“INCREASE OVERSITE? , HOW ABOUT CRIMINAL CHARGES FOR CPS INSTEAD?”

Boy’s beating death prompts L.A. County agency to increase oversight of child abuse cases

 

The Department of Children and Family Services will now have an administrator review all cases, even those in which abuse allegations are deemed ‘unfounded.’

 

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-child-death31-2009jul31,0,7945983.story

By Hector Becerra

July 31, 2009

Los Angeles County’s Department of Children and Family Services said Thursday that it would increase administrative oversight of child abuse investigations, review hundreds of past cases and provide more training to social workers and managers as officials deal with public outrage over the beating death of a 6-year-old boy last week.

The most significant change is a new layer of review when a social worker completes an investigation into child abuse allegations. An assistant regional administrator will now review each case, even when a social worker has declared the allegations “unfounded.”

The agency’s director, Trish Ploehn, announced the changes as the Los Angeles Police Department continued to search for Marcas Fisher, who police allege fatally beat Dae’von Bailey. Records show that social workers were told in April and June that the man had hit the boy — but in both cases, the county decided to leave the boy with Fisher.

The LAPD said that the boy also told adults at his school that he was being hit and that the school reported it to the Department of Children and Family Services. In both cases, Fisher denied the allegation, and the boy told social workers he had been physically abused, according to documents obtained by The Times.

L.A. County Supervisor Gloria Molina had proposed earlier this week that the agency establish another level of oversight in child abuse investigations. But the supervisor said only time will tell whether the change will better protect children served by the department. Molina noted that social workers are already trained and policies are in place to protect children, but they aren’t always followed.

“All these policies are in place. What happens is people are not doing things,” Molina said. “And that is why you lose a child. . . . Right now, under policy, there is no reason why that child would be left with someone with a criminal record.”

Fisher had been convicted of rape as a teenager and of nonviolent offenses as an adult.

L.A. County has struggled to address a pattern in which children have been killed after their cases already had come to the attention of county child welfare officials.

Dae’von’s mother, Tylette Davis, said she was letting the boy and a 5-year-old daughter live with Fisher while she dealt with some problems. The suspect was the girl’s biological father but not Dae’von’s.

Davis has said that she never saw her former boyfriend abuse Dae’von, but added that about three years ago, Fisher badly “whipped” an older son.

According to records, county officials are examining several issues, including the timeliness of social worker responses to the April and June child abuse calls.

The first referral was received on April 27, and alleged that Fisher had shoved Dae’von into a bathroom sink, injuring his nose. The boy missed one week of school. Documents indicate that a social worker could not find the family because they were not living at a listed address.

The social worker did not arrive at their home until more than two weeks later.

In addition to the added oversight, Ploehn has directed her staff to review 500 past child abuse cases to determine if there are problems with them. Molina has also proposed a pilot program in parts of the San Gabriel Valley and the Eastside in which all children who come to the county’s attention as possible child abuse victims would be examined at a county facility by forensic pediatricians and other experts trained to spot abuse. In Dae’von’s case, the private medical providers who examined him did not substantiate that there was abuse.

On Thursday, Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas announced that he will seek a $10,000 reward for information leading to Fisher’s arrest.

hector.becerra@latimes.com

How many times will this CPS play the Increase Oversite card as a way to get out of responsibility for the deaths of these children?  What they have done is a pattern of child deaths and they need to be held criminally responsible for these deaths.  Enough is enough, how many more children have to die in L.A. County, before CPS is charged with these deaths!

NEW YORK’S CHILD ABUSE HOT LINE CAN SHIELD FALSE COMPLAINTS

 

http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=826481&TextPage=1

 

By CASEY SEILER COMMENTARY

First published in print: Friday, July 31, 2009

 Someone is saying terrible things about Nicole Rera.

What’s worse, they’re saying them to the state of New York via the hot line set up to collect anonymous reports of child abuse.

