The parents of 7-year-old Nixzmary Brown were charged with murder in connection with the girl’s death from a fatal blow to the head.

Nixzmary’s stepfather, Cesar Rodriguez, 27, and mother, Nixzaliz Santiago, 27,who lived with six children including Nixzmary in a small Bedford-Stuyvesant apartment, were indicted yesterday on charges of second-degree murder.

The January 11 death came after a long period of abuse, as evidenced by the wounds all over her body, the medical examiner’s office determined. The Brooklyn district attorney, Charles Hynes, said there were also “many other allegations of abuse against the other children.” If the allegations are true, Mr. Hynes said, they are among the most “gruesome” he has ever encountered.

Ms. Santiago and Mr. Rodriguez were also charged with manslaughter, unlawful imprisonment, assault, criminal possession of a weapon, endangering the welfare of a child. Mr. Rodriguez also faces charges of sex abuse, for allegedly victimizing Nixzmary, and attempted assault.

If convicted of the top charge, the defendants could receive a sentence of 25 years to life, which Mr. Hynes said would not be long enough.

Since Nixzmary’s death, the commissioner of the Administration for Children’s Services, John Mattingly, has responded to allegations that the agency, along with other agencies and individuals, failed to help prevent the girl’s death. Mayor Bloomberg said at yesterday’s Bronx Library Center opening ceremony that all of the relevant agencies, including children’s services, the Department of Education, and the Police Department, are scrutinizing their role in the girl’s death.

He vowed to punish the wrongdoers. “If somebody did something wrong and what they did was because the procedures were wrong, we’ll try to correct the procedures,” Mr.Bloomberg said. “If they were derelict in their duty, they’re not going to remain in their position.”

The child welfare agency has come under intense scrutiny because of the death of Nixzmary as well as those of four Brooklyn children in its system.

When asked during an interview on WABC radio yesterday if he had the necessary resources, Mr. Mattingly responded, “The basic story is we got the resources but are we deploying it the way we should be? We’re going to take a careful look at that.”

The agency has been operating with a smaller budget and fewer employees than the prior year, city documents show.

The city’s child welfare agency was allotted $2.19 billion for fiscal year 2006, amounting to $11 million less than in fiscal year 2005, child welfare agency and Independent Budget Office figures show.

The most notable reduction in funding was in foster care services, a trend that began a number of years ago as the number of children in foster care has dropped. Children’s services officials said they received a budget of $721.82 million for foster care this year. Last year, the agency had $801.6 million for such services, according to an analysis of the mayor’s preliminary budget for 2006 by the city’s Independent Budget Office. Funding was reduced in other areas this year including adoption services, Head Start and daycare services, and supplies to support agency programs, according to data from the child-welfare agency, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Independent Budget Office.

The staff of children’s services has shrunk to 6,000 people, Mr. Mattingly, the commissioner of children’s services, said in the WABC radio interview. Last year the agency had a budget accommodating 6,695 full-time employees, the Independent Budget Office figures show.