ORLANDO, Fla. – Agents with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement arrested Vanessa Arias, 33, of 1355 Springfield Street, Kissimmee, on charges of official misconduct and falsification of records.
Arias is a former employee with Gulf Coast Jewish Family & Community Services, a sub-contractor of the Department of Children and Families. She was assigned as a caseworker.
During an investigation, FDLE agents found that Arias documented she had visited a home in Kissimmee on January 8, 2015, to check on the welfare of several children. She reported the children were “free from any visible signs of abuse/neglect with all their basic needs being met at this time.” Approximately a week later, officers with the Kissimmee Police Department went to the home regarding a report of child neglect. It was later determined that Arias had falsified her report and had not returned more than a dozen calls from two of the children in the home.
“This is a sad case of vulnerable children reaching out to someone in a position to help them, but instead they were ignored,” said Special Agent in Charge Danny Banks of FDLE’s Orlando Region. “Thankfully, law enforcement was called and an investigation was launched.”
Arias was booked into the Osceola County Jail on Friday on a $2,000 bond. The Office of the State Attorney, 9th Circuit, will prosecute.
For Further Information Contact:
Angela Starke
FDLE Office of Public Information
(407) 650-2336 Office
(407) 988-5009 Mobile
(850) 410-7001 Tallahassee