COMPLETELY IGNORED BY LANIER CANSLER

These are more of my emails to Lanier Cansler…as you can tell, I pointed out the law to him and am now being completely ignored.  Although the law, the North Carolina Courts and Beverly Perdues office all state that it is the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services who has Jurisdiction over the county offices and their conduct.  As further proof I have embedded a letter I received from then, Lt. Governor Perdues office stating that very point.

Am I to now believe after receiving this written statement from Lt. Governor Beverly Perdue that Lanier Cansler has no control over the county offices.   Taking into account that the NOW Governor Perdue, appointed Lanier Cansler, I am quite sure that her office before and after her election to Governor of this state knows exactly who’s jurisdiction the county offices are!!!!

Mr. Cansler, Ignoring my complaint will not make it go away, neither will just agreeing with the Wilkes County Department of Social Services to try and shut me up.  What they did in this case was wrong and it is your responsibility and obligation by law to fix it and I plan to hold you to it.

What I am asking you do is take care of the wrongs that have been done to us.  I cannot understand why it has not been taken care of, we have proven to you and everyone else what they did.

To my readers:  Yes I am afraid of retaliation by these departments, but I am hopeful that since I have spoken out so publically and kept excellent records of their conduct that they will fix the illegal and unethical behavior and leave us alone. 

A part of me believes that it is just a matter of time before they come after me, to punish me for speaking so publically about them, it has been done to others in the past who have spoken out against them.  I believe that I have enough evidence to prove exactly what they are doing if they do decide to punish me.  I also believe that I have a reporter who would make sure that if they did behave in a retalitory manner toward me and my family that the truth would come out of exactly what they were doing and why!

My convictions are such that I feel to not speak out endangers the lives of the children in this state.  How many more have to die before our government steps up and says, “enough is enough?”

 

THE EMAILS

— On Thu, 3/12/09, Lawdoll wrote:
From: Lawdoll

Subject: Fw: Re: Fw: Child Protective Services, your help needed

To: Lanier.Cansler@ncmail.net

Date: Thursday, March 12, 2009, 12:55 PM

Dear Mr. Cansler:

I have had no response from you, since I sent you the General Statutes and case law out-lining the principle-agent relationship between your office and county DSS offices. As I have shown, you have complete control and authority over these departments. I would appreciate it if you would contact me so that we can set up an appointment to meet so that you may view my evidence and documentation.

As I have repeatedly said, Wilkes County DSS acted in an illegal and unethical manner during the course of our “case”, they forged documents, falisified records, lied to the judge and in their reports, failed to follow statutory law and committed numerous policy violations.

I am asking that our names be cleared and WCDSS be held accountable for what they have done.

I can still be reached at number removed

Sincerely,

Lawdoll

Visit my blogs at: http://stopcorruptdss.wordpress.com or http://standupspeakup-leesa.blogspot.com

“To Sin By Silence When We Should Protest Makes Cowards Out Of Men”

–Ella Wheeler Wilcox

THE LATEST EMAIL 

Re: Fw: Re: Fw: Child Protective Services, your help needed

Monday, April 6, 2009 3:58 PM

From: “Lawdoll

To: Lanier.Cansler@ncmail.net

Message contains attachments:Perdue letter offical use web.jpg (182KB)

Dear Mr. Cansler:

I still have not heard from you regarding the last email that I sent that included Statutory law and case law that lays out your Principle…”controlling”…authority over county offices. I cannot believe the way that my valid and provable complaints have been ignored!

As further proof of your duty and obligation I have attached a letter that I received from then, Lt. Governor, Bev. Purdue’s office, July 9, 2008, regarding my complaint against the Wilkes County Department of Social Services the response was and I quote, “To that end, we have forwarded your letters to the State Department of Social Services who has jurisdiction over the county offices.” I have attached this letter to this email for your convenience.

 

I do not know why you and your department have refused to do something about the illegal and unethical behavior of the Wilkes County Department of Social Services, but I do know that ignoring my complaint will not make me go away.

My step daughter could have died because of the WCDSS behavior, that is not something I am willing to forget or just let go of. Children are dying in this state because of the actions of the county departments and absolutely nothing is being done to ensure that they are following the law, abiding by policy, and when you receive valid, provable complaints, like mine and ignore them…it endangers more children.

These county departments believe that they are untouchable and that they can do what ever they want with no repercussions or accountability for their actions…Sadly, because of your departments inaction’s in complaints against them…their belief’s have been proven true.

I can still be reached at Number removed.

Lawdoll

Visit my blogs at: http://stopcorruptdss.wordpress.com or http://standupspeakup-leesa.blogspot.com

“To Sin By Silence When We Should Protest Makes Cowards Out Of Men”

–Ella Wheeler Wilcox

“NOTHING EVER CHANGES”

Grand jury report assails CPS: “Nothing Ever Changes”

 

http://www.sacbee.com/cps/story/1782539.html

Marjie Lundstrom and Sam Stanton

Published: Wednesday, Apr. 15, 2009 – 10:36 am
Last Modified: Wednesday, Apr. 15, 2009 – 10:44 am

The Sacramento County grand jury ripped Child Protective Services in a report released today, saying the agency has ignored repeated recommendations for improvement and that CPS has “persistent, recurring and systemic problems resulting in child abuse-related deaths.”

