The Cumberland County Department of Social Services is declining to release any information of their involvement with Shaniya Davis and her family.
A press release was issued November 20th by Cumberland County DSS that stated the following:
For more on this story please visit the link above.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/70590397.html
Left: Ceianna Buchanan was 6 days old when she died March 8. Her mother, a Milwaukee child-care worker, was charged Tuesday in her death. Center: Brianna Buchanan-Prescott died while sleeping with her mother last year. Right: Cierra Buchanan died while co-sleeping with her grandmother in 1993.
By Crocker Stephenson of the Journal Sentinel
The Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare was twice alerted to accusations of unsafe sleeping practices at the home of Rose Prescott before her 6-day-old daughter, Ceianna Buchanan, suffocated on Prescott’s living room couch, according to a report released Thursday.
Prescott, 30, was charged this month with second-degree reckless homicide. Police say Prescott was so drunk in the early hours of March 8 that she had no memory of coming home or of putting Ceianna to bed.
Ceianna’s lifeless body was found on Prescott’s living room couch later that morning. The medical examiner ruled that Ceianna’s death was the result of “asphyxiation due to overlay while co-sleeping with an adult.”
According to a report from the Department of Children and Families, which runs the Milwaukee County child welfare bureau, Prescott sought medical attention for her 1-month-old infant who had rolled out of bed on July 26, 1999.
“The mother and infant had been co-sleeping in an adult sized bed,” the report says. “The infant did not have any medical injuries. There was no BMCW intervention.”
Less than a year before Ceianna’s death – on April 17, 2008 – the bureau was notified of the death of Prescott’s 2-month-old daughter, Brianna Buchanan-Prescott. Brianna is Ceianna’s sister.
“The autopsy report lists sudden unexpected death in infancy due to co-sleeping,” the DCF report says. “The medical examiner did not note any trauma or maltreatment to the infant.”
A bureau investigator ruled Brianna’s death “to be unsubstantiated for neglect.”
Prescott told a police detective investigating Brianna’s death that she had one drink of brandy mixed with cola before joining Brianna and another child on a couple of twin mattresses pushed together on the floor of her bedroom, according to investigative reports.
After Ceianna’s death 11 months later, Prescott told an investigator “that she has a drinking problem and she needs help,” according to a criminal complaint.
The second-leading cause of infant death in Milwaukee is SIDS, or sudden infant death syndrome, which often is related to unsafe sleep, according to the Milwaukee Health Department. The department, on its Web site, “strongly advises parents NOT to share a bed with their infant.”
The Black Health Coalition of Wisconsin, on its Web site, www.bhcw.org, calls co-sleeping “a reality for many” and offers advice on making co-sleeping safer.
Arlene Happach, director of the Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare, said: “The death of baby Ceianna is a tragedy and has caused our community to ask questions about safe sleep.
“The Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare has advised parents about safe sleep practices and provided Pack ‘n Play portable cribs if a family needed a safe place for an infant to sleep.
“We continue to work with our partners such as Milwaukee Department of Health and the Black Health Coalition to inform and educate our community about safe-sleep practices.”
THIS IS NOT THE SECOND CHILD OF THIS MOTHER BUT THE THIRD CHILD OF HERS TO DIE FROM “CO-SLEEPING”!
http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/69024297.html
By Crocker Stephenson of the Journal Sentinel
A Milwaukee child-care worker who police say was too drunk to remember putting her infant daughter to sleep on a couch was charged Tuesday with killing the 6-day-old baby.
Rose Prescott, 30, told police it was possible she fell asleep on the couch with her daughter, Ceianna Buchanan, according to a criminal complaint charging Prescott with second-degree reckless homicide.
Ceianna’s alleged homicide on March 8 was the third co-sleeping death in her immediate family.
Prescott’s 2-month-old daughter, Brianna Buchanan-Prescott, died while sleeping with Prescott on April 17, 2008.
Ceianna and Brianna’s 5-month-old half-sister, Cierra Buchanan, died while co-sleeping with Cierra’s grandmother in 1993.
Shortly after Ceianna’s death, the Journal Sentinel reported that the state-run Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare was aware of Brianna’s death under similar circumstances less than a year before.
When the newspaper asked what services the bureau provided to Ceianna’s family, child welfare officials said state confidentiality laws prevented them from commenting because no one had been charged with a crime.
A spokeswoman from the Department of Children and Families said Tuesday that, now that abuse had been confirmed, the agency was preparing a public report.
According to the complaint filed in Ceianna’s death, Prescott told police that on March 7 she drank a half-liter of Bacardi Rum Hurricane between 3:15 and 10 p.m. She told police she took Ceianna to a baby sitter, then went to a family cookout, where she continued to drink.
