Aja Johnson's killing prompts child welfare scrutiny

Prosecutors say child welfare workers are overworked and underpaid and often don't work well with local law enforcement on child abuse and neglect investigations.

By The Associated Press | Published: September 30, 2010 Comment on this article

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The killing of a 7-year-old girl whose family had frequent contact with the Oklahoma Department of Human Services led the incoming House speaker on Thursday to place the state's child abuse and neglect review system under new scrutiny.

House Speaker-designate Kris Steele questioned several state child abuse experts during an interim legislative study prompted by the death of 7-year-old Aja Johnson. The girl and her stepfather, Lester Hobbs, disappeared after Aja's mother, Tonya Hobbs, was found dead Jan. 24 inside Hobbs' motor home in Geronimo. Their bodies were discovered on March 29 in a heavily wooded area near Norman.

“The thing that stood out to me is that there is a long track record of DHS involvement in the life of Aja and her family,” said Steele, R-Shawnee. “Did the state of Oklahoma do everything possible to try and protect this child? I'm not insinuating that did not occur. I'm just wanting to make sure.”

A report on Aja's death by the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth shows the girl's family had nine referrals to DHS in the three years leading to her death, including reported abuse by Hobbs, an ex-convict who had served time in prison for assault and battery with a deadly weapon.

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