Vilsack changes directive to child abuse investigators

Governor Tom Vilsack says state child abuse investigators now have a new credo: “when there’s a doubt, work to take the child out.” Vilsack says a few years ago, legislators forced state social workers to conduct a less-confrontational “assessment” rather than an investigation of alleged child abuse. Vilsack is telling child abuse investigators that if they have doubts, ask the county attorney to check out the case.Vilsack’s making the move after reviewing headline-catching child abuse cases involving Shelby Duis, a child who died in Spirit Lake, and Frank Charbonneau, Junior, of Oskaloosa who suffered serious head injuries over the weekend, allegedly at the hands of his mom and her boyfriend. Vilsack says social workers were hamstrung when they lacked enough evidence to convince a judge to remove the kid from the home.