BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — An audit says Louisiana's social services agency has been so short-staffed amid repeated budget cuts that it didn't ensure the safety of its foster children. That's the finding of a Legislative Auditor's report that looked at the Department of Children and Family Services from 2012 through 2016, during former Gov. Bobby Jindal's tenure. Since taking office, Secretary Marketa Walters told WAFB TV in Baton Rouge she's reorganized and shuffled caseworkers to shortage areas and bolstered training for employees but she admits more needs to be done. Auditors found that 29 percent of those who took in children because they were family members or someone known by the foster child didn't receive background checks. A handful of providers were allowed to care for children though they had prior "valid cases of abuse and neglect," the audit says. Also, the department didn't make sure foster children were getting the medical and behavioral health treatments they needed.
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