Stop Corrupt DSS

Update on the "Where is Josua William Smith" case Potential abduction: $2 million Wellsville reward for kid turns into jail time for Smith

noreply@blogger.com (Lawdoll) — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 20:10:00 +0000

Potential abduction: $2 million Wellsville reward for kid turns into jail time for Smith

WELLSVILLE —

Javan P. Smith is so convinced his 12-year-old son belongs in his custody, he offered a $2 million reward for anyone who would hand the child over to him in Wellsville or Texas.

However, a screaming incident at the RiverWalk Shopping Plaza and an alert police officer stopped a possible abduction. The child is safe today and the father is in jail.

At 5:53 p.m. Sunday, Wellsville Village Police charged Smith, 48 of Helotes, Texas, with second-degree criminal contempt.

He was arraigned before acting Wellsville Village Justice James Ames and sent to the Allegany County Jail in lieu of $5,000 bail.

UPDATE SHANIYA DAVIS CASE

noreply@blogger.com (Lawdoll) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 21:05:00 +0000

Shaniya Davis was sexually assaulted, autopsy results released today state

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-29636-Surry-County-CPS-Examiner~y2010m1d12-Shaniya-Davis-was-sexually-assaulted-autopsy-results-released-today-state#

Autopsy results released this morning show that 5-year-old Shaniya Davis' injuries were consistent with sexual assault and that she did indeed die of asphyxiation.

The autopsy report states that Shanyia's body was in the early stages of decomposition when it was found, November 16, 2009, in a wooded area Near Highway 87 in Lee County, 6 miles from Sanford and not far from the Comfort Inn hotel where she was last seen alive by a witness. To read more of the above story, please visit the above link.

KELSEY BRIGGS' MOTHER SEEKS PART OF SETTLEMENT

noreply@blogger.com (Lawdoll) — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 20:17:00 +0000

Kelsey Briggs' Mother Seeks Part of Settlement

http://www.news9.com/Global/story.asp?S=11791434

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The mother of Kelsey Briggs is suing in federal court to receive proceeds from a settlement in the death of her daughter.

Raye Dawn Smith was convicted of enabling child abuse and was sentenced to 27 years in prison after Kelsey died in 2005 while in the care of Smith and the child's stepfather Michael Lee Porter.

Porter is currently serving a 30-year sentence after pleading guilty to enabling child abuse.

Kelsey's father, Lance Briggs, won a $625,000 settlement from the state Department of Human Services and a DHS-contractor, Eastern Oklahoma Youth Services, for failing to do enough to prevent Kelsey's death.

Raye Dawn Smith is suing claiming she is entitled to half of the settlement. Her attorney is arguing that she was not convicted of murder and is therefore under state law just as eligible as the girl's father to receive part of the settlement.

During a hearing Friday in federal Court in Oklahoma City, Lance Briggs pleaded to the court that the money awarded to him is his money and his alone saying Smith doesn't deserve "one red cent."

During the court hearing, each side was given three and a half hours to present their evidence. Officials said it will take at least a month before the judge is expected to make that decision.

Smith said if she does win the money, she wants to pay her family back for her legal costs. The rest she said she would donate to an infant crisis center and St. Jude's Medical Research Center.

FOSTER CARE DEATH STILL AN OPEN INVESTIGATION

noreply@blogger.com (Lawdoll) — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 20:02:00 +0000

Foster care death still an open investigation

http://www.kxly.com/news/22182451/detail.html

Annie Bishop KXLY4 Reporter

POST FALLS, ID -- A year ago this month, two year old Karina Moore died while under the care of a foster family in Post Falls. The foster family says Karina accidentally fell down a short flight of carpeted stairs, but authorities beg to differ. However, the Spokane County Medical Examiner ruled her death a homicide.

Karina's death was ruled a homicide by the Spokane County Medical Examiner, which is why the Post Falls Police Department has been working hard to find out who is responsible for her death.

"I talk to her everyday, tell her that I love her," said Karina's mom, Samantha Moore.

Not a day goes by Moore doesn't think about her little girl and her beautiful smile. Even though it's been a year since Karina's death, time has not healed her broken heart.

"I don't think anyone is ever ready for the death of a child," Moore said.

Moore is hopeful someone will be held accountable for her daughter's death.

"The truth will come out, I'm not worried about it anymore," Moore said.

When Karina, her brother and infant sister were placed in foster care, Moore said she suspected abuse and reported those suspicions to her case worker with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.

Karina's medical records from Kootenai Medical Center indicate the state noticed a change in her behavior a month prior to her death.

The report states she went from be very verbal to becoming non-verbal. Investigators say this is a complex case and it continues to be a top priority.

"They [investigators] have to make sure everything is right. They don't want to present this case and have it flap in front of them and nothing gets done. They got one shot and they've got to make it the best one and I'm confident they will," Moore said.

Karina's foster parents could not be reached for comment.

The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare said the foster parents are no longer licensed foster care providers.

THIS COULD HAPPEN TO ANYONE!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Lawdoll) — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 19:27:00 +0000

Grapevine mom leaves kids outside school in freezing weather

http://www.star-telegram.com/local/story/1880227.html

By BILL MILLER

wmiller@star-telegram.com

GRAPEVINE — Police are considering whether to pursue charges against a mother who left two children, ages 5 and 7, outside a closed Grapevine elementary school Thursday morning in freezing weather, a police spokesman said Friday.

It was 24 degrees with a wind chill in the single digits when a nurse on her way to her job at a nearby hospital spotted the children alone in the parking lot of Cannon Elementary School, 1300 W. College St.

The mother did not realize that Grapevine-Colleyville administrators had delayed the opening of school because of icy roads, said Lt. Todd Dearing, a police spokesman.

The nurse called 911 at 7:14 a.m., and officers went to get the children, Dearing said. Meanwhile, the mother heard on her car radio that the school was closed and returned to get her children, he said.

By the time she arrived, police were there, Dearing said.

"She made a mistake, she knows she made a mistake, and now we’re investigating to see if we’ll be filing criminal charges," Dearing said.

The possible charge is abandoning or endangering a child, a state jail felony punishable by up to two years in jail and a $10,000 fine.

Child Protective Services was notified, Dearing said. CPS spokeswoman Marissa Gonzales said the children were not in the agency’s custody and thus she could not say whether CPS was involved.

This was an honest mistake, what is the phase that CPS uses to encourage people to adopt a child from foster care, "You don't have to be perfect, to be a perfect parent." "After all, kids don’t need perfection; they need you!"

This mom made a mistake and as soon as she realized it, she immediately turned around and went to get her children. They obviously were not outside that long before she did, since she was still in the car when she heard about the delay on the radio!!!!

Leave this mom alone and go focus on the Texas CPS workers who are failing to do their jobs. So many children have died in Texas after CPS involvement and now the police and CPS want to waste time investigating this mom.

What is amazing to me is that the police are even considering charges against this mom for her one mistake, yet absolutely no charges have been pressed against the Texas CPS workers who "Investigation shows family history of abuse missed in half of cases"

"Caseworkers for Texas Child Protective Services have regularly missed warning signs that Houston-area children were in danger, including failing to thoroughly investigate a family’s previous history of abuse or neglect, according to a report released on Monday."

Why don't you go press charges against these people instead, they are the ones who acutally deserve to be prosecuted!

PATTERN OF DEATHS CONTINUE IN L.A. COUNTY

noreply@blogger.com (Lawdoll) — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 19:10:00 +0000

Infant's death rekindles scrutiny of L.A. County child services agency

Authorities deemed Diamond Hillman's mother fit to care for her, even though the woman's two other children had been removed from her home. Four months later, Diamond was dead.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-child-death30-2009dec30,0,7229655.story

Five months before Diamond Hillman was born last July, her two half siblings were removed from their mother's home.

Social workers found that she had spanked her 6-year-old daughter with a belt, scrubbed her face so hard it left welts and sent her to school in diapers.

Despite that finding, and a resulting court order that the 28-year-old mother have only monitored visits with the two older children, child welfare authorities deemed her fit to care for Diamond.

The child lived just four months. She died Nov. 22, allegedly at the hands of her stepfather, a convicted batterer with whom the mother had left the baby, according to court records and a confidential child-fatality report obtained by The Times.

Her death comes amid growing public scrutiny of suspected abuse and neglect fatalities among children whose families at some point were under the supervision of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services.

There were 14 such deaths in 2008 and at least that many this year, though some remain under investigation, according to department officials and records recently made public under California law.

Diamond's death is being investigated by the department, Santa Monica police and the L.A. County coroner's office.

Many of those deaths occurred after children left the department's watch -- to return to their families after a stint in foster care or to enter the criminal justice system, records show.

But Diamond's case calls the department's vigilance into greater question, because she was still under its direct supervision when she was killed.

Donald Renald Hillman Jr., 33, a resident of Santa Monica and her mother's estranged husband, has pleaded not guilty to murder and child abuse.

He is being held in lieu of $1-million bail.

The mother was not identified in the child-fatality report and has not been charged. She did not respond to a phone message left with a man at her last known address.

Shortly after Diamond's birth, her mother told Hillman that he was not the girl's father, "but he accepted Diamond as his child," the report states. Although separated from Hillman, the mother left Diamond with him Oct. 4 while she met with a friend.

Hillman, who is 6 foot 1 and weighs 245 pounds, allegedly shook the infant so hard that day that she suffered retinal hemorrhaging and a traumatic brain injury.

When he brought her to a hospital emergency room in full cardiac arrest and not breathing, he told doctors the injuries were accidental.

"According to Diamond's stepfather, Diamond was asleep in her bassinet when her two-year-old half-sibling ran into the room and somehow fell over the bassinet," the report states.

The attending physician said that explanation didn't jibe with the baby's injuries, which "appeared to be the result of being shaken," the report notes.

Doctors twice resuscitated the infant and placed her on a ventilator, Santa Monica police said. She spent the next six weeks on life support, which was removed Nov. 22, police said.

An autopsy supported the shaken-baby diagnosis and Hillman was arrested Dec. 7 after he attended Diamond's funeral, police said.

The cause of death has been deferred pending further investigation by the coroner's office.

"As a result of the circumstances surrounding Diamond's death, the Department will perform a comprehensive review and analysis of our prior involvement with Diamond and her family," the report said in part.

Social workers are trained to give extra consideration to the cases of children who are age 2 and younger, because they are considered the most vulnerable and the least likely to be observed by people outside the home.

Trish Ploehn, who heads the child welfare agency, would not say if social workers had been disciplined for their handling of Diamond's case, but noted that such action is taken when warranted. Social worker error was a factor in 10 of the 14 deaths in 2008 among children with prior involvement with her department, Ploehn said earlier this year.

