HENRY COUNTY, Ga. -- Two Henry County Department of Family and Children services workers were terminated after a foster child died.
Laila Marie Daniel, 2, died in the custody of her foster parents, Jennifer and Joseph Rosenbaum. They were both arrested and charged with various crimes.
According to arrest warrants, Laila was denied food and both she and her sister were beaten. The GBI medical examiner said a major contributing cause for her death was a blow so hard, it transected her pancreas causing the little girl severe blood loss.
"I absolutely believe that they failed us. They failed Laila," said the little girl's great Aunt, Kim Smith.
While DFCS can't discuss the details, it has confirmed Laila's caseworker Samantha White and supervisor, Tamara Warner, were fired Dec. 2 for failing to follow policy.
The agency would not say when the caseworker last visited the children or if the caseworker made the required monthly visits.
"Somebody dropped the ball, somewhere along the line supervisor, case worker, somebody did not do their job," said Smith.
Smith says she saw Laila at a birthday party in October. It was then she noticed how much weight Laila had lost and said something to her foster father, Joseph.
"I questioned him, jokingly saying are you feeding her enough? Maybe she needs more of that birthday cake," said Smith.
Photos | Laila Marie Daniel
Over the five months the girls were in the Rosenbaum's care, she says at least three family members called White to express concern.
"DFCS would never call us back."
By policy, the caseworker is expected to call back to get more information. They are also supposed to visit a foster child in person at least once a month. Smith questions whether even that was happening.
"I believe that if she did, she would have seen the warning signs and she would have removed Laila and Millie from the home."
The girl's mother, Tessa, shared recorded conversations she says are between her and the caseworker. In them, Tessa tells the woman the Rosenbaum's keeps cancelling visits and that her older daughter is always crying when they talk on the phone. The woman in the call never expresses any concern, and instead passes it off as a good thing – a sign the little girl still loves and misses her mom.
Smith says that's how she explained her last moments with Laila. She says it's another assumption that would haunt her, now that Laila was dead.
"She was clutching my shirt so hard and tears, because she didn't want to go. I wanted to believe it was because she loved her aunt Kimmy, not because she was fearful of where she was going. But I think in retrospect that's what it was.
The Rosenbaum's attorney says police have it all wrong. She says the couple did nothing but love and care for the children. The Rosenbaums insist Laila died after choking on a piece of chicken and any injuries to her body were either there before coming to their house, or created when they tried to save her life.