So far, none of the three sets of complaints against Rera, who lives in Gloversville, have been substantiated; the first two have been officially recognized as “unfounded,” while the third is still under investigation.

Rera’s trouble started in January, after she separated from her husband. The couple, originally from Long Island, had been together for 10 years and married for three. Rera says the marriage became increasingly stormy, leading to her decision to move from Florida back to New York with her three children, ages 6 to 10. Rera’s daughter and two sons have conditions that put them on different points of the spectrum for autism.

Not long after she initially settled in Troy, Rera was visited by investigators from Rensselaer County’s Child Protective Services, who said that a call had been referred from the state abuse hot line alleging that she had committed acts of sexual and physical abuse against the children.

Those charges were determined to be unfounded; a few weeks later, another complaint was received, investigated and classified as unfounded. A third complaint was made in May.

“It’s hell,” Rera said. “It’s frustrating. It’s living on pins and needles waiting for these people to show up.”

Needless to say, family services investigators don’t have the luxury of picking and choosing which complaints to follow up on: They’re legally obligated to respond to every complaint of possible abuse. And that’s how it should be.

The baroque nature of the complaints against Rera — I’ll spare you the details, which are stomach-churning — suggest they come from someone with knowledge of family medical history. (Rera is unable to work due to various ailments, and lives on Medicaid and Social Security benefits, along with SSI payments to support her children.)

Rera’s husband could not be reached, either through conventional means or a database search.

Rensselaer County District Attorney Richard McNally says his office doesn’t currently have sufficient evidence to bring charges against anyone for filing a false abuse claim against Rera. In a two-decade career, McNally has never seen anyone charged with filing a false abuse claim.

There are two predominant reasons. First, the intentional filing of a bogus complaint is a Class A misdemeanor that carries a maximum penalty of a year in jail — a crime, to be sure, but not one likely to draw much attention from local enforcement agencies with limited resources and long to-do lists.

(Page 2 of 2)

Also, it’s nearly impossible to build a strong case that someone is abusing the system. Even after a complaint is determined to be unfounded, it would have to be flagged as either egregiously false or part of a pattern. Then local investigators would have to track the complaint back up the chain by matching phone records to the state hot line’s intentionally incomplete records. In order to preserve anonymity, the hot line itself makes no record of the incoming phone number, although the agency does note the time a complaint is received.

But even if law enforcement can link a complaint to a specific phone, they’ll still have to prove the identity of the person using it at that moment.

Like all systems that rely on guarantees of anonymity, from the Internet to government whistleblower programs, the abuse hot line is itself open to a different sort of abuse. The greater-good argument, however, is fairly bulletproof: Even people kind-hearted enough to call the authorities — about hearing terrible sounds coming from the apartment upstairs, or the unexplained bruises on the child who lives next door — need to be assured that an alleged abuser isn’t going to try to exact retribution against them.

Similarly, it’s hard to determine when multiple reports from the same source constitute a pattern of lies. If the fifth complaint turns out to be genuine, it doesn’t necessarily mean the first four weren’t bogus.

Regardless of how many intentionally false claims are made every year — the number could be dozens or hundreds — it’s certain that every one takes time away from the pursuit of genuine cases of abuse.

Any effective solution would have to protect the anonymity of callers to the hot line. A partial remedy the state could take immediately would be to reclassify an intentional false report — something clearly done with malicious motive — as a Class E felony, which would have a deterrent effect on perpetrators and could go a long way to encourage prosecutors.

The state hot line can be reached at (800) 342-3720. If you think a child is being abused, use it. But if you’re thinking of using it to get back at someone, do us all a favor and find another method.

Casey Seiler can be reached at 454-5619 or by e-mail at cseiler@timesunion.com

 

REPORT FINDS FAULT WITH CONECUH COUNTY DHR FOSTER CARE

 

http://blog.al.com/live/2009/07/report_finds_fault_with_conecu.html

Posted by Connie Baggett, Press-Register July 31, 2009 4:57 AM

EVERGREEN, Ala. — A state probe of the Conecuh County Department of Human Resources shows it investigated abuse allegations by telephone, didn’t enforce a state ban on corporal punishment by foster parents, and failed to make efforts to place foster children with family members, among other problems, according to a report released Thursday.

