Stop Corrupt DSS

THE DSS MYSTERY: WHERE DID MONEY GO? (MECKLENBURG COUNTY DSS, NORTH CAROLINA)

noreply@blogger.com (Lawdoll) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:40:00 +0000

The DSS mystery: Where did money go?

E-mails show officials suspected misspending, but they have never saidwho was at fault for disappearance of $162,000 in donations for needy kids

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/local/story/1044222.html

By Fred Clasen-Kelly
frkelly@charlotteobserver.com

Internal e-mails reveal new allegations of misspending at the Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services, raising more unanswered questions about what happened to money intended to help needy children.

Some of the more than 1,000 e-mails the Observer obtained through a public records request provide the most detailed account to date about the agency's accounting fiasco.

E-mails show:

Officials suspected an employee wrote $80,000 in checks to herself from donations.

An administrator questioned why other donations were used to buy $340 diamond earrings, leather coats and a $300 DVD player.

A top executive complained that a senior fiscal administrator frustrated co-workers with her "inability to explain the simplest concepts of revenue and expenses."

After nearly a year, officials have never said who was at fault for $162,000 that disappeared or whether anyone was disciplined.

No one has been charged in an ongoing police investigation and a county report says officials cannot be certain where the money went.

Meanwhile, donors are left to wonder whether their generosity ever helped buy Christmas gifts for those in need.

In one e-mail, a woman describes calling the county in 2007 to give $900 for single mothers at Christmas. The person who answered the phone told her to make a check payable to the worker's sister.

The donor said she grew suspicious and made the check out to the county, but the idea that it may still have been misused is "like a kick in the stomach."

In another e-mail, a founder of Second String Santa said he was concerned whether kids received the more than 50,000 toys his group had donated since 1989.

Will Miller said he believes some of the toys reached children, but he's not sure about the rest.

"Will we ever know? Probably not," he said.

Two commissioners said they have asked county administrators for a full accounting of what went wrong at DSS but have yet to receive answers. County officials have never explained who was responsible, they said.

"To fix it, you have to admit all the stuff that is messed up," Commissioner Bill James said. "They don't want to do too much digging."

County administrators declined interview requests. Instead, a county spokesman released a prepared statement saying appropriate fiscal controls have been installed in response to an outside audit and an internal investigation.

"Our review of the e-mails we provided and your follow up questions did not reveal any new information that would suggest any change in the audit findings or in management's response to those findings," the statement said.

Some commissioners said they have been told that the employees involved have either left county government or been placed in new positions.

Unusual spending patterns

DSS spends $176 million annually and employs 1,200 workers to assist Mecklenburg's poor and neglected. The agency administers everything from food stamps to foster care and child protection services.

Last spring, DSS Director Mary Wilson ordered financial audits following reports of suspicious spending.

Auditors looked at multiple spending programs and financial practices in the agency. They found a $10,000 check made out to an employee, missing and altered receipts and money for kids spent on office supplies.

County leaders responded by suspending the programs, putting DSS finance under direct county control, training workers on accounting procedures and ordering a review of financial procedures in each county agency.

The Observer reviewed e-mails dating from December 2008 to July 2009 for seven current and former county administrators, including Wilson, County Manager Harry Jones, County Finance Director Dena Diorio and Internal Auditor Cornita Spears.

E-mails show county officials noticed unusual spending patterns as early as last December but did not disclose problems to the public until March.

On New Year's Eve, Wilson told staff she had suspended a voucher program the agency used to purchase clothes and other items for clients at local stores. She wrote that officials were worried about a lack of oversight and a spike in spending.

One monthly retail bill leapt from between $5,000 and $6,000 to more than $20,000 in October 2008, the e-mail says. Employees turned in receipts only 30 to 35 percent of the time, she wrote.

At one time or another, workers possessed or had access to numerous credit cards and gift cards, including some to Bath & Body Works, Bass Pro Shops, Macy's, the Cheesecake Factory and Outback Steakhouse.

Outside auditors verified for county administrators that DSS workers possessed county-issued credit cards, including 10 credit cards for Sam's Club, three for Harris Teeter and an online charge account with amazon.com.

In February, county officials asked internal auditors to look into questionable spending, including purchases of diamond earrings, leather coats and a DVD player.

An e-mail to one of the auditors from a human resources consultant said the purchases raise "many questions and concerns."

According to the county's statement, most gifts were typical children's items such as toys, clothes and books. More expensive items such as diamond earrings and leather coats were approved purchases for foster children who reached special milestones like high school graduation, the statement says.

"Receiving a gift of some significant value was viewed as an incentive for other children who were in foster care to set goals and accomplish them," the statement said.

Commissioner Harold Cogdell said he spent part of his early childhood in foster care and believes the gifts are a good idea.

"It makes sense to me to show the kids some love," Cogdell said.

A new accountant

DSS has endured multiple management shakeups in recent years. The latest came when Wilson reorganized the agency after she was hired in July 2008.

She laid out the reasons to hire a new finance director in a February e-mail.

Wilson wrote that the senior fiscal administrator who managed DSS finances failed to provide reports about oversight, alienated staff and lacked the ability to conduct productive discussions with senior county executives. The e-mail does not name the senior fiscal administrator.

DSS later hired accountant Angela Hurlburt to oversee its finances.

James, the commissioner, said he has asked for the names and background information on Hurlburt's predecessors. He wants them to answer questions from the Board of Commissioners' Audit Review Committee, which investigated accounting lapses at DSS.

He said administrators have failed to respond to his requests and complained that officials "keep us in the dark."

Other commissioners disagreed.

Chairman Jennifer Roberts and Commissioner Dumont Clarke said county leaders have already put in place reforms that will protect taxpayer and donor money.

"The highest priority" is implementing new financial controls, Clarke said.

Shifting the finances

Auditors from Cherry, Bekaert & Holland reviewed DSS and found that Mecklenburg officials responded appropriately. The county's Audit Review Committee came to the same conclusion.

But DSS Director Wilson bristled at one of the major reforms.

Leaders put DSS finance under the direct control of the county's main finance department after allegations of misspending surfaced.

In April, Wilson sent an e-mail to County General Manager Michelle Lancaster to complain. Calling the decision "premature" and "shortsighted," Wilson said there are emergencies when DSS workers must write checks immediately, including occasions when the agency takes children in custody who need clothes, toiletries and school supplies.

"I understand the urgency at the time, but there was a reason DSS had check writing capability and I think we threw the baby out with the bathwater instead of fixing the underlying issue, which is documentation and accountability," Wilson wrote.

Donors left with questions

Past supporters of the DSS Christmas charity include Young Lawyers, employees of Wachovia and Bank of America, and Project Joy, the holiday fund drive initiated by Observer columnist Tommy Tomlinson. The Christmas charity, known as the Giving Tree, is now run by the Salvation Army.

The donor who gave $900 e-mailed the county in July after learning about accounting failures from news accounts. She attached a picture of the check copy she made around Christmas in 2007.

She wrote that she did not remember the name of the woman she spoke with on the phone.

The donor said she and her family all pitched in to raise the money so she could assist women like her who had struggled as single mothers.

When she heard there were allegations of misspending in a DSS charity program, "It's like your stomach just drops." Staff reporter April Bethea contributed.

Fred Clasen-Kelly: 704 358-5027

Crowdsourcing: Help us review e-mails

http://obspapertrail.blogspot.com/2009/11/crowdsourcing-help-us-review-e-mails.html

We examined some 1,100 emails from public officials to report our story on misspending at the Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services.

Now you can, too.

Use the links below to view emails sent by top administrators related to DSS.

Let us know if you spot something that you think deserves further scrutiny. You can leave a comment below or send an e-mail.

The buzzword for this is "crowdsourcing."

But the concept is as old as the notion that two heads are better than one.

(Collective wisdom is illustrated this way by author James Surowiecki: On the game show "Who Wants to be a Millionaire," the lifeline to an expert friend yielded the correct answer about 65 percent of the time, while the studio audience was right 91 percent of the time.)

Here are the links:

Click here for County Manager Harry Jones.

Click here for DSS Director Mary Wilson.

Click here for Finance Director Dena Diorio.

Click here for auditor Cornita Spears.

Click here for administrator Beverly Hinson.

Click here for supervisor Cindy Brady.

Here's a link to an e-mail highlighted in our story, in which Wilson says a senior fiscal administrator has left directors "frustrated with her inability to explain the simplest concepts of revenue and expenses."

- Doug Miller

Man's e-mail about DSS sent to his employer

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/408/story/1044223.html

By Fred Clasen-Kelly
frkelly@charlotteobserver.com
Posted: Sunday, Nov. 08, 2009

As news spread about possible missing money from the Department of Social Services Christmas charity, Harry Lomax and other donors contacted Mecklenburg County leaders to complain.

"I feel duped," Lomax wrote in an e-mail to county commissioners and top administrators.

But Lomax likely did not anticipate County Manager Harry Jones' response.

Jones forwarded the e-mail to Lomax's employer, Bank of America, and wrote, "Do you know Harry Lomax."

A Bank of America vice president replied to Jones about one hour later, writing that she was "embarrassed" by Lomax's e-mail.

"I am tracking it down. I don't know him - I have alerted charles. Will be back to you," she wrote.

Some commissioners and ethics experts now say the actions by Jones and the bank official were improper because they could stifle free speech and blur the lines between employment and citizenship.

It's unclear how Jones knew Lomax worked at Bank of America. Lomax sent his message from a personal account and did not mention the bank by name.

"It is not appropriate," said Diane Swanson, a professor of business ethics at Kansas State University. "If this happened all the time, what kind of world would we have?"

The Observer obtained the e-mails from the county through an open records request. They provide a glimpse into how top Mecklenburg administrators reacted to reports of misspending and accounting lapses at the Department of Social Services.

Worried donors wrote to commissioners and county executives after auditors disclosed that they could not account for tens of thousands of dollars from a charity designed to buy Christmas presents for needy children.

Some county commissioners said they do not understand why Jones forwarded the e-mail from Lomax to his employer when he was speaking as a citizen and not on behalf of the company. They said they would question Jones about it.

Public officials publish their phone numbers and e-mail addresses to allow constituents to voice concerns and ask questions. They also set aside time during public meetings to listen to comments from constituents.

"Citizens are able to vent frustrations without thinking that (county) management will get their employer to engage in some retribution," Commissioner Bill James said. "This makes the county look bad. It makes Harry look vindictive. It makes Bank of America look like the county's hatchet man."

