LAS VEGAS (KSNV MyNews3) – One person has been fired from the Clark County Department of Family Services and others were disciplined after a review into the death of a 7-year-old boy in December.
Roderick “R.J.” Arrington, a second-grader at Roundy Elementary School, was admitted to University Medical Center Nov. 30 with head injuries and bruises all over his body. He died the next day.
Department of Family Services received a call to its hotline Nov. 28 regarding R.J. Markiece and Dina Palmer were arrested for R.J.’s death. A Metro police report said R.J. had been beaten by Markiece Palmer for lying about reading Bible verses.
According to a news release, DFS conducted an extensive review of all hotline policies and procedures and determined that they are effective when appropriately followed. The department also reviewed whether these policies were followed in this case and found that some staff failed to apply the policies correctly.
Additionally, DFS plans to convene a special Child Death Review Team meeting so that all parties involved in responding to a report of child abuse, including law enforcement, DFS state partners and the school district, can discuss this case to learn from it and work jointly to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.
“I strongly believe there are systemic lessons to be learned from this case,” said Lisa Ruiz-Lee, department director. “It will take all partners to come to the table to discuss what happened and how we can work together to best ensure the safety of our community’s children.”
