The Westmoreland County Children's Bureau was given top grades in a state inspection of the agency conducted last month.
The annual inspection by the Department of Public Welfare found no violations. The Children's Bureau had been cited a year ago with several minor violations, according to agency Executive Director Marilyn McSparrin.
"It's a reflection of everybody's hard work and commitment," McSparrin said of this year's inspection results. "It's a continued improvement process, and we're always trying to do better."
The Children's Bureau has come under fire in recent years -- most notably for how it handled the oversight of Kristen Tatar, a 4-year-old girl who was killed in 2003, a year after she was returned to her parents' custody.
A state inspection after Tatar's death found that the agency violated 12 different regulations during its handling of the case between January 1999 and May 2002.
Officials yesterday praised the most recent inspection findings as validation of improvement efforts that were undertaken after Tatar's death.
"This accomplishment by the Children's Bureau is further proof of the dedication of our management staff and our caseworkers, and validates the improvements and control measures we have put in place to ensure that we are protecting at-risk children the best that the law will allow," said county Commissioner Tom Balya.
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