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this page is http://www.geocities.com/family_rights_wv/why.html Under construction. Please remember to bookmark this page and check back for updates. Petition to Request Congressional Inquiries
of Child Protective Services in All States
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/253404476 People across the U.S. have a large variety of reasons for requesting investigations of CPS. These reasons include: -Cover-ups of Fatalities , near-fatalities and extremely serious maltreatments of children in CPS custody and under CPS supervision -The large numbers of children who are missing from Foster Care across the U.S. -The unjust and unnecessary removals of chidren from their natural families and homes due to federal financial incentives to states which have encouraged removals -Child Protection is a multi-billion dollary industry fueled by our tax dollars from which many persons earn their livlihood -Child Protection has a more and noble facade of "saving children" but which is actually driven by greed and profit -The Bribes and Kickbacks of top CPS officials given to them by service providers -Fraud and Scams -The egregious violations of the constitutional and civil rights of children and families -The common practice of leaving famlies totally uninformed and in the dark regarding their rights in child abuse and neglect procedures -The deliberate refusals of CPS personnel to follow their own agencies rules, procedures and state laws -The common practice of unscrupulous and unethical social workers who make knowingly false statements to the court , fabricate allegations against innocent parents and who perjure themselves under oath. -Court systems and court personnel who have merely served as "rubber stamps" for CPS -Court systems which have denied families any semblence of justice and which routinely deny families Due Process -The routine practice of CPS wrongly classifying divorce, custody, visitation disputes as child abuse and neglect issues -The over-emphasis of income when determining placement of children and the routine practices of CPS and the Courts which place children with the parent with the most income, in spite of evidences that parent is abusive and unfit to rear the children -The prejudicial targeting by CPS and mandatory reporters (mainly schools) of low-income families for removals of their children by labeling these families "at risk" of abusing and/or neglecting their children merely because of their income level and/or for applying for public assistance -The unnecessary and unwarranted termination of parental rights (TPR) to free children for adoption to meet adoption demands of the U.S. and for the federal funds adoption bonuses provided to states BRIBES AND KICKBACKS Secretary under fire; two officials resign Two Fla. Child-Welfare Officials Resign Secretary Reiger Computer Contents Seized More background on Jerry Reiger Millions spent on Marriage Initiative (to promote marriage), Wives are to submit to the will of their husbands- even if those husbands are abusive? REIGER In a speech before a subcommittee of the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee, Regier summed his philosophy succinctly: ''If you want to keep the government out of your life,'' he said, ''stay married.'' The statement sent chills among many more moderate politicians. REIGER "In a speech before a subcommittee of the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee, Regier summed his philosophy succinctly: ''If you want to keep the government out of your life,'' he said, ''stay married.'' The statement sent chills among many more moderate politicians. In the fall of 2001, two Oklahoma lawmakers blasted Regier publicly for funneling $1.2 million in state marriage-building contracts -- without competitive bidding -- to a woman on whose résumé he appeared as a reference. ''If he didn't violate the letter of the law, he certainly violated its spirit,'' Oklahoma state Sen. Larry Dickerson wrote in an April 2001 statement. ''These contracts should have been competitively bid, but unfortunately, the process was manipulated in such a way that only one vendor was really in the running. That's not the way the state should do business,'' added Dickerson, who died in March. FAILED MARRIAGES A veteran Florida child welfare administrator, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said encouraging the continuation of failed marriages can be risky, particularly to small children. ''Bullying couples to remain married when the bond is broken can escalate family violence, and increase the risk of harm to children in the home,'' the official said. Indeed, ongoing domestic violence is one of the greatest predictors of harm to children, several recent child fatality studies have shown. Regier also got in trouble with federal authorities last year after it was discovered that an agency he led, the Office of Juvenile Affairs, double-billed for some services provided to delinquent youth. Auditors also said the department also billed on behalf of some youths who were no longer in state care. The audit, conducted by the Oklahoma Health Care Authority, looked at nearly 200 claims and concluded that the juvenile justice agency made billing errors in nearly 30 percent of claims in a particular case-management program, according to published reports. And though Regier's ghost-busting efforts at the health department won him praise for saving taxpayers as much as $1 million, critics said the effort also ran roughshod over some honest employees. One man, Richard Mullins, 65, was ordered by his supervisor to work from home. He was fired as a ``ghost.'' Regier later told reporters he acted ''unfairly'' by firing the man." http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/3865759.htm DCF job contender described as tough administrator BY CAROL MARBIN MILLER [email protected] When Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating learned in May 2000 that members of his own health department were suspected of taking bribes from nursing home operators, he dispatched Jerry Regier, then director of state Juvenile Affairs, to fix the problem. Heads rolled. Subpoenas were issued. And when the dust in Oklahoma settled, two people were convicted of corruption. Not content with simply solving the nursing home debacle, Regier turned his sights on health department employees he said collected paychecks without doing any work. This was dubbed the ''ghost employee scandal.'' Regier's attacks on public corruption earned him the reputation of Oklahoma's Mr. Fix-it. Regier, a seven-year veteran of Keating's cabinet, faced down scandal like a rodeo bull. His pugnacity would serve him well as Florida's next secretary of the Department of Children & Families -- a position to which he is expected to be named today by Gov. Jeb Bush, replacing outgoing DCF chief Kathleen Kearney. Regier, a devout Christian and an equally devout conservative Republican, is revered by many in his home state as a no-nonsense administrator who wove fundamentalist ideology seamlessly into state policy. His critics are less charitable. They say many of his policies skirted the edges of mainstream social welfare practice. They call him a dangerous thinker. ILL-FATED RUN Regier stepped down as Oklahoma's secretary for Health and Human Services this year in an ill-fated run for governor, one he abandoned after discovering a state law forbid his election because he had not lived 10 continuous years in the state. ''When you hire a new director of child welfare, the main quality you are looking for is the ability to solve the problems you had with the last administrator,'' said Richard Gelles, interim dean of the University of Pennsylvania's Department of Social Work. ''If you've got a political hot potato, and you don't want it to be an election issue, you find someone to make the problem go away,'' he added. Oklahomans familiar with the Regier administration say he would fit the bill. Where Kearney was seen as aloof and insular, Regier has earned a reputation as a consensus-builder, a man willing to reach out, even to critics. ''She did have the flaw of a circle-the-wagons approach,'' Gelles said of Kearney. ``She wouldn't listen to me, and she agreed with me. I couldn't get her to sit down and pay attention.'' In contrast, even children's advocates -- who were disdainfully viewed as a distraction at best, a danger at worst, by the Kearney administration -- felt they were welcome during Regier's term at Health and Human Services. ''He always had an open-door policy for us,'' said Anne Roberts, who heads the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy in Oklahoma City. ``He would speak on behalf of children's issues to people I did not have access to.'' Said Leslie Beitsch, the current commissioner of health in Oklahoma, and a former deputy secretary at Florida's Department of Health: ``I think he may be a good fit, in many respects. ''I think one of the issues that frequently befalls a child welfare agency is that things run amok,'' Beitsch said. ``That's not something for which you can easily accuse [Regier]. He'll ask the kinds of questions many taxpayers will want to know the answer to, such as: Why isn't this run well, and what can we do about it?'' Regier also had his critics in the Sooner State, where the two legislative houses are mostly controlled by Democrats. In March 2000, Regier announced he would set aside $10 million in unspent welfare money to fund a novel initiative aimed at curbing Oklahoma's high divorce rate. Named the Marriage Initiative, the measures were warmly embraced by conservatives, but scorned by many Democrats. In a speech before a subcommittee of the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee, Regier summed his philosophy succinctly: ''If you want to keep the government out of your life,'' he said, ''stay married.'' The statement sent chills among many more moderate politicians. In the fall of 2001, two Oklahoma lawmakers blasted Regier publicly for funneling $1.2 million in state marriage-building contracts -- without competitive bidding -- to a woman on whose résumé he appeared as a reference. ''If he didn't violate the letter of the law, he certainly violated its spirit,'' Oklahoma state Sen. Larry Dickerson wrote in an April 2001 statement. ''These contracts should have been competitively bid, but unfortunately, the process was manipulated in such a way that only one vendor was really in the running. That's not the way the state should do business,'' added Dickerson, who died in March. FAILED MARRIAGES A veteran Florida child welfare administrator, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said encouraging the continuation of failed marriages can be risky, particularly to small children. ''Bullying couples to remain married when the bond is broken can escalate family violence, and increase the risk of harm to children in the home,'' the official said. Indeed, ongoing domestic violence is one of the greatest predictors of harm to children, several recent child fatality studies have shown. Regier also got in trouble with federal authorities last year after it was discovered that an agency he led, the Office of Juvenile Affairs, double-billed for some services provided to delinquent youth. Auditors also said the department also billed on behalf of some youths who were no longer in state care. The audit, conducted by the Oklahoma Health Care Authority, looked at nearly 200 claims and concluded that the juvenile justice agency made billing errors in nearly 30 percent of claims in a particular case-management program, according to published reports. And though Regier's ghost-busting efforts at the health department won him praise for saving taxpayers as much as $1 million, critics said the effort also ran roughshod over some honest employees. One man, Richard Mullins, 65, was ordered by his supervisor to work from home. He was fired as a ``ghost.'' Regier later told reporters he acted ''unfairly'' by firing the man. Subject: Two Fla. Child-Welfare Officials Resign http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/addtomy/*http://edit.my.yahoo.com/co nfig/set_news?.add=apus&.src=yn&.done=http%3a//news.yahoo.com/% 3ftmpl=story%26u=/ap/20040716/ap_on_re_us/florida_child_agency_1 Date: Sat, 17 Jul 2004 15:58:41 EDT Subject: [reformthesocialservices] Two Fla. Child-Welfare Officials Resign Two Fla. Child-Welfare Officials Resign Thu Jul 15,10:35 PM ET U.S. National - AP By DAVID ROYSE, Associated Press Writer TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - A highly critical state report released Thursday details gifts, trips and entertainment accepted by officials of the Department of Children & Families from companies doing business with the agency. Two top officials of the department promptly resigned. But the agency head, who stayed at the beach house of a contractor, said he had no plans to quit. Secretary Jerry Regier apologized for actions he said had the appearance of impropriety, and said he takes full responsibility for problems outlined in the report released Thursday by Gov. Jeb Bush's inspector general's office. The inspector general substantiated a number