Jones did not respond to interview requests from the Observer. A county spokesman referred a reporter to a statement the county released, but it does not directly address questions about Lomax's e-mail.

Nicole Nastacie, a spokeswoman for Bank of America, said "on their personal time, employees are free to express personal opinions" to government officials about any issue that is not related to the company.

Betty Turner, the bank's government liaison who responded to Jones, suspected that Lomax's e-mail involved issues related to the bank and appropriately looked into the situation, Nastacie said. When she determined Lomax was speaking as a private citizen, there were no further discussions, Nastacie said.

Lomax declined to comment.

The e-mail

On July 7, Lomax sent his e-mail to commissioners, Jones, DSS Director Mary Wilson and County Finance Director Dena Diorio. He wrote that he had planned to speak during a commissioners meeting the same day at the urging of Commissioner Neil Cooksey.

Lomax wrote that he left before speaking and decided to e-mail his comments.

The e-mail criticizes county management for failing to prevent accounting failures and accuses some commissioners of a "flippant, hands-off response" to the issue. "There seems to be a need for a wholesale cleanup of many county agencies, and I think that starts from the top down," Lomax wrote.

A week after receiving the e-mail, Jones forwarded it to Turner.

Commissioners respond

Commissioner Karen Bentley said Jones should not have sent the e-mail to Bank of America.

"It should have no bearing on his job," Bentley said. "That's his right."

Commissioner Dumont Clarke called the move "unusual."

Clarke and some other commissioners said they would need more information to judge whether Jones acted appropriately.

"It's not a good practice for the manager to do," Clarke said.

Commissioner Chairman Jennifer Roberts said she would try to contact Lomax to speak with him. "I don't read anything into this," Roberts said. "Maybe Harry was trying to make sure Bank of America didn't feel duped."

Four business and government professors reviewed the e-mails for the Observer. Three said Jones did not have a valid reason to forward Lomax's e-mail since he did not mention his employer by name or present himself as a representative of the company.

"Given these circumstances, one would expect a public official to respond directly to Mr. Lomax and not contact his employer," said Denis Arnold, a professor of business ethics at UNC Charlotte.

Winthrop professor Marilyn Smith disagreed.

Considering public outcry over alleged misspending in DSS, Smith said it understandable that Jones would contact Bank of America. The bank also reacted appropriately, she said.

"To a certain extent, we represent our employers 24/7," said Smith, a professor of management. "We like to think it's my own personal opinion. Companies are judged by how their employees behave, fair or not."

Fred Clasen-Kelly: 704 358-5027

STATE SUPREME COURT JUSTICE SLAMS DHHR OVER FOSTER CARE SYSTEM

noreply@blogger.com (Lawdoll) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:25:00 +0000

State Supreme Court justice slams DHHR over foster care system

http://www.register-herald.com/statenews/local_story_306120858.html

The Associated Press

By Tom Breen

Associated Press Writer

CHARLESTON — For the second time this year, a state Supreme Court justice has blasted the Department of Health and Human Resources by suggesting the agency has systemwide problems that need rapid correction.

In a concurring opinion filed this week, Justice Margaret Workman accused the DHHR of failing to properly protect children caught between the foster care system and an abusive home.

“The intent is to issue a clarion call to the DHHR to provide child protective services with more resources and more direction in protecting children,” Workman wrote.

Workman’s opinion comes roughly two months after Chief Justice Brent Benjamin rebuked DHHR in a different case. He wrote that the agency seems to have systemic problems preventing it from meeting its duties.

The two opinions, along with other concerns, have led some frustrated lawmakers to discuss whether splitting the agency up would make the bureaus and departments that comprise it more efficient.

Workman’s opinion backed the court’s unanimous affirmation of a 2008 decision by Mineral County Circuit Court Judge Philip Jordan. Jordan ordered that children who had been living in an Eastern Panhandle home should not be returned to the woman who ordered them to call her “Mom,” although she was not related to them by blood.

The woman, her son and seven children moved from Maryland to West Virginia in 2001. Over the next six years, the living arrangement was the subject of 11 referrals to DHHR concerning abuse and neglect.

In the Supreme Court’s anonymous, or “per curiam,” decision, the justices wrote that the DHHR substantiated claims of everything from physical abuse to a home with cockroaches falling from the ceiling and farm animals sharing living space with people.
The woman, named in the case only as Rosemary C., eventually lost custody of the children in 2007. A year later, though, after she had completed an improvement plan, DHHR recommended that four of the children be returned to her custody.

Jordan disagreed, and Rosemary C. appealed. By the time the case reached the Supreme Court, DHHR had changed its position and recommended the children not be returned to her.

“It is outrageous that seven children were left in despicable circumstances by the DHHR for more than six years and even then, that the DHHR still sought to place those children back in an unsafe environment,” Workman wrote.

She further wrote that the incident raises concern that it’s only “the tip of the iceberg,” which raises the question “whether we must begin to re-examine child protective services in a more systemic manner.”

DHHR spokesman John Law said the agency wants to further review the justices’ ruling before commenting.

Lawmakers who have read it, though, say it matches their frustration with the agency in matters ranging from foster care to the conditions at the state’s two psychiatric hospitals in Huntington and Weston.

“This is similar to what we saw at Bateman Hospital,” said Delegate Don Perdue, referring to the crowded conditions at the Huntington hospital. “It seems that DHHR has no ability to move quickly to intervene in negative situations like this.”

The Wayne County Democrat, who is chairman of the House Health and Human Resources Committee, said he wants legislation in the next session of the Legislature to address what he calls depleted resources at the agency, starting with hiring more people.

“DHHR needs to ramp up its work force, and it needs to recognize it has really severe problems in terms of being able to do what it needs to do,” he said.

Gov. Joe Manchin said that DHHR has made significant progress in several areas, but that he understands more work needs to be done. Manchin said he’s especially concerned if the agency is failing in its duty to protect children.

“Children are our number one priority and if there’s something wrong, then we need to fix it,” he said. “If that means additional training, more efficiencies, whatever it may be, then let’s look at the ideas on how we can make it better.”

Perdue and some of his colleagues have discussed splitting the agency up, which he said might make it easier to focus on the many tasks it currently has.

Prior to the administration of Gov. Gaston Caperton, many of the functions now handled by DHHR were located in separate parts of state government. Caperton sought the merger of those agencies to make them more streamlined and efficient.

“From what we’ve seen since, it hasn’t really achieved that goal,” Perdue said.

Manchin stopped short of endorsing that idea, although he said he wants to discuss it further with Perdue.

Perdue’s House colleague, Delegate Barbara Hatfield, has been crafting legislation she plans to introduce in the 2010 legislative session to address situations like the one described in the Supreme Court ruling.

“The system is broken,” the Kanawha County Democrat said. “Everyone knows it, but no one is doing anything about it.”

Hatfield’s legislation would create pilot programs offering specialized training and guidance to foster parents, and provide for better tracking of children in the system.

She also wants to see improved training for caseworkers and a boost in their pay to make the agency more competitive with the private sector.

“We have dedicated, good people doing their best,” she said, “but the strain on them is tremendous and there just aren’t enough of them.”

DSHS TO PAY $525,001 TO SETTLE RECORDS LAWSUIT

noreply@blogger.com (Lawdoll) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:18:00 +0000

DSHS to pay $525,001 to settle records lawsuit

Abused children: Agency admits to errors

http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/1027189.html?mi_pluck_action=comment_submitted&qwxq=4762396#Comments_Container

BRAD SHANNON; The Olympian

The state Department of Social and Health Services is paying $525,001 to settle a public-records lawsuit brought by former foster children abused by their state-licensed foster parents.

Lawyers David Moody and Marty McLean had sued to obtain state records in connection with a claim for $45 million in damages that they filed, alleging the state was liable for harm to the girls, two of whom are now adults. Their ex-foster father Enrique Fabregas was convicted two years ago of sex charges related to abuse of the children, according to The Seattle Times.

“Seeking answers as to why DSHS licensed a career criminal to be a foster parent and continually ignored numerous warnings of abuse, these young women each made a formal request for their public records,” Moody’s law firm stated in a news release Thursday. “DSHS illegally refused to provide a complete response.”

DSHS spokesman Steve Williams said the dispute was over 203 records that were disclosed late. He said the agency turned over more than 5,300 records that included more than 10,000 pages of information and that a court found the disclosures were complete by July 1, 2008.

But a King County judge ruled in June and October that the agency violated the Public Records Act, and a trial was scheduled to decide penalties, according to Moody’s office.

Williams acknowledged that the agency committed errors but could not say what the mistakes were or who made them.

“DSHS did not intentionally withhold any records,” he said. Quoting from agency talking points, he said: “Mistakes were made due to technical errors, confusion created in part by the staggered way in which the requester presented authorizations allowing release of his clients’ confidential information, and some delays in finding a few of the thousands of requested records.’’

DSHS is changing how it handles public-records requests. It plans to train staff members in records retention and management and is developing tools to aid in the search for and production of electronic records, Williams said. The agency also plans to have a centralized public-records staff, but it has not decided whether to have central offices for each division in the 18,700-employee agency or one for the entire agency.

The agency will pay its penalty out of operating funds, giving $175,000 each to Estera Tamas and Ruth Tamas and $175,001 to guardians for a disabled child named Monica, the settlement agreement says.

POLICE INVESTIGATE BABY'S DEATH

noreply@blogger.com (Lawdoll) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:58:00 +0000

Police investigate baby's death

http://www.poststar.com/news/local/article_8ab4d49e-ca89-11de-ac6f-001cc4c03286.html

By Don Lehman

GLENS FALLS -- Police and Warren County officials are investigating the death of an 8-month-old baby in a Montcalm Street apartment, a death that happened weeks after the county Department of Social Services removed the baby from the home because of conditions there but then allowed him to return.

A union official said Thursday that he believed "Social Services failed that baby," at least in part because of job cuts and an agency restructuring that occurred in recent months. The official, labor relations specialist Jon Premo of the Civil Service Employees Association, said Social Services employees had been expressing concern since the summer about being able to do their jobs amid budget cuts.

It has not been determined how the child, Hayden M. Jones, died, Glens Falls Police said. The child was sleeping on a couch with his mother, Amber LaBarge, on the morning of Oct. 11, and when LaBarge awoke, the baby was dead.

