Gov. Deval Patrick says he continues to have faith in the commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families.
"She’s got a tough job and her staff has a tough job, and she’s doing it ably," Patrick said Monday. "And she’s dealing with the most difficult families, the most difficult children in some of the most difficult circumstances."
DCF chief Olga Roche and her department have been under scrutiny since social workers lost track of a 5-year-old Fitchburg boy who is missing and feared dead.
Patrick is also defending the policy of allowing foster parents to have criminal records.
"If a decade or more has passed and there hasn’t been trouble, and there’s been individual evaluation of the capability of those parents, and observation of whether they are up to the job, I think those are judgments that should be made by professionals, and not by me sitting in this building, and not by the media either," he said.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Charlie Baker is calling for Roche to step down, while Democratic candidate Martha Coakley has proposed a separate child protection division within DCF. Patrick has asked the Child Welfare League of America for an independent review of the agency.