She declined to comment on circumstances surrounding Diamond's death, which she called "a tragedy for our entire county."

"The safety and the well-being of all children in Los Angeles County remains our highest priority," Ploehn said in a statement.

One of the key issues under review, according to the internal report, is whether the department acted appropriately in keeping Diamond with her mother, who was still subject to monitored visitation with the older children, then 2 and 6.

Also under scrutiny is a decision by the department last February to place the 2-year-old with Hillman despite his criminal history, the report said. Hillman is the child's biological father.

A search of Los Angeles County Superior Court records for Hillman turned up convictions for burglary, drug abuse and battery dating to 1998.

In 2005, he was charged with felony domestic violence but pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of battery, court records show.

A marijuana possession charge was dismissed.

The court file did not identify the battery victim, although the original felony charge was based on the alleged infliction of injury upon a "spouse, former spouse, cohabitant, former cohabitant, or the mother or father of his or her child."

Hillman was sentenced to 30 days in jail and three years' probation, and ordered to undergo domestic violence counseling, including anger management.

In 2006, he was kicked out of a "batterers treatment program" after missing four of six meetings, court records show.

The county report states that Diamond's family had been the subject of six prior abuse and neglect complaints since 2004, when the oldest child, then 18 months old, was alleged to be hungry and living with her mother in a motel with no cooking facilities.

When a social worker could not find them, that allegation was deemed inconclusive .

Subsequent allegations of general neglect, sexual abuse and physical abuse in 2006, 2007 and 2008 involving the oldest child were all deemed inconclusive or unfounded, the report states.

In late January 2009, social workers substantiated allegations that the girl, then 6, had been physically and emotionally abused by her mother.

Besides striking her with a belt, the woman also had interfered with the girl's relationship with her father, who was not Hillman, and had created "a detrimental environment" that caused her to act out aggressively.

The girl and her younger sibling were then taken from their mother and placed with their biological fathers.

When Diamond was born, the woman was "actively participating in court-ordered services and had nearly completed the required case plan activities," the report noted.

So she was permitted to sign onto a "family maintenance plan" that allowed her to keep her new daughter at home, the report said.

"That agreement remained in place at the time that Diamond suffered the injuries that resulted in her death," the report said.

kim.christensen@latimes.com

Times staff writer Garrett Therolf and researcher Scott Wilson contributed to this report.

SBI's investigation into Cumberland County DSS regarding the Shaniya Davis Case

noreply@blogger.com (Lawdoll) — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 21:33:00 +0000

SBI's investigation into Cumberland County DSS regarding the Shaniya Davis Case (complete silence)

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-29636-Surry-County-CPS-Examiner~y2010m1d8-SBIs-investigation-into-Cumberland-County-DSS-regarding-the-Shaniya-Davis-Case-complete-silence#

On December 4th, 2009, Cumberland County District Attorney, Ed Grannis and Fayetteville Police Chief, Tom Bergamine both requested that the SBI investigate the Cumberland County Department of Social Services, because they believed that DSS had failed to release complete records to them regarding their involvement with the Davis family.

Since that time, absolutely nothing has been heard regarding this investigation. No findings have been released, no information made public...total and complete silence.

To read the rest of this article please visit the above link....

IOWA CITY MOM SUES DHS FOR PLACING 5-YEAR-OLD INTO FOSTER CARE BASED ON FALSE ALLEGATIONS

noreply@blogger.com (Lawdoll) — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 18:33:00 +0000

Iowa City Mom sues DHS for placing 5-year-old into Foster Care based on false allegations

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-29636-Surry-County-CPS-Examiner~y2010m1d6-Iowa-City-Mom-sues-DHS-for-placing-5yearold-into-Foster-Care-based-on-false-allegations#

Iowa City mom, Jessica Wilbur, has filed a civil lawsuit against the Iowa Department of Human Services for placing her 5-year-old daughter into foster care, based solely on the word and signature of the child's non-custodial father, Robert Nino.

The lawsuit, which was filed in Johnson County District Court, alleges that Ms. Wilbur's constitutional rights were violated by DHS director, Charles Krogmeier and DHS investigator, Paul Lafauce because of the circumstances under which they place her daughter into foster care.

CHILD WELFARE WORKER FOUND NOTHING AMISS BEFORE BABY DEATH

noreply@blogger.com (Lawdoll) — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 20:43:00 +0000

Child welfare worker found nothing amiss before baby death

http://www.lacrossetribune.com/news/state-and-regional/wi/article_234dd5ac-f690-11de-867e-001cc4c03286.html?mode=story

MILWAUKEE - A report from Milwaukee child welfare officials conflicts with a medical examiner's report after the death of a 6-month old.

The body of Dekia Mattox was found Saturday stuffed under a mattress in her home. A 36-year-old Milwaukee man has been charged in her death.

The medical examiner's report states the home had broken windows, empty alcohol containers and not much food. That matches what police have said.

The Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare had investigated the home seven weeks earlier but reported nothing out of the ordinary.

The bureau was reacting to a complaint that Dekia had scratches and cuts, but the child welfare worker said she found no marks.

Bureau director Arlene Happach said clearly something dramatically changed in the home.

CRIES FOR HELP FOR JEANETTE MAPLES GOT NO ANSWER

noreply@blogger.com (Lawdoll) — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 20:23:00 +0000

Cries for help for Jeanette Maples got no answer

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/01/cries_for_help_for_jeanette_ma.html

By Susan Goldsmith, The Oregonian
January 02, 2010, 5:24PM

EUGENE -- Many in this community were heartbroken last month when they learned that 15-year-old Jeanette Maples was killed, but few were surprised when authorities charged her mother and stepfather with murder.

For three years, people in Jeanette's life tried to get child welfare authorities involved, to no avail. Her step-grandmother, a concerned parent of a friend and educators all called the state Department of Human Services because she was bruised, constantly hungry and said she had been beaten at home.

Though police and prosecutors have released few details about the case, citing an ongoing criminal investigation, Jeanette's relatives, friends and former teachers say she died a horrific death at her Eugene home after being starved and abused for years.

Her mother, Angela McAnulty, 41, and stepfather, Richard McAnulty, 40, have been charged with aggravated murder as a result of "intentional maiming and torture." Both could face the death penalty if convicted, and both have pleaded not guilty.

DHS officials won't comment, because they've convened a critical incident response team review to examine how the agency handled the case. The internal inquiry is expected to wrap up this month.

"The CIRT investigation under way is aggressively reviewing all prior contacts with the family to find out what happened," said Gene Evans, a DHS spokesman.

Jeanette, a quiet, dark-haired girl who sought refuge in books at her school's library, tried unsuccessfully to hide her injuries during her middle school years, friends recalled. But many days when she got into her clothes for gym class, friends saw bruises on her abdomen and legs, which she said came from falling.

One classmate, Amber Davis, wouldn't accept Jeanette's explanations about her injuries and pressed her for the truth.

"She told me her mom was abusing her when we were in seventh grade," said Davis, 15, one of Jeanette's closest friends during her years at Cascade Middle School.

Davis told her parents and school officials about Jeanette's bruises in 2007, and they contacted the state's child welfare office in Eugene. Cascade Middle School officials, who didn't want to be identified because of the ongoing investigations, say they contacted the DHS at least twice while Jeanette was a student.

Jeanette's stepgrandmother, Lynn McAnulty, who lives in Leaburg and saw her grandchildren only occasionally, says she twice called child welfare authorities anonymously in six months to report abuse. At the funeral, grieving friends, their parents, teachers and family members said they trusted that social workers would rescue Jeanette, but they never did.

"It's hard to understand. I told. Everybody told, and nothing happened," Davis said.

Jeanette's death follows five years of critical incident reviews into child deaths and serious injuries of youngsters who've had contact with the DHS. Twenty-one reports since 2004 identify a myriad of problems, including a failure to investigate and follow up on cases, inadequate documentation and lack of ongoing assessment.

"This agency cannot hold itself out as protecting children when they repeatedly fail," said David Paul, a Portland attorney who has sued the department on behalf of 10 children. "I am tired of hearing they need new resources. They don't need new regulations or a blue-ribbon panel. What's needed is accountability and public oversight, and it's just not happening."

Signs of trouble

People who know Angela McAnulty, Jeanette's mother, describe her as a high-strung and controlling woman who made little money, once lived in her car, and isolated her children from others.

In Sacramento in 1995, McAnulty lost custody of Jeanette, who was then 1 year old, and the girl's two older brothers because of suspected abuse and neglect. The children's father, Anthony Maples, was in prison for drug offenses and had little contact with his children.

In a phone interview, Anthony Maples said his two sons, Jeanette's brothers, grew up in foster care after they wrote a letter to the family court judge overseeing their case pleading to not be sent back to their mother.

Jeanette spent 5 1/2 years in foster care in Sacramento before she was returned to her mother in 2001, Anthony Maples said.

By that time, Angela McAnulty, who was a cashier at a discount store, had another daughter. Sometime after being reunited with Jeanette, Angela met Richard McAnulty, a truck driver, and the two were married in 2002.

Angela and Richard had a son, and the family moved to Eugene in late 2005, according to Lynn McAnulty, Richard's mother.

Jeanette started at Cascade Middle School in the middle of her sixth-grade year in 2006. Her mother sent her there in ratty sweatpants and an old yellowing T-shirt, and children made fun of her, her friends said.

Despite the teasing about her clothing and appearance, friends said, Jeanette loved school. She liked writing and reading poetry and being away from home.

But there were signs of serious trouble. Jeanette was constantly hungry, and each day when it was time to go home, her demeanor changed, friends said. She became sad, withdrawn and anxious. Her mother was strict, they said, and wouldn't allow friends to call her or let Jeanette visit their homes or invite them over.

"Once the bell rang to go home, you could see she didn't want to go," said Karina Mora, 15, a friend from middle school who attended her funeral.

Amber Davis said Jeanette confessed that her mother beat her after Davis pushed her to explain the repeated injuries. She encouraged her friend to get help, but Jeanette feared that would enrage her mother.

"She got scared and said she didn't want her mom to take her out of school because she thought things would get worse," Davis remembered.

Davis then told her mother, Holly Sams, who called the DHS office in Eugene.

Sams said child welfare screeners downplayed her concerns and told her secondhand accounts of abuse were not sufficiently serious to send social workers out. So Sams told her daughter to enlist officials at Cascade Middle School, which she did.

One school official who asked not to be named and who spoke at Jeanette's funeral said: "We cared about her. We did what we could, and we fed her."

