By Marjie Lundstrom and Sam Stanton
sstanton@sacbee.com
Published: Saturday, Aug. 20, 2011 - 12:00 am | Page 1A
The court hearing Friday was to sentence 23-year-old Thomas Jerome Martin to prison for beating 3-year-old Valeeya Brazile to death.
But it turned into a public trial of Sacramento County's Child Protective Services, and Superior Court Judge Michael A. Savage found the agency guilty.
In a searing condemnation of CPS, the judge recounted repeated failures to save the little girl from months of beatings that eventually killed her and sent her mother and Martin, the mother's live-in boyfriend, off to prison.
"There is not the slightest evidence in this case that the protection or safety of Valeeya or her brother was ever a priority, or even a significant concern, for the agency or the caseworker charged with their protection," Savage said before he sentenced Martin to prison for the maximum 29 years to life.
Valeeya, a smiling little girl who loved pancakes and was proud of the fact that she could recognize the letter "V," was killed Feb. 5, 2008, in a Fair Oaks apartment. The child had been living with Martin, her 6-year-old brother and her mother, Mia Holmes, who is now serving 12 years.
Martin denies killing Valeeya, and as the judge and three of Valeeya's relatives spoke, he sat quietly at the defense table, yawning, shaking his head and cracking his knuckles.
Savage said the jury that convicted Martin of second-degree murder was the only official body that did anything on Valeeya's behalf.
"The evidence in this case of repeated, systematic, purposeful and brutally inflicted trauma by Mr. Martin on Valeeya is mountainous and undeniable," Savage said. "There is no doubt that this defendant routinely and unmercifully battered this absolutely defenseless 3-year-old, eventually beating her with enough force to end her life.
"And, unlike many others involved in this case, the jury was not fooled, did not shrug and did not shirk their responsibility."
Ann Edwards, director of the Department of Health and Human Services that oversees CPS, said in a statement issued Friday that Valeeya's murder "is tragic and we all mourn her loss.
"Although we cannot comment on the specifics of this case due to confidentiality laws, CPS has made significant practice improvements since 2008."
Valeeya's murder was among a series of high-profile deaths involving children whose families had been known to CPS. The mounting death toll, reported in a series of Bee stories, triggered numerous outside reviews.
Lynn Frank, Edwards' predecessor in the top job, resigned in 2009 as a scathing grand jury report was about to be released.
This month, the county announced that CPS Director Laura Coulthard was resigning under unexplained circumstances.
While CPS advocates say the agency has improved, despite budget cuts, Savage said the agency was more concerned with helping the mother than protecting Valeeya and her brother.
Savage said the social worker's "personal policy" to announce all visits contributed to CPS never discovering that Martin was living in the apartment – or using it as a haven for his marijuana-dealing business.
"With that ludicrous practice in place, the worker showed the ultimate disrespect to the one person she should have been duty bound to protect: Valeeya Brazile," Savage said.
The judge noted that in 2006, when Valeeya was 2 and sitting unrestrained in her mother's car, Holmes tried to run over a boyfriend.
"That behavior was so outrageous that CPS was given the responsibility of providing 'protection' for Valeeya and her sibling," Savage said. "At least, that's what the agency title implied.
"Based on that car assault alone, rational adults might have appropriately concluded that Mia had forever forfeited her right to act as a caretaker for Valeeya or any other child, for that manner."
Instead, CPS returned the children to Holmes after only four months. The social worker assigned to the case, Alexis Hince, protected Holmes' interests over that of the children, Savage said.
"How in the world could such a thing happen while CPS watched … ?" he asked.
"The case worker in this case testified, 'My job was to help her to get her children back, not to take her children away from her, so my job was to work with her in that goal so she didn't have to be worried she was going to lose her kids.'
"Heaven forbid that Mia Holmes would have had to have a moment's worry about losing her kids."
A 2009 Bee investigation found Hince was one of at least 68 individuals out of 969 CPS workers at the time with a criminal record. Savage said Hince made it clear that CPS knew of her convictions for welfare fraud – one while she worked at the agency. However, the judge said, Hince testified her convictions did not become a problem for her until they were reported in The Bee.
A CPS spokeswoman said Hince has not worked for the county since May 2009.
"It should go without saying that having criminals monitor criminals, especially when children are involved, begs for calamity," Savage said.
Martin sat impassively as the judge, a no-nonsense former prosecutor becoming known for his withering comments at sentencings, described how Martin had wasted his life serving as a baby sitter for Holmes, who was 20 years his senior.
"The defendant, 19 years old and unemployed, spent every day of his life devoted to playing video games, selling marijuana and becoming intoxicated," he said. "He completely escaped the notice of CPS, even though he lived in Mia's apartment every day for months on end."
Courtroom seats filled quickly Friday as five sheriff's detectives filed in and were seated among relatives for both Martin and Valeeya. Before the judge's calm, systematic deconstruction of CPS, Deputy District Attorney Rick Miller brought forward three of Valeeya's relatives to express their anger at Martin.
On one side of the courtroom, where Martin's grandmother and other family members were seated, rumblings of discontent began, and two of the five bailiffs present to keep the peace escorted two men out into the hallway, one of them shouting.
Olga Smith, the little girl's aunt, told Martin he was a "monster."
"I don't know what that little baby could have done to you to make you want to torture her on a daily basis," she said, "to make you want to throw her, to make you want to throw her in the air, to feel her heartbeat, punch her in the stomach, man, and on top of her little head.
"I don't know what would make you want do that. What could she have done to you?"
Eventually, Smith's emotions boiled over and she shouted profanities at Martin, something that often will result in expulsion from court.
The judge did not move to stop her, and Martin feigned boredom.
"It makes you angry," prosecutor Miller told The Bee. "Anybody who looks at this just gets angry."
The entire hearing took just over 30 minutes, and bailiffs escorted the emotional relatives out in groups.
Smith stopped one bailiff and told him, "Go hug that judge for me."
As she left the courtroom, with Martin still seated at the defense table, Smith called out one last message:
"Bye, monster."