The investigation followed the May arrest of foster parents Joyce Ann Savage Sims, 41, and Lonnell Sims, 51. Both were charged with attempted murder after a 2-year-old foster child in their care suffered severe brain injuries that doctors said could not have been accidental.

Both remain in the Conecuh County Jail, and a grand jury this week indicted them on lesser charges of aggravated child abuse and willful maltreatment.

Calls for comment to the local department were not returned Thursday. Alabama Department of Human Resources spokesman Barry Spear said the report “stands for itself,” and the agency would have no additional comment.

Conecuh County District Attorney Tommy Chapman has called it “the most horrific case of abuse” he’s ever prosecuted, and called for a state investigation of the local agency. The report arrived on his desk last week, he said.

“It shows DHR has been a shoddy operation here,” Chapman said Thursday. “There have been numerous people from Montgomery to help correct things, and I believe there will be some staff changes.”

The prosecutor said he was “encouraged by the outrage” he observed in meetings with state DHR Commissioner Nancy T. Buckner.

“I am persuaded she will make every effort to prevent this from happening again,” he said.

Among the problems cited in the report:

&bull Workers often made telephone calls, rather than face-to-face visits, to investigate abuse allegations.

&bull Documentation was lacking in both background checks and training of foster parents.

&bull Not all foster parents signed a required agreement banning corporal punishment, and instances of corporal punishment were investigated.

&bull There was no evidence that foster children’s relatives were assessed as possibilities for placement.

&bull Workers had no ongoing assessment program for foster homes.

&bull One foster home housed eight children for several days, which is above the maximum limit of six children.

&bull The county agency’s quality assurance committee did not adequately review cases, and reports for the last half of 2008 and the first half of 2009 were not done.

Chapman said in May that he suspected some DHR workers were referring children to certain foster homes in an effort to increase income for those parents.The state pays foster parents more than $400 per month per foster child.

Chapman said that his office had received no reports of abuse and neglect cases this year until the local DHR director brought more than 10 files to his office in recent days.

Some were from months earlier, he said, and that time lapse means evidence in potentially criminal cases could have since been destroyed or altered. Chapman said he is reviewing the cases to see if there is cause to prosecute.

He also offered an update on the toddler who had been under the Sims’ care, saying the child has improved a little and is currently living with family members.

WOMAN ACCUSED OF BRANDING CHILD WITH POTATO MASHER

 

http://www.kfor.com/news/local/kfor-news-childed-branded-story,0,5098466.story

MIDWEST CITY — It’s one of the worst cases of child abuse Midwest City Police say they’ve ever seen. A foster mother accused of branding a child all over his body.

Chief Brandon Clabes, Midwest City Police Department, said “You know how painful it is when you just get a minor burn. Can you imagine this poor, little 9 year old being repeatedly branded by a woman who’s supposed to be taking care of him & loving him?”

Midwest City Police say the 9-year-old boy suffered 2nd and 3rd degree burns from his foster mother as a punishment.

Clabes said, “The foster mother accused him of stealing money from her. At that point she took this potato masher, heated it on the stove to where it was red hot & branded him.”

The boy told police he then went back to his bedroom, started crying and then the 72-year-old foster mother Joycelyn Louis told him “I’m not finished with you” and continued to burn him. She then allegedly told him, if anybody asks, “say you were accidentally burned.”

The foster mother refused to talk with police, but on the affidavit we see she told a DHS worker, “the child would not listen so she she heated the potato masher on the stove and pressed it lightly to his skin on his arms.”