Stepgrandmother reported her concerns to state

After graduating from eighth grade in the spring of 2008, Jeanette was home-schooled by her mother. Friends and family say she was hidden away with almost no contact with the outside world while her siblings attended school and appeared healthy and happy.

Richard McAnulty was often out of town driving trucks across the country. Last summer he ended up in a California hospital for open-heart surgery. Angela McAnulty and the children showed up at the hospital.

Jeanette "looked bad, really thin, her hair had been chopped off, and she had a busted lip," her stepgrandmother, Lynn McAnulty, said.

A few weeks later, McAnulty called the DHS to report suspected abuse. She didn't give her name because she was worried her son and daughter-in-law would find out.

"I said I was a neighbor and told them to check on the kids and said the older girl is extremely thin, and they said they'd check into it," McAnulty said.

In October, she was briefly allowed into the family's home. Jeanette was inside, facing a wall because she was being punished by her mother. McAnulty tried to talk to Jeanette as her daughter-in-law hovered nearby. The girl was emaciated, and she had a split lip, the stepgrandmother said.

Angela McAnulty told her mother-in-law that Jeanette had fallen.

Lynn McAnulty left the house and said she again called the DHS anonymously to report suspected abuse. That was the last time she saw Jeanette.

On the night of Dec. 9, Lynn McAnulty got a frantic call from her son and daughter-in-law that Jeanette was cold and had stopped breathing. Lynn McAnulty said she screamed at them to call 9-1-1, which they did. The couple were arrested later that night after Jeanette was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

No official cause of death has been released. Detectives took away boxes of evidence, and Lynn McAnulty was given the grim task of cleaning out the house.

She found food padlocked in kitchen cupboards and a blood-spattered bedroom. She described the inside of the house as filthy, with junk and toys everywhere. Investigators urged her not to view her stepgranddaughter's body.

"They all told me that I did not want to see this body because it was the most horrific thing they'd ever seen," said McAnulty, who took their advice.

"Dropped into the abyss"

Even though the DHS investigation will not be made public for weeks, one child welfare advocate in Oregon is confident the agency is making important strides and diligently examining its mistakes.

"The leadership of DHS is finally willing to work with advocates and scrutinize themselves," said Robin Christian, executive director of the nonprofit Children First For Oregon.

But she added: "The state is not making the kind of child welfare investments they need."

Attorney David Paul isn't convinced. After deposing scores of state child welfare workers and administrators and examining reams of internal agency documents, he says he does not believe any meaningful change will come from the inside.

"Trying to make this agency accountable is like trying to push a freightliner with a canoe paddle. They are interested in maintaining the status quo," Paul said. "People call the hot line expecting something is going to happen, but you are dropped into the abyss without any rope."

Lois Day, administrator for the DHS' Office of Safety and Permanency for Children, said all calls about abuse and neglect are documented. She said if an allegation of abuse or neglect is made, department officials determine how quickly a family needs to be seen.

"Our response times are within 24 hours to five days," Day said. "We have to document that a delay does not compromise the safety of a child."

If a social worker goes out and determines abuse or neglect is not a concern, that is also documented, she said.

In Jeanette's case, what steps the agency took after receiving calls won't be known until its report is made public.

"The injuries on Jeanette were completely obvious," Amber Davis said. "There's no way anyone from the department could have seen her and said she was OK."

-- Susan Goldsmith

MAYOR'S WIFE LEAVES DSS JOB

noreply@blogger.com (Lawdoll) — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 19:59:00 +0000

Mayor's wife leaves DSS job

Samara Foxx's post with county agency one of 3 that had prompted concerns of nepotism.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/local/story/1158917.html

By Christopher D. Kirkpatrick
ckirkpatrick@charlotteobserver.com

Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx's wife, Samara, has resigned from her high-paying county job, one of three positions that last year sparked allegations of cronyism and prompted a change in county hiring policies.

Reached at her home Sunday morning, Foxx, 38, said she stepped down from her post at the Mecklenburg Department of Social Services effective Dec. 31 to "focus more time and energy" on her family. The couple has a 5-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son.

Her husband was a city councilman and had announced he would run for mayor when she was hired in July 2008 for the administrative job at a $100,000 annual salary. The job was posted for just a day.

DSS hired two other relatives of high-ranking government officials early last year: the daughter of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Chief Rodney Monroe and the daughter of Superior Court Judge Yvonne Mims Evans.

The three hires prompted a public debate about perceptions of nepotism and favoritism in local government.

County officials said the three were given jobs in accordance with county policy and without regard to family ties. County commissioners examined resumes from the three during a lengthy closed session and concluded that the hirings were proper.

But County Manager Harry Jones soon changed the minimum posting time, to six days, for most open jobs.

Samara Foxx, a lawyer, was hired as a special assistant to newly assigned DSS Director Mary Wilson. Foxx later headed DSS business affairs, one of six divisions in the agency.

Wilson could not be reached Sunday. But she said last spring that Foxx won the job over other candidates because of her experience, including past work in legislative affairs. Wilson also said the two worked together at a previous job and had a good working relationship.

The Foxxes wouldn't comment Sunday about the circumstances of the hiring.

But in March, Samara Foxx said in a written statement she was qualified for the job because of her past experience as a contract attorney and as chairwoman of a board of directors for an agency serving pregnant teens and women.

She said she worked in the Charlotte area as a contract attorney at KOSA, a global polyester manufacturing company. There she met Wilson, who was the company's general counsel.

Before moving to Charlotte in 2001, Samara Foxx worked as staff counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee for five years, she said.

Anthony Foxx said in his own written statement in March that insinuations about his wife's employment were "irresponsible and deeply hurtful."

In the other cases:

Rodney Monroe's daughter Hollye was hired early last year as a management analyst with DSS at a $46,613 annual salary. A city spokeswoman said at the time that Chief Monroe did not ask for any special treatment.

Judge Evans' daughter, Tracey, was hired early last year as a social services manager at a salary of $57,380. Her mother said at the time that she had nothing to do with her daughter's hiring.

DSS is the county's second-largest department and has an annual budget of $180 million. It employs 1,200 people.

Christmas time...I love the season

noreply@blogger.com (Lawdoll) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 22:08:00 +0000

Christmas time...I love the season

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-29636-Surry-County-CPS-Examiner~y2009m12d24-Christmas-time-I-love-the-season#

I love Christmas, it is one of my favorite times of year. In our family it is all about tradition, every year, the day after Thanksgiving to be exact, my husband drags the entire family up the mountain to pick out our Christmas tree, like the Griswold's in the movie, "Christmas Vacation".

To read more and see my beautiful pictures, visit the link above

"CALLING FOR THE HEADS OF CPS?"

noreply@blogger.com (Lawdoll) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 22:55:00 +0000

"Calling for the heads of CPS"? Really 2 leaves a comment on my Examiner.com page

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-29636-Surry-County-CPS-Examiner~y2009m12d20-Calling-for-the-heads-of-CPS--Really-2-leaves-a-comment-on-my-Examinercom-page

I received the comment below, from a person who obviously, doesn't personally like me and clearly hates my outspoken manner of pointing out CPS corruption.

I am not sure who this person is, (although I have an idea) but whoever they are, they must be feeling a little insecure in their job. I thought I would take this comment and point out why I "call for the heads of CPS."

CUMBERLAND COUNTY DSS INVESTIGATION BEGINS

noreply@blogger.com (Lawdoll) — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 18:00:00 +0000

SBI begins investigation into Cumberland County Department of Social Services

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-29636-Surry-County-CPS-Examiner~y2009m12d19-SBI-begins-investigation-into-Cumberland-County-Department-of-Social-Services#

The North Carolina SBI has began their investigation into whether or not the Cumberland County Department of Social Services released incomplete records to the District Attorney and Police Department in the case of Shanyia Davis.

Cumberland County Department of Social Services had been involved with the Davis family before Shaniya's murder on November 10, 2009. The extent of their involvement remains unknown since the Cumberland County DSS has refused to release any information to the public, citing the criminal case.

In a press release issued November 20th, the Cumberland County DSS stated the following:

For the rest of this story, please visit the above link....

GRANDMOTHER OF SLAIN TEEN SAYS SHE REPEATEDLY CALLED THE STATE CHILD ABUSE HOTLINE

noreply@blogger.com (Lawdoll) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 03:15:00 +0000

Grandmother of slain teen says she repeatedly called the state child abuse hotline

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/12/grandmother_of_slain_teen_says.html

By Michelle Cole, The Oregonian
December 10, 2009, 10:10PM

The step-grandmother of a 16-year-old Eugene girl who police say was abused and tortured before her death on Wednesday says she repeatedly called a state child abuse hotline, trying to get someone to check on the teenager.

According to court documents, Jeanette Maples' death "came in the course of, or as a result of intentional maiming and torture." Her mother, Angela McAnulty, 41, and stepfather, Richard McAnulty, 40, appeared in court Thursday to face aggravated murder charges.

Thursday afternoon, Dr. Bruce Goldberg, director of the Oregon Department of Human Services, ordered an internal investigation into caseworkers' contact with the family.

Lynn McAnulty, Richard's mother, was technically Maples' step-grandmother but said "we took her in as if she was our own."

Several months ago, McAnulty said she became concerned about the teenager.

Maples had a split and swollen lip, she said. "And it looked like somebody had taken a fist and yanked her hair."

She asked about the girl's swollen lip. " 'Fallen down' is what they told me," she said.

Urged by a friend, McAnulty said she called the state child abuse hotline. She said she made several calls, each time making anonymous reports. She was uncertain when she started making the calls but it was several months ago.

She didn't give her name, McAnulty said, "because I didn't want to lose contact with my grandchildren."

McAnulty lives in Walterville, on the McKenzie Highway six miles east of Springfield.

In terrible hindsight, McAnulty said she should have called police. But she just wanted someone to check on the girl and she thought child welfare officials would do that.

Gene Evans, a Human Services spokesman, could not provide any details on the child abuse hotline calls.

One of the purposes of the investigation is to find out what happened, he said.

Whenever a child known to state child welfare officials dies or is seriously injured, Oregon law requires the Department of Human Services to convene a critical incident response team to comb through the agency's files and contacts with the family.

Such reviews are somewhat unusual. The death or injury of a child has triggered 24 similar reviews since Gov. Ted Kulongoski called for more scrutiny and accountability of the child welfare system in 2004.

Detectives worked through the night Wednesday and Thursday afternoon to determine what happened to Maples.

The Lane County district attorney and medical examiner are working on the case. A cause of death has not been released.

