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by Pablo Guzmán
NEW YORK (CBS) ― Wednesday afternoon, just hours after the battered and abused body of little Nixzmary Brown was sent on a final journey to a peace she never knew in life, the New York City agency responsible for investigating what had been happening in her home announced an internal shakeup. Only days after Mayor Bloomberg had said there would be no such shakeup because generally, the Mayor said, the agency performs well.

Children's Services Commissioner John Mattingly said three of the people handling the girl's case would be suspended immediately without pay, and the process to ultimately fire them would begin. They are two supervisors and a caseworker, whom someone close to the process told me was Joyceline St. Hill. She became part of the Nixzmary investigation in December, about a week after the agency conducted what it called an "Instant Response Team" action on December 1, after Nixzmary's school, P.S. 256, sent ACS (the Child Services agency) a major alarm -- that an underweight Nixzmary, who had already missed a lot of class time, now had a gash over her eye.

One of the two supervisors suspended got involved in the girl's case from the beginning of the agency's look into her situation, back in mid-May. Essentially, Commissioner Mattingly acknowledged what critics have said for a week: ACS should have read the alarm signals back on May 16, when they first learned how much school time the girl had already missed. And listened to what school staffers were saying about her demeanor and appearance, including bruises and sometimes walking with a limp.

One of those supervisors is believed to be Andrew Bartley.

In addition, Commissioner Mattingly announced that three other staffers were being disciplined, though they might be able to keep their jobs, after reporting to a new manager: two caseworkers and a supervisor. One was involved in the May investigation, the other two, in the December probe.

The Daily News identified the supervisor as Orlene Cummings. Someone close to the process told me one of the caseworkers is Vanessa Rhoden.

The union that represents caseworkers, Social Services Employee Union Local 371, is furious. "We will not let these people be scapegoated," union president Charles Ensley told me. "Look, it is a sad, hard fact of this very difficult job that we do -- nobody talks about the neighborhoods we go in, what we face on the other side of that door -- that, unfortunately, 24 to 36 children from families the agency is investigating die each year. No matter what kind of effort we put into it. Yet in those cases, after a review, unless gross misconduct or negligence is found -- and I mean 'gross,' you know, like forging a report -- the caseworker is not fired. Usually they are sent back for more training. But often the finding is that ultimately, in spite of our best efforts, it was the family, or something similar."

His voice rising, Mr. Ensley said, "What is the difference this time?! I'll tell you: Most people never hear about those cases! Just like they never hear about our successes! But THIS case DID get publicity. And the mayor and the commissioner are responding to that! Not what actually happened here!"

"When there is a controversial police shooting, we see the police commissioner go up to the microphones and say, 'Our police are the best police in the world!'" Mr. Ensley pounded his desk to punctuate his words. "That's the kind of support we want to see from OUR Commissioner. That kind of respect."

Offering more proof that this was more of a shakeup than City Hall wants to acknowledge, Commissioner Mattingly also said that two long-time assistant commissioners whose duties included oversight of the division and bureaus involved in the Nixzmary investigation have been reassigned.

In addition, he is creating an Ombudsman office to act as "another trip wire" to alert us to allegations that are not followed up. And he is asking the Department of Investigation to see if any of the violations of what should have been proper procedure are "sanctionable."

The panel that is reviewing accountability in this case -- including the very important discrepancy between what the caseworkers and supervisors said was the role of the two detectives who were part of the December 1 "Instant Response Team" investigation, and what the Police Department said they were actually asked to do -- should finish its report in two weeks, the commissioner said.

While he concluded by saying caseworkers are dedicated, it was obvious to me after talking to about a half-dozen caseworkers that morale is low, in the wake of his discipline. And that Job One now, for the commissioner and the troops actually in the field, will be rebuilding their spirit. For example: Will we now see caseworkers so scared someone is looking to second-guess that they err too far the other way -- and call in police to remove children when it is not warranted?

The bottom line, I'm hearing, is that in spite of caseloads that are being called "manageable" (about in the mid-20s per caseworker; that is, about 23 or 25 cases that have to be investigated, on the average, for each caseworker), to be investigated fully, those caseloads, people tell me, should be reduced to about 18-23 per caseworker.

And that means hiring more caseworkers (unless cases are closed prematurely, which would be a disaster). Which, in tough fiscal times, and for an agency that, unless there's a spotlight when one particular death grabs a city's attention -- is just not given the priority of, say, fighting terrorism.

Or making sure the garbage gets picked up.

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