The boy is in DHS custody. (The boy was in DHS custody when this happened too, that is what being in the care of a foster parent is…, why do they write this statement…just because they are in DHS custody…doesn’t mean that they are safe. This story more then proves that!)Police are waiting for a warrant for Louis’ arrest. We went to her house and family-owned business to talk to her, but her family said she did not want to talk to us.

 

JURY SELECTION COMPLETE IN MAXWELL TRIAL

 

http://www.cnycentral.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=330377

 

By Jim Kenyon

Tuesday, July 28, 2009 at 11:49 p.m.

PALERMO, OSWEGO COUNTY — Jury selection is now complete in the trial of Lynn and Lindsey Maxwell, the parents of young murder victim Erin Maxwell. Tuesday night, six jurors and two alternates were seated. Two endangerment charges have been dismissed at the prosecution’s request, based on a lack of proof.

Lynn and Lindsey Maxwell are now on trial for four charges of child endangerment stemming from August 29th, the day Erin Maxwell died, and August 15th of last year.

In both cases, they’re accused of locking Erin in her room, which would have prevented her escape in the event of an emergency. They are also accused of forcing her to live in unsanitary conditions in a house full of animals, feces, and garbage. Testimony in the trial is scheduled to begin Wednesday evening in Palermo Town Court.

Palermo Town Justice Robert Wood also ruled that defense attorney Sal Lanza cannot call Oswego County social workers or Department of Social Services Commissioner Fran Lanigan to the witness stand. Lanza hopes to bolster his case by showing that case workers had investigated three complaints about Erin Maxwell’s living conditions up until May of 2006, and yet decided to allow Erin to remain in the Palermo home.

The judge also told the prosecution and defense not to talk to the media during the trial. The trial is expected to last through the week, possibly through Saturday and into next week.

Erin Maxwell’s stepbrother Alan Jones is charged with her murder. His trial is scheduled to begin in September.

MOTHER CHARGED FOR BEATING CHILD INTO COMA

 

http://www.abc4.com/content/news/slc/story/Mother-charged-for-beating-child-into-coma/f-d-Ag5d50uLgBmKXPftpQ.cspx

Last Update: 7/29 9:43 am

 

WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah (ABC 4 News) – West Valley City mother Emperatriz Meza-Reyna now faces attempted murder and child abuse charges, as her 7-year-old daughter remains in a coma at Pioneer Valley Hospital.

The Salt Lake County District Attorney says 21 year-old Meza-Reyna nearly beat her child to death. On July 22, Meza-Reyna brought her to the hospital and told doctors the girl fell down a flight of stairs. Doctors said the injuries were inconsistent with that story. Police agree.

“We think she was either struck with a heavy object at a high velocity or she was slammed into a wall or something like that,” said Capt. Tom McLachlin of the West Valley City Police Department.

Surgeons had to operate on the girl’s brain and say she may have permanent damage. Court records show the child’s been abused before by her mother. In January, Meza-Reyna plead guilty to child abuse. Typically, convicted parents must go through programs or classes to reunite with their child.

Juvenile court records are not public so it’s not exactly known why Meza-Reyna was allowed to reunite with her daughter. The judge in the criminal case put the mother on 36 months of probation instead of giving her jail time. Meza-Reyna was granted custody again despite making a previous statement to police that she was glad she was arrested because she feared she would kill her daughter. She made that comment in January 2008, according to court records.

“It’s possible that there are agencies that will look into this and I think that’s good,” said Liz Sollis, spokesperson for the Division of Child and Family Services. “We should always be looking to see whether we did what we needed to do and what we could have done differently or better.”

Sollis would not comment on the specifics of this case but she did say there’s been a slight increase in repeat offenses. D-C-F-S says, in 2007, 12% of children returned to their care. In 2008, that number rose to 14%.

 

CORONER: BABY ASPHYXIATED

 

Family waiting for justice

 

http://www.tribtoday.com/page/content.detail/id/525221.html?nav=5021

By DARCIE LORENO Tribune Chronicle

WARREN - A 21-month-old foster child murdered in April died from asphyxiation associated with multiple blunt traumatic injuries, according to her death certificate.