An autopsy performed on the child could not pinpoint a cause of death, but the investigation is continuing, said Glens Falls Police Detective Sgt. Paul Frettoloso.

No natural causes for the death were found, but there was no trauma or any other indication of foul play, and no charges were filed, he said. Police have theorized the baby suffocated.

Warren County District Attorney Kate Hogan said authorities are awaiting a final autopsy report.

Hayden had been removed from the home over the summer after the Department of Social Services received a complaint about conditions in the 12 Montcalm St. apartment where he had been staying with LaBarge and at least six other people. Hayden's father was not among those living there, officials said.

The home was littered with garbage and considered unfit for the baby, authorities said. So the child was given to his father, Joshua Jones of Hudson Falls, until conditions at the Montcalm Street apartment improved.

Glens Falls Police Officer John Norton, who was one of the first officers to arrive at the home Oct. 11, said the apartment had no electricity or hot water, maggots in the kitchen and bathroom, and garbage strewn throughout. He said the conditions were bad enough for officers to notify the city Building and Codes office about apparent code violations.

John Ward, the city's code enforcement officer, could not be reached for comment Thursday.

It was unclear whether workers with the Department of Social Services checked the home after Hayden was allowed to return to LaBarge's care.

"I think if they had gone back there they would have removed the kid again, definitely," Frettoloso said.

"It obviously passed the standard to put the child back in the home, but it didn't stay that way," said Glens Falls Police Detective Sgt. Peter Casertino.

Hayden did have a crib and clean clothes, and seemed in good health overall before his death, Frettoloso said. LaBarge did not have her own room or bed, and slept on the couch.

It was unclear when Hayden was returned to the Glens Falls home.

In a phone interview this week, LaBarge, 19, said the baby was returned to the home a few weeks before his death, but she could not pinpoint the date.

She said she had asked the Department of Social Services for help earlier this fall because she wanted to get out of the apartment, which is where her mother lives, because she knew the conditions were bad for the child. She said she was told there was a waiting list for "temporary assistance."

"I told them I needed to get out of there," she said. "I did everything I could to get out of that place for my baby."

Labarge, who works at a local fast food restaurant, said she slept with Hayden on the couch the night of his death because he had been "screaming his head off." She said she thought he was teething.

She said she understood police were continuing to investigate the death, but said, "I'd never hurt my son. That was my baby. I would have done anything for him."

Premo, a labor relations specialist for the Civil Service Employees Association, which represents 480 Warren County workers, including employees of the Department of Social Services, said workers in the department have expressed concerns to him about their ability to do their jobs in light of cuts and changes to the department in recent months.

He said five caseworkers quit over the summer after a restructuring that changed the on-call caseworker system.

An agency restructuring last month eliminated six jobs, and some were "direct supervisors" that, Premo said, oversaw and assisted caseworkers. Additional layoffs happened during a round of cuts during the spring.

In e-mails to a reporter dating back to late August, Premo relayed concerns that the apparent problems at the Department of Social Services could hurt the services the agency provides and result in a tragedy.

"I do think this is related to the cuts and restructuring," he said Thursday. "Everybody has been moved from their chairs. It's a difficult situation. There seems to be blame all-around."

He said he had discussed the baby death situation with employees of the department, but was not at liberty to say what he believed happened.

Sheila Weaver, the county's commissioner of social services, said Wednesday she "could not confirm or deny anything to do with" the Hayden Jones case.

Fred Monroe, chairman of the county Board of Supervisors, said Weaver briefed him and County Attorney Paul Dusek about the case recently.

He said it is standard practice for the chairman of the board and county attorney to be notified when a child who had been subject to Department of Social Services action died, though it hadn't happened before during his two-year tenure at the helm of the board.

"They both cautioned me that we couldn't say much because there are privacy aspects," Monroe said.

Dusek did not return a phone call about the matter Thursday.

JOHNSON HELD FOR GRAND JURY IN SON'S DEATH

noreply@blogger.com (Lawdoll) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:49:00 +0000

Johnson held for grand jury in son’s death

Mother also has reported history of abuse with another child

http://www.thetimestribune.com/local/local_story_310090239.html

By Carl Keith Greene / Staff Writer

Amanda Johnson’s alleged treatment of her son Stephen Carl Troy was apparently not the first time she had reportedly abused a child.

According to reports from Muskegon County, Michigan assistant prosecutor Brett Gardner, Johnson’s first child was taken from her after she pleaded no contest in 2005 to child abuse for injuring her two-year-old son.

He told reporters the boy had sustained a spiral fracture to his arm. Parental rights were terminated for her and the boy’s father, Michael Troy.

Rights to a second child were also terminated when the county’s child protective services took the child directly from the hospital after his birth.

The pair reportedly left for Kentucky in September 2007, a month before Stephen’s birth.

Johnson, 21, was held over for the Laurel grand jury after a pre-trial hearing in Laurel District Court.

Johnson had been charged with murder in the death of her third child, 23-month-old Stephen on Oct. 23.

According to testimony in the hearing, Stephen was dead on arrival at St. Joseph hospital in London.

Kentucky State Police Detective Mark Allen testified that the child died of blunt force trauma to the abdomen. Allen said he had interviewed Johnson and her live-in boyfriend Will Callahan over the next few days and in those interviews, Allen said, Callahan had reported seeing Johnson throw the baby and punch the child in the back.

Stephen’s father, Michael Troy, had earlier reported a fist-sized bruise on the child’s back.

Callahan told Allen that on the morning of the incident, Stephen was crying and Johnson had told him that it was perhaps because the child didn’t want her to leave for work.

An autopsy revealed that Stephen had died as the result of the rupture of arteries to his small intestine and internal bleeding.

Along with the murder charge came charges of criminal abuse.

Johnson is in the Laurel County jail under a $250,000 bond.

Indictments are set to be returned on Nov. 20.

THINK IT IS NOT ABOUT MONEY-THE CASE OF JACK AND KATHY STRATTON

noreply@blogger.com (Lawdoll) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:35:00 +0000

Think It is Not About Money-The Case of Jack and Kathy Stratton

http://defeatdcs.blogspot.com/2009/11/think-it-is-not-about-money-case-of.html

The following was taken from the excellent www.couldyoubenext.com website.

Jack and Kathy Stratton’s nine children have proved to be a veritable cash cow for the Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services. The Stratton children have been in foster care for nearly two years, ever since the DSS removed them from their home on charges of neglect. The Strattons have steadfastly denied the charges, and have been fighting to regain custody.During that time, the DSS, through federal funding, has been receiving $9,971.73 per month for the Stratton children, while paying out only $3,600. Net profit: $6,372 per month.

The rest of this story can be read at:

Defeat Children's Services http://defeatdcs.blogspot.com/2009/11/think-it-is-not-about-money-case-of.html

EMMA SUSPECT NOW ACCUSED OF RAPING HER

noreply@blogger.com (Lawdoll) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:11:00 +0000

Emma suspect now accused of raping her

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/hotstories/6703970.html

By TERRI LANGFORD

Lucas Coe, the 27-year-old Magnolia man accused of injury to a child in the death of 4-year-old Emma Thompson, now faces a new charge: that he also raped the young girl before her death in June.

Coe and Emma's mother, registered nurse Abigail Young, were arrested and charged with serious bodily injury to a child after the girl's June 27 death. At the time, Emma had a skull fracture, vaginal tearing and more than 80 bruises covering her body. She died two weeks after Texas Child Protective Services discovered the girl had tested positive for genital herpes.

On Oct. 29, Harris County grand jurors returned an indictment against Coe, accusing him of Emma's sexual assault. If convicted, he would face a minimum of 25 years in prison because the victim was under the age of 6.

The indictment comes about a month after the Harris County District Attorney's Office secured a sample of Coe's blood. It is not known if DNA from the blood ties Coe to the girl or whether prosecutors are using other evidence to support the indictment.

Emma was one of 91 children who died of abuse in Texas this year whose families had been previously investigated by CPS, according to a Houston Chronicle review. Roughly half of those children also were living with families known to CPS as having potential problems.

Coe's attorney says there is no evidence that connects his client to the sexual assault.

“I saw nothing in the file that would indicate how he could have perpetuated the crime he was indicted for,” said Bert Steinmann, Coe's attorney. “I am clueless as to how they are connecting him with committing the sexual assault.”

Donna Hawkins, a spokeswoman for the prosecutors, declined to comment on the case.

Young, Coe's girlfriend, also has genital herpes, according to the 33-year-old's attorney, Colin Amann.

“She does not know where she got it,” he said. “She may have gotten it from Emma.”

Neither Amann nor Coe's attorney would say whether Coe also has genital herpes, though Steinmann said “medical records from previous doctors” don't indicate that he does.

Coe is in the Harris County Jail in lieu of $300,000 bail. No trial date in this case has been set.

Steinmann has asked that state District Judge Mary Lou Keel remove herself from the trial because the defense team believes there is a perception of bias in the case. A hearing on that motion is tentatively set for Nov. 12.

On Wednesday, state District Judge Suzanne Stovall in Montgomery County set a Feb. 1 trial date for Coe in an unrelated 2007 case involving a child related to a previous relationship.

In that matter, Coe is charged with injuring another child.

Young, free on $50,000 bail, has said that before she left her three girls with Coe so she could go shopping at a supermarket, Emma was fine. Young said when she returned, Coe met her at the door with Emma in his arms. He said that Emma was sick, Young said.

She has said she took the girl, put her in the car and began driving to the hospital. When Emma became unresponsive, Young said she called 911 and an ambulance met her car, down the street from her house.

As soon as Young and Emma left for the hospital, Coe took Young's other two children and his daughter to the next-door neighbor, where he left them and then left the family's Spring home.

terri.langford@chron.com

CALIFORNIA FALLS SHORT IN EXAMINING DEATHS OF CHILDREN

noreply@blogger.com (Lawdoll) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:43:00 +0000

California falls short in examining deaths of children

A law designed to allow public scrutiny of fatal abuse and neglect is unevenly enforced and leaves many unaccounted for.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-child-deaths5-2009nov05,0,6734205.story

By Kim Christensen and Garrett Therolf

November 4, 2009 | 6:45 p.m.

A new law aimed at exposing child deaths to public scrutiny has given Californians their most complete view yet of the toll of abuse and neglect but falls short of legislators' intent and leaves many fatalities uncounted, according to interviews and The Times' review of previously confidential records.