“The Grand Jury has reported on the shortcomings of CPS since 1996,” said a cover letter from grand jury foreman Donald W. Prange Sr. “Findings and recommendations have fallen on deaf ears.

“Nothing Ever Changes … Ever,” he typed in bold-face.

The panel launched its evaluation of the agency after a series of revelations by The Bee about CPS failings in the case of 4-year-old Jahmaurae Allen, who was beaten to death last summer, allegedly by his mother’s live-in boyfriend.

It was the sixth grand jury probe of CPS since 1996, and this panel found that the agency had repeatedly ignored past investigations and suggested fixes to how it performs.

“When are the citizens going to demand that something be done with CPS?” Prange’s letter asked. “We heard promises that CPS is studying and working on problems.(HEY THE CITIZENS ARE DEMANDING THAT SOMETHING BE DONE…OUR DEMANDS ARE FALLING ON DEAF EARS…..)

“How many years does it take to do ‘something…or…anything?’ “

The panel was especially harsh on the agency’s leadership, complaining that senior management at both CPS and its parent agency, the Department of Health and Human Services, lacked a “positive vision and have a persistent unwillingness to accept responsibility for the outcome of their actions.

Secrecy and confidentiality barriers apparently stymied the 19-member grand jury panel throughout its work, and the final report noted that the “shield of privacy and secrecy that surrounds much of the operations of CPS is unwarranted.”

On Tuesday, DHHS Director Lynn Frank announced her resignation.

The panel also renewed its claim that CPS management had tried to stonewall its investigation, a charge the grand jury made in October when it issued a letter to CPS workers warning them they had to cooperate.

“There are many people who care about the work they do at CPS,” Prange’s cover letter said. “Apparently, some top CPS management does not share the same view.

“Management made misrepresentations to the Grand Jury. We need the help of the community to put pressure on our county administrators to act quickly and take responsibility to see that changes are made.”

The grand jury’s findings, available online at www.sacgrandjury.org (or I have it below….), mirror many of the revelations that have come in the past year as The Bee investigated a series of CPS-related child deaths and a private consultant studied the agency to suggest reforms.

These include sloppy record keeping and case management, as well as a system that allowed more than 100 people to access the computerized case file on Jahmaurae’s death, many of them simply out of curiosity.

The panel found low morale, high turnover rates and poor leadership from both CPS managers and their superiors at the county’s Health and Human Services Department.

“The grand jury questions the management skills of HHS and CPS,” the 29-page report said. “CPS management acknowledged that they failed to follow and enforce their own policies, procedures and rules. Their disturbingly repetitive response was ‘we’re working on this.’ “

The grand jury issued 49 recommendations, which the Board of Supervisors must respond to by July 14, that include:

• Allowing the next grand jury to revisit the issue in six months to see what progress has been made toward improving CPS.

• Requiring a report to the public within six months on improvements that have been made.

• Having the Board of Supervisors “conduct a thorough assessment of the performance of HHS and CPS management.”

The panel noted that CPS workers are rarely given performance evaluations, a failing that has led to long delays in the amount of time needed to discipline problem workers.

The average time a worker is on paid leave while a disciplinary matter is resolved is now one year, which “contributes to the caseload of other employees, and decreases staff morale,” the report found.

The grand jury said CPS needed to tighten access to its computerized case records, saying they “should be restricted to persons who demonstrate a legitimate need to see the case record.”

It also suggested that the Board of Supervisors ask for a change in state law that involves doctors or others who are required to report suspected child abuse.

Currently, the law only requires that a report of possible abuse be made, but the grand jury said doctors should be able to hold a child until a social worker or law enforcement arrives to investigate.

That recommendation stems from Jahmaurae’s death, which occurred despite a doctor’s report to authorities June 17 that the little boy had a fist-sized bruise on his chest.

CPS policies call for a social worker to contact the family for investigation within 24 hours. But in Jahmaurae’s case, the family was not contacted for seven days, and the case was closed with a determination that the abuse allegation was “unfounded.”

Jahmaurae was beaten to death a month later on July 21, and his confidential case file was altered after his death by CPS supervisors who changed the abuse allegation from “unfounded” to “inconclusive.”

Later, it was changed again to “substantiated.”

READ THE REPORT HERE:

2008-2009 Grand Jury Report on Child Protective Services (CPS)

grand-jury-report-cps

LYNN FRANK STEPS DOWN AMID CPS CONTROVERSY

Sacramento County official steps down amid CPS controversy

http://www.sacbee.com/topstories/story/1781004.html

By Marjie Lundstrom, Sam Stanton and Robert Lewis

Published: Wednesday, Apr. 15, 2009 – 11:08 am | Page 1A

Lynn Frank, the embattled head of the Sacramento County agency that oversees Child Protective Services, announced Tuesday that she is resigning.