Two younger children in the home were taken into protective custody.

A Lane County Sheriff official said the girl was taken by ambulance from her home in the 150 block of Howard Avenue at 8 p.m. Wednesday.

A caller to 9-1-1 told dispatchers that a person there was not breathing. Maples was pronounced dead at the hospital a short time later.

Staff writer Stuart Tomlinson also contributed to this report.

Michelle Cole

JUDGE HEARS MOM'S PLEA, ORDERS DCYF TO RETURN NEWBORN, REUNITE WOONSOCKET FAMILY

noreply@blogger.com (Lawdoll) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 02:59:00 +0000

Judge hears mom’s plea, orders DCYF to return newborn, reunite Woonsocket family

http://www.projo.com/news/content/LAOTIAN_BABY_RETURNED_12-11-09_MAGO5ED_v24.3985c1b.html

By W. Zachary Malinowski

Journal Staff Writer

On Monday, Netvilai Vixaisak of Woonsocket made her way to the Garrahy Judicial Complex in Providence to hand deliver a note to Family Court Chief Judge Jeremiah S. Jeremiah Jr.

“Right now, I have so much pain in my heart and it is hurting a lot due to what [the state] is doing to me. I want to be with all of my kids all in the same place,” she wrote.

After reading the note, Jeremiah emerged from his chambers to speak with the young mother, who broke down and cried in his fifth-floor courtroom.

“Don’t worry,” he told her. “I’m on your side. I’m fighting for you.”

The judge was deeply moved to learn that Vixaisak, 28, gave birth to a daughter, Isis Diamond, on Dec. 2, at Women & Infants Hospital in Providence. Two days later, as she prepared to return home and breast-feed the baby, she learned that the state Department of Children, Youth and Families, which already had custody of her three other children, had placed a “hold” on the newborn. She said she “cried and cried until I couldn’t cry anymore.”

She visited the baby at the hospital on Sunday, Dec. 6. The next day, the infant was placed in DCYF custody, and Vixaisak reached out to Family Court for help.

Jeremiah scheduled an emergency hearing on Wednesday and summoned three DCYF officials into his courtroom: Jorge Garcia, DCYF’s deputy director; Martha Kelly, the agency’s legal counsel; and Mary Cameron, a social worker who has been assigned to Vixaisak and her family.

During the hearing, Jeremiah repeatedly interrupted Kelly, suggesting at one point that DCYF was going to extremes to keep the family apart. She said that the baby was taken away because the three other children are in DCYF custody. She also said that the three children had been removed because of “issues of domestic violence.”

Jeremiah shot back that DCYF removed the three children because they did not have any electricity in their apartment.

Kelly relented and said that “the department is willing to return the infant to her mother and father.” She said that the other three children could be returned by Christmas.

That wasn’t good enough for Jeremiah. He ordered that the baby be returned immediately and the other three children must be reunited with their parents no later than Friday.

Jeremiah said that he wanted to see the family reunited for the holidays.

The judge said he felt DCYF officials were heavy-handed in their decision to remove the children because they lacked electricity in their apartment. He knows that Vixaisak, who suffers from depression, and her husband, a convicted felon, are facing an uphill battle, so he assigned a home health aide to make daily checks on the family to make sure things are working out.

“We always have concerns,” he said. “We have to worry about the safety of the children.”

On Thursday, as Vixaisak waited for her baby’s arrival, she said she is thrilled at the thought of having all four children back. She is confident that she’s prepared for the challenges of raising four children.

“I’m ready to do this,” she said. “I’ll do anything DCYF wants me to do. I love my kids so much. I’ll do anything.”

Stephanie Terry, DCYF’s associate director of child welfare, refused to second-guess Jeremiah’s order or discuss the removal of the baby or three other children from the family. She said that confidentiality policies prohibit her from talking about the case.

“These cases are complicated, and there are lots of facets to it,” she said. “I can’t get into case specifics. We have worked with this family, and we will continue to work with this family. Our objective is always, foremost, to safely return kids home.”

There’s no question that Jeremiah is taking a chance.

According to an affidavit filed with the court, Cameron, the family’s social worker, said that the baby should not be allowed to return home with Vixaisak “due to information they have indicating a risk of physical harm to the child.” The sworn document also mentioned that the mother “has a history of mental health issues and she has been prescribed psychiatric medications.”

Cameron also wrote that the husband, Daothiam Phiensinh, 45, “has substance abuse and domestic violence issues.” She also pointed out that he’s on probation for 12 years for a past conviction of assault with a deadly weapon.

In late summer 2008, DCYF removed the three children from the couple’s home and placed them in separate foster homes across the state. The removal followed several run-ins that Vixaisak had with DCYF, the Woonsocket police and school officials.

On Sept. 5, 2008, DCYF reported in court documents that Vixaisak appeared at the elementary school in Woonsocket where two of her children were students and “made threats to bomb the school and DCYF.” That same day, she barricaded herself in her apartment with her children and refused to allow the Woonsocket police in.

At another unannounced visit, Cameron, the social worker, reported that the apartment had no gas or electricity.

Vixaisak’s lawyer, Frances K.R. Munro, managing attorney for Rhode Island Legal Services, said that her Laotian client is a very emotional woman, but she believes that DCYF may misinterpret her outbursts.

“I think there is a cultural issue,” she said. “It’s not wrong. It’s cultural.”

On Thursday, Vixaisak went out for two cans of baby formula and diapers so she would be ready for her week-old daughter. She’s looking forward to a beehive of activity in her living room as the holidays near.

About 2 p.m., Cameron, the social worker, delivered the baby and a bundle of new clothes.

“I feel happy,” Vixaisak said. “I have the energy to do things now. I’m so, so happy.”

bmalinow@projo.com

NYC FAMILY COURT JUDGE DENIES CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES PERMISSION TO ENTER HOTLINE SUBJECT'S HOME

noreply@blogger.com (Lawdoll) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 02:52:00 +0000

NYC Family Court judge denies Child Protective Services permission to enter hotline subject's home

http://www.examiner.com/x-14537-Albany-CPS-and-Family-Court-Examiner~y2009m12d15-NYC-Family-Court-judge-denies-Child-Protective-Services-permission-to-enter-hotline-subjects-home

In a decision posted yesterday, Kings County Family Court Judge, Jeanette Ruiz, refused to grant the Administration for Children's services permission to enter the home of J. Smith. Children's Services had applied for a pre-petition ex-parte court order as part of an ongoing investigation which began when someone anonymously called the State Central Register hotline on J. Smith in July of 2009.

To read the rest of this story, please visit the above link

GIVING TREE TOYS RELEASED TO SALVATION ARMY FOR DISTRIBUTION

noreply@blogger.com (Lawdoll) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 02:46:00 +0000

Giving Tree toys released to Salvation Army for distribution

http://www.wcnc.com/news/local/Some-County-Commissioners-push-for-Another-DSS-Investgation-79353437.html

by MICHELLE BOUDIN / NewsChannel 36
E-mail Michelle: MBoudin@WCNC.com

Posted on December 15, 2009 at 6:31 PM

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Some county commissioners are calling for yet another investigation into the Department of Social Services' program that was supposed to get toys to needy children.

The call for action comes on the same day that thousands of toys from the now-suspended Giving Tree program finally were released from an office to a place that will actually get them to kids -- the Salvation Army.

At the Salvation Army Christmas Bureau on Tuesday, hundreds of volunteers were building bikes, stuffing stockings and filling giant bags, making sure thousands of children's wish lists will be filled.

"It feels good to be able to help those in need," said volunteer Jennifer Newman.

The job got easier late Tuesday morning as about 4,000 toys were moved from the Mecklenburg County DSS building, where they were collecting dust for the last month.

"These items have been in limbo since then based on the investigations and the audits," said county spokesman Danny Diehl. "It's about doing the right thing right now, which is making sure these items get to those who need them the most."

CMPD is investigating the Giving Tree program. Federal authorities are reportedly investigating, too. Investigators are looking into some bad accounting practices to see if they were criminal or mistakes.

Three Republican county commissioners also want to hold a special meeting to question the head of DSS and the former head of the Giving Tree and allow anyone with concerns to come forward anonymously.

Democratic Commission Chair Jennifer Roberts says, "The intention was a good intention. But the idea of a secret meeting, I think, is inappropriate. I don't think we want anything behind closed doors."

Commissioners will vote Tuesday night on whether to hold the special meeting. It would likely be later this week.

CLARKSVILLE DHS WORKER CHARGED WITH FONDLING GIRL, 13

noreply@blogger.com (Lawdoll) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 02:37:00 +0000

Clarksville DHS worker charged with fondling girl, 13

http://www.theleafchronicle.com/article/20091215/NEWS01/91215020/DHS+worker+charged+with+fondling+girl++13

By JAKE LOWARY • The Leaf-Chronicle • December 15, 2009

A Clarksville day care owner and DHS worker was charged Tuesday with forcibly fondling a 13-year-old girl, police reports and court records show.

Michael McElroy Monix, 48, who gave a 1021 Tylertown Road address, was arrested and charged Monday with two counts of sexual battery and one count of sexual battery by an authority figure, on at least one occasion working in his official capacity.

Monix was arrested on a sealed indictment Tuesday, alleging that in November and December 2008 he forcibly fondled the girl, who, according to an indictment, was under his supervisory authority.

According to the indictment returned by the grand jury this month, Monix “used his position of trust ... to accomplish sexual contact.”

Monix is an employee with the Tennessee Department of Human Services.

Police identified Monix as a social worker in an arrest report.

Monix was released from jail Tuesday, and showed up to his job with DHS on Wednesday and immediately requested for state-paid vacation, which he was granted, according to Leaf-Chronicle news partner WSMV, Channel 4.

DHS officials are reviewing the case, but have not put Monix on suspension or unpaid leave.

TEXAS CPS ISSUES

noreply@blogger.com (Lawdoll) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 02:18:00 +0000

Review: CPS Inconsistent with Policies

http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/news/texas/091214-child-protective-services

Updated: Monday, 14 Dec 2009, 9:30 PM CST
Published : Monday, 14 Dec 2009, 1:18 PM CST

HOUSTON - Approximately 200 children die of abuse or neglect in Texas each year; a growing number of those children who die had a prior history with Child Protective Services.

There has been outrage that prior visits were failing to detect warning signs in order to protect children.

A review of the Houston CPS region was ordered in July by the state, after several deaths of children who had a history with CPS. The results from that review were released on Monday.

A team of people with the Department of Family and Protective Services were deployed to Houston for the review. They researched records and cases and did extensive interviews with staff.