of accusations made by an agency whistleblower, most of which involved the way top officials at the child welfare agency have interacted with representatives of computer vendors and private organizations that are increasingly doing work the agency used to do itself. The report found that Deputy Secretary Ben Harris and Information Technology Director Glenn Palmiere accepted gifts and free hotel rooms from vendors and "engaged in social relationships that were unethical or gave the appearance of ethical impropriety, with employees of InterSystems," a company that provides computer software to DCF. Regier announced the resignations of Harris and Palmiere on Thursday. The probe also found that Regier and other DCF officials attended a birthday party for Regier that was hosted by a friend of the secretary, Jim Bax, who at the time was director of the Florida State University Institute for Health and Human Services (news - web sites) Research. The institute at the time had nearly $2 million in contract work from DCF. On another occasion Regier and his wife stayed overnight with Bax at Bax's Longboat Key beach home. "That was an unacceptable gift of hospitality and I really regret that," Regier said. But he added that he always reimburses people and doesn't accept free meals or other gifts. "It's the appearance that I'm truly sorry for," he said. Regier said he will not step down, but will ensure his agency follows the inspector general's recommendations, including an independent auditing process for contracts, better documenting of reimbursement for social events and meals and a complete review of DCF's InterSystems contract. Bush on Thursday stood by Regier, whom he appointed in 2002 to rescue a department under fire over high- profile failures in which caseworkers lost track of children, left them in abusive situations and falsified reports. "He has my confidence," Bush said in an e-mailed response to a question from The Associated Press about Regier's future at the agency. Regier said Harris and Palmiere "exhibited a pattern of multiple inappropriate judgments with respect to accepting gifts, trips and entertainment." Harris said in a statement that he never let social relationships influence decisions he made for DCF. He added, "In the fast and furious pace of reform, I did not take a step back and question how my actions would be perceived by others, and for this I apologize." A phone call seeking comment from Palmiere after hours Thursday wasn't immediately returned. Regier said DCF would review all contracts involving Bax, who is no longer the head of the university institute. A message left at Bax's home was not immediately returned Thursday. back to bribes and kickbacks http://www.flapolitics.blogspot.com/2004_07_04_archives.html#10894517 5132105712 Computer Contents Seized Inspector general investigators probing contracts awarded by the Department of Children & Families have seized material from the work computer of the agency's secretary, Jerry Regier, a newspaper reported Friday. The Miami Herald reported that investigators from Gov. Jeb Bush's inspector general's office confiscated at least some of the contents of Regier's computer and some from Deputy Secretary Ben Harris' in connection with an investigation of how the agency awards contracts to outside vendors. Harris and Information Technology Director Glenn Palmiere are on paid leave during the investigation into allegations they a trip to Australia that was paid for by a contractor to tout the company's product. The investigation goes back to March. "DCF probe includes look at Regier's computer". (permalink) http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/news/nation/9170327.htm Posted on Fri, Jul. 16, 2004 R E L A T E D L I N K S • More Local news back to bribes and kickbacks Ethical misconduct at Florida Department of Children & Families confirmed Secretary under fire; two officials resign By DIANE HIRTH Tallahassee (Fla.) Democrat The governor's inspector general Thursday substantiated allegations of ethical misconduct involving Department of Children & Families Secretary Jerry Regier and two of his top lieutenants, prompting some child advocates and government watchdogs to question Regier's ability to continue as the head of the agency. Chief Inspector General Derry Harper issued a scathing report describing cozy relationships among administrators, lobbyists and contractors, influence peddling and exchanges of favors at the highest levels of DCF, now spending $1 billion a year in almost 900 outside contracts. Regier responded by apologizing for his own behavior and by asking for and accepting the resignations of Ben Harris, the agency's deputy secretary for operations and technology, and Glenn Palmiere, DCF's director of information technology. "I made some mistakes I regret," Regier said in soft, steady tones at a news conference. Regier said he did not offer his resignation to Gov. Jeb Bush - and Bush did not ask for it. "I considered it, but we didn't discuss it," Regier said. Bush "is deeply disappointed by the decisions the secretary has made," said Jill Bratina, the governor's communications director. Crediting Regier for taking responsibility for his actions, Bratina said, "The governor believes the secretary has charted a course to recommit the agency to the highest of standards." According to the report, Regier and several top lieutenants partied with representatives of private companies and state universities with DCF contracts and accepted gifts in violation of the governor's ethical code of conduct. "The investigation confirmed that senior management employees accepted gifts, gratuities (and) honoraria from vendors and associations doing business with DCF," the report said. Regier acknowledged spending the night at the multimillion-dollar Longboat Key home of Jim Bax, who as director of a Florida State University social services research unit, built up contracts with DCF worth $4 million. In addition, Regier admitted having his birthday party at Bax's Tallahassee home and accepting football game tickets from Don Yaeger, a lobbyist for companies doing business with DCF. He described both as friends, and said his wife and Bax's wife do Bible study and walk together. Regier did not reimburse Bax for the beach-house stay, according to the report. Regier did say he generally reimbursed his hosts for meals and gifts or returned the gifts outright. The report said Harris and Palmiere accepted lodgings and spa massages provided by private firms with DCF connections. In a statement, Harris said, "I have acted in accordance with what I believed was most consistent with state ethics guidelines." Reaction to the inspector general's report and Regier's response was swift. "His ability to lead is in question," said Ben Wilcox, Common Cause of Florida executive director. Karen Gievers, a Tallahassee attorney who's fought in court to improve care for foster children, said: "If his job is to enter into lucrative contracts with friends or determine how much money people can make from foster care, he's doing his job. But if his job is to provide for the safety and well-being of children and to keep them from being exploited, he's not doing his job. "He should have offered to step aside," she said. Privatization changes agency Appointed two years ago by Bush to replace embattled Broward County Judge Kathleen Kearney, Regier is the second DCF secretary under Bush to experience a leadership crisis. "It gives the appearance of impropriety. I take full responsibility for my actions," Regier said. "I'm sincerely sorry for my lapses." Evident in the report and Regier's apology is the changing nature of this state agency, now in the process of outsourcing all child protection services, including foster care and adoption, to private companies. The agency will soon do the same with economic help for needy families. Regier said he has been trying to develop a sense of trust with representatives of outside agencies. DCF officials and their private partners in "community-based care" for abused kids met regularly not only at business meetings but at scheduled social receptions. Although the inspector general's report shows companies elbowing for DCF contract deals, Regier didn't read it as a cautionary tale on privatizing the agency. "I certainly don't think we should throw the baby out with the bath water," he said. The inspector general, though, noted an climate of uncertainty at DCF "as to how certain procurement decisions are made, for what purpose, and whether all appropriate staff and reviewing authorities were effectively included in the process." In this "period of unprecedented 'partnering' with the private sector," Harper said, it is important that ethical relationships between DCF and private vendors and universities accepting contracts be more sharply defined. Among the corrective actions ordered by Regier are assigning DCF Deputy Secretary Bob Fagin sole responsibility for all contracts; calling for scrutiny by DCF's chief financial officer of all contracts associated with Bax and any other contracts recommended for review; and having his inspector general review whether DCF staff members follow correct policies and procedures. Harper called, though, for "an appropriate independent audit source" to assure that DCF contract safeguards are in place and in use, and he highlighted technology contracts and contracts lacking cost breakdowns as most in need of review. And others on the outside say cleaning up the agency may take more than Regier has promised. "Clearly, a thorough investigation in my mind would entail an independent audit, not them investigating themselves," said Rep. Loranne Ausley, D-Tallahassee. "I'm not predicting the end of Regier," longtime child advocate Jack Levine said. "I do see some diminishing of public confidence." --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------- Contact Capitol Bureau reporter Diane Hirth at (850) 671-6546 or [email protected]. back to bribes and kickbacks http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl- cdcf16jul16,0,2452798.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines 2 DCF staffers quit after inquiry into gifts from state contractors By Megan O'Matz, Mark Hollis and Sally Kestin Staff Writers Posted July 16 2004 Two senior administrators at the state Department of Children & Families resigned Thursday, and agency Secretary Jerry Regier apologized for ethical lapses, after a governor's investigation found all three accepted gifts and attended parties with representatives of companies doing millions of dollars in business with the agency. Regier, at a news conference in Tallahassee, said the incidents created an "improper appearance." "I made some mistakes that I regret," he said. The secretary said he met with Gov. Jeb Bush earlier in the day but did not offer his resignation because he did not think the violations were significant enough to warrant it. "I sincerely apologized to the governor for those lapses in my judgment," he said. "And I told him that I was very sorry that I had let him down because I hold myself to a high ethical standard." The findings are a major blow to Bush, who set up strict ethics policies coming into office and promised during his 1998 campaign not to "conduct business as usual" in Tallahassee. Bush, in an e-mail to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, said he supports Regier. "He has not had ethical lapses," Bush said. "He has accepted responsibility for subordinates that have had those. He has done a good job of boosting morale, increasing adoptions, lessening the number of children in the custody of the state outside their homes and many other things." Ben Harris, DCF deputy secretary of operations and technology, and Glenn Palmiere, the agency's information technology director, resigned over the controversy. The highly critical report released Thursday by the governor's Office of the Chief Inspector General, found that Harris skirted state bidding laws to award contracts to a favored businessman and that he and Palmiere accepted trips and gifts, including spa massages, hotel stays and a karaoke machine, from vendors who received DCF computer work. Neither Harris, 28, nor Palmiere, 41, could be reached for comment. However, a statement provided to the Sun-Sentinel under Harris' name said: "I have never let social relationships influence a decision I have made on the department's behalf." The investigation, which began April 6 in response to a whistleblower's "allegations of mismanagement" within the DCF, looked into 13 potential instances of wrongdoing and substantiated 11. One was ruled inconclusive. Many of the infractions involved dealmaker James A. Bax, who headed a Florida State University social services research institute until March, when he stepped down as director but retained his role as a project manager. As the leader of the institute, Bax secured 28 contracts worth more than $4 million for the university, the report states. He also was a primary investor in Edmetrics, a company that also has state business. The investigators found that Regier attended a March 1 birthday party in his honor, hosted by Bax, where Regier received gifts, including