The vote to hire the Maryland-based Center for the Support of Families to evaluate operations at DCYF was unanimous.
This review will cost $223,000 dollars. It follows earlier reviews by lawmakers and the Attorney General's office.
All that focus follows some big problems at DCYF, including the death of 3-year-old Brielle Gage of Nashua.
Gage died of blunt force trauma in 2014 -- after child-protection workers returned Gage and 4 siblings to their mother and her boyfriend even though the couple faced child-abuse charges.
DCYF Director Lorraine Bartlett says caseloads are high and rising at DCYF and she welcomes the scrutiny.
"In the last 4 years we've seen a 17 percent increase in the number of protective investigation that are being completed by the same number of staff. We have also seen an increase in the number of protective reports that are being accepted for investigations."
The review will include taking a detailed look at 100 randomly selected cases. It will last through the end of the year.