Source http://www.sacbee.com/2011/08/20/3849750/sacramento-judge-eviscerates-defendant.html
CPS corruption hurts and destroys families worldwide. Please use caution posting about CPS here or anyplace on the internet. For your protection, using your full, real name and precise location is not advised. CPS has eyes everywhere and CPS is notorious for taking what people say, twisting it, embellishing on it and then using it against them in CPS "investigations" and at court proceedings.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Funeral Set for 4 year old girl
August 20, 2011 6:53 PM
Ashley Gaston
The Funeral has been set for a 4 year old girl who Investigators say died at the hands of her mothers boyfriend. Breonna Nichole Loftin died Wednesday night. Her funeral service will be 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, August 23, 2011, at Eastgate United Pentecostal Church, 290 South Street, Vidor with burial to follow at Restlawn Memorial Park in Vidor under the direction of Broussard’s, 530 W. Monroe, Kountze. A gathering of her family and friends will be Monday evening, August 22, 2011, from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at Broussard’s.
HARDIN COUNTY - A judge has set bond at more than $1 million each for a mother and boyfriend charged with Injury to a Child in connection with the death of the woman's 4-year-old daughter.
Read the complete affidavit for Jason Delacerda
Read the complete affidavit for Amanda Guidry
State District Court Judge Steve Thomas arraigned Amanda Nichole Guidry, 30, and her boyfriend, Jason Wade Delacerda, 34, Friday afternoon on 1st Degree Felony Charges of Injury to a Child.
He set Delacerda's bond at $2 million and Guidry's at $1.5 million.
The judge appointed attorney Sonny Cribbs to represent Delacerda and Jimmy Hamm to represent Guidry.
Investigators say the child suffered physical and sexual abuse, and neglect, for months.
The Hardin County Sheriff's Office and Child Protective Services are investigating the death of the child in what Sheriff Ed Cain and CPS spokeswoman Shari Pulliam tell KFDM News is "one of the worst child abuse cases" they've ever seen.
District Attorney David Sheffield says additional charges could be filed in the case.
KFDM News has obtained a Probable Cause Affidavit for the arrest of Delacerda and Guidry.
According to the Affidavit, Delacerda admitted making the 4-year-old stand barefoot on water caps.
Investigators spoke with two male juveniles who said they saw him make the girl stand on the bottle caps and observed Delacerda strike the child in the head and torso several times. The juveniles also said they saw him kick the girl several times on her body. Investigators say Delacerda admitted to those actions.
The Affidavit states Guidry told investigators that she observed Delacerda throw the child across the room on one occasion.
The court document indicates he admitted spilling hot coffee on her foot and thigh and causing burns, and he admitted spanking the child so hard with a wooden paddle that he caused injury to her buttocks.
Guedry, according to the document, admits she knew her daughter was being abused and failed to seek medical attention or to report the actions to law enforcement.
The Affidavit states the child suffered a number of injuries that include, numerous broken ribs in various stages of healing, abrasions to her left temple, a bruise in the middle of her forehead, a burn mark on her left chest, a burn to her inner right upper thigh, a burn to the top of her foot, bruising to her vaginal area, severe burns to both buttocks, bruising to her left shoulder, and an old fracture on her left leg.
A neighbor told KFDM News they saw the girl outside only a couple of times. The last time was about two months ago. They told us she was never allowed outside. The neighbor said the mother and boyfriend always had an excuse about why she couldn't come outside to play.
The girl weighed 32 pounds.
"That child suffered months and months of physical abuse, sexual abuse and also neglect," Shari Pulliam with Child Protective Services told KFDM News.
Funeral arrangements for the girl are pending with Broussard's Mortuary in Koutze.
Late Thursday afternoon deputies arrested the mother, Amanda Guidry, 30, and her boyfriend, Jason Delacerda, 34, and jailed them on 1st Degree Felony charges of Injury to a Child. If convicted they could face up to life in prison.
Sheriff Cain says the boyfriend called 911 Wednesday night and an ambulance took the child to Christus Hospital Saint Elizabeth. She died at about midnight. Sheriff's deputies and Child Protective Services began investigating and visited the couple's mobile home off Highway 69 in Kountze. Investigators say there were visible signs of abuse. A preliminary autopsy shows the four-year-old girl died of blunt force trauma to the head. The autopsy report lists the preliminary manner of death as homicide. Toxicology results are pending.
Sheriff Cain said the mother and boyfriend voluntarily came to the Sheriff's Office for questioning Thursday afternoon and were arrested following the questioning.
Shari Pulliam with CPS says investigators with her agency are shaken up after seeing what Pulliam calls abuse the girl suffered. Investigators believe it went on for nearly six months. The Sheriff and Pulliam say it's one of the worst cases of abuse they've ever seen. Pulliam says nearly every one of the girl's ribs was shattered.
"Old fractures and new fractures," said Pulliam. "Almost every rib on this child was fractured. The child had a skull fracture, multiple cigarette burns to the chest. Large burn on her foot and both buttocks."
Cain said the girl had "numerous bruises and burns, basically from head to toe." The Sheriff said she was the victim of severe abuse going on the last several months. According to Cain, his office is consulting with the Hardin County District Attorney's Office and other charges might be filed in the case.
"I've never seen anything this bad," said Sheriff Cain. "Doctors agree and they're saying it's pretty bad. I can't believe it went on this long without anyone bringing it to our attention."
Cain said it hurts him to see children who are abused.
"Any time there's a child involved, they are totally helpless. An adult can help themselves but children like this, they can't help themselves. It's a serious case. It's sad, it's tragic. This child has suffered a lot."
Pulliam says the girl would have turned five in December. According to Pulliam, the girl was malnourished. She weighed only 32 pounds. Pulliam says that's a definite sign of abuse. She says no calls were made to indicate any abuse was going on in the home.
Source http://www.kfdm.com/articles/year-44378-old-funeral.html<>
Ashley Gaston
The Funeral has been set for a 4 year old girl who Investigators say died at the hands of her mothers boyfriend. Breonna Nichole Loftin died Wednesday night. Her funeral service will be 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, August 23, 2011, at Eastgate United Pentecostal Church, 290 South Street, Vidor with burial to follow at Restlawn Memorial Park in Vidor under the direction of Broussard’s, 530 W. Monroe, Kountze. A gathering of her family and friends will be Monday evening, August 22, 2011, from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at Broussard’s.
HARDIN COUNTY - A judge has set bond at more than $1 million each for a mother and boyfriend charged with Injury to a Child in connection with the death of the woman's 4-year-old daughter.
