A child advocacy group is asking a federal judge to hold the District of Columbia in contempt for failing to make improvements to the city's child welfare system.

New York-based Children's Rights Inc. brought a class-action lawsuit against the city nearly 20 years ago that eventually forced the child welfare system into receivership.

In a contempt motion filed Thursday, the organization cited the D.C. Child and Family Services Agency for a backlog of cases, failing to quickly move children into permanent homes and not providing essential health care services.

The motion comes a week after the agency's director resigned following the recent deaths of several children under the agency's watch, including four sisters in a southeast Washington rowhouse. The girls' mother, Banita Jacks, has been charged with murder.

Calls to the city about abuse and neglect increased sharply after that incident.

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