The review team concluded that CPS caseworkers are not spending enough time with families and that is partly due to extensive workloads.

Caseworkers missed some risk and safety issues when conducting home visits during investigations, according to the review. In almost half the cases, risk and safety were evaluated appropriately.

Review team members also said that investigative caseworkers are only reviewing and using CPS history in approximately half the cases and need more training in mental health issues.

Reviewers found that cases were transferred out of investigations before all steps had been taken to to fully assess risk and safety, which has left regular caseworkers at a disadvantage and the child potentially unsafe.

Decisions made in case reviews lacked sufficient follow-up by caseworkers and supervisors, according to the review.

Reviewers added that in the Family Based Safety Services program, newly reported incidents of alleged abuse or neglect were addressed with families only half the time.

One recommendation made by reviewers is for CPS to hire all the 116 family-based safety service program caseworkers allocated in the previous legislative session and also reviewing whether more employees need to be shifted to this area.

Reviewers also recommended strengthen practices to keep children safe when parents voluntarily place them outside of the home with relatives or family friends.

Gaps in the transfer of cases from investigations to the Family Based Safety Service program need to be eliminated, reviewers said.

The review team also recommended that investigators be given more immediate access to critical case history and information.

On the Web: Child Protective Services Region 6 Operational and Management Review (.pdf) --

http://media2.myfoxhouston.com/news/2009-12-14/region6report.pdf

Investigation shows family history of abuse missed in half of cases

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6769390.html

Caseworkers for Texas Child Protective Services have regularly missed warning signs that Houston-area children were in danger, including failing to thoroughly investigate a family's previous history of abuse or neglect, according to a report released on Monday.

“In only half the cases, risk and safety were evaluated appropriately,” the report's investigators — a review team from the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services in Austin — concluded. “Investigative caseworkers are reviewing and utilizing CPS history in only about half of the cases.”

The team's report is based on a review of 95 randomly selected child abuse investigations, a fraction of the 16,107 investigations completed between February and July in Harris and 12 surrounding counties.

The review was part of several regional reviews scheduled this year. However, the review here was expedited following the deaths of three Houston-area children who died of child abuse: 4-year-old Emma Thompson, of Spring, David Tijerina, 3, of Conroe and Katy infant Amber Maccurdy.

All three died either during or shortly after CPS investigated complaints of abuse involving their care and the children were allowed to remain in their homes. In the Maccurdy and Tijerina cases, there had been several visits to their families regarding abuse or neglect.

The caseworker in the Amber Maccurdy case walked away after the girl's mother refused to let her examine the child. Amber died of a staph infection shortly after that visit.

In David Tijerina's case, CPS workers had visited his home at least four times. He died of a beating.

Passing cases

In Emma Thompson's case, the girl's doctor called CPS after finding what appeared to be a genital herpes outbreak on her. Three weeks later, she was dead. An autopsy determined she had been sexually abused and suffered a skull fracture and more than 80 bruises.

The report also noted that child abuse cases in this region were passed too quickly from investigators to Family-Based Safety Services caseworkers — those assigned to help the family eliminate risk of abuse — leaving “the child potentially unsafe.”

With the exception of the removal of 439 children from their polygamist parents in 2008, CPS officials have strived to remove children from abusive households only when there is immediate risk to the child.

“We've always tried to keep children safely in their own homes or with their extended family, if possible,” CPS spokesman Patrick Crimmins said.

But at least one children's advocate says this latest report shows once again that CPS's goal of keeping families together often runs counter to keeping the child safe, which is the agency's ultimate mission.

“Investigative and (Family Based Safety) have different focuses,” said Randy Burton, executive director of Justice for Children. “And these coordination challenges of keeping families together has led to the deaths of these children.”

No surprises

CPS insists the issue is not that clear-cut.

“Whether a child is removed from the home, whether or not there is a voluntary placement with family members or not, those are decisions made to ensure a child's safety, not decisions made solely to keep families together,” Crimmins said.

Monday's review offered several remedies, from reallocating workers from investigations to the family caseworker unit to using more of the agency's “special investigators,” those workers with a law enforcement background, to help locate families more quickly, thereby getting the child help more quickly.

Burton said none of the findings were a surprise.

“These are things we have known for a long time,” he said.

terri.langford@chron.com

CPS review of Houston cases targets caseworkers

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/6770712.html

AUSTIN, Texas — Risk and safety were properly evaluated in only about half of the Child Protective Services cases in the Houston region during an internal review.

Details are from a review of 95 randomly selected caseworkers conducted by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.

The report, released Monday in Austin, found caseworkers regularly missed warning signs that children were in danger.

CPS spokesman Patrick Crimmins says workers always tried to keep children safely in their own homes or with their extended family, if possible.

Suggestions for improvement included using more of the agency's "special investigators," those workers with a law enforcement background. Another recommendation is to enroll parents more quickly in parenting classes and substance abuse treatment.

Reports on other CPS regions of Texas are expected next year.

OUT OF PRISION, FRANKLIN WOMAN FAILS TO REGAIN CUSTODY OF KIDS

noreply@blogger.com (Lawdoll) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 01:59:00 +0000

Out of prison, Franklin woman fails to regain custody of kids

http://www.thedailyjournal.com/article/20091215/NEWS01/912150314

By TIM ZATZARINY Jr.
Staff Writer

TRENTON -- A former Franklin woman who was charged in the death of her adopted 5-year-old son has lost an attempt to regain parental rights involving two other children she and her husband had adopted.

A state Appellate Court panel Monday rejected the request by Heather Lindorff.

Lindorff was convicted in 2003 of endangering the welfare of a child in the December 2001 death of her adopted son Jacob, 5, inside their Franklin home.

Jacob was one of six Russian children whom Lindorff and her husband, James, had adopted.

An autopsy determined Jacob died from blunt trauma to the head, causing bleeding on the brain. His body showed other signs of physical abuse, authorities said.

Heather Lindorff, now 45, was sentenced to six years in state prison. She was released this year on Nov. 16, according to the state Department of Corrections.

In December 2008, Heather Lindorff filed an appeal alleging there was a lack of fact finding before the state Division of Youth and Family Services moved to take away her parental rights following allegations in 2006 that the couple continued abusing their adopted children.

At the time, the Lindorffs had limited visitation with the children, who were in foster care, and Heather Lindorff was free on bail pending an appeal of her conviction.

In a decision released Monday, a three-judge appellate panel determined Heather Lindorff's appeal regarding her parental rights was moot because she had voluntarily surrendered them during a July 2009 court proceeding so the boys' current foster family could adopt them.

James Lindorff, 60, was convicted of child neglect in the death of Jacob. He was sentenced to probation and community service.

In September 2007, James Lindorff was charged in Salem County with conspiracy to commit murder in connection with a plot to kill a witness against him in the 2006 abuse case.

He is serving a seven-year state prison sentence on the conspiracy charge.

MAN GETS 25 YEARS TO LIFE FOR MURDER OF DAE'VON BAILEY, 6

noreply@blogger.com (Lawdoll) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 01:37:00 +0000

Man gets 25 years to life for murder of Dae'von Bailey, 6

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-bailey16-2009dec16,0,741489.story

By Hector Becerra

Marcas Catrell Fisher, 36, pleaded guilty to beating his ex-girlfriend's son in South L.A. as his 5-year-old daughter watched from the corner of a room, unable to scream.

One month after pleading guilty, a South Los Angeles man was sentenced Tuesday to 25 years to life in prison for beating his ex-girlfriend's 6-year-old son to death.

Compton Superior Court Judge John Cheroske sentenced Marcas Catrell Fisher, 36, to the maximum term for first-degree murder.

Fisher killed Dae'von Bailey on July 23 in South Los Angeles as the boy's 5-year-old half sister -- who was Fisher's daughter -- watched from the corner of a room, unable to scream. The girl would later tell social workers that she had seen her brother tied up in the hallway, crying, as her father beat him.

Later, she said, Fisher put Dae'von in the shower and told him to "wake up" before dragging him to the bedroom. Fisher eventually fled, leaving his daughter behind with her dead brother.

For almost a month, he eluded a police dragnet before being tracked to an apartment in North Las Vegas.

A convicted rapist, Fisher had agreed to care for Dae'von and his daughter after their mother, Tylette Davis, put five of her six children in other people's care. The boy and his siblings had been the subject of 10 child abuse or neglect investigations since 1999 by the time he came under Fisher's care.

In the last three months before his death, Dae'von twice told authorities that he had been physically abused by Fisher, but both times he was left with the man who eventually killed him.

Los Angeles Police Department detectives said that the boy's body bore bruises in different stages of healing, indicating that he had been abused for an extended period of time.

On Tuesday, a bespectacled Fisher apologized from behind a pane of glass at the Compton courthouse for killing the boy.

Before he was sentenced, Majella Maas, the boy's kindergarten teacher at Lakewood's Riley Elementary School, told the court that Dae'von's death left not only his family grief-stricken. Later, Maas said the boy was the most affection-hungry child she had encountered in 28 years of teaching, always asking for hugs.

After the sentencing, she went to his grave site in a Compton cemetery. It bears no marker, she said, but a cemetery worker knew where it was and led her there. He had made a makeshift marker for Dae'von's grave, Maas said.

"He said, 'Oh, the baby?' I'll show you where he is,' " she said. "He knew his name instantly."

hector.becerra@latimes.com

KENTUCKY CPS HAS ISSUES

noreply@blogger.com (Lawdoll) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 21:22:00 +0000

Kentucky officials knew that many of the children who died from abuse might be at risk

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20091213/NEWS01/912130303/Kentucky+officials+knew+that+many+of+the+children+who+died+from+abuse+might+be+at+risk

By Deborah Yetter
dyetter@courier-journal.com

Nearly 270 Kentucky children died of abuse or neglect during the past decade — more than half of them in cases where state officials already knew of or suspected problems.

During one recent 12-month period, 41 children died — the highest rate of any state, according to a recent report by the Every Child Matters Education Fund, a Washington child-advocacy group.

In a six-month review of the problem, The Courier-Journal found that:

-- Child-protection officials, day-care workers, and parents, friends and relatives missed signs of abuse such as suspicious bruising and evidence of previous injury, or were hesitant to act.

-- While reports of abuse have soared, the rate at which social workers substantiated child abuse and neglect has declined . Nine years ago, problems were substantiated in 27 percent of the reports received compared with 12.5 percent this year, according to reports by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services.

-- Since 2008, the state has cut $51 million from human-service programs, including child protection. Social workers say that they don't have time to fully investigate cases or to follow up with families. Nor do they have money to provide the in-home assistance, drug testing and treatment that some families need.

