A’zella Ortiz was four years old, starving, bruised, and unseen when Massachusetts DCF closed her “intact family” case after 114 days without laying eyes on her or her siblings. Less than a year later she was dead on a hospital gurney and her brother and sister were found broken beside her. This article exposes how a system that calls itself child protection chose paperwork, denial, and closure over keeping three children alive.

A 13-year-old in Connecticut became pregnant in 2008 while under a probate guardianship. Records show DCF and the court missed clear warning signs, failed to notify police, and left the child in harm’s way. Read how gaps in policy and practice let a guardian keep custody and control.

Police found Jacqueline Torres-Garcia in a plastic tote behind an abandoned New Britain house in 2025. Records show DCF closed a case months earlier after a video check. The story tracks the school withdrawal, the missed in-person visit, and the custody decisions that left no neutral eyes on her.