Prescott told police she remembers picking Ceianna up from the baby sitter.
“Ms. Prescott could not recall what transpired beyond that point in time,” the complaint says.
“Specifically, Ms. Prescott could not remember arriving home, parking the car, or coming up the stairs of her residence,” the complaint says.
Prescott gave investigators conflicting reports of what happened next.
She told an investigator she put Ceianna face up on one side of the couch, put a toddler on the other end of the couch and then slept on the floor.
Investigators noted there were no pillows or blankets on the floor.
Prescott told another investigator that she was drunk, and that it was possible she fell asleep on the couch with Ceianna.
The complaint says Prescott found Ceianna facing the back cushion of the couch and not breathing. Prescott’s car keys were found beneath the child’s body.
According to the autopsy report, Ceianna died of “asphyxia due to suffocation due to overlaying by adult during co-sleeping on couch.”
Her sister, Brianna, died of “sudden unexpected death in infancy with co-sleeping listed as a significant condition,” the complaint says. Prescott also had been drinking the night Brianna died, the complaint says.
“At this time, the Department of Children and Families has no information that this tragic death was the result of child abuse or neglect,” the DCF had said in statement issued shortly after Ceianna’s death. “Therefore, by law, we cannot address any previous history that family may or may not have had with any child protective service agency.”
Their half-sibling, Cierra, died while sleeping in a bed with their grandmother and a 7-year-old relative.
The Journal Sentinel also reported in March that Prescott appears to have provided Milwaukee County with bogus employment information to qualify six of her children for taxpayer-financed child care at a cost to taxpayers of more than $1,300 a week.
After the death of Ceianna in March, Prescott was employed at various day care centers. She was laid off in September from Ne-Ne’s Child Care Center on N. Palmer St., according to documents obtained Tuesday by the Journal Sentinel.
The director of the center, Arnitra Swain, said in a letter to county regulators that state regulators insisted Prescott be laid off pending a criminal background check.
Prescott was scheduled to make her initial court appearance Wednesday.
Raquel Rutledge of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report
http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_13840505
Stacia Glenn, Staff Writer
Posted: 11/21/2009 07:24:50 AM PST
SAN BERNARDINO – Wylena Andrews landed in jail, she says, because police wanted her brother for burglarizing a sergeant’s house.
When they couldn’t find him, they took Andrews as a bargaining chip and threatened to haul her siblings off to Child Protective Services unless her brother turned himself in.
“I kept saying I hadn’t done anything, but they put me in the cell and that’s where I stayed,” Andrews, 30, recalled of the day San Bernardino police charged into her family’s Fontana home in 2006. “I fell asleep crying. I was just devastated. They basically played me and acted like it was all a big joke.”
Andrews claims that in holding her against her will without probable cause, police violated her civil rights. She blames San Bernardino police Sgt. Brad Lawrence, whose tumultuous career has landed him in the middle of several internal and criminal investigations over the years.
Criminologist William Schneid, who was hired by San Bernardino Police Chief Keith Kilmer to investigate allegations of misconduct in the department, confirmed Andrews’ case was part of his probe but declined to comment on his findings.
Sources close to the investigation say a portion of the findings have been turned over to the District Attorney’s Office for consideration of criminal charges.
In an e-mail, Kilmer also declined to discuss specifics of the investigation.
“First, it may impact the process by our department or any other agencythat may be involved or become involved,” Kilmer wrote. “Secondly, internal personnel information cannot be discussed outside of a court ordered process.”
Lawrence was placed on paid administrative leave Nov. 4.
Almost immediately after taking over the department in June, Kilmer hired Schneid to review an Internal Affairs probe into past allegations that Lawrence and his former narcotics team illegally detained people without probable cause, a practice commonly known as keeping someone “on ice.”
That investigation uncovered claims that money went missing from a department fund used to pay informants and buy drugs for undercover operations. Lawrence, who at that time supervised a narcotics team, is being investigated by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department for misappropriation of funds, sources say.
Reached by phone, Lawrence said he was not told why he was put on leave and said he doesn’t remember Andrews.
He declined to comment further.
He also declined to have his attorney speak on his behalf.
Lawrence has worked as a patrol sergeant since March, when he returned to duty after a seven-month leave that ended when former Chief Michael Billdt declared past “on ice” allegations to be unfounded.
It is unclear whether Andrews’ ordeal was included in investigations handled by Billdt’s administration.
Andrews’ mother, Minerva Santana, filed a complaint after San Bernardino police took Andrews from her home Jan. 18, 2006. The family says investigators never followed up on the complaint or interviewed them until recently, when Schneid took their statements.