Known as Senate Bill 39, the 2008 law was largely intended to highlight systemic flaws in hopes of preventing other children's deaths. More than a year after it took effect, however, it has shed limited light on how -- and how many -- children die of abuse and neglect.

"We do not know how many children have died in California," said William L. Grimm, senior attorney for the nonprofit National Center for Youth Law, one of SB 39's backers. "We did not know five years ago, and we don't know today."

The problem, in part, is that counties interpret the law's requirements differently. Their views vary on what constitutes abuse or neglect and on what information is subject to disclosure. And in at least one county, Los Angeles, deaths appear to have been mistakenly overlooked.

The Times early this year filed public records requests with all 58 counties, and they in turn reported a total of 109 child deaths in 2008 caused by abuse or neglect. Some pending cases were later substantiated, bringing the statewide total to 114, according to records obtained from the state Department of Social Services.

Los Angeles County, by far the largest with more than 10 million residents, reported 32 such deaths, but some other large counties noted far fewer. For instance, Alameda County, the state's seventh-largest with a population of 1.5 million, reported one -- an 18-month-old Hayward boy fatally scalded in a bathtub; his mother's boyfriend has been charged.

Twenty-eight other counties -- nearly half -- reported no deaths from abuse or neglect.

One of the law's sponsors, Sen. Elaine Alquist (D-Santa Clara), said it has brought greater transparency to the child-welfare system, but she lamented that there still is a "lack of uniformity" in how the counties have responded. "Counties need to be given a clear and concise directive," she said. "Until we can say we have done everything possible to save every child from injury or tragic death, we have more work to do."

::

Beaten, shaken, shot or simply allowed to starve, scores of California children die each year from abuse and neglect. Until last year, virtually all information about these deaths was kept from public view, ostensibly to protect the privacy of children and their families.

But that secrecy also shielded child welfare officials and their sometimes lethal mistakes from public scrutiny, children's advocates argued. At their urging, state lawmakers mandated the release of previously sealed records, including those detailing dead children's prior contacts with child welfare agencies.

The results have shed some light on the problem -- showing, for instance, that 14 deaths occurred last year among children whose families had been at one time investigated by Los Angeles County's Department of Children and Family Services.

It is impossible to know how many deaths were not counted that should have been. But in its review The Times found some clear instances of underreporting.

The Los Angeles County children's services department, for example, said in August that it had recorded four child deaths this year that resulted from abuse or neglect. Internal records obtained by The Times showed there actually had been nine.

Among those the county had not disclosed as abuse and neglect were the deaths of a 10-year-old boy killed in a June traffic accident when he and two siblings were thrown from a van that had no rear seats and that of a 3-month old boy who died in a motel room where his parents left him alone for 12 hours.

When a reporter raised the discrepancy with the department, Director Trish Ploehn acknowledged the additional deaths and pledged to institute "internal controls" to avoid such oversights.

Grimm, of the Oakland-based youth law center, which has collected death records from the 15 largest counties, said the totals fall short of what he would have expected.

"Our own experience making requests in counties across the state so far suggests that we are not getting a complete picture of the children who have died as the result of abuse or neglect," Grimm said.

Gail Steele, an Alameda County supervisor who has pushed for full disclosure of child deaths, said she thinks many abuse and neglect fatalities are not reported. Her office tracks all children's deaths in that county and reviews coroner's files to make its own assessments.

"My thing is you can't figure out how to prevent deaths or fix things if you don't know what happened," she said.

Often the problem is varying interpretations of what constitutes abuse and neglect.

Grimm cited the example of a small child who is killed in an auto accident because the intoxicated parent who was driving had not placed him in a car seat. Although that death would fit most people's definition of neglect, he said, some child welfare officials might deem it an accident, especially if the coroner did.

"The official cause might be accidental, but if you look more closely at it you say, 'My god, that's definitely neglect' and it should be labeled as a neglect death," Grimm said.

Bethany Christman, who oversees children's services in Kern County, said such latitude in interpreting the law could help explain why her county, with a population of about 820,000, reported nine deaths last year while much larger counties reported far fewer.

"If law enforcement or the coroner don't say anything [about abuse or neglect], some counties won't either," she said.

In passing the law in 2007, legislators said they wanted to bring to light not only child deaths but also the details of the young victims' experiences with child welfare officials.

"Without accurate and complete information about the circumstances leading to the child's death, public debate is stymied and the reforms, if adopted at all, may do little to prevent further tragedies," wrote the bill's sponsors.

Even when a death is disclosed as required, California law allows most records to remain closed if prosecutors or families' attorneys object to their release. Those that are made public often are so heavily redacted of names and other identifying information that it's impossible to decipher what happened -- or even who died.

Grimm and others complained in a March 13 letter to the California Department of Social Services that recently issued regulations made it hard for counties to determine what should be released or redacted. They also objected to the department's decision to exclude deaths caused by people who were not in a custodial role, including boyfriends, extended family members and family friends.

"The regulations are a tortured reading to say the least," said Jim Ewert, legal counsel for the California Newspaper Publishers Assn., who also signed the letter. "The law is pretty explicit that all abuse or neglect deaths must be released."

Officials with the California Department of Social Services said in an interview that they were revising the guidelines and would consider the letter writers' criticisms.

Jan Viss, who heads the Child and Family Services Division in Stanislaus County, which reported that five children died from abuse or neglect last year, said the law is plain enough already.

"We are very clear about what we are supposed to report and we take that responsibility very seriously," she said, adding that her county thoroughly reviewed child deaths even before the law took effect.

"Even one death is a tragedy," Viss said. "All we can do is strive to do better for these kids in the future."

kim.christensen@latimes.com

garrett.therolf@latimes.com

SJC SAYS NEWBORN REMOVED TOO FAST

noreply@blogger.com (Lawdoll) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:28:00 +0000

SJC says newborn removed too fast

Seeks to clarify emergency cases involving custody

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/11/05/sjc_says_newborn_removed_too_fast/

By John R. Ellement
Globe Staff / November 5, 2009

In a sharply worded rebuke, the state’s high court yesterday said that a judge and the state Department of Children and Families moved too fast to remove a newborn from a Western Massachusetts mother who had already lost custody of two older children because they were not being properly cared for.

In a unanimous ruling written by Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall, the Supreme Judicial Court said that judges handling emergency custody cases must wipe from their minds any information gleaned from other cases involving the same mother or family.

The baby was identified only as Zita.

“It may be impossible to erase a judge’s memory of the prior case,’’ Marshall wrote. “But each party is entitled to an impartial magistrate and a decision based on the evidence presented in her case . . . Zita’s removal by the Commonwealth from her custodial parent implicates constitutional rights of the highest order.’’

The high court ruled that a new custody hearing that could lead to the mother regaining custody of the girl must be held “forthwith.’’

The SJC said it took on the case because it wanted to clearly spell out the rules that judges must follow.

Marylou Sudders, president of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, said she feared that the decision may lead judges to completely ignore the history of a mother or a family.

“Parental history is a factor in child abuse and neglect cases,’’ Sudders said. “It doesn’t predict the future, but it is obviously an issue.’’

The Department of Children and Families, she said, “first and foremost has to be a child protection agency.’’

She added: “It is concerning, if, over time, courts do not take into account prior history that is properly introduced in court hearings. Without appreciation for the history, I think that will not be in a child’s best interest.’’

The attorney for the mother, whose name was not released, said she could not discuss specifics because she had not been given permission by her client.

Speaking generally, attorney Dorothy Meyer Storrow said the SJC was right to force judges to rule only on evidence presented in individual cases and to require the Department of Children and Families to meet basic legal rules, especially since the agency has the information at its fingertips.

“There are issues that are specific to one child that aren’t specific to another,’’ said Meyer Storrow, of Greenfield. “If you don’t know what the judge is relying on, she may be relying on something that is inaccurate and you have no way to fix that.’’

She added: “When you are dealing with constitutional rights, we want to make sure that it’s done in a fair way. Sometimes, the fact that a parent can’t meet the needs of one child is actually not relevant to whether she can meet the needs of a different child with different needs.’’

Alison Goodwin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Children and Families, said the SJC ruling does not limit the agency’s efforts to protect children.

“We have an obligation to evaluate each individual situation on its own merits at that time,’’ Goodwin said in an e-mail. “However, there is nothing in this ruling that prevents the department or the courts from considering a past history on fitness nor is the department or the courts required to wait until a child is harmed before custody is granted.’’

In its ruling, the SJC gave an outline of the woman’s history that led the department to decide three months before the child was born that it needed to take emergency action to protect the newborn.

The court said the woman had two children who were removed from her care on May 23, 2008. Two days after the child was born on Dec. 18, 2008, the DCF took emergency custody of the child and prepared to justify its actions at a hearing required by law to be held no more than 72 hours later.

The high court said the most powerful evidence the department provided at the hearing was an unsworn letter from a department social worker that discussed the woman’s prior failures as a mother. The hearing was held before Hampshire-Franklin Juvenile Court Judge Lillian Miranda, who had ordered the older children taken from the home, according to court records.

Miranda granted temporary custody of Zita to the department, a decision the SJC reversed yesterday.

“The judge erred, and therefore violated Zita’s substantive rights, in both respects: her reliance on the petition that was not in evidence, and her reliance on her recollection of the facts of the earlier proceedings involving the other children,’’ Marshall wrote.

DAD: "I WANT MY KIDS BACK"

noreply@blogger.com (Lawdoll) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:24:00 +0000

Dad: 'I Want My Kids Back'

http://www.kpho.com/news/21515980/detail.html

Cara Liu
Reporter, KPHO.com

PHOENIX -- It was a high profile story four years ago -- the death of 4-year-old Haley Gray.

Police said the child was found trapped in a hot van while her mother, Celene Gray, was passed out in her Scottsdale apartment. Investigators said Gray later admitted she’d been drinking.

Haley's father John Gray said he had repeatedly warned Child Protective Services that his ex-wife's drinking problem was putting his children at risk. Earlier this year, he won a lawsuit against CPS. The agency had to pay more than $400,000.

Gray also fought to get Haley's Law passed, requiring CPS workers to check out-of-state records to see if there are allegations of prior abuse or neglect in other states.

"This was part of my healing process -- to try to help others, because I realized this was bigger than us," said Gray.