Secrecy within the child-protection system protects it from scrutiny rather than protecting children, many judges and critics believe.

Most troubling is that many child deaths could have been prevented had state social workers, physicians, day-care workers, friends and relatives responded sooner and more aggressively to signs of abuse or neglect.

“It would be rare for a child to have never been abused and then be abused to the point of death,” said Dr. Gerard Rabalais, chairman of the University of Louisville pediatrics department. “Much more typically, it's violence that escalates over time.

“There's time to find the perpetrators and stop it and intervene on the child's behalf.”

In its investigation, the newspaper examined hundreds of pages of court records and outside studies and interviewed more than 50 judges, state officials, medical experts, children's advocates, prosecutors, lawmakers and others including family members who suffered the loss of a child.

It found that since 2000, Kentucky Child Protective Services officials have investigated reports of problems in cases of 149 of the 267 Kentucky children who subsequently died from abuse or neglect, according to the annual report on such deaths produced by the cabinet.

“That's pretty alarming,” said David Richart, a consultant and longtime child advocate in Louisville. “Those are dangerous, ominous signs when you are already involved with the family or with the home.”

Patricia Wilson, commissioner of social services for the cabinet, said she believes that the state's nearly 1,520 “front-line” social workers who handle child protection are hard-working and do a good job helping protect children.

But she said she is disturbed by the 41 deaths highlighted in the Every Child Matters report — which covered 12 months that ended Sept. 30, 2007 — and acknowledged it's not an area where the state wants to be No. 1 .

“We really wish there weren't any fatalities,” Wilson said. “Every fatality is a tragedy.”

MULTIPLE REPORTS

21 cases involved 10 or more notices

State officials had received two or more reports of suspected mistreatment in 60 percent of the 304 cases in which a child died or suffered life-threatening injuries during the past 10 years, according the state's annual report on child-abuse deaths.

And in 21 of those cases, the cabinet had received 10 or more reports of suspected mistreatment, according to the annual report.

Wilson said the state's policy about confidentiality prevents her from commenting on specific cases or whether the cabinet was involved at the time of a child's death. But she acknowledged that multiple reports about suspected mistreatment would be potentially serious, depending on how recent they were and their nature.

“It makes a difference whether it's three times this year or three times three years ago,” Wilson said.

Though the details of state child abuse cases are secret — even after a child dies — court records of adults charged with murder in some recent cases show state officials were well aware of suspected problems. For example:

Two-year-old Christopher Allen of Louisville died Aug. 28, 2008, from a severe battering three days after a social worker removed him from his mother and placed him with an aunt.

Social service and other officials had repeatedly investigated allegations that he had been mistreated. The aunt and her boyfriend are facing murder charges; the case is scheduled for trial next year.

Kayden Branham, 20 months, of Monticello, died May 31 after drinking drain cleaner that his 14-year-old mother and 19-year-old father allegedly were using to make methamphetamine in a Wayne County mobile home. Both Kayden and his mother were under the supervision of state child-protection authorities and were supposed to be in another home.

Seven-month-old Gaige Pyles, of Elsmere, died Aug. 15 after being shaken to death. His father, Matthew Pyles, 27, was indicted Oct. 22 and charged with murder. State child-protection officials had been involved with the infant before his death, according to the Kenton County prosecutor.

Each death is devastating to family and friends, survivors say.

“It really sickens me, how the baby suffered so much,” Samantha Chapman said of grandson Robert Ross Jr., a 3-month-old Covington baby who died in 2008 from a skull fracture and suffered multiple broken bones. “That just tears my heart apart.”

SIGNS UNRECOGNIZED

More vigilance is needed by all

Child-abuse experts say the true picture may be even worse because as many as half of all child-abuse or neglect deaths may not be recognized and reported, being classified instead as accidental or from natural causes.

“I think some people are too nice to allow themselves to imagine what some people are capable of doing,” said Dr. Melissa Currie, director of the University of Louisville's pediatric forensic division.

The Every Child Matters report said national research shows that officials may be missing as many as 50 percent of child-abuse deaths.

In Kentucky, the leading cause of death of abused children is head trauma, and 70 percent are under age 3. Other causes include shootings, strangulation and poisoning, according to the state's 2009 annual report. Neglect deaths were most often caused by drowning, failure of adults to seek medical treatment, exposure to drugs and suffocation, the report said.

State law requires anyone who knows of abuse or neglect to report it to police, prosecutors or the Cabinet for Health and Family Services. But those involved in child-abuse detection and prevention say even the most obvious signs of abuse — bruising, especially in infants — often go unrecognized and thus unreported.

“Bruises on babies are not normal — period,” Currie said. “If you see them, you should do something.”

A 2007 study led by UofL researchers examined the abuse deaths or near deaths of 20 Kentucky children under age 3 and found that in most cases, evidence of prior abuse, such as suspicious bruising, had been previously documented by someone, such as a social worker, nurse or doctor, but not acted on.

Officials say that many more children could be saved, even with Kentucky's risk factors for child abuse, such as high rates of poverty and drug abuse and low educational attainment. But that would require more vigilance on the part of everyone who encounters such children — not just state child-protection officials.

“There is only a certain percentage of cases CPS has an opportunity to intervene in,” Currie said. “All the rest need to be caught by the rest of us.”

Some advocates believe opening confidential state records of abuse deaths or near-deaths would shed more light on the system and help improve it. Though such disclosure is allowed under federal law, many states including Kentucky, choose not to do so.

“Information about these tragic events ... is withheld by many jurisdictions,” said a national report released last year by the Children's Advocacy Institute at the University of San Diego law school and First Star, a Washington child advocacy group. “This is unacceptable.”

LACK OF FUNDS

Social workers face enormous pressure

The state's annual report shows a sharp decline in the rate of cases where social workers substantiate abuse or neglect, despite an increase in reports of abuse or neglect since 2000, a trend advocates and some social workers blame on a shortage or workers and resources.

Wilson, the social service commissioner, credits a better system of screening out complaints that don't appear to involve abuse or neglect — such as families without utilities or food. But child advocates are skeptical.

“That just doesn't compute,” Richart said of the decline in substantiation rates. “There's no logical reason why that would be so.”

Critics note that the underfunded state social-service system has undergone three rounds of budget cuts in the past two years and likely faces more.

“The state leads the nation in child abuse deaths,” Sheila Patrick, a 15-year social worker from Eastern Kentucky, told a legislative panel in October. “That's as high a price as you can pay.”

Judges also lament the shortage of services for families — such as counseling, drug treatment or parenting classes — all reduced sharply by state budget cuts.

“Typically, parenting classes are one of the things we order,” said Jefferson Family Court Judge Stephen George. But now poor parents must wait several months to get into a class while the children linger in foster care, he said.

Also cited is a culture within the state social-service system that gives regional supervisors broad power to put enormous pressure on social workers to meet paperwork deadlines or face discipline. That sometimes forces them to skimp on investigations or take short cuts, a group of social workers told lawmakers this fall.

“We are just putting out fires,” Barbara Cowan, a Kenton County social worker, said at the October meeting of the House-Senate Health and Welfare Committee. “Corners are definitely being cut.”

Compounding the problem is that social workers are afraid to speak out, say officials of their union and others.

“Workers are scared to say anything,” said Shane Sidebottom, a Covington lawyer who has represented seven state social workers in “whistleblower” lawsuits alleging that they suffered retaliation for trying to point out problems. “This is a culture of fear.”

In failing to adequately deal with signs of abuse, Kentucky is hardly alone among the states. The Every Child Matters report found that child-welfare authorities nationwide generally have had prior involvement in about half of the cases of children who die each year from abuse or neglect.

Michael Petit, president of Every Child Matters, said his organization is calling on the federal government — which provides about half the money states spend on child welfare — to step forward with national standards and stricter oversight of state child protection programs.

“This problem isn't going to go away,” he said. “I don't think any state can wrestle this to the ground. You've got to have federal involvement.”

Reporter Deborah Yetter can be reached at (502) 582-4228.

Confidentiality exceeds law's requirements in Kentucky

Some child advocacy organizations say it's time for that policy to change

By Deborah Yetter • dyetter@courier-journal.com • December 15, 2009

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/2009912150301

In the weeks before Samantha Chapman's infant grandson was murdered by his mother's live-in boyfriend, she said she pleaded “face-to-face” with state child protection officials to investigate after she observed a handprint-shaped bruise on the face of the baby's sister, then age 2.

“I went to Covington and I walked into the office,” said Chapman, referring to the local office of the state Cabinet for Health and Family Services. “I just started bawling. I was crying and begging the social workers, ‘Please go in there and get my grandkids.'”

State social workers did open an investigation, according to court records in the case of Aaron Allen, who was convicted of murder Nov. 5 and was sentenced Dec. 8 to 30 years in prison in the 2008 battering death of Robert Ross Jr., the 3-month-old infant son of Brandi Ross, Chapman's daughter.

But neither Chapman nor the public can learn exactly what social workers did because of Kentucky's rigid policy of secrecy involving records related to child abuse and neglect investigations — which applies even when a child is killed or nearly killed.

Some national child advocacy organizations say it's time for that to change.

“An open system is a better system,” said a joint report last year by the Children's Advocacy Institute at the University of San Diego Law School and First Star, a Washington child advocacy group.

The report, which reviewed the policies of all 50 states regarding access to abuse and neglect information, said “child abuse deaths and near deaths reflect the system's worst failures” and concluded that information in those cases should be public.

“The public has a right to know if the laws for protection of children are being followed and its tax dollars well spent,” the report said.

Patricia Wilson, Kentucky's social service commissioner, said she believes confidentiality is important to protect children from public embarrassment or shame.

“The reason for it is that children are not put in a position of being stigmatized,” she said. “I think the system is designed to protect innocent victims.”

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But David Richart, a longtime child advocate and consultant, rejects that argument, especially in cases involving the deaths of children.

“In a fatality, it ends up on the front page of the newspaper, so the identity of the child is already known,” he said. “It seems to be a false argument to argue we can't look at those records.”

All states must keep confidential most records related to reports of abuse or neglect, under the federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act. But a key provision of the law allows states to authorize public disclosure in cases where a child was killed or nearly killed from mistreatment.

How states interpret that rule varies — with most, including Kentucky, opting for confidentiality, the report found.

Kentucky's law on child abuse records says: “Information may be publicly disclosed by the cabinet in a case where child abuse or neglect has resulted in a child fatality or near fatality.”