Her resignation came on the eve of the release of a county grand jury report that is expected to be harshly critical of CPS management and of the Department of Health and Human Services, the agency Frank ran for three years.

“I have decided to step down as your Director,” Frank said in a memo e-mailed to workers, which was excerpted in a county press release. “It was not an easy decision.”

Frank said she was leaving to take “personal time off to regain my health and my perspective.” She will be on leave until June 30, then take a new, unspecified job with the county until Dec. 31, when she will retire after 24 years with the county.

Frank was not available for comment, a spokeswoman said, and county officials said she had not been pushed out.

Though not contained in the news release, in the e-mail to her workers, Frank added that she thought “that my departure will allow DHHS to move forward more quickly and may remove some of the focus that has been cast on DHHS.”

Susan Peters, chairwoman of the Board of Supervisors, said she had not been part of the discussions that preceded Frank’s departure but added, “I do think it’s time to look at new ways for DHHS to view its charge.”

“It’s been a very difficult time for that department,” added Supervisor Roberta MacGlashan. “It’s a very large department. We know that there need to be changes made and changes are being made at Child Protective Services. It’s a good time for Lynn to move on to other things.”

The agency has been under fire in the past year, particularly since the July 21 death of 4-year-old Jahmaurae Allen, who had been reported to CPS in June as a possible abuse victim. Despite that report, CPS did not make contact with Jahmaurae’s family for a week, then closed the case as “unfounded.”

He was beaten to death a month later – allegedly by his mother’s live-in boyfriend – and The Bee subsequently reported that the case files were altered twice after that to change the finding from “unfounded” to “inconclusive” and, finally, to “substantiated.”

Boy’s CPS record altered after death to reflect likely abuse

The grand jury began its probe of Child Protective Services after Jahmaurae’s death. Since then, criticism of both CPS and Frank’s agency has mounted as more information has surfaced about deaths of children who had been known to CPS.

Child advocate Robert Wilson, who repeatedly has called for leadership changes in the county’s child protection system, said he was guardedly optimistic about Tuesday’s announcement.

“If it’s emblematic of the Board of Supervisors’ intention to focus on the leadership faults within CPS, then I applaud it and hope they continue their efforts,” said Wilson, executive director of Sacramento Child Advocates, whose attorneys represent children in dependency court.

“If, however, she’s being used as a scapegoat to justify the delay by the Board of Supervisors to respond, then the Board of Supervisors should be replaced.”

Tuesday’s top-level resignation harkened back to a strikingly similar era in Sacramento child welfare history, when one of Frank’s predecessors left the county amid public outcry over another child’s death. Robert Caulk presided over the department during the firestorm that followed the 1996 beating death of 3-year-old Adrian Conway, which prompted the supervisors to demand an overhaul of the agency.

Caulk announced his resignation 18 months after the boy was tortured and murdered by his mother, whose troubled history of drugs and abuse was known to CPS before the boy’s death. At the time, the Board of Supervisors pressed to make child safety and protection CPS’ highest priority, rather than working to keep dysfunctional families together.

However, a Bee investigative series published last June revealed that – despite hefty budget and staff increases since Adrian’s death – many problems persisted. The CPS oversight committee, a citizens group created after Adrian’s death, had repeatedly warned that danger signs for children were being missed, and that workers lacked proper training and supervision.

OTHER STORIES ABOUT CPS BY THE SACBEE….

CPS investigation, Part I: Despite changes, abused kids still die in Sacramento County system

CPS investigation, Part II: Agency’s failures in abuse case end with boy murdered

SACBEE’S CPS SECTION:

http://www.sacbee.com/cps/

MURDERED ADOPTED CHILD-MELODY VELASQUEZ

Murdered 3-year-old’s family says death could have been avoided

http://www.woai.com/news/local/story/Murdered-3-year-olds-family-says-death-could-have/2UY3ncKFz0WfyaCeyyInPw.cspx

SAN ANTONIO — The aunt of a murdered 3-year-old says the little girl’s death could have been avoided.

Petra Jimenez’s 3-year old niece, Melody Velasquez, was killed by a massive blow to the head in January. The girl’s two adoptive fathers have been arrested and charged in her murder.

News 4 WOAI has uncovered a battle going on between Melody’s biological family and the agencies in charge of protecting her.

Jimenez showed News 4 WOAI a picture she took of her niece. She says she knew something was wrong each time she looked into the child’s eyes and doesn’t understand how three child advocacy agencies missed what she says were signs of abuse.

“I’d seen the bruises myself,” Jimenez said. “I just felt something was being covered up.”

