PORTLAND, Ore. — Three Oregon state child welfare workers have been placed on leave while the state Department of Human Services investigates a Yamhill County neglect case that left two young children in hospital care for malnourishment.
The Oregonian reported the agency began an internal investigation Thursday after Danielle Yates and John Yates were arrested. A grand jury indicted the couple on assault and mistreatment charges.
The two served as guardians for a 4-year-old boy and a 5-year-old girl so malnourished that they reportedly lost weight in the four years they were under the couple’s care.
Agency spokeswoman Andrea Cantu-Schomus says the Department of Human Services would have signed off on the guardian placement.
The review is expected to take four to six weeks. The three employees were not identified.
The children have been placed in the custody of a relative.
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