AUGUSTA – A spokesman for the Maine Department of Human Services confirmed Friday that the agency had received a complaint regarding the living conditions of two Harmony children who died in a house fire earlier this month. The complaint, however, fell through the system’s cracks and was never forwarded to a local community agency as intended.

That failure has prompted changes within the department, including the creation of a special team to monitor referrals.

Michael Frost, 4, and Linda Frost, 2, died Sept. 10 when a malfunctioning dryer sparked a blaze that destroyed their home. Their mother, April Frost, and her friend, Paul Corson, escaped the fire but Frost, who is pregnant, was burned on her feet and legs attempting to rescue her children.

Within hours of the fire, the children’s father and step-grandfather were pointing fingers of blame at DHS, saying that they had made repeated complaints to the agency regarding what they felt were unsafe living conditions and that those complaints had been ignored.

The father, Michael Frost, called the home “a death trap,” while Francis McNally, who lives with April Frost’s mother, said the well had been dry for two years. The home was a cabin attached to an older model mobile home.

In the days after the children’s deaths, DHS launched an internal investigation into the accusations.

Friday afternoon, a DHS spokesman confirmed that a complaint had been received by the DHS central intake office in Augusta on May 29 regarding “poor living conditions.”

Newell Auger of DHS said the agency decided to refer the assignment to a local community agency. “However, our review shows that did not occur,” he admitted.

Auger said, “We are still investigating the reason why.” Auger said that DHS and the local agencies meet on a regular basis and everyone involved thought the referral had been made.

As a result of the Frost investigation, Auger said all referrals in Somerset County received since June 2001 were reviewed. “Of the 224 complaints received, nine were confirmed as not being received by local agencies.”

“We are in the process of improving our communications and a specific feedback group has been put in place,” said Auger. He added that “the decision to assign a community agency does not represent a finding of wrongdoing. It is only an offer of volunteer assistance, such as parenting or counseling.”

Auger was also quick to defend DHS caseworkers. “Whether they are DHS caseworkers or local workers, all caseworkers are trained to work with people, not appliances. It is unlikely, in fact I’d say it was a stretch, that they could recognize a faulty timer on a dryer.”

Michael Frost said Friday that he still blames the lack of DHS response for his children’s deaths. “If they had followed up properly and visited that home, my kids would be alive,” he said. “They would have immediately been removed from that place.”

He claimed the home had been condemned by Harmony selectmen.

Harmony Town Clerk Christine Kerr said Friday that no condemnation proceedings had been brought against the property.

April Frost, in an interview last week, said that the claims that her home was substandard were untrue. “My kids were my everything,” she said. “I am going through a hard enough time without people making up lies.” Frost said that her home was not in poor shape and that her well only went dry two weeks ago. She said her husband was the one that moved the family into the home and then abandoned her eight times in four years.

“I deserve some apologies,” she said. She could not be reached for comment Friday.