KELSEY SMITH-BRIGGS’ DEATH LAWSUIT BRINGS $625K DEAL

 

Federal judge will decide later how the state settlement money will be divided

 

http://www.newsok.com/kelsey-smith-briggs-death-lawsuit-brings-625k-deal/article/3381788

BY NOLAN CLAY

Published: June 30, 2009

http://feeds.newsok.tv/services/player/bcpid4659235001?bctid=28073735001

http://feeds.newsok.tv/services/player/bcpid1766638491?bctid=28073741001

The state of Oklahoma paid $525,000 Monday to settle a wrongful-death lawsuit over the murder of Kelsey Smith-Briggs, and a private agency paid $100,000.

A federal judge Monday approved the $625,000 settlement but will decide later how to split the money.

The girl’s father filed the lawsuit and represents her estate, but her mother, who is in prison for enabling Kelsey’s abuse, wants half.

Kelsey, 2, died from abuse on Oct. 11, 2005, at her home near Meeker.

The slaying became a high-publicity case that exposed serious flaws in how the Department of Human Services protects abused children. An oversight agency found DHS made a series of mistakes in the abused child’s case, such as failing to contact police when she broke both legs. The case led to reforms.

Girl’s killer still is unknown

Who killed the girl remains a mystery. Her stepfather, Michael Lee Porter, 29, was charged with first-degree murder and child sexual abuse but pleaded guilty instead to enabling child abuse. He is serving a 30-year prison sentence. He blamed the girl’s mother for her death.

The mother, Raye Dawn Smith, 29, was never charged with murder. She was convicted at trial of enabling child abuse and is serving a 27-year prison sentence. “Kelsey was my best friend in the entire world and it hurts so bad for people to say the things they do. … I didn’t hurt Kelsey and … I didn’t sit back and let it happen,” she said after her trial.

Kelsey died even though DHS workers, a private child-welfare worker and a judge were overseeing her care because of evidence she had been repeatedly abused. Her death came four months after the judge returned Kelsey to her mother despite accusations the mother was the abuser.

Trial revealed concerns

Kelsey’s father, Lance Briggs of Shawnee, was returning to Oklahoma from military duty when she died.

He sued DHS, its director and others in 2006, alleging Kelsey died because of “systemwide failures” at DHS.

The state and the private agency, Eastern Oklahoma Youth Services, continue to deny wrongdoing despite paying the settlement, records show. Eastern Oklahoma Youth Services was under contract with DHS and a worker there had repeatedly checked on Kelsey. The worker, Jean Bonner, last visited Kelsey and her mother hours before Kelsey’s death.

At the mother’s trial, Bonner testified she had concerns about some of the problems she found during home visits but never enough to call police.

Asked by a prosecutor if she might have missed something during these visits, given that Kelsey died, Bonner said, “I don’t know.”

Lance Briggs’ attorneys will get 40 percent of the settlement plus $29,902 for expenses.

About $345,100 will remain. Judge Timothy DeGuisti said he will rule at another hearing whether the mother will get anything.

Lance Briggs’ attorneys, Joe E. White Jr. and Derek Burch, told The Oklahoman on Monday the mother should not get even “one red cent.”

 MORE ON KELSEY’S STORY

 

 

 IN LOVING MEMORY OF KELSEY BRIGGS 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GRAD JURY SAYS L.A. COUNTY MUST DO MORE TO PROTECT AT-RISK YOUTH

Grand jury says L.A. County must do more to protect at-risk youth

 

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/06/grand-jury-says-la-county-must-do-more-to-protect-atrisk-youth.html

3:20 PM | June 29, 2009

Los Angeles County officials must do more to protect, treat and support at-risk youths, according to an annual report released this morning by the county’s civil grand jury.

About 400,000 county residents between ages 12 and 24—defined as youth in the report—live in poverty, representing about a fifth of residents in that age group, the report said. Many of these youths rely on county child welfare, medical and employment programs that could be better coordinated to save money and protect children from abuse, the panel found.

The report highlighted the case of a 5-year-old South Los Angeles boy beaten and tortured by his mother for more than a year despite her repeated contact with county staff.

When the boy was discovered last June, his mother, Starkeisha Brown, was wanted for violating parole but had not been located by authorities—despite the fact that she was receiving welfare. County records showed she had been investigated and cleared by child welfare staff a few years earlier.

Brown’s son was removed from her only after a stranger found him and alerted authorities. The boy was immediately hospitalized and his mother arrested.

The grand jury noted that if county departments had better-coordinated electronic records, Brown’s son might have been removed sooner and spared further abuse.

“The county owes it to its children, families and taxpayers to save lives, ensure public safety and prevent fraudulent activity through the use of technology,” the panel wrote.

The panel urged county supervisors to develop the Family and Children’s Index, a computer system created years ago to allow various agencies—including child welfare, probation, courts, clinics and the sheriff’s department—to share information about children and their parents.

Many county staffers have failed to add information to the index, while others who tried to use it found their access limited because of privacy concerns. Supervisors plan to consider a new system tomorrow, spurred by reports in The Times about children abused and killed after being supervised by the county.

The panel specifically recommended that Family Services share patient records with the five county-run clinics where children under their supervision are treated. To better monitor children for signs of abuse, they also recommended that at least one social worker be assigned to each clinic. [Three clinics currently have social workers.]