“This was swept under the table,” Andrews said. “Cops act like they can uproot people and do what they want. That’s wrong. They’re supposed to be protecting us, not incriminating us.”
Andrews has served time for burglary, forgery, theft and possession of narcotics.
But her past, Andrews says, does not give law enforcement the right to violate her civil rights and essentially hold her hostage because of a case involving her brother, Wiley Andrews.
Police wanted to question Wiley Andrews, 29, about the burglary of a sergeant’s San Bernardino home on Jan. 17, 2006. His fingerprint was reportedly found on a doorknob inside the sergeant’s house.
Wiley Andrews was on probation after being convicted of receiving stolen property, which enabled police to quickly identify him in their system.
Police couldn’t find an address for Wiley Andrews so they decided to go speak to Santana, who at the time was letting both Wylena and Wiley live in her Fontana condominium.
A boy, 14, and girl, 11, were the only ones home when Lawrence and his narcotics team arrived. The family claims they forced their way into the house and kept their hands on their guns while yelling for Wiley Andrews to come out.
An officer then called Santana and allegedly told her that she needed to come home immediately or they would call Child Protective Services. Since Santana could not leave work on such short notice, she asked Wylena Andrews to meet with the officers.
Wylena Andrews did not know where her brother was, but Lawrence eventually tracked him down on his cell phone.
“They said, `We’ve got your mom, we’ve got your sister and we’re taking them to jail,” Wiley Andrews said in an interview. “It was basically a deal with me that they’d let my family go if I turned myself in.”
Wiley Andrews told police he was in Las Vegas and would turn himself in the next morning.
Lawrence allegedly ordered Wylena Andrews to be taken to the city’s jail for a parole violation. Her parole agent would later tell authorities that she had not violated her parole and police never contacted him about Wylena Andrews, sources say.
Wylena Andrews spent nearly 24 hours in the Police Department’s jail cell. She was taken out only once to be grilled about her brother’s whereabouts.
When Wiley Andrews arrived at the station the following evening, his sister was immediately released.
Wylena Andrews was never charged with a parole violation. Her brother pleaded guilty to the burglary, though he says he did so only for his family’s safety.
Internal Affairs detectives interviewed the family last week and showed them several photographs, asking them to identify any officers they remembered.
Wylena Andrews says she remembers Lawrence’s face “like it was yesterday” but did not see him in the line-up of photographs.
She has not retained an attorney and said she only wants justice “so this doesn’t happen to anyone else.”
History of controversy:
Brad Lawrence joined the San Bernardino Police Department in 1984.
- In 1989, a school officer reported that Lawrence had threatened to tie an uncooperative suspect to the trunk of his car during a field interrogation. Lawrence was charged by the District Attorney’s Office and fired but was rehired after the trial ended with a hung jury.
- On July 2, 2008, Sgt. Mike Desrochers accused Lawrence of illegally detaining two men driving in a car.
- In August 2008, another officer lodged a complaint against Lawrence for allegedly overstepping the boundaries of a search warrant while raiding a San Bernardino motel.
- On Sept. 19, 2008, a booking log shows that a man named Greg Parker was “on ice” in the police jail. Parker’s attorney claims Lawrence kidnapped his client and later searched his home without a search warrant.
http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/news/investigates/091123-foster-care-child-death
Updated: Monday, 23 Nov 2009, 5:45 PM CST
Published : Monday, 23 Nov 2009, 5:45 PM CST
RANDY WALLACE
Investigative Reporter
HOUSTON – All the little dresses and sweaters Chanel Hall bought for her only daughter will never be worn. All the toys will never be opened. Even a huge closet can’t hold all the “what if’s” that haunt the grieving mother.
“Of what things could have been and would have been for Jasmine,” Hall said.
Hall didn’t get much time with Jasmine. Soon after her medically fragile child was born, Children’s Protective Services took custody of her.
In an ironic twist of fate CPS takes Jamine away from her mother due to medical neglect, then Jasmine dies because her state appointed care giver is allegedly neglectful in her duties.
“It’s appalling, it’s more than ironic it’s shocking,” said Amira Jackmon, Hall’s niece and attorney.
“This wasn’t a mother who abused her child, neglected her child, this is a mother who had a disagreement with the hospital,” Jackmon said.
Jasmine was born premature which caused several medical problems.
“She had water on the brain and blood on the brain at one point,” Hall said.
The hospital contacted CPS because Hall wouldn’t consent to a tracheostomy for Jasmine.
“I never said no to the surgery,” Hall said. “I just asked for a second opinion and that was all.”
But Hall’s refusal to consent to the surgery quick enough to please the hospital prompted CPS to take custody of Jasmine. According to a lawsuit filed by Hall, CPS told the court Jasmine needed the surgery immediately.