But that wasn’t the only problem Jimenez noticed. She say Melody’s clothes never fit, her hair was always a mess, and her eating habits weren’t normal.

“The caseworker made a comment ‘Oh, it’s okay if she doesn’t want to eat. That’s fine.’ She’s used to sitting in her high chair 6 to 8 hours a day.’”

Jimenez said she was sure something was very wrong.

“These are classic signs of abuse,” said the family’s attorney Lee Hernandez. “The bruising, the timidness, the failure to make eye contact.”

At the time, Melody was living with the two men who would eventually adopt her, 44-year-old Noberto Velazquez and his partner 43-year-old Matthew Aranda. Both were later charged in connection with her murder.

Jimenez had visitation rights, but was told by Child Protective Services she couldn’t adopt little Melody.

“They told me it was because my income. It was an issue. We didn’t make enough to adopt her,” Jimenez explained.

News 4 WOAI spoke with a Child Protective Services spokesperson, who said that’s not the case. That spokesperson said CPS workers were ready to give Jimenez custody, but that she turned them down due to some health issues. It’s a claim Jimenez denies.

“If she would have been placed with me. All this would have been prevented,” added Jimenez.

The CPS spokesperson says none of the child protective agencies ever saw bruises on Melody before her death, but did have to address a problem with her lack of eating. The 3-year-old was put on Pediasure and was gaining weight before she was killed.

DEATH OF FOSTER CHILD RULED A HOMICIDE

Death of child in foster care ruled a homicide

http://www.theithacajournal.com/article/20090415/NEWS01/904150359/1126

By Raymond Drumsta • rdrumsta@gannett.com • Staff Writer • April 15, 2009

The death of a 14-month-old child who lived in a Dryden foster home last fall has been ruled a homicide, Tompkins County Sheriff’s officials and District Attorney Gwen Wilkinson said Tuesday.

The announcement about Adrian Hines, the son of Kristine Freda, followed several months of investigation, including the Onondaga County Medical Examiner’s conclusion on Feb. 11 that Adrian’s death was a homicide and Wilkinson’s consultations with other medical experts.

“The investigation is ongoing, so no additional details regarding the child’s injuries, the evidence, suspects, or possible charges will be released at this time,” sheriff’s officials said Tuesday. The officials did not identify the foster family.

Before the announcement, the sheriff’s office and district attorney’s office hadn’t disclosed the child’s name or the fact that he had been in foster care – and not in Freda’s care – when the incident occurred.

“The child was not in her care or custody when this happened,” said Capt. Derek Osborne of the Tompkins County Sheriff’s Office. He said he did not know why Adrian had been placed in foster care.

Around 5:20 p.m. Oct. 2, deputies, Freeville firefighters and Etna firefighters responded to the report of an unresponsive child at the foster home on Etna Road, sheriff’s officials said. Adrian was taken to Cayuga Medical Center and on to Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse, where he “subsequently died from injuries he sustained,” they added.

Sheriff’s investigators interviewed several witnesses in the following days, and at the time, Wilkinson cautioned that the full autopsy results could take two to three weeks. She later said that “if preliminary findings lead to tests or consultations that develop new findings, the process may be extended significantly,” and that “specialists in fields related to preliminary findings may be consulted to contribute opinions regarding specific findings.”

“It’s not unusual for a full autopsy report to take several months,” she said on Tuesday, adding that the full autopsy results into the death of 2-year-old Grace Manos in 2007 weren’t available until two weeks before the trial of Marie Manos, her aunt and babysitter. Marie was later convicted of murder in connection with Grace’s death and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.

(2 of 2)

Wilkinson also said she consulted with medical experts and specialists after the autopsy ruled Adrian’s death a homicide in February.

“I sometimes have to seek additional information because I’m doing a criminal investigation,” Wilkinson said. The investigation is continuing, and details are being held in confidence, in part because they’re used to evaluate witnesses’ credibility, she said.

She also declined to comment on why Adrian was in foster care, saying that fact isn’t relevant.

“Why he was in foster care is not part of the investigation,” she said, adding that she sees no conflict of interest in the fact that she was once an attorney for the Tompkins County Department of Social Services.

Among many other functions, the Department of Social Services “oversees recruitment and retention of qualified, caring families who are willing to provide temporary foster care for children and to work with families toward reunification,” according to its Web site.

The department has nothing to do with the investigation, Wilkinson said, emphasizing that she’s “never had a legal relationship with the parties in the investigation.” (The department has everything to do with the investigation, they are who placed this child with the people who killed him….)

Department of Social Services officials could not be reached for comment.

ALEXIS “LEXIE” AGYEPONG-GLOVER

Mother Indicted In Va. Killing

 

Body of Girl, 13, Found in Creek

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/03/AR2009030302445.html

By Jonathan MummoloWashington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 4, 2009; Page B01

A Prince William County woman whose 13-year-old adopted daughter was found dead in a shallow creek has been indicted on charges of murder, lying to police and abusing the child, authorities announced yesterday.