But the controversy isn't nearly over. The parents are in the midst of an ugly custody battle over their surviving sons, now 9 and 11 years old. Gray said he lost custody of the boys in March after the state questioned whether he was a fit parent. He said right now, it’s his ex-wife’s boyfriend who has temporary custody.

"I want my children back. They're in a dangerous situation right now," he said.

Gray admitted he hasn't been perfect either. He’s been in jail and said he’s had anger issues, but he insists the same system that failed Haley could also be putting others at risk.

"Good thing they didn't bet their (lives) on it. But they bet my daughter Haley's on it, and right now I believe they're betting my two surviving sons' lives as well. I don't want to have a repeat of what happened in the past," said Gray.

CBS 5 News made repeated attempts to reach Celene Gray and her boyfriend for their side of the story, but were unable to reach them by deadline.

Court records for the custody case appear to be sealed.

BABY'S STARVATION DEATH EQUAL TO TORTURE, SHERIFF SAYS

noreply@blogger.com (Lawdoll) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:15:00 +0000

Baby's starvation death equal to torture, sheriff says

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/nov/03/031701/2-arrested-babys-starvation-death-polk-deputies-sa/news-breaking/

TAMPA - One photograph shows a beautiful baby girl with a fat, happy face.

Another shows a dead 5-month-old with sunken eyes. She weighed 6 pounds. Her autopsy showed no body fat.

Without being told it's the same child, you'd never be able to tell.

When Polk County investigators responded to a call Sunday about a baby not breathing at the Lakeland home of Tivasha Logan and Chauncey Gardner, they found more beer than baby food, Sheriff Grady Judd said. There only were about 2 ounces of formula inside the one can they saw.

The child, Chauntasia Gardner, was pronounced dead nine minutes after deputies arrived.
She had been starved to death by her parents, deputies say. She was in the lowest 1 percentile of weight among children her age.

Logan and Gardner were arrested Monday afternoon. They are being held without bail on charges of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse.

The couple was shocked that they had been charged with a crime, Judd said.

"They couldn't see what they would do wrong," he said. "We couldn't see what they did right."

The parents had no excuse, Judd said. The other children in the home were fed, and with food stamps and other income, the couple had the ability to keep Chauntasia healthy.

The child's grandmother had been aware for weeks that the girl was sick. The grandmother told Logan to take the baby to a hospital or doctor, but Logan lied and said she did and that Chauntasia weighed 8 pounds and everything was fine, Judd said.

Logan and Gardner told investigators they didn't realize the baby's infant formula was supposed to be mixed with an equal amount of water. The formula, though, came with explicit instructions, Judd said.

The parents told investigators they were mixing the formula with three times as much water, meaning the child was getting only a third of the recommended amount of formula at each feeding.

Deputies say they aren't sure at what intervals the child was fed. The parents said they fed the child 2 ounces of formula every three or so hours.

Judd said investigators only found five soiled diapers inside the home, a remarkably low number considering the last garbage pickup had been days before.

Since the baby had left the hospital, Logan told investigators, she had tried several times to get an appointment with a doctor but failed because doctors wouldn't accept her form of Medicaid. But Logan gets government benefits and received a $674 check on Oct. 1 for Chauntasia's needs, an arrest report states.

At first, Logan told deputies she noticed Chauntasia had been sick Wednesday or Thursday, and she didn't think anything of it because the girl was always skinny, the report states. She said that Sunday morning, when she found the girl unresponsive, was the first time she noticed the girl's bones sticking out of her face.

"When asked if she thought about taking the victim to the doctor when she noticed she was losing weight, Logan reiterated she didn't think anything of it," the report states.

After the child's grandmother told deputies that Logan had known for weeks about the girl being sick, Logan told investigators that she actually noticed Chauntasia losing weight two weeks before her death.

Logan said she was scared that if she took Chauntasia to a hospital, the hospital would call the Department of Children & Families. She said she had a scheduled doctor's appointment for Monday – a day after her child died – and hoped that doctor wouldn't notify DCF about Chauntasia's condition.

The couple has three other children together – a 4-year-old boy and two girls, ages 2 and 3. Logan has two other children who live at the home, ages 6 and 10.

Those five children are now staying with a relative, and DCF will do its best to make sure they get the help they need and be able to stay together as a family, DCF spokeswoman Carrie Hoeppner said.

DCF investigated Logan in four prior cases and Gardner in two of those cases, none of which involved starving children, Hoeppner said. The cases involved neglect, particularly in the supervision of children. The four investigations between 2000 and 2007 revealed some or no indications of abuse, and the children were allowed to stay with the couple.

Chauntasia was born premature on May 11 at Lakeland Regional Medical Center. She weighed 2 pounds, 11 ounces.

When she was released from the hospital July 29, she weighed 7 pounds, 8 ounces.

When investigators saw her Sunday, Chauntasia weighed nearly 2 pounds less. She hadn't been seen from a doctor since she was discharged.

An autopsy was conducted Monday morning. With most people, there is evidence of fat in the body, Judd said. The baby had none.

"This child was tortured," he said. "This child simply wasn't fed."

A typical five-month-old female in North America on average weighs 15 pounds, said Dr. Richard Frates Jr., a pediatrician at the Watson Clinic in Lakeland.

The five month old on average drinks up to 40 ounces of formula a day, Frates said. The formula has 20 calories per ounce. A baby who is eating well would ingest an estimated 800 calories in a day, he said.

If feedings aren't going well or the baby can't finish a bottle, "that's a sign that something is wrong," Frates said.

John Livingstone, Hillsborough County Health Department's public health nutrition program director, said that typically the family of a 5-month-old baby or younger who has been approved for the WIC program receives enough formula where a parent doesn't need to buy additional formula. WIC is short for the federal program Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infant and Children.

Parents receive a WIC check or voucher that allows them to purchase two months of formula. If the child isn't well, the family may have to claim the vouchers every month. Program staff usually see the baby at the initial visit.

If the baby isn't well, an exception may be made, Livingstone said. Staff may not see the baby until he is six months old to measure, weigh and assess growth, he said.

A nutritionist usually talks to the family about the use of formula. There is also literature and the formula cans explain the proper way to mix baby formula, he said.

"If you don't follow the instruction exactly right, you are going to hurt your baby," Livingstone said.

Gardner, 27, previously was sentenced to a year and a day in prison for cocaine possession. He spent about six months behind bars and was released in July 2008.

He also spent about seven months behind bars after being convicted of fleeing law enforcement and grand theft. He was released in January 2004.

When Logan, 25, was charged Monday, she already was on weekend work release from jail. She had been arrested for driving with a suspended license, according to the jail Web site.

"This child should be alive and well … and she's dead," Judd said. "And she shouldn't be. And it makes me very, very angry.

KINGSPORT MAN AVOIDS DEATH PENALTY IN 2005 MURDER OF TODDLER

noreply@blogger.com (Lawdoll) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:07:00 +0000

Kingsport man avoids death penalty in 2005 murder of toddler

http://www.timesnews.net/article.php?id=9018085

By Kacie Breeding

BLOUNTVILLE — A Kingsport man who potentially faced the death penalty if found guilty of killing his girlfriend’s toddler son has agreed to a last-minute plea deal.

Shawn Anthony Mullins, 27, was headed to trial Monday morning on charges of first-degree felony murder and aggravated child abuse and neglect stemming from the 2005 death of 2-year-old Christopher David Smith by means of severe physical abuse.

Mullins was 22 on March 30, 2005, when Heather Collins found her 2-year-old son unresponsive at a friend’s home on Robin Lane where the couple had been staying.

At the time, Mullins had been left alone with the boy for about two hours, according to investigators.

Christopher reportedly was suffering from cardiac arrest and was rushed to a local hospital, where he later died.

Prior to Christopher’s death, Mullins and Collins had been scheduled to meet with a Department of Children’s Services worker on April 2, 2005, to discuss allegations of child abuse. Those complaints were filed with the Kingsport Police Department in February and March of that year by family of the boy’s father.

Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office Detective Lt. Bobby Russell told the Times-News in 2005 that the boy had been beaten repeatedly, suffering multiple broken bones and bruises that were in various stages of healing.

On Monday, Sullivan County Assistant District Attorney Barry Staubus advised the judge if the case had gone to trial, the evidence would show the boy suffered injuries to his heart, kidney and brain in addition to a broken arm and leg.

Staubus said testimony would have shown evidence that Mullins was jealous of the boy.

According to court records, when the boy cried Mullins would say he “‘wished the little (expletive) would die” and cover his mouth in an attempt to make him stop.

Mullins was accused of picking Christopher up by his head; throwing him into his crib; striking him with his fist, palm and the back of his hand; kicking him in the back and knocking him to the ground; and placing a bucket over his head and striking the bucket as the boy walked around, according to court documents.

Additionally, Mullins was accused of forcing Christopher to inhale marijuana smoke and consume alcohol, according to court documents.

A report prosecutors received Thursday from one of their own expert witnesses “changed the evidence that would be presented to the jury, and as a result we entered this plea,” said Staubus.

The late pathology report “put some serious questions into the state’s timeline,” said Mullins’ attorney, John Eldridge.

As a result, the state allowed Mullins to enter Alford, or “best interest,” pleas to second-degree murder and aggravated child abuse in exchange for 30 years in prison with 100 percent service.

“We’re pleased with the outcome. And I think our client, Shawn Mullins, is quite resolved and glad that this episode is over,” Eldridge said.

Staubus said he wasn’t particularly pleased with it, but added that he was glad the plea will “hold Mr. Mullins accountable.”

WHAT HAPPENED TO BABY GABRIEL?

noreply@blogger.com (Lawdoll) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:51:00 +0000

What happened to baby Gabriel?

http://www.dailycommercial.com/localnews/story/110309gabriel

One year after his death, detectives are still gathering evidence

MILLARD K. IVES

Staff Writer

TAVARES -- Detectives say they believe one of the three adults residing at the 3721 Picciola Road home in Leesburg murdered 5-month-old Gabriel Golden on Nov. 3 of last year.

The Department of Children and Families say Ashley Baker is allegedly responsible. Lake County courts have identified Baker as a person of interest in the child's murder during a custody hearing for two other children in the home.

And, he is the same suspect that Lake County Sheriff's detectives said had two misses on a polygraph test stemming from the murder case.

But one year ago from the day Gabriel was discovered in his crib, purple in color and pronounced dead of blunt trauma to the head, two skull fractures and asphyxiation -- no charges have been filed in the case.

