Hennepin County child protection officials said little Tuesday about the death of a 6-year-old girl found unresponsive with a jump rope around her neck in a foster-care home.
As recently as September, however, an advocate said the county should consider alternative housing for the girl, according to court documents.
Brooklyn Park police were called Saturday night to Kendrea Johnson's foster home in the 9200 block of Queens Garden Avenue N., where they found her not breathing. She later died at a hospital.
She and her 1-year-old brother, Charles, were at the house of Tannise Nawaqavou, who has had a foster parent's license since 2011. Kendrea had been in foster care for about a year, but it's unclear when she went to live with Nawaqavou. She and her brother were placed in foster care after child protection said their parents repeatedly failed to comply with efforts to keep the children safe, according to documents.
Brooklyn Park police continue to say the case is not being treated as a homicide, and that they continue to investigate it.
Janine Moore, area director for the county's Children and Family Services, declined to comment when asked if Charles or other children who may be in the foster home will be removed, or whether the county will review Kendrea's death.
She also wouldn't discuss if Nawaqavou's license, which expires in 2016, could be revoked or if she will be allowed to take in other children. The Data Practices Act prevents her from talking about specific foster care cases.
Kendrea had an outgoing personality, but the foster care provider had been having a difficult time trying to keep her safe, and the girl was acting out at school, according to a social worker's report.