Police said Alfreedia Gregg-Glover, 44, of the Manassas area, lied when she told them that her daughter, Alexis “Lexie” Agyepong-Glover, had run away Jan. 7, prompting a massive search. Two days later, Lexie’s body was found in a Woodbridge area creek, and an autopsy determined that she died of drowning and exposure to the cold. Her death was ruled a homicide, and police say Gregg-Glover placed her in the creek.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Paul B. Ebert said the medical examiner believes Lexie was alive when she was placed in the frigid creek, but he would not comment further on the case. He said the abuse charge stems from Gregg-Glover’s conduct on the date of Lexie’s death.

A Prince William grand jury has returned indictments against Gregg-Glover, charging her with first-degree murder, felony murder, felony child abuse and filing a false police report, authorities said. The two murder counts will give the jury the option of finding that Gregg-Glover acted with or without premeditation, they said.

At a news conference to announce the indictments, Ebert said the tragedy of Lexie’s death was compounded by the fact that Gregg-Glover lied to police, wasting the time and resources of those charged with protecting the larger community.

“A lot of expense, time and trouble went to trying to locate this child, believing it was an abduction, when all along the indications are, of course, that the mother was responsible for the disappearance and the death,” Ebert said. “The crime itself is bad enough.”

After Lexie was found in the creek, Gregg-Glover was charged with felony neglect and lying to police, but those charges were dropped by the prosecution last week. She remains free on bond and is due in court Friday, when a trial date will be set and prosecutors will move to have her held without bond, Ebert said.

A phone call to Barry A. Zweig, a court-appointed attorney who represented Gregg-Glover in court last week, was not returned yesterday.

Authorities said that Lexie had run away several times before her disappearance and that sheriff’s deputies had fitted her with a locator bracelet used to track endangered people. The bracelet was found near a Manassas library shortly after Gregg-Glover reported Lexie missing, and authorities said Gregg-Glover placed it there. She then appealed through the media for the safe return of her daughter, who she said had autism and other ailments.

Hundreds of police officers, deputies and volunteers combed the area, using search dogs and helicopters to look for Lexie as darkness descended and temperatures dropped below freezing. On Jan. 9, a man out for a walk found Lexie’s body in a creek eight miles from the library. Gregg-Glover was charged days later.

Allegations that Lexie had been previously abused by Gregg-Glover have surfaced since Lexie’s death. Ebert said yesterday that investigators had been in contact with social services officials.

Former caretakers and counselors who knew Lexie have disputed that she was “disabled,” saying she was an intelligent, affectionate girl. Last week, about 35 people signed letters to county and state officials calling for an investigation into whether Prince William County’s Department of Social Services mishandled Lexie’s case while she was alive and whether procedural changes are necessary to prevent adopted children from landing in the wrong homes.

Tragedy in Plain Sight

Why didn’t anyone come to the aid of Lexie Agyepong-Glover?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/09/AR2009030902473.html

Tuesday, March 10, 2009; Page A12

ALEXIS “LEXIE” Agyepong-Glover did what she could to get help. So did the neighbors and school workers who saw signs that the 13-year-old Prince William girl was being abused and neglected. Tragically, though, the same cannot be said about the people, or the system, entrusted with guarding children from harm. The failures surrounding the death of this winsome young girl must be thoroughly investigated, with those responsible held to account and the system fixed.

Alexis was found dead from drowning and exposure in an icy creek on Jan. 9, two days after Alfreedia Gregg-Glover, her adoptive mother, reported her missing. The medical examiner’s report found evidence of old injuries, and Ms. Gregg-Glover was charged with murder, lying to police and child abuse.

The Post’s Jonathan Mummolo has recounted the girl’s desperate efforts to get help. There were multiple reports from people who said they saw signs and incidents of her mistreatment, but county police and child social workers seemed unwilling or unable to do anything about them. There were reports of the girl being put into the trunk of a car and driven away, of her not being properly clothed or fed, of suspicious marks on her body. Lexie would run away, neighbors and officials said, and tell people about her mistreatment — but again and again she was returned home.

It is unclear, because of overly strict confidentiality laws that cloak the case from needed scrutiny, whether individuals made mistakes in judgment or whether there were problems with the system — or both. Did police, social workers and school officials ever sit down to review all of the reports regarding Alexis, or did they operate in silos? Did anyone ever challenge Ms. Gregg-Glover’s assertion that her daughter’s mental condition was the cause of the problems? Why didn’t alarm bells go off when she was pulled out of school?

More also must be known about the circumstances under which Ms. Gregg-Glover was allowed to adopt the girl. Yesterday, Police Chief Charlie T. Deane called for a comprehensive review of all police actions and policies related to the case, including getting ideas for improvement from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

The Virginia Department of Social Services is also conducting a legally mandated review of the county’s handling of the case. It will, though, be up to the Prince William Board of County Supervisors to make all the findings known and to make sure that the cracks through which Lexie fell are closed.