But cabinet officials in recent years have consistently refused to release such reports, saying the law gives them discretion. A 2007 Kentucky attorney general's opinion upheld the cabinet's policy after The Courier-Journal challenged it.

Although a few states — including Indiana — earned high ratings for allowing access to such information, most do not and secrecy only serves to hide flaws, the report said.

“The current undue emphasis on confidentiality only masks problems inherent in child protection systems,'' it said. “Public exposure is a necessary step” toward fixing these problems.

LITTLE REVEALED

Grandmother fears failures are hidden

For Chapman, Kentucky's policy means she likely will never get to see the results of the cabinet's internal investigation into how it handled the case of her grandchildren, a report known as a “fatality review” that is required under state law.

Chapman said she thinks that's wrong and believes the state is using confidentiality as an excuse to cover how social service officials botched her grandchildren's case.

“They're hiding what they've done wrong,” she said. “I think they failed at their jobs, and I'll stick to that till I croak. I just know they failed.”

(3 of 4)

Brandi Ross, who has not been charged in the case, did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

Chapman said she would like to know more about what the cabinet did after she reported her concerns about the bruise on her granddaughter's face.

The criminal court records show that in Robert's case, the July 30, 2008, beating that ended his life wasn't his first. He died from a skull fracture and brain damage, and suffered fractured ribs and a broken leg and wrist. But his autopsy revealed previous injuries, including evidence of healing rib fractures and earlier bruising, according to the records.

“The autopsy results indicate Robert Ross was subjected to child abuse throughout his short life,” said a motion in the court file.

On the day Robert died, social workers placed his sister in foster care, Chapman said.

She said that when she visited the Covington social service office in early June 2008, she urged a social worker to check on the children immediately while the bruise was still visible on her granddaughter's face.

She described it as a large handprint on the cheek, with finger marks along the toddler's jaw and dark bruising evident on the child's gums.

Chapman said she was insistent that social workers investigate, even though it could have implicated her daughter.

“I said, ‘We need to know who's hurting the kids,' ” Chapman said.

About the same time, she said, she visited the police department in Ludlow, the small city in Kenton County where her daughter lived, to express her concerns about the children's safety and possible drug activity in the home.

Ludlow Officer John Dorman confirmed that account and said that, based on Chapman's information, police arrested a man at the home on drug charges. He said they later attempted to serve a search warrant but found that the occupants had moved suddenly. He said he recalls Chapman being extremely concerned about the safety of the children.

“She was adamant,” Dorman said. “Her main concern was the grandchildren.”

Chapman said that about 10 days after she first visited the cabinet's Covington office, a social worker came to her home while the two grandchildren were visiting and inspected them for bruises or injuries. The bruise to the girl's face had faded and neither child had any visible marks at the time, but Chapman said she urged the social worker not to drop the matter and to visit them at their home.

(4 of 4)

The worker said “I'll take care of it,” according to Chapman. But she said she has no idea what he did — if anything.

Her daughter won't tell her because she's angry with her for going to authorities, and the social workers she questioned say they can't comment, citing confidentiality, Chapman said.

“I don't know what happened,” Chapman said. “Nobody will tell me.”

In October, a family court judge in Kenton County terminated Ross' rights to her daughter, now 3, who remains in foster care, making her eligible for adoption. Chapman said she wasn't allowed in the courtroom, although she had hoped to tell the judge that she would be willing the take custody of the girl, whom Chapman has helped raise since birth.

OPEN COURTS

Most judges back idea, one says

Even some judges think it's time to open family court.

“I think the benefits are that the public has the opportunity to see what is going on in court,” said Patricia Walker FitzGerald, chief judge of Jefferson County Family Court. “I think there's a tremendous distrust of the court system, and keeping it closed adds to that distrust.”

FitzGerald said she and most Jefferson Family Court judges support opening family courts as long as judges retain the right to close hearings of a particularly sensitive nature — involving such things as sexual abuse of a child or sensitive medical and psychological records.

The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, of which FitzGerald is a member, endorsed that proposal in 2005 and continues to support open family and juvenile courts.

Half the 50 states — including Indiana, Tennessee and Ohio — have family and juvenile courts that are either fully open or have limited access to the press and public, according to the 2008 joint report by the Children's Advocacy Institute and First Star.

FitzGerald said she knows of no judges who oppose the idea in states where such courts are open.

“I have yet to talk to a judge in another state where the courts are open where it's been a problem,” she said. “Where the courts are open, it's a non-issue.”

FitzGerald and other advocates supported a bill in the 2008 General Assembly that would have authorized a pilot project allowing Jefferson and a few other counties to hold open sessions of family court. But the bill died in committee after some lawmakers expressed concern that it might lead to undue publicity of child abuse and neglect cases or stigmatize youths accused of crimes.

FitzGerald said she believes those fears are unfounded, based on her experiences and on what judges in other states have told her.

“The fact of the matter,” she said, “is that most of the world isn't interested in coming down and watching these cases.''

Reporter Deborah Yetter can be reached at (502) 582-4228.

December 13, 2009

Painful lives cut short: Three tragic tales of child abuse in Kentucky

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20091213/NEWS01/91210004

Robert Ross Jr.

3 months, Covington

Aug. 1, 2008

For Robert Ross Jr., the Covington infant who died at the hands of his mother's boyfriend, life was as agonizing as it was brief.

After the July 30, 2008, battering that killed him, an autopsy revealed previous bruises and healing broken bones, indicating that he “was subjected to child abuse throughout his short life,'' according to records from the murder case against Aaron Allen, who was convicted of Robert's death Nov. 5 after a three-day trial in Kenton Circuit Court. Allen was sentenced last week to 30 years in prison.

Robert's death occurred as state social-service officials were investigating the possible mistreatment of him and his 2-year-old sister in the home that their mother, Brandi Ross, shared with Allen, according to court records.

On the day Robert died, Allen told police he was taking care of the baby while Brandi Ross went out with friends to eat and get her nails done. Allen, who told police he'd been drinking and smoking crack cocaine that day, said he became irritated when the infant wouldn't stop crying while he was trying to watch a pornographic movie.

“I grabbed him by his leg and pulled him up and he was crying, and I was like, ‘Stop crying, stop crying,'” Allen said in an interview with police.

He told police that he shook Robert until his “eyes rolled back into his head” and jerked him. He also acknowledged striking the baby's head on a door frame, according to the Aug. 7, 2008, arrest citation.

Kenton Commonwealth's Attorney Rob Sanders, who prosecuted Allen, said in an interview that the only way to stop child abuse is through more education.

“And it's not just education of potential defendants — it's the education of mothers spotting who might be an abuser,” he said.

Christopher Allen

2, Louisville

Aug. 28, 2008

In the case of 2-year-old Christopher Allen, social workers had visited his Louisville home several times in 2008. The boy lived with his mother, Jeannette Allen; her twin sister, Janet Allen; and her 2-year-old son, Wyatt. State officials had visited to investigate reports that the home was filthy, cluttered and filled with animals, feces and urine, according to court records.

On Aug. 25, 2008, following up a new complaint, a state social worker visited the home, observed similar conditions and found the sisters “rude and not cooperative,” according to the deposition of social worker Gabriella Marks in the court file.

After seeing the boys' dirty and cluttered room, where they were confined with a cord tied to the outside doorknob, Marks said she conferred with a supervisor who recommended that she try to find a relative or friend who could take the boys until social workers could finish an investigation.

The twins' sister, Nereida Allen, who lived with her boyfriend, Joshua Peacher, in south Louisville, agreed to take the boys and picked them up that afternoon, Marks' statement said.

The following day, Marks said she called Nereida Allen to check on the boys. The aunt told her “everything's fine,” Marks' statement said.

A day later, Christopher Allen arrived at Kosair Children's Hospital, having been severely battered and covered in bruises — even on the soles of his feet — with injuries to his brain, liver, gall bladder and spleen, according to court records. He died Aug. 28.

Wyatt, who also was injured, was treated at the hospital and has been taken into state custody.

Nereida Allen and Peacher, who told police they hit Christopher during his two days in their care, have been charged with murder. They have pleaded not guilty, and their trial is scheduled next year.

Kayden Branham

20 months, Monticello

May 31, 2009

In some cases, neglect can be just as deadly as abuse.

Twenty-month-old Kayden Branham died from burns and internal injuries after drinking Liquid Fire from a cup at the dilapidated mobile home his mother and father allegedly used as a meth lab. It's not clear why state child-welfare officials failed to realize that neither he nor his mother, Alisha Branham, then 14, were at the Monticello home of a relative where social workers had placed them.

State officials won't comment, citing confidentiality, and others involved in the case say they don't know.

Five people involved in the alleged meth lab were charged with murder in Kayden's death, including his parents, Alisha, now 15, and Bryan Daniels, 19.

Mark Stanziano, a Somerset lawyer who represents Daniels, said officials won't say where Alisha is or who had custody of her at the time Kayden died because of confidentiality rules.

The charges against Alisha were resolved in juvenile court, which is confidential, and Stanziano said he hasn't been able to learn whether she admitted to an offense or what the state has done with her. The adults charged in the case have pleaded not guilty.

“We have nothing about her,'' he said.

At a June 15 hearing in the case, Kentucky State Police Detective Douglas Boyd said Wayne County social-services officials had “not been real cooperative” in providing information about Alisha and that police likely would have to subpoena their records.

In an Oct. 7 interview, Alisha's grandmother, Linda Kay Anderson of Wayne County, said that before Kayden's death, he and his teenage parents had been staying at the nearby mobile home of Alisha's father, Larry Branham, who is Anderson's son — even though state social workers had placed Alisha and her child in the home of another relative.

Anderson said she believes Alisha and the child left their previous home after the utilities were cut off.

Anderson said she didn't know if state social workers, who were supposed to be supervising Alisha and Kayden, knew of their whereabouts, and she blames the social workers for not doing more.

“Now we've lost the baby,” she said.

But she said she doesn't blame the girl or the young father for the death of Kayden. His death was “a terrible accident,” said Anderson, adding that she doesn't believe allegations that the parents were making methamphetamine.

“Everyone involved loved that baby,” Anderson said. “His parents took good care of him. I thought he was safe, but accidents happen. They were good parents.”

December 14, 2009

As allegation rate rises, advocates fear Kentucky is missing some abuse

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20091214/NEWS01/912140301/As+allegation+rate+rises++advocates+fear+Kentucky+is+missing+some+abuse

By Deborah Yetter
dyetter@courier-journal.com

Even as reports of suspected child abuse and neglect have risen sharply in Kentucky, state social workers are substantiating far fewer allegations than a decade ago — alarming advocates who fear workers with too many cases and too few resources are missing dangerous situations.