Read the complete affidavit for Jason Delacerda
Read the complete affidavit for Amanda Guidry
State District Court Judge Steve Thomas arraigned Amanda Nichole Guidry, 30, and her boyfriend, Jason Wade Delacerda, 34, Friday afternoon on 1st Degree Felony Charges of Injury to a Child.
He set Delacerda's bond at $2 million and Guidry's at $1.5 million.
The judge appointed attorney Sonny Cribbs to represent Delacerda and Jimmy Hamm to represent Guidry.
Investigators say the child suffered physical and sexual abuse, and neglect, for months.
The Hardin County Sheriff's Office and Child Protective Services are investigating the death of the child in what Sheriff Ed Cain and CPS spokeswoman Shari Pulliam tell KFDM News is "one of the worst child abuse cases" they've ever seen.
District Attorney David Sheffield says additional charges could be filed in the case.
KFDM News has obtained a Probable Cause Affidavit for the arrest of Delacerda and Guidry.
According to the Affidavit, Delacerda admitted making the 4-year-old stand barefoot on water caps.
Investigators spoke with two male juveniles who said they saw him make the girl stand on the bottle caps and observed Delacerda strike the child in the head and torso several times. The juveniles also said they saw him kick the girl several times on her body. Investigators say Delacerda admitted to those actions.
The Affidavit states Guidry told investigators that she observed Delacerda throw the child across the room on one occasion.
The court document indicates he admitted spilling hot coffee on her foot and thigh and causing burns, and he admitted spanking the child so hard with a wooden paddle that he caused injury to her buttocks.
Guedry, according to the document, admits she knew her daughter was being abused and failed to seek medical attention or to report the actions to law enforcement.
The Affidavit states the child suffered a number of injuries that include, numerous broken ribs in various stages of healing, abrasions to her left temple, a bruise in the middle of her forehead, a burn mark on her left chest, a burn to her inner right upper thigh, a burn to the top of her foot, bruising to her vaginal area, severe burns to both buttocks, bruising to her left shoulder, and an old fracture on her left leg.
A neighbor told KFDM News they saw the girl outside only a couple of times. The last time was about two months ago. They told us she was never allowed outside. The neighbor said the mother and boyfriend always had an excuse about why she couldn't come outside to play.
The girl weighed 32 pounds.
"That child suffered months and months of physical abuse, sexual abuse and also neglect," Shari Pulliam with Child Protective Services told KFDM News.
Funeral arrangements for the girl are pending with Broussard's Mortuary in Koutze.
Late Thursday afternoon deputies arrested the mother, Amanda Guidry, 30, and her boyfriend, Jason Delacerda, 34, and jailed them on 1st Degree Felony charges of Injury to a Child. If convicted they could face up to life in prison.
Sheriff Cain says the boyfriend called 911 Wednesday night and an ambulance took the child to Christus Hospital Saint Elizabeth. She died at about midnight. Sheriff's deputies and Child Protective Services began investigating and visited the couple's mobile home off Highway 69 in Kountze. Investigators say there were visible signs of abuse. A preliminary autopsy shows the four-year-old girl died of blunt force trauma to the head. The autopsy report lists the preliminary manner of death as homicide. Toxicology results are pending.
Sheriff Cain said the mother and boyfriend voluntarily came to the Sheriff's Office for questioning Thursday afternoon and were arrested following the questioning.
Shari Pulliam with CPS says investigators with her agency are shaken up after seeing what Pulliam calls abuse the girl suffered. Investigators believe it went on for nearly six months. The Sheriff and Pulliam say it's one of the worst cases of abuse they've ever seen. Pulliam says nearly every one of the girl's ribs was shattered.
"Old fractures and new fractures," said Pulliam. "Almost every rib on this child was fractured. The child had a skull fracture, multiple cigarette burns to the chest. Large burn on her foot and both buttocks."
Cain said the girl had "numerous bruises and burns, basically from head to toe." The Sheriff said she was the victim of severe abuse going on the last several months. According to Cain, his office is consulting with the Hardin County District Attorney's Office and other charges might be filed in the case.
"I've never seen anything this bad," said Sheriff Cain. "Doctors agree and they're saying it's pretty bad. I can't believe it went on this long without anyone bringing it to our attention."
Cain said it hurts him to see children who are abused.
"Any time there's a child involved, they are totally helpless. An adult can help themselves but children like this, they can't help themselves. It's a serious case. It's sad, it's tragic. This child has suffered a lot."
Pulliam says the girl would have turned five in December. According to Pulliam, the girl was malnourished. She weighed only 32 pounds. Pulliam says that's a definite sign of abuse. She says no calls were made to indicate any abuse was going on in the home.
Source http://www.kfdm.com/articles/year-44378-old-funeral.html<>
No Cause for Marijuana Case, but Enough for Child Neglect
By MOSI SECRET
Published: August 17, 2011
The police found about 10 grams of marijuana, or about a third of an ounce, when they searched Penelope Harris’s apartment in the Bronx last year. The amount was below the legal threshold for even a misdemeanor, and prosecutors declined to charge her. But Ms. Harris, a mother whose son and niece were home when she was briefly in custody, could hardly rest easy.
The police had reported her arrest to the state’s child welfare hot line, and city caseworkers quickly arrived and took the children away.
Her son, then 10, spent more than a week in foster care. Her niece, who was 8 and living with her as a foster child, was placed in another home and not returned by the foster care agency for more than a year. Ms. Harris, 31, had to weather a lengthy child neglect inquiry, though she had no criminal record and had never before been investigated by the child welfare authorities, Ms. Harris and her lawyer said.
“I felt like less of a parent, like I had failed my children,” Ms. Harris said. “It tore me up.”
Hundreds of New Yorkers who have been caught with small amounts of marijuana, or who have simply admitted to using it, have become ensnared in civil child neglect cases in recent years, though they did not face even the least of criminal charges, according to city records and defense lawyers. A small number of parents in these cases have even lost custody of their children.
New York City’s child welfare agency said that it was pursuing these cases for appropriate reasons, and that marijuana use by parents could often hint at other serious problems in the way they cared for their children.
