Topeka, Kan. -- Just six days into the job, the new secretary of Kansas Department for Children and Families is talking about issues within the agency that had previously been kept quiet.
Gina Meier-Hummel's first day was Dec. 1.
For 6 months, the 41 Action News investigators have been asking DCF to talk about the death of Adrian Jones.
The little boy was tortured and murdered by his dad and stepmom in 2015.
State records show DCF was concerned about the little boy's safety.
The documents show DCF put a safety plan in place to keep Adrian's stepmom away from Adrian and his siblings after one child was taken to the hospital with series injuries. During that hospital visit, Adrian also had a black eye.
The kids were left in the sole custody of their father, even though the children reported, "Daddy hits us hard enough to knock us off our feet."
Eventually, the children's stepmom moved back in with them.
Phyllis Gilmore, the former Secretary of DCF, denied multiple requests to talk about Adrian's case.
While Meier-Hummel said she hasn't had a chance to read through Adrian's 2,000-page file, she agreed to discuss some of what 41 Action News found during its investigation.
In several instances, the state marks Adrian as high-risk for abuse.
The 41 Action News investigators asked Meier-Hummel, "Why would any child be left in the home if the agency has deemed them at high risk for abuse?"
Meier-Hummel said, "I can’t imagine a time when kids are being marked as high risk for abuse and left there, but I think so much of what the workers do and what's done is on an individual basis. So, you have to look at each individual situation each individual case."
On the same reports where Adrian was consistently marked as being high-risk for abuse social workers also marked him as "safe."
In fact, after analyzing Adrian's record, 41 Action News investigators only found one instance where Adrian was marked as "unsafe."
That document is from Nov. 30, 2015. Adrian's remains had already been found.
41 Action News asked Meier-Hummel why DCF would wait until a child is dead to mark them as "unsafe."
Meier-Hummel said she's going to look into it.
In the meantime, Meier-Hummel said she's aware of the lack of trust the community has for the agency.
Moving forward, Meier-Hummel said the agency plans to be more transparent and to take responsibility for its shortcomings.
"The thing we have to do is just be responsive, be honest with people, be real," Meier-Hummel said. "We're going to work real hard to gain the public's trust -- it's too important for our kids to not work on those things."
Meier-Hummel also expressed her condolences to Adrian's grandmother, Judy Conway, who contacted DCF on several occasions with concerns over her grandchildren.
Meier-Hummel said Adrian's death won't be in vain.
"Obviously my heart goes out to her, it's got to hurt," she said. "Anything I would say would be shallow compared to the enormous hurt that I know she must feel and the emptiness they must have. If anything, just know, we’ll look at the situation and see what we can do differently."
Extended coverage:
Stepmom of 7-year-old boy pleads guilty to first-degree murder
KCK father pleads guilty to first-degree murder of 7-year-old son
EXCLUSIVE: Surveillance footage captures last days of tortured KCK boy’s life
Grandmother of tortured KCK boy wants records unsealed, seeks truth about his death
EXCLUSIVE: Surveillance video shows relative lived in home during tortured KCK boy’s abuse
Kansas lawmaker introduces Adrian’s Act after murder of KCK boy
Father who tortured, killed 7-year-old Adrian Jones sentenced to life in prison
Documents: Tortured KCK boy told social workers & deputies dad was beating him
Former social services worker says agency failed Adrian Jones
KCK boy’s slaying prompts call for new rules on reporting abuse
Kansas DCF records: Police, doctors, social workers aware of abuse in Adrian Jones’s case
Family files lawsuit against Kansas, DCF in death of Adrian Jones
