State denies DCS employees' appeal of their termination

The State Personnel Department has denied the appeals of two former Indiana Department of Child Services employees who were fired in the wake of a paralyzed young woman's gruesome death.

Lyn Rupert and Teresa Carter were fired Aug. 15 for failure to follow policy to ensure the safety of a child, state personnel records show.

Their dismissals related to the death of 18-year-old Linda Kelley, who died Aug. 4 in a filthy, cluttered home with blackened bedsores covering much of her lower body. Her official cause of death is pending toxicology test results, according to the Marion County coroner's office.

But officials said they were disturbed that Carter, a former DCS family case manager, and two Damar Services employees had visited Linda's home only six days before her death, but no one reported her perilous condition.

In a series of court hearings called after the girl's death, Carter said she was overwhelmed at work and struggled with a heavy workload. Carter had worked for DCS for more than eight years, state records show.

Rupert, who was Carter's supervisor at DCS, declined to answer specific questions about Linda's case during that court hearing. She worked at the state agency for six years.

Bruce Baxter, director of employee relations for the State Personnel Department, denied Rupert and Carter's appeal to reclaim their jobs earlier this week. The women have less than two weeks to decide whether to take their appeals to The State Employees' Appeals Commission.

Neither Rupert nor Carter could immediately be reached Friday by The Star for comment. They had not filed appeals as of Friday morning.

Call Star reporter Marisa Kwiatkowski at (317) 444-6135. Follow her on Twitter at @IndyMarisaK.