Officials are quick to point out that the case is still under investigation.

"No one has gotten away with murder," said sheriff's detective Mark Knuuttila. "There are just some cases that can be more difficult to prove."

Knutilla said with three adults in the home at the time, then 31-year-old Ashley, his wife 30-year-old Tammi Baker and Tammi's 52-year-old mother, Vickie Labb, in addition to a visiting juvenile and Tammi's two children (ages 5 and 12), it's difficult to prove who might have killed Gabriel. Knutilla said the investigation does lead him to believe that one of the three adults in the home is the assailant, but he won't say who he suspects.

Knuttilla added he is still waiting for more lab results which he hopes can tie a murderer to the case, but wouldn't give details on the tests.

"It's just a matter of time before I can prove who did it," Knutilla said. "It's not over."

According to a DCF report on its review of the child's death, Ashley Baker is the "caretaker" the department feels is responsible for "all maltreatments" in Gabriel's "verified findings of death," which they listed as physical injuries, internal injuries, bone fractures, asphyxiation and inadequate supervision.

The report adds that Tammi is responsible for the inadequate supervision.

The reports adds that Tammi and Labb passed polygraph tests conducted by the sheriff's office, but Ashley hit on two questions.

Bill D'aiuto, a DCF administrator with Circuit 5, said the finding led to them identifying Ashley as the responsible party.

But the DCF has a different threshold for evidence than the law.

Bill Gross, the Lake County prosecutor reviewing the case, said polygraph test results or DCF reports identifying it suspected assailant is inadmissible in courts.

"It's something that wouldn't get us a conviction," Gross said.

Ashley Baker, who's now is prison on probation violations after being arrested on unrelated theft charges, has declined interviews. He was charged with burglary and dealing in stolen property after being accused of breaking into at least two different homes, one the resident of his stepson's foster parents and stealing more than $4,000 worth of jewelry and trying to pawn the stolen goods, according to arrest affidavits.

As a result of Gabriel's death, Tammi's two children were taken away from her, and she has a custody hearing scheduled later this month. But no one could be found at the couple's tan and brown, two-bedroom stucco home on Picciola Road this week, where detectives said Tammi and Labb had remained after the child's death there.

A "for rent" sign is posted in the yard.

Neither Knutilla or Gross would release details of the investigation. But according to a report on the review of the death by DCF, Tammi had come home from a birthday party on Nov. 2, 2008 and Ashley, from work.

The Bakers had been handed over the parental rights to Gabriel by his young parents in the previous September, and were the child's caregivers.

The report added that Ashley put Gabriel back to sleep around 11 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 2 and Labb got out of bed to use the bathroom about 3:38 a.m. the following Monday morning, later telling detectives that she recalled the specific time because she looked at a clock. Around the same time, one of the children in the house got up, and was told by Tammi not to wake the baby, before Tammi and the child went back to sleep together.

Ashley remained in the room with Gabriel from 3:38 a.m. and 6:15 a.m., when Tammi came in to check on Gabriel, the report added.

According to the DCF report, the mother said she found Gabriel "face down like smothered," and "she screamed he was dead because he was purple in color; she rolled him over (and) blood had run to his face."

The report added Ashley woke up to the screaming and responded "what the (expletive) do you mean he's dead," before they pulled him out of the crib, called 911 and began CPR.

The child was taken to Leesburg Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Gabriel had fallen about six inches from a bouncer on the day before his death, while being cared for by Tammi's friend Christy. But Medical Examiner Dr. Barbara Wolf said in an interview with detectives that if the injures were from the fall, the child would have been symptomatic all day.

A photograph taken of the child at 3 p.m. on Nov. 2, after the fall, shows him smiling.

"That would not have been the situation if Gabriel's injuries were present at the time of the photo," Wolf was stated as saying in the report.

Officials also ruled out the visiting juvenile, who had briefly held the child, as responsible for the death. There was no mention of Labb's possible link to the death, who had a "significant black eye" a day after the death, according to the DCF report.

Neither couple would taken a drug screen test.

Detective Knuutilla also is recorded in the report as questioning whether Xanax, which Ashley was rumored to be taking, could make a person short tempered and irritable during a lack of sleep.

"There's still so many questions," Gross said. "Every case is unique and challenging."

Ironically, the Bakers had been given the child for safekeeping. Gabriel's parents Michael, 22, and Andrea Golden, 19, had handed over the child to the couple shortly after his birth in May of 2008 and signed over their parental rights in September -- because of financial concerns.

Michael Golden was planning to enlist in the military.

After Gabriel's death, DCF issued a report in which it admitted its staff had neglected to ensure the baby's safety. The report stated the staff had focused too much attention on Gabriel's biological parents and not enough on the Bakers.

"It's tragic and our hearts go out to the family," said D'aiuto.

FRANKLIN COUNTY: CHILDREN SERVICES LEVY PASSES HANDILY

noreply@blogger.com (Lawdoll) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:47:00 +0000

Franklin County: Children Services levy passes handily

http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/11/04/fccs.html?sid=101

Tuesday, November 3, 2009 10:15 PM
By Rita Price

The Columbus Dispatch

With fresh tax dollars on the way, Franklin County Children Services will continue its push to reduce the number of children in foster care, by paying for alternatives.

"What this allows us to do is to invest even more in our communities," Executive Director Eric Fenner said last night. "We're building a capacity of high-quality services, and children and families really are the beneficiaries."

Voters maintained their near-perfect record of support for Children Services, approving the agency's request for a 10-year, 3.1-mill replacement levy.

The tax will cost homeowners about $95 a year per $100,000 of property value, starting next year, or $28 more than this year.

The 60 percent passing rate, according to unofficial results, means the agency can avoid deep spending cuts and continue to focus on the efforts that are contributing to a steep decline in both overall caseload and the number of children in paid care, officials say.

Instead of aggressively seeking custody, Children Services is trying to keep more children in their homes by linking families with services such as counseling, tutoring and emergency financial help.

Fenner stressed, however, that the agency will always seek custody when children are in danger.

"We maintain our traditional investigations for children who are at risk," he said.

The levy will raise $94 million a year, which is roughly half the annual revenue for Children Services. The agency serves about 28,000 children a year, with an active caseload of 4,600 children and just under 2,000 in foster or other paid care.

Although no groups actively campaigned against the levy, officials had taken nothing for granted. The rotten economy could have been reason enough for voters to hand the agency its second-ever defeat, and first since 1980.

"There were a lot of layoffs then," spokeswoman Doris Calloway Moore said. "It was dismal."

Voters last approved a Children Services levy in 2004, but the 51 percent passing rate for the 1.9-mill tax felt close, officials said.

Fenner was thrilled with the margin last night. "This speaks volumes about the value this community places on children," he said.

FOSTER CARE KIDS COULD STAY WITH FAMILY

noreply@blogger.com (Lawdoll) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:37:00 +0000

Foster Care Kids Could Stay With Family

http://www.kfbb.com/news/local/69006547.html

By KFBB News Team

The Department of Health and Human Services is starting a registry that could potentially help foster care children to be placed in homes with their extended family.

A registered relative can now be considered as a placement for a child within foster care, thanks to the 2009 Close Relative Registry, which recently went into effect.

The Department says this option makes the transition into foster care much easier for the child.

The legislation defines a close relative as a grandparent, aunt, uncle, or adult sibling.

And over the last 5 years, the number of children placed with relatives has risen from 19 to 26%.

To register yourself as a close relative, you can call 866-820-KIDS

ADA COUNTY WILL NOT SEEK THE DEATH PENALTY IN ROBERT MANWILL MURDER

noreply@blogger.com (Lawdoll) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:12:00 +0000

Ada County will not seek the death penalty in Robert Manwill murder case

http://www.idahostatesman.com/newsupdates/story/938872.html

BY PATRICK ORR - porr@idahostatesman.com

Ada County prosecutors decided Friday they will not seek the death penalty against first-degree murder suspects Daniel Ehrlick and Melissa Jenkins for the beating death of 8-year-old Robert Manwill earlier this year.

Ehrlick is accused of beating the boy — Jenkins’ son — to death. Jenkins is accused of covering up the crime and lying to police about what happened.

Ada County Prosecutor Greg Bower said in August much of the decision on whether to pursue the death penalty would depend on what kind of mitigating evidence defense attorneys provide to prosecutors as they swap discovery on the case.

It's the prosecutor's job to determine whether the aggravating factors exist for a jury to sentence someone to death, like if the killing was heinously cruel, the defendant has a propensity to commit murder, or the killer showed an utter disregard for human life.

It's up to defense attorneys to find the mitigating factors a jury might consider to spare a life, like if the defendant suffers from mental illness or was a victim of child abuse themselves.

It is unknown exactly what evidence has been exchanged so far. Jenkins’ attorneys have filed a motion with 4th District Judge Darla Williamson to make prosecutors give them a copy of the search warrant documents which detail how Boise Police established the probable cause to search Jenkins’ Boise apartment and report what evidence they found there — evidence which contributed to her and Ehrlick’s arrest.

Those documents, normally made available after a suspect is arrested, have been kept secret in this case.

Idaho has executed only one person since reinstating the death penalty in 1977 — double murderer Keith Eugene Wells in 1994 because he dropped all his appeals and demanded a lethal injection. Every other person on Idaho's death row — there are currently 17 prisoners with death sentences — has successfully fought execution, including Lacey Sivak, who was sentenced to death in 1981.

Melissa Jenkins and Daniel Ehrlick Jr. stood silent in August when asked if they planned to enter pleas to charges of first-degree murder in connection with the beating death of Jenkins' 8-year-old son Robert Manwill in July.

The next hearing in the case is set for Nov. 5, when a trial date likely will be set.

CPA FIRM TO REVIEW FOSTER CARE PAYMENTS IN BUTLER COUNTY

noreply@blogger.com (Lawdoll) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:57:00 +0000

CPA firm to review foster care payments in Butler County

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09295/1007345-54.stm

Thursday, October 22, 2009

By Karen Kane, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Butler County commissioners took steps yesterday to ensure that fraud is not running rampant in the county's child protective services system.

The board unanimously voted to hire Grossman Yanak & Ford, a certified public accounting firm from Pittsburgh, to review the financial records as they pertain particularly to the disbursement of payments to a foster mother. The firm also will review all foster care records to ensure that no other apparent fraud has occurred.

