Death of girl, 10, prompts internal DCS investigation; abuse was reported in the year before death | #childsafety | #kids | #chldern | #parents | #schoolsafey

The death of a 10-year-old girl last month has prompted an internal investigation within the state Department of Child Safety. The agency received notifications that the child was in danger over the past year.

Rebekah Baptiste was taken to a hospital on July 27 for extensive injuries and died three days later at Phoenix Children’s Hospital.

Baptiste was reportedly starved, dehydrated, burned and badly bruised. She also potentially experienced sexual abuse.

Baptiste’s former school, Empower College Prep, told ABC15 they’d reported Baptiste and her brother’s cases to the DCS no fewer than 12 times in the year leading up to her death without results.

DCS said in an emailed statement on Wednesday that Empower College Prep called five times about the Baptistes and on four separate occasions, DCS couldn’t investigate the allegations because they “did not meet the statutory threshold for abuse or neglect.”

Those criteria are that the victim is a minor suffering at the hand of an adult in their household, a resident of Arizona and their identity or location is known “or can be reasonably ascertained.”

DCS added that they have no other records of relatives calling their hotline after 2019 to report abuse of Baptiste or her brothers.

A prosecutor said at a July 29 hearing that Baptiste’s father admitted to beating Rebekah and her two brothers.

Baptiste’s father, Richard Baptiste, and his girlfriend, Anicia Woods, are both in custody. They face charges of first-degree murder and child abuse, according to court documents.

Gov. Katie Hobbs said Wednesday that she’s in communication with the agency.

“We’re certainly going to be investigating and if there was something that we did not do right, we will do everything we can to correct that. That is our job. It is our responsibility to ensure Arizonans are safe,” Hobbs said.

“It is with a heavy heart that we acknowledge the death of Rebekah Baptiste, a child who was known to the Department. Anytime a child in our community is harmed, it deeply affects us all, especially when we know the family,” DCS said in a statement. The agency added they’re working on a joint investigation with law enforcement.

Baptiste’s death is the most recent of three recent high-profile Arizona cases.

On Feb. 14, parts of the dismembered body of 14-year-old Emily Pike were discovered on the side of a highway.

On July 5, 16-year-old Zariah Dodd and her unborn baby were killed in a shooting in Phoenix.

Both Pike and Dodd had been in state-licensed group homes.

Arizona lawmakers cited all three children’s deaths in a statement issued on Wednesday, pledging to investigate DCS in stakeholder meetings and develop reforms.

“The deaths of Emily Pike, Zariah Dodd and Rebekah Baptiste should be a wake-up call for us all,” Sen. Carine Werner (R-Scottsdale) said in the statement. “These tragedies make it painfully clear that when our child protection systems — both state and tribal — fail, the consequences can be horrific. We cannot allow these failures to repeat. Every agency, every leader, and every community involved in a child’s care must be fully accountable for keeping them safe.”

“The Department’s Safety Analysis Review Team will be conducting a thorough review of this case. The goal is to identify and understand any systemic barriers that may have influenced the outcome, and to implement data-driven systemic changes to prevent such tragedies in the future,” DCS said in a statement.