As states and localities around the country loosen penalties for marijuana, for both recreational and medical uses, they are increasingly grappling with how to handle its presence in homes with children. California, where the medical marijuana movement has flourished, now requires that child welfare officials demonstrate actual harm to a child from marijuana use in order to bring neglect cases, and defense lawyers there say the authorities are now bringing fewer of them.
But in New York, the child welfare agency has not shied from these cases. For these parents, the child welfare system has become an alternate system of justice, with legal standards on marijuana that appear to be tougher than those of criminal courts or, to some extent, of society at large. In interviews, lawyers from the three legal services groups that the city hires to defend parents said they saw hundreds of marijuana cases each year, most involving recreational users.
The lawyers said they currently had more than a dozen cases on their dockets involving parents who had never faced neglect allegations and whose children were placed in foster care because of marijuana allegations.
Lauren Shapiro, director of the Brooklyn Family Defense Project, which defends most parents facing neglect charges in Family Court in Brooklyn, said more than 90 percent of the cases alleging drug use that her lawyers handle involve marijuana, as opposed to other drugs.
“There is not the same use of crack cocaine as there used to be, so they are filing these cases instead,” Ms. Shapiro said.
Marijuana is the most common illicit drug in New York City: 730,000 people, or 12 percent of people age 12 and older, use the drug at least once annually, according to city health data.
Over all, the rate of marijuana use among whites is twice as high as among blacks and Hispanics in the city, the data show, but defense lawyers said these cases were rarely if ever filed against white parents.
Michael Fagan, a spokesman for the Administration for Children’s Services, said the defense lawyers were offering a simplistic portrayal of these cases.
“Drug use itself is not child abuse or neglect, but it can put children in danger of neglect or abuse,” Mr. Fagan said. “We think the argument that use of cocaine, heroin or marijuana by a parent of young children should not be looked into or should simply be ignored is just plain wrong.”
Mr. Fagan said most of the cases involved additional forms of neglect, like a child who is not going to school or who has been left unattended.
“In other times, we find that admitted marijuana use masks other substance abuse,” Mr. Fagan said.
But lawyers for parents countered that the agency often brought neglect charges based solely on recreational marijuana use, then searched later for other grounds to bolster cases.
“In some cases, there are other allegations, but we think they are add-ons,” said Susan Jacobs, executive director of the Center for Family Representation, which works in Manhattan and Queens. “The reason the person is being brought into Family Court is the marijuana use.”
Ms. Jacobs cited the case of a former client, Jose Gunnell, 23, of Harlem, who lost custody of his 1-year-old daughter in March after an employee at a homeless shelter where he was staying found a $5 bag of marijuana in his room during an inspection.
Mr. Gunnell said in an interview that he stopped smoking marijuana in 2010 but that he used it again in March after having an infected tooth pulled. “The wound wouldn’t close,” he said. “I was getting hungry, but I couldn’t eat. I bought weed.”
The neglect petition that the Administration for Children’s Services filed against Mr. Gunnell shows that he admitted to smoking marijuana to develop an appetite.
The agency’s petition also said that his daughter did not always have adequate clothing, that shelter workers once smelled alcohol on Mr. Gunnell’s breath and that his room was dirty and had an odor.
The agency would not comment on Mr. Gunnell’s case or on others described by defense lawyers, citing confidentiality rules.
Ms. Jacobs acknowledged that the Administration for Children’s Services might at times correctly determine that marijuana use was one of many serious problems in a family, but she contended that those were only a minority of the cases.
State law makes possession of as much as 25 grams of marijuana — enough for 20 or 30 marijuana cigarettes — a violation similar to a traffic offense, punishable by a fine of up to $100. The Administration for Children’s Services does not track the number of parents facing marijuana allegations. It compiles statistics only on the total number of neglect cases for drugs and alcohol, rather than for individual drugs. There were 4,891 such cases in 2010.
State law considers a child neglected if his or her well-being is threatened by a parent who “repeatedly misuses” a drug. But the law does not distinguish marijuana from heroin or other drugs. The law says that if parents have “substantial impairment of judgment,” then there is a presumption of neglect, but it does not refer to quantities of drugs.
Furthermore, the law does not require child welfare authorities to catch parents while they are high or with drugs in their possession. Simply admitting past use to a caseworker is grounds for a neglect case.
In marijuana cases, as in all others, caseworkers have the obligation to remove children who they believe are in imminent danger, but they can recommend that the agency file neglect charges against the parents without removing the children. They can also close cases for unsubstantiated allegations.
Neglect findings, while sometimes allowing parents to keep their children, can have serious repercussions. They prohibit parents from taking jobs around children, like driving a school bus or working in day care, or from being foster care parents or adopting. And they make it easier for Family Court judges to later remove children from their homes.
The findings stay on parents’ records with the Statewide Central Register until their youngest child turns 28.
The policy of the Administration for Children’s Services to pursue marijuana cases is not widely known. But when told of it, some lawmakers said the agency was overstepping its authority.
“I would hope that A.C.S., knowing what a wide-net strategy the N.Y.P.D. is using, would treat marijuana arrests with a grain of salt,” said Brad Lander, a Democratic city councilman from Brooklyn. “A neglect charge should not be leveled.”
Ms. Harris, the woman briefly held in custody in the Bronx, said the police had searched her apartment because they believed drugs were being sold there, an allegation that she denied. She said the small bags of marijuana the police found belonged to her boyfriend and were for his personal use. She tested negative for drugs after she was released.
The Administration for Children’s Services filed neglect charges about a week after Bronx prosecutors declined to press charges. Ms. Harris was represented by the Bronx Defenders, a nonprofit organization that provides legal assistance to Bronx residents.
In a hearing the next day, the agency agreed to return Ms. Harris’s son on the condition that her boyfriend not return to the home, that she enroll in therapy and submit to random drug screenings, and that caseworkers could make announced and unannounced visits to her home. Ms. Harris’s case was closed in April without a finding of neglect.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/18/nyregion/parents-minor-marijuana-arrests-lead-to-child-neglect-cases.html?_r=1&src=recg&pagewanted=all
Published: August 17, 2011
The police found about 10 grams of marijuana, or about a third of an ounce, when they searched Penelope Harris’s apartment in the Bronx last year. The amount was below the legal threshold for even a misdemeanor, and prosecutors declined to charge her. But Ms. Harris, a mother whose son and niece were home when she was briefly in custody, could hardly rest easy.
