( CNN ) -- The head of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families resigned Tuesday following the deaths of three children the agency was charged with protecting . The resignation of Olga Roche , who has more than three decades in child welfare , comes after state lawmakers and the public called for the embattled commissioner to step down after the deaths of 5-year-old Jeremiah Oliver , 4-week-old Aliana Lavigne , and 2-week-old Bailey Irish . `` For DCF to move on ... there must be accountability for the tragedies , '' Gov . Deval Patrick told reporters Tuesday . `` That 's the only way the agency earns the public 's confidence . '' Patrick , who named Roche acting commissioner in April 2013 and permanently appointed her in October 2013 , expressed faith in Roche , but said the controversy over the recent deaths of the two infants and the disappearance of a toddler whose body was later found made it impossible for her to stay . The deaths have sparked outrage . On Monday , House Speaker Robert DeLeo , Senate President Therese Murray and Attorney General Martha Coakley all demanded Roche 's resignation . `` The vast majority of the time , DCF gets it right , '' Health and Human Services Secretary John Polanowicz told reporters . `` Sometimes , no matter how diligent or carefully a family is supervised , a tragedy can happen . '' Polanowicz said he accepted Roche 's resignation `` because I believe it is not possible for the agency to move forward in this environment with her at the helm . '' In a statement , the Massachusetts Human Service Workers Union , SEIU Local 509 , said the change at the helm represented a `` critical opportunity '' to institute reforms and investments in the agency . Members of the union , which represents social workers , investigators , supervisors and more than 17,000 other human service workers and educators throughout the commonwealth , took to the streets last week in a protest demanding the hiring of more social workers . `` At DCF , we face a caseload crisis that worsens each day , '' chapter President Peter MacKinnon said in a statement . `` Policy changes and accountability measures are desperately needed . Communication barriers and outdated technology continue to slow our efforts in the field . '' Erin Deveney , former chief of staff at the Massachusetts Department of Transportation , was named interim commissioner . Roche , who did not attend Tuesday 's press conference , was not immediately available for comment . Patrick said Roche , despite her experience , `` can no longer command the trust of the public or the confidence of her line staff . '' A day earlier , a visibly angry Patrick described the death of Aliana Lavigne as `` intolerable '' after learning that social workers misplaced a police officer 's faxed complaint about the suspected neglect of the infant , according to CNN affiliate WCVB . Aliana was dead by the time a social worker investigated . `` I 'm upset as anyone about the loss of these children , '' Patrick said . `` My confidence in the whole organization has been rattled . '' Police told WCVB that officers filed a written report of suspected abuse or neglect -- known as a 51A -- after a visit to the home of Andrea Lavigne on April 3 . But DCF officials said the officers did not follow up with a phone call as required by law . The fax was discovered days later . Police officials insisted officers did what they were supposed to do . Lavigne stopped breathing April 11 while sleeping in her mother 's bed , WCVB reported . The case was assigned to a social worker one day before the child 's death . Earlier this month , the body of 5-year-old Jeremiah Oliver was found off a highway in central Massachusetts after a seven month search , WCVB reported . His family was under DCF supervision at the time of his disappearance . Authorities said 16-day-old Bailey Irish was brought to the hospital on Saturday morning by her parents , who were under DCF supervision . She was pronounced dead a short time later .
Massachusetts ' top child welfare official resigns amid controversy . ' Roche steps down after deaths of 3 children . ' Deval Patrick : ` ` There must be accountability for the tragedies ''