Police: DCF received 12 reports on N. Newton couple charged with abuse

The North Newton Police Chief says he's learned the Department for Children and Families received a dozen calls about a family now in the middle of a child abuse investigation. He says DCF never contacted police about the calls.

Former DCF worker Karen King says they aren't required to tell police about each call they receive.

She says they will contact police in serious cases, when parents aren't cooperating or if the child needs to be placed in protective custody.

Investigators began searching the North Newton home of Paige and Jim Nachtigal earlier this week, but police say they didn't know about the calls DCF had received about the family.

King says the calls can come from anyone and can range from minor to serious.

The most severe is a day of check. King says that means someone is reporting noticeable bruises or assault and the perpetrator is in the home. In these cases, a DCF worker is required to visit the home that day.

A 72-hour check could involve bruises or marks, but the perpetrator is not in the home.

The least severe is a 20-day check, meaning a child could be absent from school but no assault is involved.

For 20-day checks, King says DCF workers are only required to make contact within that time frame. That could be by phone, and does not have to be in person.

King says even during home visits it can be hard to spot abuse.

"When you go out there if there are no bruises or anything and the kids don't tell you that they were hit, your hands are kind of tied," said King.

Investigators continue to search for clues about what life was like inside the Nachtigal's home after they brought home three orphans from Peru.

The Nachtigals were planning to go back to Peru. They spoke at area churches and had a GoFundme page asking for support for their ministry.

Jason Peebles, the President of World Outreach Ministries, one of the organizations the couple worked with released the following statement Friday morning:

“The Nachtigal’s were attempting to raise funds through various churches and organizations, of which we were one group. They were in the “pending” category with our organization for future support. Thankfully we can say that funds which were given for their work in Peru were never passed along to them. The plan was to commence support once they returned to Peru. In light of this situation, we have obviously withdrawn our planned support – and all donations have been returned to the donors.”

DCF has not confirmed that 12 reports were made about the Nachtigal children. It is possible that some could have been multiple reports about the same concern.

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Update: Authorities have confirmed to Eyewitness News that the Department of Children and Family was called 12 times to investigate the home of a Newton couple that is now charged with abusing and neglecting two of the family's adopted children.

We are continuing to ask questions about what the reports contained and why law enforcement was never contacted.

Pilar Pedraza is following the story and asking the tough questions. Stay tuned to Eyewitness News at 5 and 6 for the latest on this investigation.

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North Newton's police chief says the Department for Children and Families (DCF) were called several times, but his office was never contacted by the agency.

KWCH reached out to a DCF spokesperson who said she couldn't say why, but said that every situation is handled on a case-by-case basis.

"They decide at that time where in their agency is the best place for that report to go, and there is a screening in and a screening out process and then from there once it's screened, that can happen in a variety of different ways how an investigation takes place," said Diana Schunn, executive director of the Sedgwick County Child Advocacy Center.

Schunn said if you suspect abuse, get as many details as you can about what's happening and then call both DCF and police.

"I think making multiple calls is an appropriate and acceptable activity to do," she said. "If you make a report and you don't see potential change or an investigation that there's nothing wrong with making an additional report."

Representative Jim Ward (D) Wichita, has been critical of DCF. In 2015, Ward introduced a bill he says would allow legislators to better understand what happens within the agency. "Maybe we should start taking steps interim. Maybe we should bring the department in and have an investigating committee of the legislature while we're in session, but something needs to happen. Too many children are falling through the cracks," he said.

DCF said it receives roughly 65,000 all year. Of those, 60% are assigned an investigator, and the rest are handled internally.