Gov. Patrick Presses Officials About Missing Fitchburg Boy
BOSTON (AP) — Gov. Deval Patrick said he's asked "some very specific questions" of Department of Children and Families Commissioner Olga Roche about the case of a missing 5-year-old Fitchburg boy.
Patrick said he expects to hear back within 10 days from Roche, but supports her decision to fire a caseworker and supervisor assigned to Jeremiah Oliver and his family.
Patrick said he wants to know if there are other similar cases and if there is "someone else further up the chain who should have caught this and didn't."
Investigators say the boy was last seen by relatives in September but police only learned recently that he was missing and are treating the case as a possible homicide. The boy's mother and her boyfriend face charges.
A union representing social workers in Massachusetts criticized the firings.
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