a tie and wine from a lobbyist. He later returned the gifts. The men's wives are friends and attend Bible study classes together, Regier said. Bax hosted another party for DCF administrators and private agencies in October at his $2.8 million waterfront home in Longboat Key. Regier and his wife spent the night there. "That was an unacceptable gift of hospitality and I really regret that I made that choice," Regier said. DCF policy bans gifts from people doing business with the agency, and the governor's code of ethics prohibits agency secretaries from engaging in "unethical behavior." Bernard Perlmutter, director of a children's law center at the University of Miami, said the public's confidence in the DCF's leadership will be shaken by the report. "I hope the governor will really seriously consider whether to ask for Secretary Regier to step down," Perlmutter said. "What's been going on is very, very troubling. ... Heads should roll." Republican legislators Thursday also expressed dismay. "I find it very unacceptable that someone caring for our children's families and security is unaware of what's ethical and appropriate," said Ormond Beach Sen. Evelyn Lynn, chairwoman of the Children and Families committee. The report found that Harris accepted a $10,000 trip to Australia paid for by InterSystems, a computer company that has a $500,000 contract with the DCF, and that he took a $163 massage paid for by a computer media company during a Palm Desert, Calif. conference. Harris also stayed at Bax's beachfront home on three occasions and accepted a karaoke machine from Bax, the report states. Palmiere accepted the trip to Australia along with a hotel stay and massage paid for by a representative of InterSystems and traveled to Las Vegas in February for an InterSystems conference with Bax. The two played golf with representatives of the Massachusetts software company. A week after the Las Vegas trip, Palmiere asked two DCF employees in an e-mail to "make sure that all the potential road blocks that once existed in getting a contract signed with InterSystems do not exist," the report states. Harris and Palmiere "failed to safeguard their ability to make objective, fair and impartial decisions in conjunction with DCF contracting actions leading to the appearance of ethical impropriety," the report states. Regier acknowledged that the infractions are contrary to his promise to make the DCF more open and accountable. When he took over the agency in September 2002, the DCF was reeling from the case of Rilya Wilson, a Miami girl who disappeared from state care and still hasn't been found, as well as other high- profile scandals involving lost and dead children, backlogged abuse investigations, poor casework and deplorable record-keeping. Among Regier's priorities was to fix the DCF's HomeSafenet computer system, which was grossly overbudget and loathed by workers. He recruited Harris, whom he knew from Oklahoma, to modernize the agency's technology wing. "When I arrived at the department you'll recall it was a time of chaos and a time of crisis," Regier said Thursday. He described a system of mistrust and in some cases "open hostility" between the DCF and local community agencies, which he hoped to transform into trusting, working partnerships. Regier outlined a series of changes the DCF will make in light of the IG report, including reviewing all contracts that involve Bax and reorganizing the agency's information technology contracting unit. He instructed the DCF's Inspector General's Office to "look into areas where members of staff, intentionally or not, have not followed the policies, procedures and practices of this department" and said his staff will undergo ethics training. The DCF also has begun to implement 12 recommendations called for in the IG report, Regier said. State Sen. Frederica Wilson, a Miami Democrat who serves on the Children and Families committee, said she will ask for an independent investigation into DCF contracting by a legislative auditing committee. "This is one Bush appointee investigating another Bush appointee," she said of the IG's work, headed by Derry Harper, who was named to the job by the governor. The report, which notes that some issues "were outside the scope of this investigation," does not discuss a $21 million contract to improve HomeSafenet, in which former Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating sat on the board of directors of the winning company. Regier served in Keating's administration before coming to Florida. The secretary said he was not aware of Keating's role in the company until late in the process. Nor does the report examine lobbyist Don Yaeger's close relationship with Harris. DCF records show Harris repaid Yaeger nearly $600 for tickets to sporting events and concerts over the past year and communicated regularly with him through e-mails about golf games, lunch dates and joint business deals. Yaeger represents BearingPoint, which has indicated its intent to bid on a multi-year, $3 billion contract to privatize the DCF's system of determining whether people are eligible for food stamps, welfare and Medicaid. He also represents the Attachmate Corp., a Washington state software company, that has been paid at least $593,000 from the DCF since 2000, records show. Regier on Thursday said he, too, is acquainted with Yaeger. They attend the same church and have dined together and attended sporting events together, he said. The secretary said, however, that he reimbursed Yaeger for the events. Asked if he thought it was proper to socialize with a lobbyist simply because he reimbursed the individual, Regier said he now thinks it is not appropriate. He said he will "be extremely careful and get all guidance necessary first" before accepting meals or tickets to sporting events with lobbyists in the future, even when he does pay. State Rep. Nan Rich, D-Weston, a member of the human services appropriations subcommittee, said DCF officials seemingly were "squandering" scarce human services dollars at a time when "we've had so many needs that went unmet." "There is an arrogance there. ... I don't know if an apology is going to change that," she said. Megan O'Matz can be reached at [email protected] or 954-356- 4518. back to bribes and kickbacks http://www.mikehersh.com/article_71.shtml Bush Policies Leave Children Behind By J. Carlos Jiacinto Aug 24, 2002 Excerpts from the article: The Miami Herald states that "The man named Thursday [Jerry Reiger] by Gov. Jeb Bush to head Florida's notoriously inept child welfare agency is an evangelical Christian who views spanking that causes 'bruises or welts' as acceptable punishment'" ("DCF Leader: It's OK to Spank"). Not only condoning child abuse, Reiger also maintains very extreme positions on the subject of spousal violence. The Miami Herald elaborates: "We affirm that a man's authority as head of his wife is delegated to him by God; that this means that his legitimate authority over his wife is limited by what God's Word allows him; and that all authority is established by God and no one and no social institution has the right to exert any authority contrary to God's laws or the bounds God has set for the man's office in the family...." ("Excerpts of Reiger's Views in Family-Life Essay"). Basically Reiger concedes that men have the right to control their wives even if abuse takes place. Reiger also believes that a "woman's place is in the home" and that she should "submit to the wishes of her husband": "We affirm that an able-bodied man must take every reasonable effort to support his family continuously ... that the wife may augment the family's income through effective management of resources or, with the husband's consent, by home business ... and that in cases of family financial crisis, the wife may, with her husband's approval, accept temporary outside employment, but that the family should view this as bondage...." (Excerpts of Reiger's Views in Family-Life Essay). So, according to Reiger, men who control their women violate no laws; and, therefore, the state should support and defend men who keep their women in "bondage". His views on child abuse should trouble most Americans. He discounts the validity of child abuse claims and trivializes the seriousness of the offenses in question He states in no uncertain terms: "We deny that the state has a right to impose unrealistic standards on families; that the so-called offenses of 'emotional neglect,' 'emotional abuse,' 'educational neglect,' etc., which form the bulk of substantiated reports of 'child abuse and neglect,' are in fact crimes against children; that the state has any right to administer criminal penalties or usurp custody in neglect cases except when a child's life or physical health is obviously endangered; and that the state should ever administer criminal penalties or usurp custody in cases where the only accusation concerns mental health, since the state should not mandate what particular beliefs and attitudes are healthy or acceptable...." ("Excerpts of Reiger's Views in Family-Life Essay"). Clearly, for a child or woman being abused in a home, if they happen to live in Florida, Reiger's words offer them little consolation. For abusive fathers the words articulated by the new head of DCF come as blessing, for they indicate that the state will no longer - not that it ever did -take allegations of child neglect and spousal abuse seriously. In Florida the message to abusive parents - especially fathers - is loud and clear: abuse as much as you want, use the Bible as a defense, and the state will support you. Another legislator confirms Stipe's viewpoints: "Leist, a Democratic state House member, said Regier's $10-million effort to curb divorce -- which used unspent welfare dollars primarily intended for poor people -- did little to improve the welfare of troubled families. 'It stunk,' Leist said of Regier's Marriage Initiative, which was warmly embraced by Keating, and much of conservative Washington. Contrary to Regier and Keating's proclamations, Leist said, Oklahoma's divorce rate was lower than surrounding states" ("DCF: It's OK to Spank"). DIVORCE, CUSTODY, VISITATION DISPUTES Wrongly Classified as Child Abuse and Neglect issues According to Maltreatment 2002, 60% of all neglect charges in the U.S. are lodged against women. Women typically earn less money than men and often have to apply for public assistance for the benefit of their children. CPS often confuses poverty with neglect and lodges complaints against these women. In cild custody/visitation disputes, often false allegations of abuse or neglect are lodged against the custodial mothers by abusive men. Abusive men are twice as likely to demand sole custody of the children than non-abusive men, and an estimated 70% of men who demand custody of the children win by convincing the courts the mothers are "unfit". Typically men earn more money and can afford much better legal representation than women. CPS often removes children from their custodial mothers, places them in foster care for a period of time to collect federal funds, then awards custody them to abusive fathers as illustrated in http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/charlotte/news/special_packages/children/6499900.htm?1c Children Who Didn't Have to Die. Custody of 3 year-old Bailey Mallan was given to the child's biological father. Bailey died in January 2002 of severe hypothermia. He had blunt-force injuries all over his body. The article states, "He has no headstone yet; the family can't afford it. On one recent, drizzly afternoon, his mother and grandmother knelt nearby, arranging acrylic roses next to a pinwheel and a bouquet. His mother bent over and sobbed, her forehead pressed to the wet grass." Unfortunately, this little boy's death is overshadowed as this article digresses into the usual complaints that CPS needs more funding. R. Lundy Bancroft points out that batterers often fool court personnel in child custody and visitation disputes http://www.lundybancroft.com in Understanding the Batterer in Child Custody and Visitation Disputes. On that site is an explanation by Mr. Bancroft regarding the problems with Jonhstons Typology of a Batterer. Where court personnel often follow this typology and wrongly focus on the victims of abuse rather than the batterer. A few examples of child fatalities as a result of child custody/visitation disputes are on http://www.geocities.com/family_rights_wv/casualties_of_custody_wars.html MISSING CHILDREN Miami Hearld "Missing child count rises Agency checks reveal 580 runaways or abductions" BY CAROL MARBIN MILLER http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/state/3377446.htm mentions Rilya Wilson, a 5-year-old foster child who disappeared perhaps 16 months ago. Rilya was taken from her foster mother by a person claiming to be a social worker but who showed no identification (Social workers routinely take children from schools, homes, and foster homes without showing any identification whatsoever). It was approximately a year before anyone realized the child was missing. The article reports 374 as "runaways" and 721 as living outside of Florida and not under current CPS supervision. That's