DCF HUGE MISTAKES…..

DCF: Letter clearing suspect in boy’s death ‘a mistake’

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orl-locdcfletter08040809apr08,0,5302805.story
By Helen Eckinger | Sentinel Staff Writer
April 8, 2009
TAVARES – On the same day he was arrested and charged with murdering his girlfriend’s son, a Tavares man was sent a letter by the Department of Children and Families saying it had found no evidence he had hurt the child.

The letter, which DCF now says was sent in error and contains incorrect information, thanks David Tatara, 27, for his cooperation and says investigators found no evidence that 15-month-old Blake Rupe had been abused.

“At the conclusion of the investigation, the Department determined that there are no indicators of bone fracture, failure to protect, physical injury, death, or inadequate supervision,” the letter reads.

Blake died in December from blunt-force trauma to his head. At the time of his death, doctors found six partially healed bone fractures throughout his body.

On March 4 – the day the letter was sent – Tavares police arrested Tatara and charged him with second-degree murder and aggravated child abuse in connection with Blake’s death.

He posted bail, but was re-arrested Friday after a grand jury indicted him on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated battery and child abuse. He is being held at the Lake County Jail, with bail set at $150,000.

The investigation referred to in the letter is DCF’s inquiry into Blake’s death, which is being conducted by the department’s Lake County office.

As part of that investigation, the Lake County office asked the Alachua County office to collect information related to the case, and it was the Alachua office that sent the letter to Tatara, according to Carrie Hoepnner, a spokeswoman for the Department of Children and Families.

“It was clearly a mistake,” said Ester Tibbs, administrator for DCF circuits 3 and 8, which include Alachua County. “Unfortunately, errors get made sometimes and this is one that I wish hadn’t happened. But it did.”

Tibbs said the letter was prepared by an intern, and a supervisor mistakenly approved it. The supervisor was counseled but not disciplined, Tibbs said.

DCF also sent a letter of apology to Blake’s mother, Emmalee Fore, 21. Fore, Blake and Blake’s 2-year-old sister were living with Tatara at the time of Blake’s death, but Fore was not home when her son sustained his fatal injuries.

Blake was rushed to the hospital Dec. 15 after police received a report that he wasn’t breathing. Tatara, who was watching Blake at the time, told police he found Blake on the tiled floor under a playpen, and that the toddler had climbed out of the playpen in the past, according to documents released by DCF in January.

This isn’t the first time DCF has made errors regarding Blake. Four months before the toddler died, DCF closed a case stemming from allegations that Blake was being abused. After an internal review, the department admitted that it and its contracted agencies had been negligent in monitoring Blake’s well-being.

Helen Eckinger can be reached at heckinger@orlandosentinel.com or 352-742-5934.

BELLEVIEW WOMAN CHARGED IN DEATH OF 2-YEAR-OLD

Adoptive mom of 6 accused in child’s murder

 

Belleview woman, 35, charged following investigation of 2-year-old girl’s death.

http://www.ocala.com/article/20090408/ARTICLES/904081005/-1/news?Title=Adoptive-mom-of-6-accused-in-child-s-murder

By Austin L. Miller
Staff Writer

Published: Wednesday, April 8, 2009 at 6:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, April 7, 2009 at 10:42 p.m.

OCALA – The mother of six adopted children was arrested Tuesday evening on charges of first-degree murder in the death of one of those adopted children, a 2-year-old daughter.

Charged in the Dec. 8, 2008 death of Faith J. Ray is Violet Love Ray, 35, of Belleview.

According to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, Faith had been taken to Munroe Regional Medical Center in Ocala on Dec. 6 and flown to Shands at the University of Florida in Gainesville.

An emergency room doctor told sheriff’s investigators Faith had a brain bleed, which was life-threatening, as well as bruising on her arms, chest and legs.

The girl died at Shands on Dec. 8, and the Medical Examiner’s Office determined the death was a homicide.

Sheriff’s Maj. Chris Blair said a county grand jury indicted Ray on March 6, but the indictment was sealed.

On Tuesday, sheriff’s detectives Rhonda Stroup and Mark Peavy went to the Marion County Courthouse for a Department of Children and Families hearing involving Ray’s parental rights for the other five children. Among the adoptive children was Faith’s brother, who at the time of his sister’s death was a year old.

DCF has had custody of the five since Faith’s death, Blair said.

At the end of the hearing – details from which cannot be released by law, a DCF official said – detectives arrested Ray, charging her with first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse and child neglect. Stroup said that once the handcuffs were placed on Ray, she fell to the floor.

Detectives immediately called for medical assistance.

Emergency medical officials arrived, checked her vital signs and found her to be in good health; and Ray refused treatment, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Ray was taken to the Marion County Jail, booked in at 7 p.m. and held without bond. As she was led to the jail, Ray offered no comment and held her head down. She was wearing a black coat and no shoes.

