Lawmakers: Child-protection system failed Eric Dean

Legislators this week are expressing outrage over the death of 4-year-old Eric Dean and called for new laws to prevent future child protection failures.

A story in Sunday’s Star Tribune described how Pope County in western Minnesota received 15 maltreatment reports about Eric before he died in February 2013. Many of those reports came from Eric’s day-care providers and teachers, who warned the county’s child-protection unit that his stepmother was likely responsible for his recurring bite marks and bruises, but watched as the abuse continued. Read more»