Massachusetts Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo called on Monday for Olga Roche, the head of the Department of Children and Families, to resign.
DeLeo's comments follow the death of a 2-week-old child from Fitchburg whose family was being monitored by DCF. In another recent case, the agency misplaced a fax from Grafton police concerning a 4-week-old who later died.
DeLeo says its time for Roche to leave office.
“I am angered to see this continuing to happen," he said. "It shows to me complete mismanagement on behalf of DCF. We have to take strong action. We can’t wait until the end of the year. We can’t wait for a new governor.”
Shortly after DeLeo's comments, Senate President Therese Murray sent out a statement saying Roche should resign and someone should be brought in who can turn the agency around.
Two dozen other lawmakers previously called for Roche’s resignation following the disappearance of 5-year-old Jeremiah Oliver, who was recently found dead. DeLeo is the first high-profile Democrat to join the chorus.
There has been no comment yet from Roche. And Gov. Deval Patrick would not say whether or not he will ask Roche to step down. In the past, he has supported the commissioner with varying levels of enthusiasm.