The police had reported her arrest to the state’s child welfare hot line, and city caseworkers quickly arrived and took the children away.
Her son, then 10, spent more than a week in foster care. Her niece, who was 8 and living with her as a foster child, was placed in another home and not returned by the foster care agency for more than a year. Ms. Harris, 31, had to weather a lengthy child neglect inquiry, though she had no criminal record and had never before been investigated by the child welfare authorities, Ms. Harris and her lawyer said.
“I felt like less of a parent, like I had failed my children,” Ms. Harris said. “It tore me up.”
Hundreds of New Yorkers who have been caught with small amounts of marijuana, or who have simply admitted to using it, have become ensnared in civil child neglect cases in recent years, though they did not face even the least of criminal charges, according to city records and defense lawyers. A small number of parents in these cases have even lost custody of their children.
New York City’s child welfare agency said that it was pursuing these cases for appropriate reasons, and that marijuana use by parents could often hint at other serious problems in the way they cared for their children.
As states and localities around the country loosen penalties for marijuana, for both recreational and medical uses, they are increasingly grappling with how to handle its presence in homes with children. California, where the medical marijuana movement has flourished, now requires that child welfare officials demonstrate actual harm to a child from marijuana use in order to bring neglect cases, and defense lawyers there say the authorities are now bringing fewer of them.
But in New York, the child welfare agency has not shied from these cases. For these parents, the child welfare system has become an alternate system of justice, with legal standards on marijuana that appear to be tougher than those of criminal courts or, to some extent, of society at large. In interviews, lawyers from the three legal services groups that the city hires to defend parents said they saw hundreds of marijuana cases each year, most involving recreational users.
The lawyers said they currently had more than a dozen cases on their dockets involving parents who had never faced neglect allegations and whose children were placed in foster care because of marijuana allegations.
Lauren Shapiro, director of the Brooklyn Family Defense Project, which defends most parents facing neglect charges in Family Court in Brooklyn, said more than 90 percent of the cases alleging drug use that her lawyers handle involve marijuana, as opposed to other drugs.
“There is not the same use of crack cocaine as there used to be, so they are filing these cases instead,” Ms. Shapiro said.
Marijuana is the most common illicit drug in New York City: 730,000 people, or 12 percent of people age 12 and older, use the drug at least once annually, according to city health data.
Over all, the rate of marijuana use among whites is twice as high as among blacks and Hispanics in the city, the data show, but defense lawyers said these cases were rarely if ever filed against white parents.
Michael Fagan, a spokesman for the Administration for Children’s Services, said the defense lawyers were offering a simplistic portrayal of these cases.
“Drug use itself is not child abuse or neglect, but it can put children in danger of neglect or abuse,” Mr. Fagan said. “We think the argument that use of cocaine, heroin or marijuana by a parent of young children should not be looked into or should simply be ignored is just plain wrong.”
Mr. Fagan said most of the cases involved additional forms of neglect, like a child who is not going to school or who has been left unattended.
“In other times, we find that admitted marijuana use masks other substance abuse,” Mr. Fagan said.
But lawyers for parents countered that the agency often brought neglect charges based solely on recreational marijuana use, then searched later for other grounds to bolster cases.
“In some cases, there are other allegations, but we think they are add-ons,” said Susan Jacobs, executive director of the Center for Family Representation, which works in Manhattan and Queens. “The reason the person is being brought into Family Court is the marijuana use.”
Ms. Jacobs cited the case of a former client, Jose Gunnell, 23, of Harlem, who lost custody of his 1-year-old daughter in March after an employee at a homeless shelter where he was staying found a $5 bag of marijuana in his room during an inspection.
Mr. Gunnell said in an interview that he stopped smoking marijuana in 2010 but that he used it again in March after having an infected tooth pulled. “The wound wouldn’t close,” he said. “I was getting hungry, but I couldn’t eat. I bought weed.”
The neglect petition that the Administration for Children’s Services filed against Mr. Gunnell shows that he admitted to smoking marijuana to develop an appetite.
The agency’s petition also said that his daughter did not always have adequate clothing, that shelter workers once smelled alcohol on Mr. Gunnell’s breath and that his room was dirty and had an odor.
The agency would not comment on Mr. Gunnell’s case or on others described by defense lawyers, citing confidentiality rules.
Ms. Jacobs acknowledged that the Administration for Children’s Services might at times correctly determine that marijuana use was one of many serious problems in a family, but she contended that those were only a minority of the cases.
State law makes possession of as much as 25 grams of marijuana — enough for 20 or 30 marijuana cigarettes — a violation similar to a traffic offense, punishable by a fine of up to $100. The Administration for Children’s Services does not track the number of parents facing marijuana allegations. It compiles statistics only on the total number of neglect cases for drugs and alcohol, rather than for individual drugs. There were 4,891 such cases in 2010.
State law considers a child neglected if his or her well-being is threatened by a parent who “repeatedly misuses” a drug. But the law does not distinguish marijuana from heroin or other drugs. The law says that if parents have “substantial impairment of judgment,” then there is a presumption of neglect, but it does not refer to quantities of drugs.
Furthermore, the law does not require child welfare authorities to catch parents while they are high or with drugs in their possession. Simply admitting past use to a caseworker is grounds for a neglect case.
In marijuana cases, as in all others, caseworkers have the obligation to remove children who they believe are in imminent danger, but they can recommend that the agency file neglect charges against the parents without removing the children. They can also close cases for unsubstantiated allegations.
Neglect findings, while sometimes allowing parents to keep their children, can have serious repercussions. They prohibit parents from taking jobs around children, like driving a school bus or working in day care, or from being foster care parents or adopting. And they make it easier for Family Court judges to later remove children from their homes.
The findings stay on parents’ records with the Statewide Central Register until their youngest child turns 28.
The policy of the Administration for Children’s Services to pursue marijuana cases is not widely known. But when told of it, some lawmakers said the agency was overstepping its authority.
“I would hope that A.C.S., knowing what a wide-net strategy the N.Y.P.D. is using, would treat marijuana arrests with a grain of salt,” said Brad Lander, a Democratic city councilman from Brooklyn. “A neglect charge should not be leveled.”
