INDIANAPOLIS (AP): A state agency has rejected the appeals of two former Indiana child-welfare workers fired following the death of a paralyzed young woman.

The Indianapolis Star reports the State Personnel Department denied Lyn Rupert and Teresa Carter's appeals.

State personnel records show the former Department of Child Services employees were fired Aug. 15 for failing to follow policies to ensure a child's safety.

Their dismissals followed the Aug. 4 death of 18-year-old Linda Kelley in a filthy Indianapolis home with bedsores covering much of her lower body.

Kelley's cause of death has not yet been determined.

State officials say they were disturbed that Carter, a former DCS family case manager, and two Damar Services employees visited Kelley's home six days before her death, but didn't report her perilous condition.