nowhere to be found, and the mother is a recovering drug addict living in the Northeast US, I believe.
Earlier this week, they took the other two kids out of the grandmother's care. (Rilya's brother and sister). The mother of these kids is fighting to get them back, and she plans to sue the state of Florida.
I don't place most of the blame on the grandmother, because it IS a challenge to deal with DCF, and I say that from personal experience. (I am a teacher, with some students in the 'system'.) But, I will say this: If I was the grandmother, and I hadn't heard of her whereabouts for a while, and a caseworker hadn't contacted me or anything, I would have called the television stations, called the local branch of the NAACP, anyone who could help. But I don't know, maybe she was overwhelmed. Time will tell what the real deal is with this story once it all unfolds.
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