PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — A former case manager working under the Florida Department of Children’s and Families (DCF) was arrested after being accused of lying about visits.

Special agents with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said Kristen Lucas Martinez, 43, falsified records regarding home visits with foster kids.

FDLE’s investigative summery found Martinez lied about the visits in three different cases.

Martinez was a case manager at Lutheran Services Florida, a subcontractor which cares for foster kids for DCF.

Terri Durdaller, LSF spokeswoman, sent this statement to News Channel 8: “We discovered Ms. Lucas Martinez had falsified records during a routine quality assurance review. Our credibility is paramount in accessing and documenting a family’s circumstance, particularly around child safety. At LSF we have zero tolerance for falsification. There is no place for this behavior in our line of our work to protect and strengthen families. Once we learned about this incident, we reported it to the proper authorities and terminated Ms. Lucas Martinez’s employment at LSF.”

8 On Your Side reached out to Family Support Services, the lead child welfare agency in Pinellas County, which oversees Lutheran Services.

CEO Jenn Petion said Martinez has not worked in their system since Sept. 17, 2022.

“In cases such as these, immediate action is taken to review any specific allegations of falsification as well as to review all cases that an individual was assigned to. Both FSS and our partners have zero tolerance for falsification and hold our teams to the highest standards of integrity in our mission of ensuring child safety,” Petion said.