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MILWAUKEE - The death of 19-month-old Alicia Burgess is causing the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services to launch a full review of the Milwaukee Bureau of Child Welfare.

The Bureau received five complaints of abuse about Burgess' family and made "errors in judgment" by not removing the girl from her home, according to a statement released Friday by the Department. 

Milwaukee County medical examiner records show Alicia was killed by child abuse. Her mother's boyfriend, Raul Arteaga, 33, is charged with suffocating the little girl. Arteaga told police he was on a crack-cocaine binge at the time and wanted Alicia to stop crying.

The big question now: What will be done to the social workers and supervisors that screwed up? They are all still on the job, but the state said it's serious about punishing them.

Department of Health and Family Services Secretary Kevin R. Hayden admitted his social workers made bad decisions when they investigated the abuse of Alicia. Their paperwork was not kept up to date. Critical medical information was ignored.

Hayden released the following statement Friday:

"I’m saddened, frustrated and extremely disappointed with how this case was handled. Although the Bureau has many sound policies in place, my review found that some policies were simply not followed. Staff made errors in judgment, failed to document issues in a timely manner, and did not communicate effectively with each other and key medical professionals who were in contact with Alicia. There are no excuses for these mistakes. I have directed that corrective measures be put in place immediately, and I will take further action as necessary."

Hayden conducted an internal review of the agency related to Burgess' case. His spokeswoman said a full review is now being done on workers at all levels of the bureau. Hayden ordered that all open cases involving allegations of abuse against children younger than 6 years old be reviewed to ensure the correct steps were taken. He also ordered that reviews be conducted on all cases involving multiple abuse complaints against a family.

When asked whether employees will be punished for the mistakes, spokeswoman Stephanie Marquis said, "I think that Secretary Hayden is dedicated to making sure that any actions that need to be taken will be done." Marquis described the investigation into the Milwaukee Bureau of Child Welfare by saying, "I think what you're seeing is really an unprecedented review of a lot of cases to really make sure that any underlying issues that need to be addressed are done."

The Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare is a state agency that took over all child protective services in Milwaukee County nine years ago. It is part of the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services.

Milwaukee is the only county in Wisconsin to have a child welfare system operated directly by the state.