Saturday, March 10, 2012

Ex-Okla. child welfare worker charged with theft

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A fired Oklahoma Department of Human Services child welfare worker has been charged with stealing nearly $3,700 from three disabled foster children.

Michelle Fausett, of Oklahoma City, has been charged with three counts of financial exploitation of a minor.

A working telephone number for Fausett could not be found Saturday. Online court records show a warrant has been issued for her arrest, but do not list an attorney for her and county jail records did not list her as an inmate.

The charges filed Monday by Oklahoma County prosecutors allege that Fausett used federal disability payments to the children in order to by video game systems, laptop computers and televisions, but never delivered the items to the foster homes where the children were living.

One child lost $972, another lost $1,446, and the third lost $1,247, according to prosecutors.

Fausett, who was fired Jan. 20 for dereliction of duty because she stopped coming to work, was charged after DHS completed an internal investigation and sent the findings to prosecutors.

DHS "holds its employees to a very high standard because of the vulnerable people we serve," department spokeswoman Sheree Powell told The Oklahoman for a story published Saturday.

"The financial exploitation of a foster child is particularly disgraceful, and we will not tolerate any employee committing such an act," Powell said.

Fausett, who had worked at the agency more than three years, turned in her DHS identification badge, cellphone and computer Dec. 7 after a co-worker confronted her Dec. 5 about why a foster child never got items purchased for him in August, DHS records show.

Source http://www.necn.com/03/10/12/Ex-Okla-child-welfare-worker-charged-wit/landing_nation.html?&apID=91c6c2b24d034f64b74ac2346c8b5498

1 comment:

  1. this was my case worker she took my 3 children she was evil vindicktive and refused to help me reunite with my children i feel i have been wronged and that my cased needs to be looked at by another case worker and my children should be reunited with me this worker was not out for my or my childrens best intrest at all someone help me where do i start

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