an awful lot of missing children. In Michigan 207 children are reported missing http://www.freep.com/news/childrenfirst/foster3_20030103.htm and that number is down from 302. FRAUD http://www.sptimes.com/2004/06/25/State/Ex_DCF_staffer_charge.shtml Ex-DCF staffer charged in fraud By Associated Press Published June 25, 2004 --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------- MIAMI - A former Department of Children and Families worker was arrested on charges that she conned elderly and low-income clients into paying her for services that were supposed to be free. Maria del Carmen Garcia, 44, took hundreds of dollars from at least five victims, police said. In most cases, she promised to help the victims get into a rental-assistance program for the poor - if they paid her $250. Garcia faces six counts of unlawful compensation for official behavior and one count of organized fraud. She was being held Wednesday at Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in lieu of $125,000 bail. She could face 95 years in prison if convicted on all counts. Garcia was a 15-year DCF employee when she resigned from the agency on April 29, said Miami-Dade police Detective Benjamin Guerrero. Co- workers became suspicious when clients in need of services began asking to speak with Garcia, an office clerk. "She had a drug problem, and that's what I think really motivated her to do this," Guerrero said. Co-workers' inquiries prompted an internal investigation, which led to Garcia's resignation, said DCF spokesman Peter D. Coats. [Last modified June 25, 2004, 01:00:40] ELDERLY SCAM http://www.walb.com/Global/story.asp?S=1970120&nav=5kZQOE70 June 25, 2004 Albany -- Another suspect in a huge Albany embezzlement case is in jail. That leaves three people on the run. Fifty-one-year-old Becky Gilliland was caught at her house in Hahira Thursday night. She is the daughter of the accused mastermind, Anne Williamson. Gilliland, a Lowndes County DFACS employee, is one of eight people charged in a scam to defraud an elderly Albany woman of more than one million dollars. Gilliland joins her mother and her brother, Dan Daniell, in the Dougherty County jail. Also still jailed is SOWEGA Council on Aging employee Jerrie Berry. Dan Daniell's Wife, Cyndi Powell Daniell, was released from jail Wednesday afternoon because she's in a wheelchair and has an infant son. Police are still looking for three other people, all relatives of Anne Williamson. Prosecutors say Anne Williamson, who was the legal guardian for 82-year old Ima Rude, stole more than one million dollars from Rude and shared the money with her children. Two of the wanted family members are believed to be hiding in New Jersey. posted at 4:33 PM by [email protected] CHILDREN SEIZED FOR OBVIOUSLY FALSE / TRIVIAL REASONS Subject: Child taken by CPS for "birthmarks", reform urged Reform of child abuse investigations urged http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/05/28/loc_kids28.html --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------- By Cindi Andrews The Cincinnati Enquirer Grace Thomas holds her daughter Ashley, 2, on her back Thursday before she and her husband, Michael, talk to a Hamilton County task force hearing on changing state rules on how child abuse allegations are investigated. The Cincinnati Enquirer/ERNEST COLEMAN The Sharonville mom thought she was picking up her two young daughters at their babysitter's house one afternoon last May. Instead, Shu-Ying "Grace" Wang-Thomas was met at the door by a social worker who accused her of child abuse. The baby sitter had called 241-KIDS about dark spots on the back and buttocks of then-18-month-old Ashley Thomas. The call triggered an automatic investigation by the county Department of Job and Family Services. The county social worker dismissed Wang-Thomas' protests that the spots were birthmarks. The mother said she was pressured into agreeing to stay away from Ashley and Emily, then 3, while the charges were investigated. But the investigation, like more than half initiated by a call to 241-KIDS, found no evidence of abuse. The marks on Ashley were Mongolian spots common on toddlers of Asian, African, Indian and Hispanic descent. Wang-Thomas is of Chinese heritage and husband Michael Thomas is African-American. "I know 241-KIDS is protecting children, and that's great," Wang- Thomas said. "... But they assume I abuse my children. How can I convince them?" The couple spoke Thursday to a county task force that wants to change state rules on how abuse allegations are investigated. The county Job and Family Services Department is cooperating with the task force, which will make recommendations to a subcommittee of the Ohio Supreme Court also studying the issue. "There needs to be something in place to derail the process when it becomes clear the accusation is unfounded," said County Commissioner Phil Heimlich, who is leading the task force. Under state law, allegations made to Hamilton County's child-abuse hot line must be investigated, whether they're made by a doctor, a teacher or an anonymous caller with an ax to grind. . Meanwhile, the accused parent is often required to stay away from the children. Wang-Thomas was able to move back home after several days, but only because her daughters' pediatrician attested to the Mongolian spots and Heimlich - a friend of the Thomases - intervened. More than 54 percent of investigations based on hot lines tips find no abuse or neglect, according to Job and Family Services. The charges are proved 38 percent of the time, and in the remaining cases there's some evidence but it's not conclusive. There's room for improvement in the laws, Job and Family Services officials agree. Still, spokeswoman Laurie Petrie said, balancing parents' rights against children's safety is a delicate job. "It's not easy," she said. "The first time you cut short an investigation and a child is seriously harmed or dies, everyone is going to want to look at the issue again." E-mail [email protected] Fatalities of Children in Child Protection Services Custody or Supervision: The Taking of Logan Marr - PBS Frontline 
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/fostercare/marr/
Please use your backbutton to return to this page. The taking of Logan Marr. Logan Marr's mother had never abused Logan or her sister Bailey. Maine DHS social worker Sally Schofield wanted to adopt a daughter and Maine DHS quickly fulfilled that demand. Schofield took Logan Marr, and her baby sister Bailey, into her home in order to adopt them, even though it was against DHS policy and rules for social workers to foster/adopt. It would be interesting to learn how much Schofield was paid to take these children into her home. 
Logan, having an tantrum 
Bailey, Christy and Logan during a visit Sally Schofield canceled a scheduled visit between Logan, Bailey and their biological mother supposedly due to "inclimate weather". Logan Marr went into a temper tantrum over the canceled visit and Sally Schofield took Logan to the basement, duct taped the child to a high chair with some 40 yards of duct tape, then went back upstairs to check her computer emails while Logan Marr smothered to death alone in that cold, dark basement. Sally Schofield is serving time in prison for Logan's murder, however, even though Schofield murdered a child, she still retains her parental rights to her own biological children. 
Image of
Sally Schofield
. In the interview with Sally Schofield, the chilling thing is that as
any person targeted by CPS can attest that Sally talks like the typical social
worker. The social worker supervising visits between Logan's mother and Logan,
discouraging the mother of inquiring about Logan's complaint of being hurt
by Sally is also very typical of social workers. It's considered an "inappropriate
topic" and they hold the threat of ending visits if the parent pursues the
topic.More of PBS Frontline articles on foster care on http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/fostercare/ Please use your backbutton to return to this page. West Virginia Cover-up of child fatalities in Foster Care West Virginia admits they over-reported the number of children investigated for child abuse and neglect allegations by several thousand. West Virginia also admits that the numbers of child fatalities and maltreatement of children prior to the year 2000 are wrong (under-reported) but claim they may not be able to get correct data. SRS To Be Conservative In Releasing Records Under New Law Kansas 2004. It took two years to get law passed to open the records of child fatalities occurring in CPS custody. The law was fought fiercely by CPS. What are they hiding? -December 2002 death of Brian Edgar, a 9-year-old former foster child who suffocated after his adoptive parents in Overland Park bound him with duct tape and left him overnight. The adoptive parents and baby sitter were convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. Foster care reports 37 deaths in 6 years Kansas 2003. Foster child fatalities wrongly dismissed as "so small" that they cannot be used for comparison. Child in state custody dies An eight year old in Rhode Island state custody suddenly dies - now police are investigating. 2004 Child dies in foster home within month of placement - 11-month-old George Walker III, Georgia Holden shakes up Social Services after foster child's death - 2-year-old Dominic James Denise C. Moore, 42, is charged with three felonies and three misdemeanors in the 2002 death of 4-year-old Anthony Bars. Nicholaus Contreraz literally tortured in days before his death at Arizona Boys Ranch. Nurse stated Nicholaus' lung infection was "in his head". Mother of 5-year-old sues Florida foster care agency over boy's stomping death 'Not Guilty' Plea In Starvation Case Adopted Teen Weighed Only 45 Pounds - Jul 12, 2004 3:47 pm US/Eastern CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) A couple charged with starving their four adopted sons let their lawyers speak for them Monday as they pleaded not guilty. State child welfare care targeted Cases of kids dying in Michigan custody may get more scrutiny - By Kim Kozlowski / The Detroit News Records of children who die while in the care of the state welfare system would be more open to the public under a bill lawmakers say will improve child safety and increase the state's accountability. Dominic Williams was found June 3 in a trash bin, strangled and stripped of clothes . Many wanted him, all were denied. He would have turned 17 five days later. Andrew Roberson, 34, has been charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action. He lived just blocks away from Dominic Williams' fifth and final foster home. Darryl Williams, 18, bears a striking resemblance to his brother, from whom he had been separated as an infant. Darryl went to live with his paternal grandmother, while Dominic bounced between foster homes and group homes in the state care system. Darryl Williams didn't know Dominic existed until last Monday. At his brother's wake the next day, Darryl learned he also had a younger sister, who was adopted in 1994. [Note from Family Rights WV: This story indicates the mother failed to follow through on reunification efforts with Dominic. The CPS system often sets mothers (and fathers) up to fail by refusing to acknowledge completions of demands for reunification, making unreasonable demands in reunification plans, demanding parents attend various classes when they know the parents do not have transportation and refuse to supply transportation, etc. CPS often awards children to either their biological fathers or the father's family in matters of separation/divorce. If this is not possible, custody of the children is often NOT awarded to the mother's family (to prevent the possibility of children receiving public assistance), the children are doomed to foster care. It would be interesting to get Dominic's mother's side of this story.] Grand jury slams CWS Child Welfare Services director says investigation flawed, but jury foreman stands by report - Child found dead in back yard of foster home. Agency mishandled case, DCF secretary says Casework for two siblings in Hernando County wasn't "up to standard," he says, vowing changes. Baby's death upends status quo Pursuit of blame creates schism in County Child dies in overcrowded foster home JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - An 8-month-old boy who died after suffocating in an overcrowded foster home was the second child to die in the home since November, police said. 2004 Authorities investigate Kansan's suicide, out-of-state placement http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/cb/publications/cwo00/statedata/wv.htm West Virginia [ State Comment ] Ann M. Burds, Director Office of Social Services West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources 304-558-7980 A review of the data pages that are included in the Report as well as a previous review of data prior to the on-site portion of the Child and Family Services Review indicates that some of the information reported by the Department is not accurate. Specifically, the number of child fatalities, the number of children who were the subject of an investigated