While Coroner Dr. Humphrey Germaniuk ruled Tiffany Sue Banks-Cross’ death a homicide last week, the death certificate with the cause was released Monday. Germaniuk could not elaborate further on Cross’ death as the case is still under investigation.

Cross’ family, who previously said they saw bruises and marks on the baby during her funeral, have been waiting for months on the ruling. Now, they’re waiting on an arrest.

”I knew what happened before a lot of people did,” said Herb Putnam, Cross’ biological uncle. ”I saw it down at the funeral home. I don’t know how someone can walk the streets and them know this happened. I really feel justice needs to be taken care of.”

No arrests have yet been made in the case, which has been handed over to the Trumbull County Prosecutor’s Office. According to Champion police reports, Tiffany’s foster mother, Bonnie Pattinson, said she found Tiffany not breathing after checking on her during a nap that morning.

After she ran next door, a neighbor performed CPR on the girl until police arrived to find the toddler unresponsive and blue with marks on her body about noon at the 663 Center St. West duplex, police reports state. The report states that the marks were not caused by medical treatment and intervention during the call.

After investigation by Champion police, Trumbull County Children Services Bureau and the Coroner’s office, the case was handed over to the prosecutor’s office.

Tiffany had been in foster care since her birth in June 2007. Her mother, Felicia Banks, grandmother, Loretta Banks, and father, Tommy Cross, said they visited her regularly until November, when Felicia officially lost custody.

Ova Hall, Tiffany’s fraternal grandmother, said Monday she and Cross did not want to comment on the case until the investigation is complete.

”All we want is justice,” Hall said.

Loretta Banks agreed.

”I want justice done,” she said. ”I can’t handle the wait.”

dloreno@tribtoday.com

 

JUDGE TO CONSIDER DROPPING MAXWELL CHARGES

 

http://www.cnycentral.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=329655

By Kristy Scott

Monday, July 27, 2009 at 3:57 p.m.

PALERMO, OSWEGO COUNTY — The parents of young murder victim Erin Maxwell hope to have two of the child endangerment charges against them dropped before they to go to trial Tuesday evening.

Lindsey and Lynn Maxwell are charged with six counts each of endangering the welfare of a child. They are accused of starving 11-year-old Erin Maxwell and forcing her live in deplorable conditions before her death last August.

Oswego County Assistant District Attorney Mark Moody says he’s moving to dismiss two of the counts against both Lindsey and Lynn Maxwell. Court documents show Moody does not feel the prosecution has enough evidence to go forward with those counts. The two charges in question relate to the time between February 1 and February 29, 2008, as well as April 1 through May 31, 2008.

Judge Robert Wood must approve the prosecution’s motion before the charges are officially dropped. Action News has learned that decision will come on Tuesday before jury selection gets underway.

There is also a battle brewing over witnesses in the Maxwells’ trial. Defense Attorney Salvatore Lanza tells Action News that he wants to call caseworkers from the Oswego County Department of Social Services (DSS) as witnesses. Those caseworkers investigated reports of abuse at the Maxwell home three times over the course of a few years prior to Erin’s death and determined that she did not need to be removed from the home.

Prosecutors say too much time passed between the last DSS investigation in 2006 and Erin’s death in 2008.

Maxwell’s stepbrother Alan Jones is charged with her murder. His trial is scheduled to begin in September.

BREMERTON MAN HELD AFTER INJURY LEAVES FIANCEE’S SON BRAIN DEAD

 

A 26-year-old East Bremerton man was arrested Monday on investigation of child assault after his fiancee’s 2-year-old son suffered a head injury so severe the toddler was left brain-dead, according to the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office.

 

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009555417_braindead29m.html

By Christine Clarridge

Seattle Times staff reporter

A 26-year-old East Bremerton man was arrested Monday on investigation of child assault after his fiancee’s 2-year-old son suffered a head injury so severe the toddler was left brain dead, according to the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office.

