I-TEAM: State slammed over 2-year-old’s overdose death in new report

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - A newly released report from Inspector General Stephen Street details the state’s mishandling of a child welfare case that would ultimately end in tragedy.

Back in June of 2022, a 2-year-old boy named Mitchell Robinson died after overdosing on drugs. The young boy had been taken to the hospital for drug exposure before his death. Reports about possible child endangerment were also made to the state’s Department of Children and Family Services before the boy passed away.

The newly released report explains that multiple issues contributed to Robinson’s death. They were outlined in the conclusion below:

“Among the factors that contributed to the death of Mitchell Robinson III, were the following:

• Multiple failures by DCFS Child Welfare management, especially the caseworker’s immediate supervisor, to wit:
• allowing the caseworker to be overburdened with assigned cases requiring prompt contact;
• failing to assist with that caseload;
• failing to check on whether initial in-person contacts were made in newly-assigned cases;
• and failing to manage the caseworker’s assigned cases while she was out on sick leave for an entire week.

- DCFS intake personnel had not been trained on the medical use of Narcan, a drug used exclusively for opioid reversal, and thus did not initially recognize the significance of the child having been revived on two occasions with the drug;

-Law enforcement was not contacted by medical personnel on those two occasions;

-Toxicology screens used by the hospital did not test for synthetic opioids, leading to initial “negative” results that caused confusion among DCFS personnel not familiar with the medical use of Narcan;

-DCFS has no record of being contacted by law enforcement following the drug arrests of the child’s parents in May 2022;

-Poor and vague communication between medical personnel and DCFS on the first two hotline calls;

Notwithstanding all of the above, there is no factor more significant than the critical nine-day period between June 17, 2022, and June 26, 2022, during which DCFS personnel, including the assigned case worker and supervisor, had specific knowledge that Mitchell Robinson III had tested positive for fentanyl at the time of his June 4 hospital admission. During those nine days, DCFS personnel took no action whatsoever to ensure the safety of the child.”

Robinson’s death forced DCFS to review and reform its staffing requirements, intake procedures, and training guidelines. The boy’s family is currently suing the state.

Robinson’s mother was arrested after his death. Her case is still making its way through the criminal court.

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