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Report: DCF did not properly assess risk at Bond home

BOSTON (MyFoxBoston.com) -- The Department of Child and Families did not properly assess Rachelle Bond's ability to parent and underestimated the risk to her daughter, Bella Bond, according to a seven page report released Wednesday from the Office of the Child Advocate. 

The report said that due to Rachelle Bond's "history of past arrests substance abuse, mental health issues, instability and the termination of parental rights for two other children should have triggered higher-level conferences at DCF, and closer attention."

The report was conducted at the request of Gov. Charlie Baker in order to identify areas of improvement for the child welfare system after Bella Bond, formerly known as Baby Doe, was found washed ashore Deer Island in June. After finally identifying the toddler and her parents in September, police charged Rachelle Bond, Bella's mother, with accessory and Bond's boyfriend, Michael McCarthy, with murder.

>>FULL COVERAGE OF THE BELLA BOND CASE

Prior to Bella's birth on Aug. 6, 2012, Rachelle Bond's parental rights were terminated with her two older children. This occurred more than 10 years before Bella's birth. After her birth, allegations of neglect lead to Rachelle Bond receiving services from DCF between August and December 2012 and between June and September 2013. Both cases were closed after a 45-day comprehensive assessment.  The report said that given the history with the two older children and the current concern of alleged abuse, "DCF should have initiated an emergency investigation, rather non-emergency investigation."

Bond received financial support and services for more than 15 years, but the report said most of these interactions wouldn't involve regular face-to-face contact. "Her long benefit history is a constantly revolving door of times when her benefits would be terminated because of 'whereabouts unknown,' but then she would reappear and apply for reinstatement," said the report. The Office of the Child Advocate also said that Bond's involvement with police dated back to 1994, with "arrests too numerous to list in this report." She was also in state corrections facilities 12 times, and served in county corrections programs. She was arrested in Suffolk County on several occasions and was incarcerated during her part of her pregnancy with Bella all the while on probation through May 2013.

The report notes that "Bond's ability to parent was not appropriately assessed" and that she was struggling with the same issues that caused her to lose custody of her older children. The report says the risk assessment did not accurately reflect the risk and "investigators answered questions in ways that underestimated the risk to Bella." The caseworkers did not take into consideration Bond's lifestyle, parenting, substance abuse and her ability to demonstrate insight, says the report. The investigators also gathered minimal family and personal information from Bond during the 2012 and 2013 assessments, making their assessment of risk inaccurate.

Along with the insufficient gathering of information from Rachelle Bond, DCF "missed opportunities to gather pertinent information from professionals providing services to the family" and didn't delve deeper, said the Office of the Child Advocate.

"That deeper dive for information did not appear to have occurred," according to Maria Mossaides, from the Office of the Child Advocate.

She went on to say, "It is clear there was opportunity for further checking, especially because of the mixed information that was available."

The report also says the decisions to close the allegations of abuse cases were premature, "knowing Ms. Bond was under the consistent supervision of the shelter and her probation officer, it is reasonable to conclude DCF closed the 2012 and 2013 case with a false sense of security that these entitles would contact DCF should there be a future concern for the safety and well-being of Bella." However, the report notes that Bond had ended the voluntary services she was receiving and her probation had ended.

The report also says a mandatory managerial review of the case was not properly conducted and involved old, inaccurate information. In addition, the lack of sufficient management structure added to the poor judgment in the case. The Office of the Child Advocate also provides five recommendations to DCF, including developing protocols for expectations and guidance with the risk assessment tool and if a case is opened with a parent who has previously lost parental rights, then a managerial case review and legal consultation shall occur.