According to deputies, the man called 911 from the family’s apartment in the 2500 block of Northeast McWilliams Road on Monday to report that the boy had fallen against a night table and was unconscious.

Sheriff’s spokesman Scott Wilson said physicians at Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma told deputies the child’s injuries were inconsistent with the man’s story.

According to Wilson, one doctor said, “Had the child been riding unrestrained in the back seat of a vehicle that was involved in a head-on collision, causing the child to fly through the front windshield headfirst, he would have sustained a less serious injury than he had received.”

Last month, the state’s Child Protective Services (CPS) began an investigation into the family after the boy was taken to the emergency room with a cut on his leg, according to Children’s Administration spokeswoman Sherry Hill.

The boy’s 25-year-old mother told emergency-room personnel and CPS caseworkers that the boy had been injured while playing. CPS determined that there appeared to be a lack of supervision and had begun providing family-therapy services, Hill said.

Wilson said in a news release issued on Tuesday, however, that deputies determined that the child’s previous injury was caused by a fall from a second-story window and not from a playground mishap as reported by his mother.

Charges against the man, who is being held on $500,000 bail, are expected to be filed Thursday.

Christine Clarridge: 206-464-8983 or cclarridge@seattletimes.com

EDMONDS COUNCILMAN CHARGED WITH ASSAULT ON SON

 

An Edmonds city councilman was charged Monday with misdemeanor assault after an altercation with his 13-year-old son in May.

 

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2009548641_orvis28m.html

By Lynn Thompson

Seattle Times Snohomish County reporter

An Edmonds city councilman was charged Monday with misdemeanor assault after an altercation with his 13-year-old son in May.

David Orvis, serving his third term on the council, told police he “flipped out” when he allegedly dragged his son by his hair down a hall at their home for refusing to do his homework, according to court papers.

Charging papers say Orvis, 41, slammed his son’s head onto a table, striking the right side of his face against the surface. Orvis then went outside to “cool myself down,” according to a statement he made to police 10 days later.

Orvis declined to comment on the charges. However, he released a written statement to The Seattle Times earlier this month when the newspaper requested the police report under state public-disclosure law.

In the statement, Orvis said he expects the incident to result in stronger family bonds. He said his son was not injured and continues to live with the family.

Additionally, he said, he and his wife are seeing a counselor and are seeking therapy for their son, who was adopted from foster care as a 6-year-old.

“Out of respect for all parties, especially the privacy of those I love, I will have no further comment on this private family matter,” Orvis wrote.

Edmonds Mayor Gary Haakenson said he asked Orvis to resign after the incident and that Orvis told him he planned to fight the charges. Haakenson said he was concerned the incident would become a distraction for the council.

Orvis, a software engineer, said Monday he had no plans to resign.

On the City Council, he has been a strong advocate for not raising building heights in downtown Edmonds. He supports the city’s proposal to ban plastic bags and has fought to preserve the council’s right to review city land-use decisions.

According to the police account, Orvis’ son ran away from home a week after the altercation and was missing for 12 hours. When he was located at a friend’s apartment, he told police he was still behind on his homework and was afraid of “being hurt” if he returned home.

When Orvis met police at the apartment and was told what his son had said, he removed his glasses and began to weep, the police report says.

Police also questioned Orvis’ wife, who said their son had been repeatedly disrespectful before the alleged assault and had told Orvis to “shut up” three to five times.

The son called Child Protective Services the next day from school, the charging papers say. The Department of Social and Health Services said that based on the information it received, the case did not meet the legal definition of abuse or neglect.

Because criminal charges have been filed, the state will take another look at the case, said Sherry Hill, spokeswoman for DSHS children’s administration.

If convicted of the charges, Orvis could face up to one year in jail.

Lynn Thompson: 206-464-8305 or lthompson@seattletimes.com