Ms. Harris, the woman briefly held in custody in the Bronx, said the police had searched her apartment because they believed drugs were being sold there, an allegation that she denied. She said the small bags of marijuana the police found belonged to her boyfriend and were for his personal use. She tested negative for drugs after she was released.
The Administration for Children’s Services filed neglect charges about a week after Bronx prosecutors declined to press charges. Ms. Harris was represented by the Bronx Defenders, a nonprofit organization that provides legal assistance to Bronx residents.
In a hearing the next day, the agency agreed to return Ms. Harris’s son on the condition that her boyfriend not return to the home, that she enroll in therapy and submit to random drug screenings, and that caseworkers could make announced and unannounced visits to her home. Ms. Harris’s case was closed in April without a finding of neglect.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/18/nyregion/parents-minor-marijuana-arrests-lead-to-child-neglect-cases.html?_r=1&src=recg&pagewanted=all
Guatemalan Court Order Rattles Foreign Adoption Community
Adam Martin Aug 19, 2011
The story about a young, missing Guatemalan girl whose mother searched for her for five years and eventually found she had been adopted by a couple in Missouri has been floating around for a couple of years now. But the latest news is that the mother, Loyda Rodriguez Morales, has essentially won her case. CNN reported on Monday that the Guatemalan government had ordered the girl returned, and that because it was considered a case of human trafficking, would call Interpol to enforce the order if the adoptive parents didn't comply. According to Erin Seigal, a fellow at the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism at Brandeis University who's been covering the case closely, that's an unprecedented move in the world of international adoptions.
And as Metafilter noted, the case has been "rocking the adoption world." On forums such as guatadopt.com, members have been debating the case for years. On Thursday, a screed from a user named LauraLyn blasted the way the Monahans had handled the case.
They were offered mediation, and this could have happened in Guatemala or in Liberty. Instead they dug in their heels to hold on to 'their daughter', refused communication, and forced a torturous court process. They claim to want 'to protect' 'Karen Abagail' from 'further trauma'. This is so hard to believe when they have traumatically turned the lives of so many people upside down to keep what does not belong to them. Perhaps other adopted children from Guatemala today are asking: Are my adoptive parents like the Monahans?
But another, Grey, was quick to defend the Monahans' right to privacy and due process.
They have been branded as complicit in fraud, without (to my eyes, at least) facts and evidence. They were faced with a very uncertain situation, and a clear threat (via email) that the little girl they were seeking to adopt could be harmed if they did not continue with the process. Labeling them as accomplices to human trafficking given the nature of their situation is more than unfair; it’s slander.
As an Aug. 12 report in the Houston Chronicle pointed out, "SURVIVORS Foundation, the human rights group representing the birth mother, does not allege the Monahans knew anything about a kidnapping."
On the site Poundpuplegacy, one commenter named Kerry pointed to the power imbalance between birth mother and the adoptive parents.
Let's pretend the mother whose child was kidnapped was a white American. Let's pretend the person who adopted through corrupt adoption facilitators were dark foreigners, and the adoption agency was not affiliated with any agency within the USA. What sort of media attention would this case get, then? What would public outcry sound like after more got news of the story?
Color and economics aside, this is a woman's issue. The adoption industry is slowly but surely pitting woman against woman and as far as I'm concerned educated women who know a thing or two about the plights of (other) women treated like sub-humans need to stand up and NOT TURN THEIR BACKS to the corruption that takes place within the child placement industry.
At the very least, the case seems to be a shocking reminder within the adoption community that while the end goal of adoption is to create loving families, it sometimes begins with tearing other families apart. Unsurprisingly, many comments focused on the benefit the child would have growing up in America, versus returning to Guatemala. Kerry's response was thoughtful: "Have we entered an era where those who support adoption believe no original mother living in a poor region is fit to parent her own child chosen by corrupt child brokers?"
Adoption has been a tumultuous issue for the U.S. and Guatemala over the last few years. Guatemala closed its doors to U.S. adoptions in 2008 because of rampant fraud. They were reopened in 2009, but not without controversy. According to an Aug. 6 Associated Press story, that's what happened with the girl, who was adopted under the name Karen Abigail López GarcÃa, but whose real name is Anyeli Liseth Hernandez Rodriguez, according to a website set up to help search for her. Her mother claims she was snatched from her arms in 2006. The court ordered the PGN, the Guatemalan equivalent of the attorney general's office, to work with the U.S. embassy on retrieving the girl, who has been living with Timothy and Jennifer Monahan in Missouri since 2007. The Monahans have two months from the July 29 order to return the girl, under the latest order from the Guatemalen court.
Source: http://www.theatlanticwire.com/global/2011/08/guatemalan-court-order-rattles-foreign-adoption-community/41514/
The story about a young, missing Guatemalan girl whose mother searched for her for five years and eventually found she had been adopted by a couple in Missouri has been floating around for a couple of years now. But the latest news is that the mother, Loyda Rodriguez Morales, has essentially won her case. CNN reported on Monday that the Guatemalan government had ordered the girl returned, and that because it was considered a case of human trafficking, would call Interpol to enforce the order if the adoptive parents didn't comply. According to Erin Seigal, a fellow at the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism at Brandeis University who's been covering the case closely, that's an unprecedented move in the world of international adoptions.
And as Metafilter noted, the case has been "rocking the adoption world." On forums such as guatadopt.com, members have been debating the case for years. On Thursday, a screed from a user named LauraLyn blasted the way the Monahans had handled the case.
They were offered mediation, and this could have happened in Guatemala or in Liberty. Instead they dug in their heels to hold on to 'their daughter', refused communication, and forced a torturous court process. They claim to want 'to protect' 'Karen Abagail' from 'further trauma'. This is so hard to believe when they have traumatically turned the lives of so many people upside down to keep what does not belong to them. Perhaps other adopted children from Guatemala today are asking: Are my adoptive parents like the Monahans?
But another, Grey, was quick to defend the Monahans' right to privacy and due process.
They have been branded as complicit in fraud, without (to my eyes, at least) facts and evidence. They were faced with a very uncertain situation, and a clear threat (via email) that the little girl they were seeking to adopt could be harmed if they did not continue with the process. Labeling them as accomplices to human trafficking given the nature of their situation is more than unfair; it’s slander.
