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Mom says child was bitten by dog at foster home in St. Johns County

Investigators want to know how a child got injured while in foster care.

The child's mother called Action News Jax after noticing during a visitation that her son had stitches.

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The mother sent Action News Jax pictures showing her 2-year-old son with stitches, a black eye and bruises covering his body.

"He looked like his face was, like, it looked just shredded," the mother said.

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The mother, who we aren’t going to name because the child could be a victim of abuse, said the child and his three siblings are in the St. Johns County Family Integrity Program.

"I don't see why they should remain in state care when things keep happening back-to-back," the mother said.

This is the same child who we told you nearly drowned in an above-ground swimming pool last July. About four months later, the woman said, her children were put into foster care.

"Knowing that my kids didn't get beat or bruises like that and now it's OK for the foster system to do that," the mother said.

She said she’s allowed weekly visitations and it was during one of them that she saw the injuries to her youngest child.

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"He cried the whole time at the visit. He was very agitated,” the woman said.

She asked her daughter, who stays at the same house, what happened.

"She didn't miss a beat. She was like, 'He got bit by the dog,' and the case worker went off on her," the woman said.

She said she immediately called the Florida Department of Children and Families. A DCF spokesperson said there’s now an investigation into what happened.

"It makes me think, 'How many times have I not seen bruises? How many times has he been bruised and it not been reported?'" the mother said.

A St. Johns County spokesperson said because this is an active investigation, the county cannot comment. DCF has up to 60 days to complete its investigation.

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