In only 12.5 percent of such reports are the state's social workers finding abuse or neglect — far less than Kentucky's average of 27 percent nine years ago, according to a Courier-Journal analysis of data from the Cabinet for Health and Family Services.

Yet the decline comes as reports of suspected child abuse and neglect have risen from about 44,000 nine years ago to about 72,500 for the fiscal year that ended June 30 — a 64 percent increase, according to the newspaper's analysis.

Patricia Wilson, the state cabinet's commissioner for social services, said she believes better screening of reports accounts for some of the decline.

In 2004, the cabinet implemented a new screening process workers use to separate calls about abuse and neglect from those where families may merely need assistance with such things as housing, food, clothing or utilities, she said. Once such calls are eliminated from what the cabinet considers actual allegations of abuse or neglect, “we're seeing rather consistent results'' in substantiation rates, she said.

But advocates worry that the decline means the state is missing abuse and neglect.

“That just doesn't compute,” said David Richart, a longtime child advocate and consultant in Kentucky. “It means investigations are not being done thoroughly or they're being screened out. That's very dangerous.”

About 2,800 fewer reports were substantiated last year than nine years ago, even though the number of allegations had risen by nearly two-thirds, the newspaper's analysis showed.

Michael Petit, president of the Every Child Matters Education Fund, a Washington group that produced an October report that showed Kentucky first among the states in the rate of child deaths, based on 2007 data, said the declining substantiation rate doesn't mean the rate of abuse is declining.

“It may be going up,” he said.

LIMITED RESOURCES

Social workers are ‘crushed by caseloads'

Frontline social workers told lawmakers in October that they simply don't have the staff and resources they need to do the job properly.

“The state leads the nation in child abuse deaths,” said social worker Sheila Patrick, holding up a copy of a Courier-Journal story on the subject to members of the House-Senate Health and Welfare Committee. “That's as high a price as you can pay.”

Workers told the committee that because of staff shortages and growing caseloads they have scant time to thoroughly investigate reports of alleged abuse or neglect.

In Louisville, supervisors are pulling workers with little experience from other areas to investigate reports so they can meet timelines established in state regulations — one hour for an emergency, where a child's life is believed to be in danger, and 12 to 48 hours for nonemergencies, social worker Patricia Pregliasco told lawmakers.

Without doing that, Pregliasco told lawmakers, the cabinet simply doesn't have enough investigators to meet the deadlines and file reports.

“We are stretched too thin,” she said.

Even the 2006 death of Boni Frederick, a Western Kentucky social service aide slain on the job, brought few improvements. In 2007 lawmakers passed the “Boni Bill,” aimed at providing more resources for social service employees to do their jobs safely. But they never funded it fully.

“After the Boni Bill, we were supposed to see changes,” Patrick said at the October hearing. “In reality, not a lot has changed.”

Today the state has about 1,520 “front-line” social workers to investigate child abuse and neglect — about 125 fewer than in 2007.

Budget figures provided by the cabinet show that three rounds of cuts since January 2008 have eliminated $51million in General Fund money from human services programs — about 15 percent of the $347million in state money allocated to the cabinet in fiscal 2008-09.

And that has forced the social services agency to eliminate many programs for children and families that were funded solely with state money.

Meanwhile, caseloads — supposed to be limited to 18 per social worker at any one time under professional standards — are climbing. Many workers are managing 25 or more, several workers told lawmakers at the committee hearing.

“Workers are being crushed by caseloads,” Pregliasco said.

Wilson said that she realizes workers are under stress and that she is trying to fill as many jobs as she can — even as workers quit or retire.

“Absolutely, the sense of having more work than they can say grace over is real,” Wilson said. But she added that, with a series of cuts to human services programs since early 2008, it's unlikely she will be able to significantly increase staff.

“It is a function of the budget,” she said. “There is not likely to be any new money in the state of Kentucky any time soon.”

Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates — which is lobbying for a complete overhaul of the state's tax system to create a more stable revenue base — said he believes child welfare in Kentucky is “headed toward a cliff.”

“You can't do child welfare on the cheap,” he said. “I think legislators are delusional if they don't think budget cuts are going to affect children and families. The question is, what kind of tragedy is it going to take to get the attention of legislators?”

Perhaps such a tragedy as the case of 10-year-old Michaela Watkins.

In 2006, Michaela was placed in the home of her father and stepmother by state social service officials. The next year she died from horrendous abuse, suffering a crushed chest from a beating and a scalding so severe that her skin sloughed off.

“It was horrible,” said Charles Johnson, a Clark County assistant commonwealth's attorney who also served 26 years with Kentucky State Police.

“It was the most horrific case I every prosecuted —– the most horrific in almost 40 years in the criminal justice system.”

Michaela's father and stepmother, Patrick and Joy Watkins, were convicted of murder last year and sentenced to life in prison.

The Every Child Matters report highlighted the death of Michaela — one of 41 children killed in fiscal 2007 -08 — as a reason states need to put more resources into helping troubled families and children, particularly for services meant to recognize and prevent abuse.

PROGRAMS CUT

It ‘positively' has hurt needy families

Yet in the two years since Michaela's death, Kentucky has been forced to eliminate numerous social service programs because of budget cuts and is anticipating more. Cuts made since early 2008 range from intensive in-home help for parents at risk of losing their children to free bus tickets for poor families ordered to attend counseling or drug treatment.

While the loss of free bus tickets might not seem like a big cut, it has had a major impact in Jefferson County, where family court judges relied on them to help impoverished families get to appointments, Jefferson Family Court Judge Eleanor Garber said.

Participants in the year-long family drug court program are required to get jobs, attend regular Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous meetings, keep appointments to visit children and appear in court. Most are too poor to own cars or afford bus fare, so the loss of free transportation is “a serious problem,” Garber said.

The state also has cut funds for drug screening of parents — even as workers report that suspected substance abuse among clients is soaring.

Wilson, the social services commissioner, said she regrets having to cut many worthwhile programs.

“There's no question that for the families that otherwise would have received these services, absolutely, positively it has hurt them, ” she said. Further cuts, she said, “will have a significant impact on our ability to meet service needs and our ability to meet our mandates.”

Some programs affected by the cuts are run by nonprofit agencies, such as Louisville's Brooklawn Child & Family Services and Home of the Innocents, where trained staff worked with families to prevent parents from losing custody of their children.

“It was tremendously successful in keeping kids out of the foster care system,” David Graves, president of Brooklawn, said of the $255,000-a-year program his agency offered for eight years until the state canceled it last year. “It's one less option for families.”

Now families are more likely to lose children to foster care — a more costly and less desirable outcome, said Bill Smithwick, president of Sunrise Children's Services, a statewide nonprofit children's agency.

“Early, in-home intervention is much cheaper than the subsequent foster care or residential treatment, and better for the children and their families, ” he said.

Jefferson Family Court Judge Stephen George agreed that some cuts end up costing the state more.

Delays in getting counseling classes for parents, for example, means that children removed from their home must stay with relatives or in foster care longer — at a cost of $300 to $900 a month. It would be cheaper and better for families to try to resolve problems and get kids back home sooner, he said.

And the state forecast of an even worse budget outlook for the next two years has many child advocates alarmed.

“I'm scared about this coming year,” said Gordon Brown, president of Home of the Innocents in Louisville. “We're already on a razor-thin margin. The only way I'm operating now is going out and begging money from donors.”

STRAIN ON WORKERS

Under ‘much more of a burden'

Judge Garber said the strain on social workers is evident.

“We definitely see it,” she said of social workers who appear in Jefferson Family Court. “We can tell how much more of a burden per person they have when we see them in court.”

Kenton County social worker Barbara Cowan told lawmakers in October that in some offices, workers are under pressure from supervisors to close cases faster to meet various state and federal deadlines.

“I have been told I spend too much time on paperwork,” she said.

In seven “whistleblower” lawsuits filed in recent years, workers allege that in some cases, documents that showed workers were meeting deadlines and making required visits to homes have been falsified. Covington lawyer Shane Sidebottom filed the suits on behalf of social workers who claimed they suffered retaliation when they attempted to point out violations.

In 2007, the Cabinet for Health and Family Services paid $380,000 to settle one of those cases, from a former social worker who claimed she was pressured to ignore suspected child abuse and withhold information from a judge to speed up the adoption of two small children into an unsuitable home and close the case.

A Grant County worker with similar claims settled her case for $45,000, and five lawsuits are pending.

In one of the pending cases, a former Jessamine County worker alleges she was pressured to change dates on reports of abuse to cover delays in investigating them. If an emergency report came in late in the day that needed to be investigated within the hour, for example, supervisors would tell workers to date the call as having come in the next day, the lawsuit said.

Sidebottom, who said he has fielded calls from dozens of social workers statewide, doesn't believe conditions are improving.

“Every worker I've talked to said it's virtually impossible to do your job to the best of your abilities and meet the time deadlines,” he said. “They don't want to get in trouble , but they want to do the right thing.”

Reporter Deborah Yetter can be reached at (502) 582-4228.

Petition for Shavon's law to hold CPS workers liable for failure to protect

noreply@blogger.com (Lawdoll) — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 04:59:00 +0000

Petition for Shavon's law to hold CPS workers liable for failure to protect

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-29636-Surry-County-CPS-Examiner~y2009m12d12-Petition-for-Shavons-law-to-hold-CPS-workers-liable-for-failure-to-protect#

When Shavon Miles passed out in front of her Chicago area home on August 6, 2007 her mother and step-father did not react the way that normal parents would have.

Instead of seeking immediate medical attention for Shavon, they allegedly accused her of faking a seizure and dragged her into her home where Shavon was then beaten to death with an electrical cord and wooden 2x4 until, in the words of the Chi Town daily news, "the wood was stained red with the child's blood."

D.A. AND POLICE DEPARTMENT ASK THE SBI TO INVESTIGATE CUMBERLAND COUNTY DSS

noreply@blogger.com (Lawdoll) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 20:41:00 +0000

D.A and Police Department ask the SBI to investigate Cumberland County DSS

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-29636-Surry-County-CPS-Examiner~y2009m12d7-DA-and-Police-Department-ask-the-SBI-to-investigate-Cumberland-County-DSS

According to a letter from Cumberland County District Attorney, Ed Grannis to Cumberland County Manager, James Martin, the District Attorney’s Office and the Fayetteville Police Department are both questioning whether the Cumberland County Department of Social Services has disclosed a “complete and accurate record” regarding the case of murdered 5-year-old, Shaniya Davis.

For more on this story, visit the link above...