The Sheriff’s Office said it first became aware of the case at 9:18 p.m. Dec. 5, when a deputy went to 10694 S.E. 90th Court after a 911 hang-up. Ray reportedly told the deputy that one of the kids must have called after getting scared because Faith had slipped and fallen on the kitchen floor.

The baby appeared to be asleep and was wrapped in blankets in her grandfather’s arms, according the report. The deputy saw no injuries to her head but offered to call an ambulance and urged that the child be taken to the hospital.

According to the report, family members indicated they were going to take her right away. But they apparently waited until the following morning and called for an ambulance at 4:38 a.m., when Faith had stopped breathing, the report said.

During the investigation, Ray gave lead Detective Stroup different scenarios on how the child had multiple bruises that officials say were from head to toe, and in odd places such as the back of her legs and knees.

One explanation Ray gave was that Faith bruised easily, the report said, while another was that the toddler had fallen on her back on some toys while taking a shower the day before she was injured.

“Her explanation was not consistent with the child’s bruising,” Stroup said, adding that Ray apparently was the only adult in the home at the time of Faith’s injury.

On the day Faith was injured, officials said they were told that Faith fell on the kitchen floor and hit her head. However, when Stroup talked with Ray, Stroup says Ray said said she did not witness the fall because she was tending to another child. She also told the official that she did not know if Faith had fallen. She said when she came into the kitchen, Faith was on the floor, and she believed the little girl may have fainted.

According to the report, Ray told the detective that she had spanked Faith earlier on Friday because she had pulled her sister’s hair and pushed the baby.

Ray claimed to have spanked the child with her hand, but could not recall how many times, the report stated.
Ray told Stroup, “I shouldn’t have did that, I shouldn’t have did it,” the report noted.

When Stroup showed Ray’s mother the bruises on Faith visible in photos taken at Munroe Regional, the grandmother was “at a loss to find an explanation for the bruising,” the report said.

Asked if her daughter may have hit the child because she lost her temper or overreacted, the report says Ray’s mother told Stroup she didn’t know, saying her daughter told her that “she spanked the baby hard.”

All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.

INCOMPREHENSIBLE SLAUGHTER OF INNOCENTS

http://www.thenewstribune.com/opinion/story/701512.html
THE NEWS TRIBUNE
Published: 04/07/09 12:05 am

Pity the police who responded.

The crime scene they discovered in Graham Saturday was a horror: four children shot to death in their beds, another in a bathroom amid clear signs of a struggle. Each child shot multiple times. (These poor babies, I hope this man rots in hell…)

The perpetrator: Daddy. Daddy had also shot himself after he’d finished executing his children.

People are inevitably lumping this shocking massacre together with six other multiple killings that have left 53 dead since March 10. One bore resemblance to this slaughter: a March 19 attack in Santa Clara, Calif., in which a man killed his two children and three other relatives.

Two were lethal attacks on police. In another, a gunman shot his mother and nine others in a lethal rampage in southeast Alabama. In another, a Vietnamese immigrant slaughtered 13 people in an immigration center. In yet another, a man broke into a nursing home and shot seven elderly residents and a nurse.

The apparent motives included wives who’d walked out, loss of jobs, difficulty finding jobs. Obviously, none of those frustrations and disappointments are grounds for murder, much less murder on such a scale. The one factor connecting all these massacres was the lack of inhibitions against killing, the ready resort to lethal force.

Multiple killings once were rare in this country. That so many mass shootings would occur in so few weeks may point to a growing desensitization to violence among a particular subset of angry, aggrieved men. They may now find it easier to vent their rage with bullets. That was certainly the case with Harrison.

So far, there’s no evidence that any outsider might have prevented his explosion. Neighbors appear not to have picked up on Harrison’s capacity for killing. School officials appear unaware of any abuse against the children who were ultimately shot by their father. Child Protective Services intervened in response to a single report of slapping and pressed Harrison into a parenting class. (What a load of crap….the neighbors have been speaking out about calling CPS REPEATEDLY, I believe they realize his capacity for murder or at least for harming the children…)

When a family keeps its sorrows to itself, it can be hard for anyone to know what kind of hell might be unfolding inside the four walls of a home.

Harrison’s wife mercifully escaped his rampage. (Escaped, I would rather die then live without my children….would you consider yourself “lucky” to be alive if this had happened to you?  No, you would rather be dead then left here dealing with what happened to your children.  This is the worst punishment this man could have possibly given her and that is exactly what it was, his punishment for her….This would destroy any normal person and be a fate worse then death!!!!) Perhaps she will talk at some point about why she fled the man who impregnated her at age 13. The reason she left the home may have been precisely the reason she didn’t do so earlier: fear of what he might do.

But who could have guessed he would have done this? Even with more knowledge of Harrison’s past behavior, we will likely be left with a mystery: a man who could “punish” his estranged wife by slaughtering his own children in their beds. It makes no sense. It probably never will.