report alleging child maltreatment, and the number of children maltreated in foster care are in all likelihood incorrect. The Department previously submitted revised data for 1998 and 1999 on the number of children who were the subject of an investigated report alleging child maltreatment. The revised data, which does not appear in the 2000 Report, reduces the number of children by several thousand. We believe that the data reporting problem has been corrected and that the numbers for 2000 are accurate. We also recognize that the data for the number of children maltreated while in foster care is incorrect. Revisions have been made to our automated case management information system so that accurate data will be reported in the future. It is not possible, however, to go back and capture data for the years covered in the 2000 Report. Based on recent case reviews, we believe the number of child fatalities may be under reported. The Department will work with the Child Fatality Review Team to explore the possibility of obtaining better data in the future on this important subject. It may not be possible to go back and capture accurate data for the years covered by the Report. As a result of the Child and Family Services Review, the Department will reexamine its approaches to data collection. Part of the solution may involve changes in our automated case information system. A part of the solution may also involve better case management practices as documentation and record maintenance continue to be concerns of the Department. back to top Subject: [child_fatalities] KANSAS 2004, foster child fatality records to be opened to the public NOTE: IT TOOK 2 YRS. TO GET THIS LAW PASSED TO OPEN THE RECORDS http://www.thekansascitychannel.com/news/3469515/detail.html SRS To Be Conservative In Releasing Records Under New Law Law Takes Effect Thursday POSTED: 2:58 pm CDT June 28, 2004 UPDATED: 3:02 pm CDT June 28, 2004 TOPEKA, Kan. -- State officials said Monday they will be conservative about releasing records under a new law that grants the public access to some documents in cases where a foster child dies or is severely injured because of abuse or neglect. Previously, all foster care records have been closed. The law, which applies to children age 17 or younger, takes effect Thursday. Officials from the Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services said the law is narrow and unclear in places. SRS has asked Attorney General Phill Kline for a legal opinion on several issues, but he is not expected to issue one for several weeks. SRS Secretary Janet Schalansky said until Kline acts, her agency won't release any record disclosing information from conversations among attorneys, doctors and therapists and their clients. Nor will the agency identify someone who reported a case of suspected abuse or neglect -- or even open any record created before Thursday. "We felt it was very important to be careful about this," Schalansky said during a briefing on the law for reporters. "We are taking a conservative approach." The state has about 6,100 children in its custody. About 1,000 remain with a parent or guardian under supervision, and the rest have been placed with foster parents, in group homes or otherwise removed from their family homes. SRS officials said Monday that few children -- an average of less than one a year -- die from abuse and neglect. Some legislators pushed for changes in Kansas law following the December 2002 death of Brian Edgar, a 9-year-old former foster child who suffocated after his adoptive parents in Overland Park bound him with duct tape and left him overnight. The adoptive parents and baby sitter were convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. However, the new law does not cover children who already have been adopted or foster children who die in an accident or from disease. "There will be lots of instances in which case records won't be opened up at all," Schalansky said. Schalansky said SRS must strike a balance between giving the public access to records and protecting individuals' privacy. For example, she said, a foster child's file often contains information about relatives who were considered as potential guardians for the child but who did not receive custody. Also, Schalansky said, a file also may discuss a parent's personal history. John Badger, the agency's chief counsel, said: "Once they're released, you can't go back and unrelease them." Also, the new law says people affected by the release of records have the right to ask a district judge to keep the documents closed. Schalansky said SRS will open records after receiving a written request from a news organization or the public, but only after an outside party -- a law enforcement agency or a medical examiner, for example -- determines that a child died or was severely injured because abuse or neglect. Also, SRS could go to court itself to keep records closed, but Badger said such instances will be "fairly rare." back to top http://www.ljworld.com/section/citynews/story/145393 Foster care reports 37 deaths in 6 years By Dave Ranney, Journal-World Sunday, September 14, 2003 In the six years since Kansas privatized its adoption and foster care systems, 37 children have died while under the care of contractors. advertisement But how that compares with other states that have not turned over their child welfare programs to private contractors is anybody's guess. "The problem you run into is that reliable data is extremely difficult to come by. Each state has its own way of defining child deaths and the numbers, while tragic, are so small -- you don't want to use them to make comparisons," said John Poertner, a former Kansas University social welfare professor who recently retired as director of the Children and Family Research Center in the school of social work at the University of Illinois. Still, Poertner said he was not alarmed: "Thirty-seven children in six years? That's not out of line, that's about what it is for the children overall. If it were any higher than that, there would be cause for concern." Kansas privatized most of its child welfare services in 1997. According to Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services data, 22 of the 37 deaths were attributed to fragile medical conditions. Of the remaining 15 deaths: • Nine were "accidental," a category that includes drowning and vehicular accidents. • Teen dies in Missouri foster home (9-10-03) • SRS Foster Care • Three were caused by abuse or neglect. • One was a suicide. • One was the victim of a drive-by shooting. • One remains "undetermined." SRS spokesman Kyle Kessler confirmed that the "undetermined" case involved the 14-year-old boy in foster care who apparently hanged himself while staying at a group home in Kansas City, Mo. The boy's body was found Sept. 5. His death remains under investigation. "We are cooperating fully with the investigation," Kessler said. "We want to determine what caused this tragedy and, more importantly, to see what can be done to prevent it happening in the future." Currently, Kansas has about 4,600 children in foster care; 1,500 awaiting adoption. The 37 deaths are among those tracked each year by the state's Child Death Review Board. "On average, around 500 children die in a year -- these are children who were in state when they died and Kansas children who happened to be out of state. We count both," said Eric Haar, executive director at the review board. Historically, 60 percent of the deaths are due to natural causes, Haar said; an additional 20 percent are considered accidental. The Child Death Review Board doesn't keep separate statistics for children in state custody, Haar said. back to top http://www.ljworld.com/section/kids/story/144969 Kids in the System Discuss story E-mail story Printer-friendly E-mail editor Teen dies in Missouri foster home Authorities investigate Kansan's suicide, out-of-state placement By Dave Ranney, Journal-World Wednesday, September 10, 2003 State officials are investigating reports that a 14-year-old Kansas boy in foster care committed suicide last week. advertisement The boy, who was living in a group home in Kansas City, Mo., had been in foster care about 10 months. "Police are investigating, and we are cooperating with that investigation," said Sandra Hazlett, director of child and family services at Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services. The boy, whose mother lives in Ellsworth, had been placed in the out- of-state group home by Kansas Children's Service League, the nonprofit agency that has the SRS contract for foster care services in north-central Kansas. "I can't say anything because of confidentiality," KCSL spokeswoman Tina Long said. Attempts to reach the boy's mother Tuesday were unsuccessful. Friends and acquaintances of the mother, who asked to remain unnamed, said the boy and two siblings were put in foster care last year after the mother left them with her ex-husband when she moved to Ellsworth to start a new job. The friend said the mother was told by a KCSL social worker that her youngest son was moved to the group home after being sexually abused in one foster home and physically threatened in a second home. It's unclear why the boy was in the Missouri group home and why, if he was suicidal, he wasn't under close supervision. • SRS Foster Care Reportedly, the boy hanged himself Friday evening. His mother was notified Saturday. Rep. Joshua Svaty, an Ellsworth Democrat, said SRS owed the mother an explanation. "I talked to her Saturday," he said. "She has questions about what happened, and I think she's owed an explanation." Rep. Brenda Landwehr, R-Wichita and chairwoman of the interim Joint Committee on Children's Issues, said she wanted to know why the boy was in Missouri and why he wasn't adequately supervised. "I've called SRS and this is being investigated," Landwehr said. The boy's death is likely to renew interest in a bill introduced this year that would have opened the records of children who die while in the state's foster care or adoption systems. The bill, introduced by Sen. David Adkins, a Leawood Republican, passed both the Senate and House but stalled in conference committee. "Unfortunately, every tragedy such as this creates an additional impetus for disclosure," Adkins said. Adkins introduced the bill -- Senate Bill 67 -- after the death of 9- year-old Brian Edgar, a former foster child. According to prosecutors, Edgar suffocated after he was bound and gagged by his adoptive parents. Neil and Christy Edgar are charged with first-degree murder, and jury selection in their case is to begin Monday in Johnson County. Records surrounding the decision-making processes for placing Brian Edgar in the couple's home remain sealed. It's unclear how many children die while in state custody. "I've asked SRS for those numbers, but I couldn't get a very good handle on them," said Gary Brunk, executive director at Kansas Action for Children. "My sense is that they are few in number and even lower than in most other states, but with these things it's imperative that we -- all of us -- get to the bottom of what happened, why it happened and what we can do to prevent it." Brunk added, "Until the files are open, I don't think we can say we're doing that." SRS spokeswoman Stacey Herman said the numbers would be available today. back to top http://www.fact.on.ca/newpaper/ta990519.htm Child dies in overcrowded foster home JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - An 8-month-old boy who died after suffocating in an overcrowded foster home was the second child to die in the home since November, police said. Vivan Uk Sheppard was one of eight children in a home licensed by the state for five. The state limit was exceeded because of a shortage of foster homes in northeast Florida, officials said. The infant was found Saturday with his head caught between a mattress and railing of a crib, according to a Jacksonville Sheriff's Office report. An autopsy revealed the boy suffocated, said Lt. Mark Foxworth. ``We're not going to close it out as an accident,'' Foxworth said. ``We'll continue to investigate to see if there was any criminal neglect.'' Lee Johnson, an administrator for the Department of Children and Families, said the death was not related to the number of children in the home. The other children were removed from the home, authorities said. Another foster child died of sudden infant death syndrome in the home in November, said Beverly Keneagy, a district spokeswoman for the department. The home was within its licensed capacity at the time. Shirley Ann Dawkins had been taking care of the child since Thursday, police said. Since she was licensed in 1990, Dawkins has cared for more than 80 children. FOSTER CHILD DIES, SPARKING OUTCRY AGAINST DYFS The Record (Bergen County, NJ); 5/9/1994; JUSTO BAUTISTA, Staff Writer http://www.sanmateocountytimes.com/Stories/0,1413,87~11268~2213806,00 .html Article Last Updated: Friday, June 18, 2004 - 2:41:50 PM PST Judge Marta S. Diaz John Green - Staff Photos 7/15/2004 Baby's death upends status quo Pursuit of blame creates schism in County By Emily Fancher and Amy Yarbrough - STAFF WRITERS Judge Marta Diaz can make attorneys