DENVER -- Boulder County officials said Thursday they are working to correct procedures after social workers botched an investigation into an abuse case that resulted in a 2-month-old boy's death.

A state investigation concluded the workers failed to look for Tanner Dowler's parents because of typographical and clerical errors. The county also violated procedure by failing to notify the grandparents that their concerns about Tanner's welfare were not being investigated, the report said.

"It's a terrible, terrible tragedy," Boulder County Social Services Director Christine Highnam said. "There are a lot of places in this case where you go, if only things would have been a lot different, maybe we could have saved this child."

Highnam declined comment on possible disciplinary action. The county has until Feb. 10 to submit a corrective action plan to the state, which will then monitor the agency for six months. The county faces penalties, including financial sanctions, if the problems are not corrected.

Even before Tanner was born, Tanner Dowler's step-grandmother wrote social services in August, pleading for help and saying his parents could not care for him.

But workers couldn't find Tanner's parent's address because of a typo in his father's name in a computer record and because his mother's last name was entered as Riley, instead of her married name of Dowler, state Department of Human Services spokeswoman Liz McDonough said Wednesday.

"It's painful and it's tragic and it's devastating to everyone involved, including Boulder County," she said.

An after-hours call to Boulder County Social Services was not returned, and no home phone number was available for Christine Highnam, the director of the county agency.

Highnam told a television station in Denver, "I am in complete agreement with the findings of the state investigative report."

The report criticizes county workers for not telling the grandmother, Lea Dowler of Brighton, that her concerns would not be investigated.

It also faults the county for not following up on an incident in early September, when Joseph Dowler visited a social services office and became upset that his application for public assistance was not processed.

He displayed anger at the worker but not at Tanner, who was with him, McDonough said.

Within eight weeks of his birth, Tanner's arms, legs and ribs had been broken. His burned feet had been wrapped in toilet paper and his face scratched. He died Oct. 12, nine days after his parents brought him to a hospital.

Doctors said the Lafayette infant had 14 bone fractures was allegedly beaten for most of his short life. When Tanner was brought to the hospital, it was too late -- his brain was mostly dead, doctors said in a preliminary hearing.

Early this month, Joseph Dowler was ordered to stand trial on a first-degree murder charge and Audra Dowler was ordered to stand trial on charges of child abuse. Audra Dowler's arraignment is scheduled for Feb. 14 and Joseph Dowler's arraignment is scheduled for March 11.

A Lafayette police detective said that Joseph told his wife "'I think I broke our son."

According to the arrest record, Dowler also told police that "has an anger problem and needs help with losing his temper." He also said he "has picked Tanner up by his neck before, and moved him around by his head."

Some people believe Tanner's death has exposed weaknesses in Colorado's child-welfare system.

The county social services agency has until Feb. 10 to submit a corrective action plan to the state or face sanctions that could include financial penalties, McDonough said.

She would not elaborate.

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