Andrea Fleary a Scapegoat- Really? She did nothing while two children were abused

The Department of Children and Families caseworker who was fired in the wake of the Barahona abuse investigation wants her job back.

Andrea Fleary, who was fired by DCF last week after she was criticized by an independent review panel formed to investigate the Barahona case, plans to appeal the decision, her lawyer told NBC Miami.

Attorney Matthew Ladd says Fleary was scapegoated by DCF in the death of 10-year-old Nubia Barahona, whose body was found in the back of her adopted father’s pickup truck on the side of I-95 in Palm Beach County on Feb. 14.

Fleary had paid a visit to the Miami-Dade home of Jorge and Carmen Barahona just four days before the girl’s body was found and her twin brother Victor was found severely burned.

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Ladd claims that the Barahonas had a 10-year history with DCF, but that Fleary was assigned to the Barahona case that day. He claims she was sent to the home to check on the welfare of the two other foster children in the couple’s care, and that she left after finding no signs of neglect or abuse.

Fleary, who has been with DCF for 23 years and was an investigator for 10 years, was accused of not doing enough to protect the twins from abuse.

“This is a deliberate effort of the bureaucracy trying to save itself at the expense of the very dedicated front-line investigators,” Ladd said in a statement. “DCF’s failure to clear Investigator Fleary’s good name is an obvious attempt to scapegoat.”

Jorge and Carmen Barahona are both facing charges in Nubia’s death and Victor’s abuse.

First Published: Mar 16, 2011 12:02 PM EDT http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/DCF-Worker-Fired-AFter-Barahona-Case-Wants-Job-Back-118091904.html

Would someone please tell me how she is a scapegoat in all of this – Ms. Fleary did nothing to protect these two children. She went home and never ever tried to find them. Her reprimands go all the way back to 1998.