and miscreants tremble when they stand before her, but she soothes children with candies, stuffed toys or a gallop on the hobby horse in front of her bench. Hardly bigger than a child herself, at 5 feet tall, Diaz is ruler and cajoler of all within the San Mateo County juvenile court system that she oversees. At home in Foster City, though, she's simply a mom and a wife whose love of the old west is displayed in their living room through mounted long horns, cowboy art and furniture that invites a visitor to take off the boots and set a spell. It was from that living room a few days after Christmas in 2002 that Diaz's husband called to her as she packed for a trip. "I think you're going to want to see this,'' he warned. She hurried in to hear a televised news report about a child in San Mateo County's child welfare system who had been killed on Christmas Day. She grabbed the phone and quickly confirmed the worst: the child was her ward, 8-month-old Angelo Marinda. Nausea and guilt overwhelmed Diaz and she began sobbing. Angelo was only 12 days old when - broken and battered by someone in his own family - he had come into the child welfare system for protection. Now he was dead and Diaz peppered herself with questions: How had she failed the child? What had the system done wrong? On the last question, Diaz was astonished to hear an answer from the county's Children and Family Services agency head: "The system has not failed in this case,'' CFS chief Stuart Oppenheim said on TV. The answer infuriated Diaz, who launched an investigation that would bring her court and CFS's parent department, the Human Services Agency, into open warfare. If Oppenheim's goal was to calm the gathering storm of controversy, he failed utterly and in fact found himself caught in the tempest as Diaz focused on him and HSA's top leadership. Satanic verses He was the most loyal of soldiers in HSA, admired by many in the agency and in the community, a strong advocate for children who listened to workers' concerns. And after toiling in the ranks since 1976 when he started as a social worker, Oppenheim had risen to become head of CFS, the child protection arm of HSA. Before Marta Diaz took over the court system, Oppenheim enjoyed a close and casual relationship with Diaz's predecessor, Commissioner Patricia Bresee, who ran the court somewhat informally, allowing HSA workers easy access. CFS and the Bresee court were virtual colleagues. The court-CFS collegiality ended abruptly with Angelo's death, as Diaz launched her mission to find out how the system failed and why people like Oppenheim kept defending the agency against any inquisition. Not that Diaz was the only one put off by Oppenheim's defensiveness. County Supervisor Mike Nevin wondered out loud in the press at the man's ``cold'' reaction. Yet, Oppenheim didn't back off. As he and other CFS workers increasingly felt Diaz challenging them, they turned inwards towards each other for support and launched a resistance echoed in e-mail exchanges. "She (Diaz) is on a tear,'' Oppenheim warned CFS chums in a sarcastic email. ``Watch out!" Dozens of emails about the judge started trading hands within HSA, climaxing in mid-January with the most venomous of all, authored by Oppenheim himself: Diaz is "the daughter of Satan, but without his personal sense of responsibility.'' Civil war had broken out in the county child welfare system. A most unusual hearing What had been brewing in private, erupted in public Jan. 16 when Diaz took the extraordinary step of launching an investigation into Angelo's death - and opening her proceedings to the press. HSA fought back through the county counsel but lost to a battery of arguments posed by media lawyers to the sympathetic Diaz. The judge knew that juvenile dependency cases are closed to protect young and innocent victims, but when a child dies - she would say - it's time to open the process and open the case files so that the public agency may be examined and held accountable by the public. The court door swung open to two weeks of publicized scrutiny of HSA, its workers and the court itself. Witness after witness told Diaz they had noticed warning signs. Many parental visits ended with Angelo sobbing uncontrollably... Angelo panicked at sight of his parents... A doctor said he should not be left alone with his parents... Ronnie barely interacted with his son... Ronnie cried frequently, but it appeared his tears were only for himself. Most of these red flags had been communicated to Amy Huber, the social worker in charge of Angelo's case. A telling revelation about the case happened after Diaz closed the hearings. On Jan. 29, she got a call from Renee LaFarge, who had supervised Angelo's family therapy. She said she had not approved sending Angelo home alone on a visit with his parents, as Huber had testified. She wanted to tell Diaz her side of the story. Diaz was in her chambers when LaFarge handed her a written evaluation of Angelo's family, completed weeks before his death. Diaz began to read through the documents, surrounded by attorneys involved in the case. About to burst into tears, she excused herself. The next day in open court, LaFarge insisted that Angelo's death was avoidable. The battle begins Oppenheim seemed defiant in defense of HSA. Known as one of the best agencies in the state, HSA wasn't used to harsh criticism. Why were they being persecuted? Huber had made the right choice sending Angelo home for Christmas, Oppenheim insisted. He challenged Diaz's authority to hold the hearings, while Diaz challenged the accuracy of what he was telling her. But it was the e-mail Oppenheim sent to his entire staff on Jan. 16 that drew the battle lines between the court and HSA. Oppenheim said opening the files was unprecedented in San Mateo County and the administration was "terribly concerned about the violation of privacy". "No act by an outside party will undermine our confidence in ourselves or one another," Oppenheim wrote. Stunned at hearing her court described as an ``outside party,'' Diaz reached over Oppenheim's head to the director of HSA itself, Maureen Borland. Hired by County Manager John Maltbie 11 years before to lead HSA, Borland oversaw 700 employees and a variety of agencies dealing with diverse social issues ranging from job training and housing to welfare. Regarded as a tough administrator not afraid to raise her voice, Borland kept a low profile, rarely in the public eye. Indeed, Borland had been as invisible as the County Board of Supervisors when it came to taking a public role in the Marinda controversy. Despite her public silence, behind the scenes she had directed Oppenheim's internal investigation of the case. Diaz wanted answers from Borland. Why did HSA not immediately obey the court's order to hand over all notes related to the case? Why did it deny it was conducting its own internal investigation? Borland didn't know. "I was not aware of that," she told Diaz. The county's black eye Openly critical of the agency during her hearings, Diaz was harsher still in the final analysis. Her report on April 4 was like a black eye for the county. Some praised Diaz's courage, while others found the report made the already tense relationship with the agency worse and deepened distrust. The 54-page analysis explained how the system had failed Angelo - from social workers to HSA management to her own negligence. Social workers had not paid enough attention to the case, she said. In addition, HSA management had challenged her authority to investigate, displaying an "institutional arrogance" that is not "merely offensive," but "dangerous." "No public agency is or can be unaccountable," she wrote. "Nothing good comes of hiding things." HSA staff refused to turn over documents and had conflicting stories, she found. But she did not spare herself: "Ultimately, the responsibility for Angelo's death rests with the court...I should have been far more vigilant in safeguarding my dependent child." Her investigation was not meant to point fingers, she wrote, but to answer questions about what had happened to Angelo and why. "If we analyze the mistakes we all share in this case and prevent future tragedies from occuring, then and only then can we ensure that Angelo did not die in vain. This is ultimately Angelo's legacy. I hope that we are each of us responsible enough to accept it." Critics level their guns Others besides Diaz were disturbed by Angelo's death and felt the system needed to be reexamined. County Supervisor Mike Nevin expressed his outrage to the Times a few days after Angelo's death: "There's no question that we need to review the process and I want assurance now more than ever that when it comes to children, we give our absolute best." Yet of all the county supervisors, only Nevin actively became involved in reform. As a political body, the Board of Supervisors never took on the problem. They left it to County Manager John Maltbie. Maltbie was appalled when he learned the facts of the case. Within a day or two of the start of Diaz's hearings, Maltbie called Mark Forcum, presiding judge of the county superior court, with an idea. Why not set up an indepedent panel of experts to look at the child welfare system and recommend improvements? Forcum agreed and suggested a colleague of his - Judge George Miram who had worked closely with CFS when he was an attorney in County Counsel's office - to sit on the panel with the four people Maltbie had chosen. This blue-ribbon panel would spend the next 10 months probing the inner workings of CFS and the juvenile court. During the panel's investigation, two events brought even more attention to the embattled agency: a county grand jury report and the death of yet another child under HSA's protection. The grand jury had been looking at the agency even before Angelo's death, and in June 2003 reported that the juvenile court and CFS were virtual enemies, that social workers suffered from low morale and that the agency needed independent oversight. It offered a variety of recommendations for changes throughout the child welfare system. Then, in July, 18-month-old Billy Joe Crawford - an HSA ward - was beaten to death, allegedly by his mother's boyfriend. What made this distinctly different from the Angelo case is that Billy Joe and his family had moved to San Francisco and were about to be transferred to that city's child welfare system. There was one striking similarity, however: in both cases, HSA immediately denied any culpability or failing. The harshest criticism The blue-ribbon panel's report finally was released on March 2 this year - with withering criticisms of HSA. The report accused HSA of trying to protect its image at the expense of children, denounced its antagonistic relationship with the court, and aimed scathing criticism at HSA leadership under Borland, describing ``brittle intolerance for differences of opinion.'' Obviously under pressure, Oppenheim retired at about the same time the blue-ribbon report came out, leading many to believe he was the fall guy for the department. Without Oppenheim, Borland took on more of an obvious role in the controversy, appearing later in March at a press conference called by Nevin to appease critics who feared the blue-ribbon report would not be taken seriously. The press conference backfired, however, as Nevin announced that Borland had been given the role of assessing her own agency's shortcomings. The apparent conflict of interest provoked a barrage of pointed questioning. But what really inflamed critics is the scorn Borland showed for report criticisms. She dismissed one of the recommendations as "a straw man." When asked about a crisis of leadership, she said, "I don't know where that came from." Stung by press criticism, Nevin agreed to hire an independent child welfare expert to assess whether the problems of HSA were being addressed. The expert, Charlene Chase, former head of Santa Barbara County's social services agency, gave the Board of Supervisors her interim report this week. Postscript Angelo would have been just over two years old on May 14 this year - the day his father was convicted of killing him. Lady's family said they never formed an opinion about Ronnie's guilt or innocence, focusing instead on Lady's remaining child, Ashley, now three-and-a-half. An active, cheerful child, Ashley was reunited this month with her mother. Alejandro Diesta, Lady's father, said he looks forward to making the family whole again. "We love her so much and I'm just happy the major problems have passed," he said. back to top Subject: [child_fatalities] 2004, RI, 8yr old dies in foster care July 15, 2004 http://www.wpri.com/Global/story.asp?S=1949489&nav=F2DONzoM Child in state custody dies An eight year old in Rhode Island state custody suddenly dies - now police are investigating. Here's what we know. The eight year old - Jamari Washington - was unresponsive when rescue workers arrived at his foster mothers home. He was taken to the hospital - but later died. Investigators are now awaiting the autopsy results from the medical examiner back to top http://www.sptimes.com/2004/06/25/State/Agency_mishandled_cas.shtml Agency mishandled case, DCF secretary says Casework for two siblings in