“Or else there was a huge risk to Jasmine,” Jackmon said. “Then why did they wait two or three weeks to perform it?”
With a tracheal tube attached to her throat, CPS said Jasmine needed 24 hour medical care so she was placed in a foster home operated by a company called Lutheran Social Services of the South.
On July 16th Jasmine died and according to CPS documents her death could have been avoided. That document states the caregiver admitted she was documenting paperwork while the child was playing therefore she was unaware if the child pulled the tracheal tube out of her neck and she was unaware when the tracheal tube actually came out.
“Jasmine was suppose to be under 24 hour supervision, if she was doing paperwork she should have been in the same room as Jasmine,” Hall said.
CPS declined an on-camera interview or comment citing the lawsuit Hall has filed against them as well as Lutheran Social Services, which closed the foster home it operated here in Houston shortly after Jasmine’s death.
A spokesperson for Lutheran Social Services also declined comment.
“She was my last baby and my only daughter,” Hall said.
All she has now Hall said is a closet full of dresses with no little girl to wear them.
The funeral for Shaniya Nicole Davis took place yesterday afternoon at the Manna Church in Fayetteville, North Carolina. More than a thousand mourners united together to say good-bye and show their respects to Shaniya and while it was a heartbreaking occasion, it was also a touching celebration of life, love, and forgiveness.
Bradley Lockhart, Shaniya’s father, has shown a strength, grace, faith and forgiveness that one rarely sees at a time of such horrendous and profound loss. Mr. Lockhart had not planned to speak at Shaniya’s service yesterday, but he did and his words were incredible to hear.
For more on this story please visit the link above.
Funeral services for 5-year-old Shaniya Nicole Davis will be held at 3:00pm today at the Manna Church in Fayetteville. The Reverend Johnny C. Davis will be officiating.
The public is invited to attend those who can’t attend may watch the funeral live on WRAL.com.
Shaniya’s Obituary describes a beautiful, sweet and loving child, who loved to play dress up and ride her scooter.
To read more of this article please visit the link above
http://www.kval.com/news/local/70420352.html
By Laura Rillos KVAL News
EUGENE, Ore. — Members of Lane County’s foster parent community are shaken by allegations a foster parent sexually abused two of his children.
Joshua Thomas Friar, 26, was arrested after two of his foster children alleged he had sex with them.
According to Oregon State Police investigators, Friar met the boys while working at Jasper Mountain, a facility for children with emotional problems.
According to court records, the boys were 9 and 12 when the abuse allegedly started.
“It frustrates me and angers me to know something like this could happen to the children in our foster care system,” said Tammy Hadley, a foster parent and president of the Foster Parent Association for Lane County. “It angers me really badly.”
To become a foster parent, Friar had to go through a Department of Human Services screening. It included a criminal background check, checks with references as well as interviews and home visits.
Friar also passed the screening process at Jasper Mountain.
However, until his arrest Saturday, Friar had no criminal record.
Patricia Feeney, a DHS spokeswoman, acknowledged their system is not foolproof.
“I think, for the most part, I would say to you, children are safe in foster care,” said Feeney, who said she could not comment specifically on Friar’s case.
When asked if DHS had plans to evaluate the foster parent screening process, Feeney said, “Actually, we’ve already done that. We’ve changed. It’s a much more rigorous process.”
She believed those changes took effect this fall and said they are stricter than they were when Friar became a foster parent. She would not disclose when that was.
Hadley believes the system works as best as it can.
“You can’t know some body’s heart,” she said. “You can’t know the things people hide.”
Hadley fears this case will give people a bad impression of the foster care system.
“There are good and bad people, there are good and bad foster parents, there are good and bad news stations,” she said. “And you know, it’s a hard, hard place. It breaks my heart.”
Friar has not yet entered a plea, as a grand jury has to decide whether or not to indict him.
He is being held on $2 million bail.
Donna Marie Key, 51, from Mt. Airy, is scheduled to appear in court November 24, on 31 Felony counts of Obtaining Property by False Pretenses.
Mrs. Key, allegedly, used her position as a Surry County Social Worker Supervisor, to steal an unknown amount of money. She was arrested June 16, 2009 and then release on a $25,000 bond.
To read more please visit the above link
Funeral services for 5-year-old Shaniya Nicole Davis will be held Sunday, November 22, 2009 at 3:00 p.m. at the Manna Church located at 5117 Cliffdale Rd. Fayetteville, NC 28314 .
Hundreds maybe even thousands of mourners are expect to attend and show their love and respect to this beautiful little girl, whose life was stolen much too soon.
To read more on this story please visit the above link.