As an Aug. 12 report in the Houston Chronicle pointed out, "SURVIVORS Foundation, the human rights group representing the birth mother, does not allege the Monahans knew anything about a kidnapping."
On the site Poundpuplegacy, one commenter named Kerry pointed to the power imbalance between birth mother and the adoptive parents.
Let's pretend the mother whose child was kidnapped was a white American. Let's pretend the person who adopted through corrupt adoption facilitators were dark foreigners, and the adoption agency was not affiliated with any agency within the USA. What sort of media attention would this case get, then? What would public outcry sound like after more got news of the story?
Color and economics aside, this is a woman's issue. The adoption industry is slowly but surely pitting woman against woman and as far as I'm concerned educated women who know a thing or two about the plights of (other) women treated like sub-humans need to stand up and NOT TURN THEIR BACKS to the corruption that takes place within the child placement industry.
At the very least, the case seems to be a shocking reminder within the adoption community that while the end goal of adoption is to create loving families, it sometimes begins with tearing other families apart. Unsurprisingly, many comments focused on the benefit the child would have growing up in America, versus returning to Guatemala. Kerry's response was thoughtful: "Have we entered an era where those who support adoption believe no original mother living in a poor region is fit to parent her own child chosen by corrupt child brokers?"
Adoption has been a tumultuous issue for the U.S. and Guatemala over the last few years. Guatemala closed its doors to U.S. adoptions in 2008 because of rampant fraud. They were reopened in 2009, but not without controversy. According to an Aug. 6 Associated Press story, that's what happened with the girl, who was adopted under the name Karen Abigail López GarcÃa, but whose real name is Anyeli Liseth Hernandez Rodriguez, according to a website set up to help search for her. Her mother claims she was snatched from her arms in 2006. The court ordered the PGN, the Guatemalan equivalent of the attorney general's office, to work with the U.S. embassy on retrieving the girl, who has been living with Timothy and Jennifer Monahan in Missouri since 2007. The Monahans have two months from the July 29 order to return the girl, under the latest order from the Guatemalen court.
Source: http://www.theatlanticwire.com/global/2011/08/guatemalan-court-order-rattles-foreign-adoption-community/41514/
Too many kids on psych drugs - Videos
Psychiatry Drugs Foster Care Children – Ashley
Psychiatry Drugs Foster Care Children – Ashley I took my video camera to a Foster Care Alumni meeting and asked seven foster kids to tell me about there experiences in Child Protective Services while wards of the state. One thing they all had in common was massive over drugging with psychiatric drugs. Child placement agencies, foster parents, RTCs (Residential Treatment Centers) and Therapeutic Foster Homes get paid a certain amount of money each day for taking care of a foster child. The amount of money they get paid depends on a level of care system. The more difficult the child or the more problems that child has, the more money you get. A child at the basic level of care is worth about 17 dollars a day where as a child in the highest level of care could be worth as much as a 1000 dollars a day. This puts the incentive on diagnosing children with behavior problems to justify raising their level of care. A child on psychiatric drugs is worth more than a child without problems. It is not uncommon for a foster child to be placed on many different psychotropic drugs at the same time. Some investigations have found children on as many as 13 mind altering drugs prescribed by a psychiatrists at one time. These drugs include all categories of psychiatric drugs; antidepressants, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, anxiety medications, anticonvulsants medications, etc. The SSRI drugs are commons such as Paxil, Zoloft, Prozac, etc. Also a number of these children described taking …
Source http://health5news.com/?p=2728
DCS unveils change to foster care reimbursement rates - Indiana
INDIANAPOLIS | The Indiana Department of Child Services announced Friday a new set of foster care reimbursement rates.
DCS officials now will use a foster child's age and level of need to determine how much his or her foster parent will receive in reimbursement, the department said. In the past, almost all foster parents received $25 per child, per day -- regardless of the child's age or circumstances.
The rates are intended to cover the reasonable costs of caring for a foster child including food, clothing, shelter, daily supervision and travel for visitation and school.
The rate change will affect all of the roughly 4,900 foster homes in Indiana -- 911 of which are located in Lake County, DCS records show. Porter County has 53 foster homes.
The change also will affect reimbursement rates for foster children who are living with relatives -- if the relatives are licensed foster parents.
Some foster parents will see an increase in reimbursement under the new rate system while others will see a decrease.
Foster parents housing a child with basic needs will receive between $18.28 and $22.90 per day under the new rate system, depending on the child's age. Those caring for children requiring more supervision will receive between $26.05 and $66.56, depending on the child's age and level of need.
The new rate system goes into effect Jan. 1.
It was developed as the result of a settlement in a federal lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union in 2009.
In the settlement, DCS agreed to develop a rate-setting method to determine foster care rates.
--
Foster care reimbursement rates per child, per day
Foster care
Infant - 4 years $18.28
5 to 13 years $19.85
14 to 18 years $22.90
Foster care with services
Infant - 4 years $26.05
5 to 13 years $27.62
14 to 18 years $30.67
Therapeutic foster care
Infant - 4 years $38.19
5 to 13 years $39.76
14 to 18 years $42.81
Therapeutic plus
Infant - 4 years $61.94
5 to 13 years $63.51
14 to 18 years $66.56
In addition to the above described per diem payment, foster parents may receive the following payments to purchase items for the benefit of the child:
1. Initial Clothing Allowance – DCS may provide the foster family with an initial clothing and personal items allotment at the time of placement of up to $200 based on the child's need.
2. Liability Insurance – DCS will provide foster care liability insurance for foster parents through a contract with the Indiana Foster Care and Adoption Association (IFCAA). Foster parents no longer need to be members of IFCAA to obtain the insurance.
3. Personal Allowance – DCS will reimburse foster parents up to $300 annually for each child in placement. Foster parents may request reimbursement for personal allowance items once the child has been in placement for at least 8 days. The items that fall within the personal allowance will be defined in DCS Policy.
4. Special Occasion Allowance – DCS will provide a $50 special occasion allowance on the child’s birthday and a $50 special occasion allowance during the December holidays.
5. Travel Reimbursement – DCS will reimburse foster parents for travel in excess of 162 miles if the travel is for visitation, school, physical/behavioral health appointment or other DCS required travel which will be set out in the Indiana Foster Parent Resource Guide.
