Advocates argue new legislation could prevent future abuse in PA, but will the bill pass?
Nearly 20 years ago, the murder of 14-year-old Daniael Kelly led to a Grand Jury investigation into her death, looking into how the state’s child welfare system could have failed her.
The Grand Jury report listed a number of recommendations to make sure what happened to Kelly never happens to another child.
One of those recommendations was for a position to be created that would give the authority to oversee the Department of Human Services (DHS) and the child welfare system.
The recommendation reads the position would “also be charged with the authority to investigate complaints made to him about DHS service, or to initiate investigations on his own. He would be given full access to DHS’s records, and would prepare an annual report to the public.”
However, that position at a statewide level has yet to be created.
In 2006, Kelly was found dead by Philadelphia authorities.
She weighed only 42 pounds at her time of death. An investigation ruled her death a homicide, caused by malnutrition, dehydration, and more.
According to the Grand Jury report, five reports were made to DHS about the torture Kelly was suffered at the hands of her mother.
However, the abuse continued, which eventually led to Kelly’s body shutting down.
Her mother, Andrea Kelly, was charged with murder and currently sits in state prison.
Thirteen years after Kelly’s death, Pennsylvania’s then-governor Tom Wolf created the role of the child advocate through an executive order.
The role was created to serve as a liaison for children and families, triage complaints for families, and more. But the role has no true power to investigate failures into the system.
Only a year after the child advocate role was created by Gov. Wolf, 12-year-old Maxwell Schollenberger was found dead in his home by Lebanon county detectives in 2020.
According to court documents, Schollenberger weight only 47 pounds. A Lehigh Valley hospital doctor concluded he died from starvation, malnutrition, and more. His death was ruled a homicide.
Four years later, an eerily similar case happened in Chester County.