The report also addressed conditions in the county’s 22 juvenile probation camps and halls, which house about 3,600 youths. After inspecting the facilities, panel members called for county officials to investigate senior management in the Probation Department this year. They also called for county officials to address numerous problems including mental health staffing, flawed evacuation plans and insufficient laundry facilities.

In addition, the grand jury found that the county could make better use of money intended to aid unemployed and homeless youths. They found that the county spent $45.5 million on youth job programs that served only 4% of poor youth in fiscal year 2007-08. At the same time, the county failed to spend $2.1 million in state and federal funds intended for youth employment.

Under the county budget approved last week, youth employment programs will be better coordinated to maximize funding, said Miguel Santana, deputy to the county’s chief executive.

Although most of the report focused on at-risk youth, the panel also recommended that the county do more to prevent senior abuse and neglect.

Supervisors were still reviewing the report this afternoon, spokesmen said.

“It gave confirmation that we’re making progress in children’s services, but certainly we still have a way to go to have a seamless system,” Santana said.

– Molly Hennessy-Fiske and Garrett Therolf reporting from the County Hall of Administration

READ THE 492 PAGE GRAND JURY REPORT HERE

AUDIT SAYS CPS SLOW TO PROBE ABUSE

 

Agency often misses deadlines to investigate, report says

 

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/06/29/20090629cpsaudit0629.html

Casey Newton – Jun. 29, 2009 12:00 AM

The Arizona Republic .

Child Protective Services investigators are failing to investigate complaints of abuse in group homes and treatment centers in the required time frame, an audit has found, placing children at risk of further harm.

The audit also found gaps in CPS record-keeping that have allowed treatment-center employees with substantiated complaints of child abuse to get new jobs in group homes, where they have committed further abuse.

The Department of Economic Security, which oversees CPS, agreed with the audit’s findings and said it would implement changes to address the problems. A DES spokeswoman said she would be unable to address the findings before today.

In 2008, nearly 5,500 children were in what the state calls “congregate care” – group homes, shelters or residential treatment centers.

State law requires CPS to complete an investigation of any alleged child abuse at a congregate-care facility within 21 days and enter their findings into a database.

Since 2007, the Office of the Auditor General found, CPS completed its investigations on time in only four out of 147 cases, or 3 percent.

More than half of the division’s reports took another one to six months to complete. Some cases took investigators more than a year.

The audit found that CPS has not investigated any complaints at residential treatment centers, which house larger numbers of children than group homes or shelters, saying it lacks the statutory authority. The Department of Health Services is charged with investigating abuse claims in those facilities.

As a result, information about employees who are found to have abused children in treatment centers is never entered into a CPS database used to screen new employees.

In one case reviewed by auditors, a boy in a treatment center alleged that a staffer had abused him. Because information about the abuse was never entered into a CPS database, the staffer was able to get a job at a second group home and abused another child, the audit found. The staffer was working at a third group home before CPS realized the problem.

Melanie Chesney, director of performance audits for the auditor general, said the staff member no longer worked with children. She refused to release the employee’s name or other details about the case, saying it would violate department policy.

Most children removed from their homes are placed with a relative or foster family. But some children have special needs or circumstances that require them to be placed in group settings.

Auditors do not believe abuse in treatment centers is widespread.

“Our concern is there’s the potential for it to occur because of the problems we noted in the report,” Chesney said.

In response, DES said it would revise the unit’s procedures to better track investigations.

“The department agrees with and is currently implementing the recommendations,” said Neal Young, DES director, in a letter to Auditor General Debbie Davenport.

TOT’S DEATH LEADS OT INDICTMENT

Tot’s death leads to indictment

 

Prosecutor mum on connection to Topeka woman

 

http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20090630/LOCAL03/306309986/1002/LOCAL

Rebecca S. Green

The Journal Gazette

 

A LaGrange County grand jury has indicted 31-year-old Topeka resident Christy Shaffer on two charges of neglect of a dependent.

In March, 15-month-old Alissa Guernsey died. At the time, she was in Shaffer’s custody having been removed from her home by the state, officials with the Indiana Department of Child Services said.

LaGrange County Prosecutor Jeffrey Wible will not say whether the toddler’s death and Shaffer’s indictments are related.

He would not provide any details related to the grand jury indictment.

Others involved in the investigation did provide a few details.

Indiana State Police Detective Jeff Boyd confirmed he conducted an investigation into Christy Shaffer in connection with the death of Alissa.

He declined to comment on whether he testified before a grand jury.

According to Boyd, the LaGrange County Sheriff’s Department was initially called to the hospital about the toddler. Boyd was contacted by a sheriff’s deputy who was in attendance at the child’s autopsy and learned that the death was not believed to have been from natural causes.

Boyd then opened a death investigation, developed a suspect and submitted the case to the prosecutor’s office for review, he said.

And state officials confirmed that the state’s child fatality review team is looking into the March death of the same toddler.

Ann Houseworth, spokeswoman for the Department of Children’s Services, said while Shaffer was not a foster parent, she had passed a background check before the child was placed in her care. She was related to the child.

According to Wible, Shaffer was indicted Thursday, arrested and had her initial hearing Friday. But officials with LaGrange Circuit Court declined to release court documents, saying Wible ordered them sealed.

The charges, which are Class B and C felonies, carry a possible prison sentence of up to 20 years and eight years, respectively.

Wible said he convened a grand jury to look into the case because he wanted to avoid any controversy but declined to say what possible controversy might exist.

rgreen@jg.net