Butler County Detective Pat Cannon filed charges Sept. 30 against a Penn woman whom he said had taken monthly checks for the care of a child who no longer was in her care.

Tammy Lynn Smith, 42, faces theft charges. A preliminary hearing will be held before District Judge Susan Haggerty, of Saxonburg.

According to court documents, Ms. Smith accepted $40,000 in funds from the Butler County Children and Youth Services office over a five-year period. She had served as a foster mother to two children in 2004, but the children had been returned to their biological mother.

In error, the checks from CYS kept coming. The mistake was caught by CYS, and the information was turned over to Mr. Cannon.

The hiring of the auditors is an effort by the county to "see what changes can be made to the system to improve it," county Solicitor Julie Graham said in an interview last week.

Ms. Graham said the county had no comment on the case because of the pending criminal action against Ms. Smith.

The accounting firm will be paid $11,900 for its work to evaluate the county's foster care payments. The period between Jan. 1, 2004, and Aug. 31, 2009, will be audited.

The scope of the evaluation will include interviewing CYS personnel, reviewing documentation and verifying all foster care payments.

CYS Director Joyce Ainsworth said the county places about 100 children each year in foster homes.

FREMONT MAN SENTENCED IN DEATH OF FOSTER CHILD

noreply@blogger.com (Lawdoll) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:52:00 +0000

Fremont man sentenced in death of foster child

http://www.mercurynews.com/california/ci_13576790

The Associated Press
Posted: 10/16/2009 09:13:35 AM PDT
Updated: 10/16/2009 09:13:36 AM PDT

HAYWARD, Calif.—A Fremont man convicted of killing his 2-year-old foster child has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.

An Alameda County Superior Court judge sentenced 45-year-old Terry Howard Corder Thursday in the 2004 death of Dylan James George. Corder was found guilty in September of second-degree murder and assault on a child, causing death.

Authorities say Corder beat George on Oct. 2, 2004 because the boy refused to eat. George died two days later from blunt trauma.

He had been staying with Corder and his wife Sherrie for less than three weeks.

Sherrie Corder is scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday after pleading guilty to child endangerment. Prosecutors agreed to drop a murder charge in exchange for her testimony against her husband.

JUDGE CONSIDERS WHETHER DC MOM WHO KILLED 4 GIRLS SHOULD HAVE BEEN FORCED TO PLEAD INSANITY

noreply@blogger.com (Lawdoll) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:43:00 +0000

Judge considers whether DC mom who killed 4 girls should have been forced to plead insanity

http://blog.taragana.com/law/2009/10/16/judge-considers-whether-dc-mom-who-killed-4-girls-should-have-been-forced-to-plead-insanity-14569/

By Sarah Karush

Conviction in doubt for DC mom who killed 4 girls

WASHINGTON — A woman who was expected to be sentenced Friday to life in prison for murdering her four daughters could instead walk free under a scenario outlined by the judge who found her guilty, though such an outcome still faces several legal hurdles.

The decomposing bodies of Banita Jacks’ daughters — ages 5 to 16 — were discovered in January 2008 when U.S. Marshals came to evict Jacks from her southeast Washington rowhouse. In July, D.C. Superior Court Judge Frederick H. Weisberg found Jacks guilty of four counts of felony murder, three counts of premeditated first-degree murder and four counts of first-degree child cruelty.

Jacks was scheduled to be sentenced Friday but Weisberg postponed it while he considers issues related to her refusal to use an insanity defense. Jacks rejected the defense against the advice of her lawyers, who are now asking Weisberg to appoint an independent counsel to investigate whether she was competent to make such a decision.

If the defense is successful, it could lead to a new trial and Jacks, 34, could be found not guilty by reason of insanity. That course of events could end with Jacks walking free, Weisberg said.

Ordinarily, a defendant who successfully uses an insanity defense gets committed to a psychiatric institution. But that’s not the case in the District of Columbia if the insanity defense is imposed against the person’s wishes, Weisberg said. Civil commitment proceedings could still be held, but there’s no guarantee they would be successful, he added.

“It’s by no means clear to me that Jacks would be civilly committable in those circumstances, despite the horrific crimes of which I have found her guilty,” Weisberg said.

Jacks reiterated to the judge that she didn’t want to use an insanity defense.

Jacks previously told police her daughters were possessed by demons and inexplicably died one by one in their sleep. She believed they would be resurrected.

The extreme decomposition made it difficult for experts to determine exactly how and when the girls died, but medical examiners said the three youngest children were most likely strangled and 16-year-old Brittany was probably stabbed.

Jacks has insisted she is not mentally ill. But “the inability to recognize one’s illness” is common among the mentally ill, her lawyers said.

Prosecutors portrayed the motion as a ploy to win a new trial and questioned the timing.

Weisberg scheduled another hearing for Dec. 18.

NEW YORK CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT-PART 1: AN INTRODUCTION TO CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES

noreply@blogger.com (Lawdoll) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:14:00 +0000

NEW YORK CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT – PART 1: AN INTRODUCTION TO CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES

http://www.newyorkcriminalattorneyblog.com/2009/10/new_york_child_abuse_and_negle.html

by John Campbell

While not technically criminal in nature, New York Child Protective Service investigations often accompany criminal charges for Assault and/or Endangering the Welfare of a Child. In addition, these child abuse and neglect investigations can lead to New York Family Court actions. Did you know that just the slightest mark, scratch, bump or bruise on your child can trigger a most intrusive, terrifying and humiliating investigation of your parenting ability. This article will give you a very general introduction into the intended purpose of Child Protective Services in New York State.

The New York State Legislature has determined that maltreated children within the State are in urgent need of child protective services. The Legislature therefore developed laws to encourage, and even require, the reporting of suspected child abuse and maltreatment. Each county has a child protective service charged with “swiftly” investigating reports of abuse and/or maltreatment. Such investigations are supposed to be swift and competent and capable of preventing further harm to the child. Rehabilitative services are to be provided for the child as well as the parents involved. [See NY Social Services Law sec. 411]

In theory the purpose of child protective services sounds wonderful. In reality, these agencies routinely and needlessly invade the lives of decent families, accuse decent parents of baseless charges of abuse and/or neglect, impose their own beliefs as to what is proper parenting and operate with a total disregard of the constitutional rights of the parents and children. The American Family Rights Association maintains a website replete with horror stories involving CPS throughout the country. The America Family Rights Association website also lists Tilem & Campbell as one of "AFRA's Lawyer Friends" because of our work in this legal area.

If Child Protective Services contacts you, you should speak with an experienced and knowledgeable attorney. You have rights. Learn your rights from an attorney that cares about you. These so-called “investigators” sent by Child Protective Services will many times trample your rights, lie to you and threaten you. Know your rights; protect your family. For more information call the law-firm of Tilem & Campbell toll free at 1-877-377-8666.

WOMAN TO BE TRIED OVER GIRL FOUND DEAD IN STORAGE

noreply@blogger.com (Lawdoll) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:59:00 +0000

Woman to be tried over girl found dead in storage

By DAVID RUNK (AP) – Oct 13, 2009

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iX3IKWT5t9haQq7vk7pkPNDlwCuQD9BAA9N02

FLINT, Mich. — A woman has been ordered to stand trial on charges including second-degree murder in the death of her adopted quadriplegic daughter whose body was found in a storage unit.

Judge Tracy Collier-Nix of 68th District Court made her ruling on Tuesday.

Forty-year-old Lorrie Thomas of Flint will stand trial on six charges.

Authorities believe 9-year-old Shylae (sha-LAY) Thomas had been dead for six weeks when her body was discovered inside a 33-gallon container in a storage unit on April 22.

An autopsy indicated the cause of death was neglect, malnourishment and dehydration.

Defense attorney Mark Clement denies that Thomas, who was Shylae's aunt, starved the girl.

Thomas is set to be arraigned Monday in circuit court.

JURORS FIND LV WOMAN GUILTY IN FOSTER SON'S DEATH

noreply@blogger.com (Lawdoll) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:44:00 +0000

Jurors find LV woman guilty in foster son's death

Medical experts present conflicting testimony

http://www.lvrj.com/news/jurors-find-lv-woman-guilty-in-foster-sons-death-67506132.html

By FRANCIS McCABE
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

The woman accused of causing a fatal head injury to her 7-month-old foster son in 2006 was convicted of first-degree murder late Thursday night.

A Clark County jury of nine women and three men deliberated for more than four hours before returning a guilty verdict against Melanie Ochs in the death of Baby Boy Charles.

The family of Baby Boy Charles attended the reading of the verdict and could be heard sobbing in the background.

Ochs, who was taken into custody after the verdict was read, faces a minimum of 20 years and a maximum of life in prison. A sentencing date was set for Jan. 28.

The trial, which lasted nearly two weeks, presented jurors with contradictory testimony from medical experts and graphic photos and details from the baby's autopsy.

Ochs also testified on her own behalf. She admitted that when she first reported the baby's injuries to authorities, she concocted a story that fixed blame on her older children.

On Tuesday, she told the jury that Baby Boy Charles suffered a head injury after he fell from the top of the washing machine to the floor of her home, near Sahara Avenue and Fort Apache Road.

Prosecutors have maintained that a fall such as the one Ochs described would not have killed the infant. Authorities contended that some type of abuse was involved.

The baby suffered a skull fracture and swelling of the brain. Doctors who treated him found a high likelihood of non-accidental trauma to be the cause of the injuries.

Ochs denied intentionally hurting the baby.

Ochs said the injuries to her foster son were an accident, which happened after she left him alone on top of the washing machine to check on her two other children in a bathroom. Ochs said she was gone for about 30 seconds. She heard a thud and came back to find the baby on the floor.

During the trial, prosecutors called four physicians who testified that Baby Boy Charles had suffered two separate traumatic injuries to his head. They each agreed that a single fall might explain one of the injuries but not the other.

The physicians also testified that the fall from a washing machine, a drop of about three feet, was unlikely to cause the severe kind of fracture sustained by Baby Boy Charles.

The defense also called medical experts who testified that the kind of fall described by Ochs could fatally injure a baby.

In closing arguments Thursday, prosecutor Vicki Monroe said nobody but Ochs will ever know what caused the injures to Baby Boy Charles, but she cautioned the jury against believing the defendant's testimony.

"She's hiding something. She doesn't want to tell you what she did to that baby that caused those injuries," Monroe said.

