Treasure McWeay, 4, should be alive. Hers was another preventable child death.
“Treasure’s death was 100% preventable,” said a Georgia Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) case manager in her tearful testimony during the murder trial of Rodney McWeay. “We failed her.”
DFCS removed Treasure McWeay and her siblings from their father’s home in June of 2023, sending them to live with their mother in Maryland, due to malnutrition and deplorable living conditions. However, the next month, Rodney McWeay drove to Maryland, kidnapped the children from their mother, and returned to Atlanta.
Treasure died Dec. 11, 2023, at just 4 years old, from cardiac arrest caused by prolonged malnutrition.
Every child homicide is a tragedy, and those responsible should be held accountable. McWeay was found guilty of murder and multiple counts of child abuse in Fulton County Superior Court and was sentenced to life plus 155 years in prison on July 11.
However, the State of Georgia shares in the responsibility for Treasure’s death. Child protective services knowingly left her in danger.
Reports: DFCS has history of ‘systemic’ failures leading to deaths
Treasure’s case is one of many riddled with evidence of systemic departmental failures. Four separate Child Protective Services (CPS) reports were made in the months leading up to Treasure’s death.
These reports alerted DFCS that the children were kidnapped by their father (a noncustodial parent), had returned to Atlanta, and were left alone deprived of food, water, and clothing.
In total, CPS received 10 reports regarding Treasure and her siblings over a three-year period. These reports demonstrated a lengthy history of family violence; inadequate food, clothing, and supervision; kidnapping; and deplorable living conditions.
“I knew one of the kids was going to die,” the DFCS case manager said on the witness stand. “And I told everyone who would listen these kids were in danger.”
Georgia’s children die from abuse and neglect at a rate 66.3% higher than the national average. The state ranks as the fifth worst in the country. In 2022, there were 114 child deaths from maltreatment in Georgia, 85% of whom were under 5 years old.
The events leading to Treasure’s death are tragic but should come as no surprise. In the fall of 2022, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) published findings on a memo written by the Office of Child Advocacy (OCA) which investigated and identified 15 systemic breakdowns within Georgia’s DFCS.
The AJC discovered that the OCA’s office, along with other industry experts, presented concerns to state leadership that indicated in part, “the department was not adequately responding to children in danger” and “DFCS is closing cases prematurely.”
The Georgia Department of Health and Human Services (DHS), which is DFCS’ managing division, dismissed the claims, telling the AJC “the allegations were not backed by evidence.” However, multiple state advocacy partners have found similar failures, backing the OCA’s findings. In addition, the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Human Rights conducted its own lengthy investigation into DFCS. Their published findings validate the OCA’s report of DFCS’ “systematic” failures which have contributed to the deaths of children.
Elected leaders must make changes to untangle the current system
Georgia’s lack of a sound approach for ensuring child safety will now be further hindered by recent federal budget cuts to many safety-net programs, including SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Aid Program), Medicaid, after-school programs, and domestic violence intervention.
These programs provide critical support for vulnerable children, and reduced funding will have a negative impact on an already fragile system.
We as a society need to be aware of the struggles children in our community are facing, and how state leadership is willfully falling short of their obligations. We should all feel a sense of responsibility to speak up for the voiceless and address the failing systems we’ve designated responsible for safeguarding children like Treasure and others at risk.
Georgia leaders must make significant changes to untangle the existing failures of the current system and provide the necessary support, both financial and administrative, for these defenseless children. To do anything short is yet another indication that Georgia leaders don’t truly value children’s safety and well-being.
James Baldwin, the famous author, wrote, “For these are all our children, we will all profit by or pay for what they become.”
Gabe McCoy is a child advocate and researcher, with a focus on child abuse and neglect death cases.
J.Tom Morgan is a former DeKalb County district attorney and former member of Georgia’s statewide Child Fatality Review Commission. He teaches criminal law at Western Carolina University.
