Washington (AP) Officials say a Maryland woman suspected of killing and freezing two of her three adopted daughters had a 1999 misdemeanor conviction for threatening harm and had past financial problems.

Renee Bowman was still able to adopt the girls and was collecting a monthly check of about $2,400 for their care, even after two of the children had been killed.

The disturbing case has advocates questioning how the District of Columbia's troubled Social Services Agency evaluates potential adoptive and foster parents.

Richard Wexler is Executive Director of the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform. He says there's pressure “across the board” to get adoption numbers up. Wexler wants to know if D.C. workers have the time to look at adoptions case by case.

D.C.'s Child and Family Services Agency has been reeling since January when the decomposing bodies of four young sisters were found in a home where abuse had been reported.