Hernando County wasn't "up to standard," he says, vowing changes. By BILL VARIAN, Times Staff Writer Published June 25, 2004 --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------- Department of Children and Families Secretary Jerry Regier said Thursday his agency mishandled the cases of a teenage boy and his 10- year-old half-sister, who weighed 29 pounds when she was removed last month from a Hernando County home. "It is clear that the casework for these children was not up to standard," Regier said in his first public comments on the case. "Had it been, this tragic event would not have happened. ... We are thankful the children are now safe." He said he has ordered an independent review of all cases handled by the DCF caseworkers who oversaw the children. That review team will be expanded to include a child protection doctor, a retired judge, a foster parent, a member from the agency's community-based care alliance, and a DCF district administrator from outside the area. "Clearly, as the details come out, our casework on this was not exemplary," Regier said at a news conference at DCF offices in Hillsborough County. "It doesn't rise to the standards I have set for this department." The DCF secretary briefed Gov. Jeb Bush about the case Thursday. "When these issues come up there needs to be a quick, detailed investigation of what happened and then a consistent response if the department has problems," Bush said before speaking with Regier. Authorities said earlier this week the girl was "at risk of imminent death" when she was discovered and that her weight had dropped from 43 to 29 pounds. They say she was dehydrated and malnourished. The girl and her half-brother said she spent time locked in her room at the Hernando home of Arthur and Lori Allain. DCF had made the Allains the long-term caregivers for the children. The boy ran away last month and told authorities who found him about his half-sister. Hernando Sheriff's Office investigators say she has been gaining weight since being removed from the Allains' home. The Allains were arrested on charges of aggravated child abuse and neglect last week and are free on $10,000 bail each. They deny any wrongdoing and say they tried to provide appropriate care for the girl and her half-brother, who had been in their care since June 2000. They say the girl had an eating disorder and suffers from fetal alcohol syndrome, which required them to try to control how much food she ate. The Allains say they agreed to take both children because they had known their mother, whose parental rights were being terminated. Because the Allains were not licensed foster parents, they did not receive monthly payments from the state to help feed and clothe the children. DCF decided to keep the girl in the Allains' home on long-term placement, or indefinitely. Caseworkers were required to make monthly visits to the girl until late 2002, when the visits stopped because the case was closed. But caseworkers started returning to the home for monthly visits late last year to see her half-brother, who returned to the Allains' home from a juvenile facility. Regier said Thursday he expanded the independent review after receiving additional information about the ongoing investigation. He did not characterize that information but said the public expects nothing short of perfection in its safeguarding of vulnerable children. "We're not perfect every time," Regier said. "Certainly in this case we should have done a better job." Earlier this week, the DCF district administrator for the area that includes Hernando County announced two policy changes in light of this case. It will ask judges to ensure that foster children go to public or private schools and not allow home-schooling. The girl in this case had been home schooled for two years by the Allains. DCF also will begin keeping photos on file of the houses where abused or neglected children are placed as a way to ensure the homes are in good condition, another issue raised in this case. - The Associated Press contributed to this report. [Last modified June 25, 2004, 01:00:40] back to top leger-enquirer.com http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/mld/ledgerenquirer/4499766.htm Posted on Tue, Nov. 12, 2002 Child dies in foster home within month of placement Associated Press DECATUR, Ga. - Three children were removed from a DeKalb County foster home after an 11-month-old baby died there, officials said Monday. George Walker III had been in the home a little over a month when he died on Nov. 7. His family had complained to state officials about alleged neglect in the home, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported in Tuesday's editions. Details surrounding the child's death were not immediately available. Department of Children and Family Services spokeswoman Renee Huie said Monday that the agency hasn't had a chance to review the case file. Child welfare officials were investigating the death. Hearings were held twice to determine where the boy should be placed. The first was postponed after six hours. At a second hearing Oct. 21, state child welfare workers said they planned to make a decision on the baby in December. Information from: Constitution back to top http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/4758489.htm Posted on Tue, Dec. 17, 2002 Holden shakes up Social Services after foster child's death DAVID A. LIEB Associated Press JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Gov. Bob Holden outlined a reorganization for the Department of Social Services on Tuesday after the death of a 2- year-old foster child and an investigation that found a "complete breakdown" in Missouri's child welfare system. Holden, through an executive order, created an independent ombudsman position to check out complaints and monitor children's services. The governor's office also said he it requested and accepted the resignation of a longtime state official - the second person in children's services to leave in recent weeks. Holden's actions come three weeks after a pair of investigators he appointed concluded that state social workers were overloaded and lacked supervision and training, contributing to a "complete breakdown in the child welfare system." The investigation was prompted by the death of 2-year-old Dominic James in August and concerns that state foster care workers in Springfield could have done more to assure his safety. The boy's foster father, John Dilley, 34, of Willard has pleaded innocent to charges of second-degree murder and assault, as well as a charge of child abuse resulting in death. The governor's office requested and accepted the resignation of Robin Gierer, the state's associate director of child welfare who had been with the state for 24 years, said Holden spokesman Mary Still. That follows the recent resignation of Christine White, the assistant deputy director of children's services. White and Gierer both had served as department point people following Dominic's death, providing explanations about the division's foster care policies. Holden also announced a reorganization of the Department of Social Services designed to combine its children's services into one division. "A streamlined focus on children's services provides a new level of attention and oversight needed in an agency this size," Holden said in a statement. Under Holden's plan, a new Division of Children's Services would oversee the foster care system and handle complaints of child abuse or neglect. The Family Services Division, which currently includes everything from foster care to food stamps and welfare payments for the poor, would be reorganized as the Division of Family Support. It would keep the traditional welfare functions and take on the enforcement of child support payments, which presently is handled through a separate division. Child support collection duties would be transferred to the Department of Revenue, and workforce development duties would be transferred to the Department of Economic Development. It has not been determined whether some employees would lose their jobs because of the shuffling, said Katherine Martin, director of the Department of Social Services. The changes are similar to an idea suggested by Martin to legislators earlier this year. Martin had proposed separating children's services from the Division of Family Services, but lawmakers rejected that request in the budget process. Martin said staff responsibilities could begin shifting soon, but lawmakers would have to approve any budgeting changes, which would be effective in July. She said staff attorneys were checking to see whether any state laws would need to be changed to pull off the restructuring. State Sen. Bill Foster, who is leading a Senate committee investigation into the state's child welfare system, said he was not impressed by Holden's structural changes to the department. "I don't think this is going to do anything to significantly protect families, children or foster parents," said Foster, R-Poplar Bluff, adding he was fearful it could result in "more layers of supervision and less money to be spent on direct services." The Senate committee also was formed after the Aug. 21 death of Dominic at a Springfield hospital, where he had been taken for a brain injury that authorities said was consistent with violent shaking. It was the second time he had been to the hospital. Dominic had been entrusted to Dilley and his wife after authorities removed the boy from his mother's home because of a domestic disturbance in which she allegedly was intoxicated and volatile. Sidney James, Dominic's father, has said that he wanted his child out of the Dilley home. He has alleged Dominic had a new injury each week when he had supervised visits with him. Every time he showed concern, James said the caseworker told him he was overreacting. James was not available Tuesday for comment. back to top http://springfield.news-leader.com/specialreports/dominicjames/1102- Dilleytria-207467.html Published November 2, 2003 Dilley trial: Did he, or brain defect, kill Dominic? Trial of foster father, starting Monday, to turn on medical testimony. John W. Dilley's trial in the death of foster child Dominic James starts Monday in Osage County. Among charges he faces: second-degree murder. Dominic's final days Medical and court records obtained by the News-Leader reveal the circumstances before Dominic James' death in 2002: June 19, 2002: Dominic James, 2, is placed in the Willard foster home of John and Jennifer Dilley. July 10, 2002: Dominic's father expresses concern about a bruise under the boy's eye. His foster mother says Dominic hit a dresser. Aug. 10: Dominic is hospitalized for a seizure. Hospital records show he had been vomiting and suffering from dehydration. After 24 hours, the vomiting subsides and he begins eating a regular diet. A brain scan comes back normal. Aug. 13: A hotline call to DFS alleges bruising under Dominic's eye and on his back. Aug. 14: Dominic is discharged from the hospital. A mandated 60-day Family Support Team meeting is held with the DFS social worker, the juvenile officer, the guardian ad litem, the biological parents and the parents' attorney. The foster parents are not present. Documents show the juvenile officer, guardian ad litem and parents' attorney thought the decision was made to move Dominic, but he is kept in the Dilley home. Aug. 18: Dominic is taken from his foster home to Cox South with head injuries. A brain scan reveals bleeding. Aug. 21: Dominic dies; shaken-baby syndrome is suspected. The medical examiner who conducts the autopsy says the death was caused by head trauma. Aug. 30: John W. Dilley, 34, is charged with second-degree murder. By Eric Eckert News-Leader The battle over what led to the death of 2-year-old Dominic James is set to begin Monday in an Osage County courtroom. Greene County prosecutors have charged John W. Dilley Jr. with second-degree murder, assault and child abuse resulting in a death in connection with the death of his foster child. They say Dominic's injuries were indicative of a child who had been shaken violently. Dilley's attorney, Jason Coatney, contends pre-existing medical conditions — specifically "an unusually small brain" — played a part in the boy's death. The case prompted a statewide investigation into the policies of Missouri's child-welfare system and sparked a showdown between Republican legislators and Democratic Gov. Bob Holden. This week, however, the focus will be on the witness box in Osage County. Greene County Circuit Judge Calvin Holden moved the case there to find a pool of jurors untainted by media coverage. Attorneys for both sides have outlined strategies dominated by medical testimony. Prosecutors say they need to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Dilley's actions caused the boy's death on Aug. 21, 2002. But Coatney is ready to show Dominic did not die by the hands of his client, who faces up to life in prison if convicted. During a pretrial hearing last week, Coatney said Dominic "had tremendous medical issues that date back to the day (he) was born." Jurors could hear testimony from nearly 60 witnesses, including two high-profile neuropathologists, investigators, employees