OREGON TO PAY 2 MILLION IN ABUSE CASE

Monday, April 6, 2009 7:50 AM PDT

By The Associated Press

http://www.tdn.com/articles/2009/04/06/breaking_news/doc49d97931060f9375415742.txt

SALEM, Ore. – The Oregon Department of Human Services has agreed to pay $2 million for the future care of twins allegedly abused by their foster parents to the point that they will need care for the rest of their lives.

According to a 2007 federal lawsuit, Kaylie and Jordan Collins were kept in cribs covered with chicken wire secured by duct tape in a darkened bedroom known as “the dungeon.”

The lawsuit said the brother and sister often were without food, water or human touch. The boy, who had a shunt put into his head at birth to drain fluid, didn’t receive medical attention and hit his head against his crib to relieve the pressure. When police and child welfare workers rescued the twins from the Gresham foster home, he was nearly comatose. (Whoa wait a damn minute…they are the assholes who put them there and left them!!!!!!!!  Therefore the word rescue does not belong here…they placed the children in that home, did they even check on them???  Apparently not!)

Jordan, now 6 1/2, has brain damage, still wears a diaper and can’t talk. Kaylie can say 25 to 50 words. Both are in the bottom 1 percent developmentally of children their age.

The Oregonian said the twins are among about 100 Oregon foster children who are abused or neglected each year while under the supervision of the state, according to DHS. But few suits are filed because the children’s injured or dead children’s parents are often out of the picture.

“I don’t think many of these kids have a champion,” said Greg Kafoury, a prominent civil attorney in Portland. Kafoury said that without the threat of legal action, the state agency has little incentive to change.

Attorney David Paul sued on behalf of the twins’ adoptive mother in Michigan, seeking $12.8 million.

Paul said the twins, who were born prematurely in August 2002, arrived at the foster home of Gail and Marvin Thompson and stayed about three years.

The Thompsons, both in their 60s, had successfully fostered scores of children, the state says. Since March 2004, state policy has required caseworkers to have face-to-face contact with children at least once a month, but Paul said they often skipped visits, sometimes phoning instead.

Paul said that, according to police reports, the floor of the children’s room was covered in garbage and their sheets were saturated in dried excrement and urine. The windows of the room were blacked out.

One caseworker noted that while visiting the home, the children were brought into a common room where they squinted at the daylight. State workers also didn’t make sure the Thompsons were regularly taking Jordan to the neurologist, according to Paul.

Paul said the Thompsons were getting up to $90,000 a year tax-free for caring for up to six children at a time.

In 2004, Gov. Ted Kulongoski ordered DHS to explain what went wrong whenever a child dies or is seriously injured under state supervision or after abuse was reported. DHS has issued 16 such reports, but not one for Kaylie and Jordan Collins.

The child welfare division of DHS is understaffed by 19 percent and faces more cuts. The state would need to add 407 employees to adequately take care of the current caseload, according to a state analysis. ( Hey I have a wonderful idea…take care of the kids as you should, so you can stop being sued and have to pay out all of that money for your wrong doings…then you can have more money…..When these children die, you use it as an excuse to ask for more money….you don’t need more money, this is not a funding problem…the CPS workers in this case just didn’t care, they were there and didn’t look around, “the children were brought into a sunlight room.”, they called instead of visited.  Those are not funding issues, that is laziness and neglegence per se…)

The neglect came to light after three 2005 Thanksgiving dinner guests including at least two relatives reported the Thompsons to authorities.

The Multnomah County district attorney’s office, citing privacy laws, declined to say why they didn’t prosecute. (Because they would have had to prosecute CPS too….this is what they do, when foster parents abuse the children that they place in the home…CPS still has custody of those children, they are responsible for their care and well-being…CPS are horrible, neglectful, abusive parents and all the children in their custody should be removed.)

Marvin Thompson, reached by phone, said the allegations are almost entirely false.

He said he and his wife didn’t keep the children in a darkened room, but covered the cribs with a mesh, not chicken wire, for the children’s safety.

But DHS said the Thompsons deceived child welfare workers. “The family went to elaborate lengths to hide the abuse, including having a fake nursery on display to deceive visitors and DHS caseworkers,” said Patty Wentz, a department spokeswoman.

The state is not admitting any wrongdoing. The caseworkers for the twins, Elisa Deserano and Tammy Stanfill, still work for the agency.

Wentz said caseworkers saw the children 39 times over three years but that it was not clear how many of those visits were in the home and not at a state office.

Wentz said her office has created new policies and clarified existing ones to require case workers to visit homes every two months and see children face to face at least once a month.

If the settlement is approved by a judge, Paul’s law firm will collect 33 percent of the $2 million for its two years of work and $500,000 will be immediately available for Kaylie and Jordan’s benefit.

The rest will go into a fund that is expected to grow to $4 million over the children’s lifetimes.

Paul said the twins are thriving in their new lives, on a farmhouse and land in Michigan.