Monroe suggested the two injuries suffered by Baby Boy Charles could have been caused by a blow to one side of his head, which caused the other side of his head to slam into a wall.

Ochs' attorney, Robert Langford, told the jury that while Ochs originally lied to authorities, she told them the truth. Langford said Ochs had no history of child abuse. He also said the state never proved she committed such an act.

"The doctors should be ashamed of themselves," Langford said after the verdict was announced, referring to the medical experts who testified for the prosecution.

Langford had argued during trial that the science regarding short falls of the type described by Ochs is changing.

"This was a tragic accident," Langford said. "Shame on the system."

Contact reporter Francis McCabe at fmccabe@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039.

MURDERED TODDLER'S PARENTS HAVE HISTORY OF ABUSE ALLEGATIONS

noreply@blogger.com (Lawdoll) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:29:00 +0000

Murdered toddler's parents have history of abuse allegations

27 NEWSFIRST has learned both Amanda Johnson and Michael Troy have previously faced child abuse charges.

http://www.wkyt.com/wymtnews/headlines/67416282.html

Reporter: Cheryl Glassford

As a 23 month-old murder victim was laid to rest Thursday, 27 NEWSFIRST is learning more about his parents' past.

Amanda Johnson and Michael Troy used to live in Muskegon, Michigan. The Assistant Chief Prosecutor for Muskegon County tells us years ago both of them faced child abuse charges for another child of theirs, which resulted in the two of them losing their parental rights.

NEWSFIRST asked Troy about the charges.

Michael Troy says he and Johnson had two other children before Stephen while they were living in Michigan, including a little boy named Tyler Johnson.

Their parental rights were terminated in 2005 after Tyler's arm was broken.

"We just got into an argument and I don't know went wrong," Troy says about the day Tyler was injured, "I was holding him and I didn't want him to go and she was trying to take him, and I was trying to keep him"

The Assistant Chief Prosecutor says both parents were charged as juveniles with child abuse, and Johnson pleaded no-contest.

"We were really young back then - we were basically babies ourselves," said Troy, "back then I really didn't understand what was going on, so I don't really understand the charges."

Troy says their second child born in Michigan was taken by child protective services after his birth.

"They took him right from the hospital," Troy said.

Just a month before Johnson gave birth to their third child, little Stephen Troy - the boy Johnson's now accused of killing - Troy says the couple left for Kentucky. According to Troy, he and Johnson were afraid Stephen would also be taken into custody of Michigan's child protective services.

When confronted about the previous abuse charges, Troy still says Stephen was safe in their care, and says doesn't know how the deadly injuries occurred.

"I don't have no idea," Troy said, "just the way I've seen (Johnson) with Stephen, I don't think she did it."

Stephen was found unresponsive at Johnson's boyfriends home last Friday, where they had been living. Stephen later died at the hospital, authorities say from blunt force trauma to the abdomen.

Police have arrested Johnson for Stephen's death. She's pled not-guilty to murder and criminal abuse charges. She's being held at the Laurel County Detention Center.

DEAR VIRGINIA:

noreply@blogger.com (Lawdoll) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:14:00 +0000

Dear Stop Corrupt DSS:

I am 8 years old, soon to be 9, and all I really want is a birthday party with some presents. I am in foster care and the older foster children and the foster mother tell me that there are no birthday presents, Christmas or any other holidays allowed. Is this true? My momma (my biological mother) always told me if I saw it on your blog it was so. Would you please tell me the truth?

Virginia Foster

1224 No Home Lane

No Place, America

(not an actual letter)

I take absolutely no pleasure in writing this post, but the truth must be told and I feel I am obligated to do so.

No Virginia, there is not a Santa Claus, nor is there a Tooth Fairy or apparently a birthday party for little foster children like you. These wonderful, magical occasions are all just a figment of your imagination because your foster parents are not paid to bring you joy or give you a childhood.

Where in a normal upbringing you would experience all of the joyous, wonderful merriments of youth, YOU unfortunately, will be denied all of these things. You are just a foster child in their eyes, a burden that they have to endure to receive the funds they obtain from the state in order to "provide" for your care and sadly, this does not include the magical dreams of youth fantasy and life.

How dreary life will be for you Virginia, more so than other children...especially after you “age out" and are homeless, living on the streets, in jail or dead like so many other foster children that share your fate. More than likely, you will be made a legal orphan by the state and be denied a family to help you through your hard times.

Buckle up baby girl, because your life is going to be rough.

Virginia, you will be defeated and beaten down. You will feel unwanted and unloved. You will be denied a childhood by the very people who are supposed to be sworn to protect yours. I feel your pain and the undeniable loss of your stolen childhood. More than anything, I wish I could tell you of some heavenly ending or that a marvelous fairytale life awaits you and that you will live happily ever after, but that just would not be the truth.

Sadly, you will have no Santa Claus sneaking down your chimney at night to bring you a bag full of goodies. There will be no tooth fairy dancing into your room while you sleep for the sole purpose of seeing your gummy smile and to lay a dollar beneath your pillow. Nor will you have the elation of birthday parties thrown by people who are ecstatic that you were born and cherish your existence...

I am so sorry Virginia....

With Much Love and Regret,

Lawdoll

Below is the actual question that I read that resulted in the above. Just the fact that a person would be so cold and heartless that they would even ask this question in mind boggling.

DO WE HAVE TO BUY OUR FOSTER KID A BIRTHDAY PRESENT? OR HAVE A PARTY?

Do We Have To Buy Our Foster Kid A Birthday Present? Or Have A Party?

Our foster kid turns 9 next week and she keeps telling us stuff she wants for her birthday.Also she keeps asking for a party.I thought you didn’t have to give foster kids this stuff?We buy her clothes and food and all seriously how much money do they think we should spend on her?

My idea for the above post came from one of my favorite Christmas Newspaper Editorials by Francis P. Church. Mr. Church wrote it for the New York Sun, September 21, 1897. You can see that editorial here and frankly it is a lot more cheerful and optimistic then the post I have written.

I saw the question by this foster parent and the truth of the matter is I know the foster child of this person is going to be completely crushed and heartbroken. I wanted to put it into writing so maybe others could feel the disappointment and pain that she is going to feel on her birthday and every other holiday that remains to come while this child is in this foster home.

This may be reposted, just please give me credit if you do…Thanks….

GIRL TOLD TO IMPLICATE FATHER IN CHRISTOPHER THOMAS CASE, ATTORNEY SAYS

noreply@blogger.com (Lawdoll) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:41:00 +0000

Girl told to implicate father in Christopher Thomas case, attorney says

Convicted woman changes story

http://www.jsonline.com/news/crime/64652557.html

By Bruce Vielmetti of the Journal Sentinel

The woman who killed Christopher Thomas continues to inflict a different kind of child abuse from prison, according to her husband's lawyer.

Crystal Keith and her sister, who has custody of the Keiths' 7-year-old daughter, conspired to get the girl to say her father killed Christopher and tortured the boy's 2-year-old sister while they were under the couple's kinship care, the man's attorney contends.

Glen Givens, who represents Reginald Keith, says the couple's own child has been subjected to extensive conversations meant to get her to implicate her father and exonerate her mother, manipulations that caused the child severe psychological distress resulting in night terrors, bed wetting and falling asleep at school.

The girl "is now experiencing a child's worst nightmare," Givens wrote in a court pleading. "To get the return of one parent, she must sacrifice the other."

Crystal Keith, 25, is serving 50 years for killing 13-month-old Christopher and abusing his 2-year-old sister last year. Reginald Keith, 27, is charged with failing to report abuse of his niece and child neglect, and his case was set for trial this month before the case took a twist a few weeks ago.

Givens has asked a judge to move the Keiths' daughter from her aunt's custody, appoint a special prosecutor to take over the case against Reginald Keith and convene a John Doe investigation into possible criminal charges of witness tampering, suborning perjury and child abuse against Crystal Keith and her sister, Michelle Smith.

Reading transcripts Friday of recorded phone calls from Crystal Keith to Smith, Milwaukee County Circuit Judge David Borowski called the situation "very concerning," not only for the legal issues but for the 7-year-old's well-being.

But he said arguments about the girl's placement belong in Children's Court, where she is the subject of petition for protective services. He asked for more written arguments on whether a special prosecutor should be named, and left it up to Givens to request a John Doe investigation. The judge set a follow-up hearing in two weeks, and asked that the girl's social worker and her supervisor attend.

Assistant District Attorney Matthew Torbenson called Givens' efforts to have him removed in favor of a special prosecutor ridiculous, and said that district attorneys routinely handle both criminal prosecutions and related child protection petitions around the state.

He said that since news of Crystal Keith's apparent interest in recanting her confessions and blaming her husband, he has been in steady contact with the Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare case worker assigned to the Keiths' daughter. He said there have been no more unsupervised calls between the girl and her mother.

Implicating husband
Crystal Keith called Torbenson's office Sept. 23 and left a message stating, "I took the blame for (Reginald) and I need to talk to you because . . . I need to tell the truth now." Torbenson told the judge Friday that he never sought Crystal Keith's testimony, and would not expect to use it. He said doesn't know exactly what her full story is, but that he's waiting to hear from her appellate attorney, John Pray of the University of Wisconsin Law School.

Pray did not return a message Friday.

According to Givens' court filings, his client got a letter from his wife last month urging him to confess to her crimes and stating that their daughter "knew the truth." Givens then subpoenaed recordings of Crystal Keith's calls from Taycheedah Correctional Institution. In some calls, Crystal Keith says her prior statements about Christopher Thomas were lies, her daughter needs to tell "the truth" about her father, and that if Reginald Keith would confess to the crimes, the girl would not have to testify.

In her earlier statements to authorities, Crystal Keith said her daughter was never present when she abused Christopher Thomas and his sister, and that she actively hid evidence of the victims' abuse from her husband.

Some of the phone calls suggest that the idea of changing her story and getting her child to corroborate it emerged when Crystal Keith realized what she faced in prison time.

"I can't do this here. If you know what I mean now," she tells Smith, and later, "I'm hopin', um, that he tell the truth and get me out."

In some of the calls, Smith tells her sister how the Keiths' daughter is having trouble sleeping, and how she's afraid her father might get mad at her, or, if she doesn't say the new things, her mother would be mad at her.

When her niece's caseworker visited around Sept. 22, Smith told her the girl had new information. That's when the girl told the caseworker that her mother had told her to say things about her father, and the alleged scheme appeared to collapse.