Copyright © 2011, The Oklahoman

As more and more children die in DHS care, commissioners there have ignored an audit calling for reform, belittled a federal lawsuit alleging children are being hurt and rejected calls for special meetings to address the ongoing tragedy.

Several commissioners at Oklahoma's Department of Human Services recently admitted under oath in depositions for the class-action lawsuit that they never read or only skimmed the taxpayer-funded $420,000 audit commissioned by the state Legislature to help the agency reform its child-welfare services.

“My eyes would have glazed over if I had,” said one commissioner, Linda Weeks, of the 197-page report that came out in 2009.