MINNEAPOLIS — A national child welfare group says Hennepin County’s child protection agency has been ignoring abuse reports to ease its caseload.

The group, Casey Family Programs, studied the county’s system for months and presented its findings to the Hennepin County board Thursday.

Janine Moore is area director of children and family services. She disputes the claim that cases were ignored because of caseloads and says her agency follows state statutes when considering how to handle reports.

The Star Tribune reports ( that Casey Family Programs director Dee Wilson also told the board that child protection workers commonly screened out abuse reports, which means families weren’t visited and services weren’t offered.

County Commissioner Marion Greene said the presentation is a “call to action.”