News Report: NYC Child Welfare Workers Missed Warning Signs of Abuse in Myls Donson Case

At just 4 years old, Myls Donson’s life came to a sudden end.

The details surrounding his death, which have garnered national attention, show that despite the warning signs, Donson suffered severe neglect and child abuse that went unnoticed by New York City child welfare caseworkers, according to CNN.

The boy’s father had an extensive criminal record, but was still awarded custody of his son on the condition that the city Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) check up on him for a year and contact the father’s parole officer.

A review of the case found that the ACS visited the boy’s home on nine occasions but failed to learn that the boy’s father was jailed in connection with a fraud case and that the boy had been left in the care of a Manhattan woman, 27-year-old Kryzie King, who was later indicted in connection with his death.

“We were told that the father was working, and was working very long hours, 16 hours a day, and that’s why he wasn’t available,” Gladys Carrion, the head of ACS, said. “Should we have done something differently? Yes, we should have.”

Caseworkers did not seek emergency removal of the child from the home, and reported that the boy appeared “safe and healthy” during visits.

Meanwhile, investigators say the boy was being starved and beaten. Under King’s supervision, he suffered “unspeakable acts of neglect and violence” that went undocumented.

“We can’t look at a situation like this and say that business as usual is acceptable,” NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio said. “It is very, very painful to know that this child went through such agony.”

Moving forward, De Blasio ordered a review of all cases involving court-ordered supervision at the agency and said custodians must now get a family court judge’s approval before supervision ends.

“We lost a child in a horrible manner,” De Blasio said. “We want to learn from this tragedy and make changes as a result.”