Social workes often complain about case overloads and a lack of help when it comes to being assigned so many cases that they can’t handle them.
But in this case, a DA named Larry Krasner has charged a Philadelphia social worker, 25-year-old Jendayi Mawusi, with third-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, and child endangerment. This is related to a case where a 3-Year-Old toddler named Hope Jones, who was assigned to her died.
Prosecutors state Mawusi had been assigned as the child’s caseworker by the city Department of Human Services in November 2020.
She was then given the task of monitoring the child who was placed in the home of a foster parent named Kiana Casey, also charged with murder but failed to perform her duties which the DA believes resulted in the child’s death. Mawusi was also at the home the day the child died and left shortly before the DA arrived.
Officials state Mawusi was legally obligated to report signs of abuse in the home and she failed to do so when she saw evidence of abuse with the child
“Mawusi is alleged to have failed on multiple occasions to follow up on instructions given to Casey to seek medical care for Jones, and is also alleged to have failed to file incident reports after observing injuries incurred by Jones,” the statement said.
An autopsy of the toddler revealed multiple contusions in various stages of healing which suggested long-term physical abuse that Mawusi should have been aware of.