Panel likely to call for DSS changes

A report set to be released today will urge the state to do more to protect children, in part by providing medical expertise to social workers investigating cases of abuse and neglect, according to sources who have seen the report.

The report will also recommend the state open to the public end-of-life hearings for children in state custody, raise child welfare to a Cabinet-level position, and rename the embattled Department of Social Services to the Department of Children and Families.

The recommendations are included in a draft of the report by a special legislative committee, two people who have seen the draft told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because it had not yet been officially released.

The state's child welfare system has come under increasing scrutiny after the cases of Haleigh Poutre, brought to a hospital with severe brain injuries in 2005 when she was 11, and Rebecca Riley, whose parents are accused of killing the 4-year-old in December with an overdose of prescription drugs.

DSS Commissioner Harry Spence has said the agency has had trouble pulling together doctors and medical specialists to consult on cases involving medical issues and children because of the high profile nature of the cases and the potential liability.

House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi created the special 11member House Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect.