Social service agency failed to protect children

After facing roadblocks from the state-run Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare, reporters Gina Barton and Crocker Stephenson of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel gathered thousands of pages of public records to create their own database of deaths within the system. They found that 22 children had died despite the bureau having clear warning signs that they were at risk.  They also found that many of the highly-touted agency reforms were window dressing and a bill aimed at providing more transparency would allow the bureau to avoid releasing key information.