with the Division of Family Services and Dilley's estranged wife, Jennifer — a witness for the prosecution. Dominic's father, Sidney James of Springfield, says he plans to attend the trial. He said he's seeking justice for his only son and some closure for himself. "The fact that I don't have a son to carry the last name has really hurt me," Sidney James said. "... This has really had a big effect on my life." DFS steps in Dominic was taken from his parents on June 18. An incident report from the Springfield Police Department shows Sidney James and Dominic's mother, Stephanie Ford, were involved in an argument outside Ford's Springfield apartment. The document said Ford was drinking heavily that night, and Sidney James wasn't in a position to take the child because he didn't have a place to stay. DFS and Springfield police decided to place him with the Dilleys. The child was in their custody from June 18 until Aug. 21 — the day he died. During those two months, Dominic's parents noticed several bruises and injuries to their son. According to the boy's DFS records, his face was swollen and bruised when he visited his mother on July 1. Jennifer Dilley explained the child had been running outside with her son and fell on the sidewalk. Sidney James said he continually told his son's social worker of his concerns about Dominic's condition — including the bruises and the fact that the boy had acquired a limp. "When I went to pick him up by his waist, he was in pain," Sidney James said. "I complained about it, but they told me I was overreacting." Dominic was rushed to the emergency room twice during those two months. In both instances, the toddler was home with his foster father while Jennifer Dilley was at work. Medical reports show that on Aug. 10, the Dilleys called 911 and Dominic was airlifted to a Springfield hospital for seizure-like symptoms and vomiting. A brain scan came back normal, and the formal diagnosis by a physician at Cox South was the boy had a viral infection. Before Dominic was discharged, his Family Support Team — a DFS social worker, juvenile officer, guardian ad litem, his biological parents and the parents' attorney — held a mandatory meeting to determine what should happen with the boy. Documents show the juvenile officer, guardian ad litem and parents' attorney decided to remove Dominic from the Dilley home. But despite their wishes, he was sent home with the Dilleys on Aug. 14. Four days later, on Aug. 18, he was back in the hospital, admitted with head injuries, more seizures and bleeding on the brain. One of the doctors, Ronald Jones, advised DFS workers the injury was from either blunt trauma to the head or shaken-baby syndrome, according to records obtained by the News-Leader. The physician, who has been subpoenaed to testify, then requested an investigation. Within hours, Dominic slipped into a coma and later died. Authorities say Dilley told them that he shook Dominic on Aug. 10 to get his attention and later found him lying on the bedroom floor. During Dilley's November 2002 preliminary hearing, Lt. Jim Arnott of the Greene County Sheriff's Department said Dilley told officers that on Aug. 18 he gave Dominic a bath after the child threw up, and that he vigorously dried his hair. "He said afterwards (Dominic) went limp and fell to the floor," the lieutenant testified. In an interview with the News-Leader, Coatney said he believes the officers — Arnott and Willard police Sgt. Ron Killingsworth — coerced the statements from his client, a contention authorities deny. The attorney added that Dilley's statements aren't incriminating. "What he admitted to was that he would turn (Dominic) to make eye contact," said Coatney, who tried unsuccessfully to prevent Dilley's statements from being admitted. "He would turn him by the body. ... And you can't tell me you can towel-dry a kid's head and cause brain damage." Finding a cause After Dominic died, Greene County Prosecutor Darrell Moore had the boy's body sent to St. Louis, where medical examiner Mary Case performed the autopsy. She said Friday that she is prepared to testify this week that Dominic died from a head injury and that his death was a homicide. Although Dominic's hospital records show doctors believed he had died from injuries consistent with shaken-baby syndrome, Case stopped short of labeling her diagnosis as such. "That's a terminology I don't use," she said. "Sometimes it's a term used rather loosely." Because she is scheduled to testify, Case would not reveal specific injuries she believes led to Dominic's death. Hospital records show, however, the boy suffered a subdural hematoma and a detached retina. Coatney said he has hired an expert to counter Case's testimony. Court documents show he subpoenaed Dr. Jan Leestma, a high-profile neuropathologist who testified for the defense in the murder trial of British au pair Louise Woodward, who was found guilty of violently shaking an 8-month-old boy. Coatney said jurors will see Dominic had existing medical conditions that could have led to his death. Hospital records revealing the results of a brain scan say Dominic's brain "does not fill all of the inner calvarium as normally expected." "The notion that this was a healthy child is wrong," Coatney said in his south Springfield office. "This child died of medical reasons that had nothing to do with abuse." Sidney James said his son never suffered from any pre-existing medical conditions other than bronchitis. "All they have to do is check with his pediatrician," Sidney James said. "That will show there's nothing there." Coatney also plans to question why Case was asked to perform the autopsy. The defense attorney believes Moore bypassed Greene County's medical examiner at the time, Dr. James Spindler, to send Dominic's body to St. Louis, where he could get the answer he was looking for: death by shaking. Case is internationally known for her work with pediatric deaths involving shaking and head injuries. "I think she's morphed into an advocate — not a dispassionate scientist," Coatney said. "She travels the world advocating this." Case, a medical examiner since 1986, denied the defense's claims. Moore said he asked Case to perform the autopsy because Spindler was recovering from shoulder surgery at the time. "This was a case where he couldn't do it," Moore said. "So it made sense to me to go to the pre-eminent forensic pathologist in the state." Spindler said prosecutors sought his approval to ask Case to perform the autopsy. And Case's background is beyond reproach, he said. "Mary is certainly an expert and extremely professional," he said. At the dilley home Before taking Dominic in, John and Jennifer Dilley had opened their home to six other foster children, according to DFS records. They had been licensed foster parents for about a year and had a son about Dominic's age. John Dilley worked as a design engineer at A-One Manufacturing in Strafford, and his wife worked part time as a licensed practical nurse. A family resource assessment conducted by Gateway Youth and Family Services states the Dilleys told officials they were inspired by friends who had become foster parents. "John and Jennifer expect problems to come with the foster kids that come to their home, but they will try to help them as much as possible," the report states. "... (John) says they would just always hope and pray that when children left their home that they would be in better shape" than when they arrived. The state Division of Family Services conducted background checks on John and Jennifer Dilley, but the inquiries failed to uncover an order of protection John Dilley's first wife filed against him in 1993. Reports show Dominic lived a fairly normal life at the Dilleys' home. He slept in a toddler's bed in the same room as the Dilleys' son, played with toys and loved to swim. Coatney said his client is "mild-mannered" and wanted to help kids. "He's very patient, he never used corporal punishment. They always used the 'time out' system." The defense attorney said he is confident his client is innocent and feels Dilley will be acquitted. The attorney would not divulge whether Dilley would testify on his own behalf. "I think there's proof he's innocent and that equates to reasonable doubt," Coatney said. "I believe he's a good man." Witness for prosecution Since Dominic's death, John and Jennifer Dilley have filed for divorce. She is expected to testify early in the trial for the prosecution, said Greene County Assistant Prosecutor Cynthia Rushefsky, who is trying the case along with Assistant Prosecutor Todd Myers. Jennifer Dilley's attorney, Bruce Galloway, said his client wants the truth to be known. "You're not going to see any surprise testimony out of Jennifer," Galloway said. "In terms of my client's motivation, she wants everyone to know what she knows." Galloway said Jennifer Dilley began to compare everything she knew about the case — the symptoms of shaken-baby syndrome, Dominic's autopsy and what she saw firsthand. At some point Jennifer Dilley made up her mind about the case, Galloway said. "She's been forthright in her opinion to the prosecutor's office," the attorney said without elaboration. Coatney said he's not afraid of Jennifer Dilley's testimony. "Jennifer Dilley, as far as I know, has never said my client was a violent or abusive man," the defense attorney said. "I don't know what the state thinks they're gonna get out of her." Last week, the Dilleys settled a civil lawsuit filed against them by Sidney James. The couple's homeowners insurance company decided to pay $100,000 to Dominic's surviving relatives. While Sidney James once raged against the Dilleys, he said he now forgives Jennifer. "At first I really felt she knew what was going on and was covering up for her husband," Sidney James said. "But then I came to the conclusion a wife has to believe her husband. I'm really glad Jennifer is coming forward." On Monday, the Osage County courthouse will be swarming with activity. Attorneys will begin picking a jury from a pool of approximately 60 people, Judge Holden said. Opening statements could start as early as Monday afternoon. Court TV and other news media are scheduled to pack the courtroom to cover the proceeding. The trial is expected to last five days. Each day, Greene County prosecutors will bus in a load of witnesses to testify, Moore said. back to top jan 2002 anthony bars, killed by adoptive parents. July 2, 2004 A former child welfare caseworker today asked a Marion County judge to dismiss the criminal charges she faces in connection with the adoption of Anthony Bars, who died of neglect at the hands of his adoptive parents. : Denise C. Moore, 42, is charged with three felonies and three misdemeanors in the death of 4-year-old Anthony. During a 90-minute hearing this morning, Moore claimed that Marion County prosecutors failed to file criminal charges against her before the statute of limitations expired. Prosecutors argued that they filed the case before the deadline. Judge Robert Altice took the issue under advisement. Moore's jury trial is scheduled to begin Sept. 20. Moore, prosecutors say, lied about performing a background check on L.B. and Latricia Bars, the couple convicted in the January 2002 child-abuse death of Anthony Bars. A background check would have found at least two cases of substantiated abuse in the Barses' home. In addition, L.B. Bars was convicted in 1987 of felony battery for whipping his daughter with an extension cord. Call Star reporter Vic Ryckaert at (317) 444-2750. http://www.indystar.com/articles/1/159475-7971-093.html back to top Originally published Sunday, April 19, 1998 --------------------------------------------------------------------- ------ Report in Boys Ranch death Account details teen's cries for medical help Staff and wire reports A Sacramento boy who died in March while being restrained at an Arizona paramilitary youth camp was gasping for breath a day earlier, but camp workers thought he was faking, a report says. [Image] Nicholaus Contreraz's mother said Saturday that the report shows that the Arizona Boys Ranch "helped Nick into his grave." The report released Friday also provided her with new and disturbing details about what happened the day of her son died and earlier, Julie Vega said. "At first I thought, 'Well, maybe they just beat him and didn't give him medical attention.' I didn't think it could be as God-awful as it was, having him carry around this bucket and do pushups in it," she said. The report by the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said a staff nurse told Contreraz that his problem was "all in your head" when he exhibited signs of the massive lung infection a day before it killed him. Arizona Boys Ranch, where Contreraz died, serves as a reform school for dozens of young offenders from California. San Joaquin County sends more young offenders to such out-of-state reform schools than all but one other California county. Also, the San Joaquin County Office of Education earns more than $1 million a year by sending teachers to educate California youths at Arizona Boys Ranch and VisionQuest, two of the privately run desert camps, and billing the state for the service. |