The foster care per diem covers 162 miles per month for travel as determined by the Ball State Study. If foster parents travel in excess of 162 miles for the reasons cited in 5 above, foster parents can invoice DCS for the additional travel.
Rates are effective Jan. 1.
Source: Indiana Department of Child Services
Source: http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/article_378c9ae4-ce16-5faa-995b-a86e05e6009f.html
DCS officials now will use a foster child's age and level of need to determine how much his or her foster parent will receive in reimbursement, the department said. In the past, almost all foster parents received $25 per child, per day -- regardless of the child's age or circumstances.
The rates are intended to cover the reasonable costs of caring for a foster child including food, clothing, shelter, daily supervision and travel for visitation and school.
The rate change will affect all of the roughly 4,900 foster homes in Indiana -- 911 of which are located in Lake County, DCS records show. Porter County has 53 foster homes.
The change also will affect reimbursement rates for foster children who are living with relatives -- if the relatives are licensed foster parents.
Some foster parents will see an increase in reimbursement under the new rate system while others will see a decrease.
Foster parents housing a child with basic needs will receive between $18.28 and $22.90 per day under the new rate system, depending on the child's age. Those caring for children requiring more supervision will receive between $26.05 and $66.56, depending on the child's age and level of need.
The new rate system goes into effect Jan. 1.
It was developed as the result of a settlement in a federal lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union in 2009.
In the settlement, DCS agreed to develop a rate-setting method to determine foster care rates.
--
Foster care reimbursement rates per child, per day
Foster care
Infant - 4 years $18.28
5 to 13 years $19.85
14 to 18 years $22.90
Foster care with services
Infant - 4 years $26.05
5 to 13 years $27.62
14 to 18 years $30.67
Therapeutic foster care
Infant - 4 years $38.19
5 to 13 years $39.76
14 to 18 years $42.81
Therapeutic plus
Infant - 4 years $61.94
5 to 13 years $63.51
14 to 18 years $66.56
In addition to the above described per diem payment, foster parents may receive the following payments to purchase items for the benefit of the child:
1. Initial Clothing Allowance – DCS may provide the foster family with an initial clothing and personal items allotment at the time of placement of up to $200 based on the child's need.
2. Liability Insurance – DCS will provide foster care liability insurance for foster parents through a contract with the Indiana Foster Care and Adoption Association (IFCAA). Foster parents no longer need to be members of IFCAA to obtain the insurance.
3. Personal Allowance – DCS will reimburse foster parents up to $300 annually for each child in placement. Foster parents may request reimbursement for personal allowance items once the child has been in placement for at least 8 days. The items that fall within the personal allowance will be defined in DCS Policy.
4. Special Occasion Allowance – DCS will provide a $50 special occasion allowance on the child’s birthday and a $50 special occasion allowance during the December holidays.
5. Travel Reimbursement – DCS will reimburse foster parents for travel in excess of 162 miles if the travel is for visitation, school, physical/behavioral health appointment or other DCS required travel which will be set out in the Indiana Foster Parent Resource Guide.
The foster care per diem covers 162 miles per month for travel as determined by the Ball State Study. If foster parents travel in excess of 162 miles for the reasons cited in 5 above, foster parents can invoice DCS for the additional travel.
Rates are effective Jan. 1.
Source: Indiana Department of Child Services
Source: http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/article_378c9ae4-ce16-5faa-995b-a86e05e6009f.html
Friday, August 19, 2011
Young boy’s death at hands of foster parents led to change
Marcus Fiesel was killed five years ago, prompting overhaul of child welfare system.
By Michael D. Pitman, Staff Writer
2:20 AM Sunday, August 7, 2011
It’s been five years since the death of 3-year-old Marcus Fiesel at the hands of his foster parents that captured the attention of the region, state and nation, sent two people to prison for the rest of their lives and led to a child welfare system overhaul.
Marcus, the Middletown boy with an impish grin, would have turned 8 in June. Instead of marking another birthday, he will be remembered for his horrific death.
The developmentally disabled boy was bound in a blanket wrapped with duct tape and placed in a playpen inside an upstairs closet while Liz and David Carroll Jr., live-in girlfriend Amy Baker, their children and foster children, and even the family dog, traveled to an August family reunion in Kentucky during the hottest days of the year.
“I’d like to think the laws that have changed in his memory have been beneficial in the fact that we haven’t had any other child have the same fate that he did,” said Gary Cates, a former state senator from West Chester Twp. “If that’s his legacy, that no other child’s been harmed, then that’s a tremendous legacy that Marcus left other children.”
Both Liz and David Carroll declined interview requests from prison.
Marcus’ death during the weekend of Aug. 4-6, 2006, in the closet of the Carrolls’ Union Twp. home in Clermont County placed a giant spotlight on some gaping holes in the child welfare system and led private foster placement agency, the former Lifeway for Youth, from operating in the state.
While his death was the breaking point to prompt reform in Ohio’s foster care and children services system, other children died while under the charge of Butler County Children Services: Tiffany Hubbard, 3, of Hamilton in 1986; Randi Fuller, 2, of Hamilton, in 2000; Christopher Long, 2, of Middletown, in 2001; Courtney Centers, 3, of Middletown in 2002; Jesus Rodriquez, 7 months, of Hamilton in 2003; and Justin Johnson, 13 months, of Middletown in 2004.
Marcus’ hurdles
Born on June 24, 2003, Marcus had many obstacles from the start. He was born with a developmental disability — though not specifically diagnosed, he had “global delays” and needed 24-hour care and attention.
Marcus slept on a foam mat at the home of his biological mother, Donna Trevino, and he and his siblings were not closely watched or cared for. Butler County Children Services became involved with the family in Aug. 9, 2004.
When Marcus was found wandering the streets on April 22, 2006, almost being hit by a car — roughly four months after he accidentally fell out of a second-story window — caseworkers removed Trevino’s three children from her home, where reports showed there was feces on the carpet and wall of the flea-infested home. This was the third time her children had been taken from her care.
The day Marcus went ‘missing’
The public story of Marcus’ disappearance began on Aug. 15, 2006, after Liz Carroll collapsed from an apparent heart condition at an Anderson Twp. park in Hamilton County. When medics responded, she told them she brought four children to the park, but only three were present. This sparked a massive three-day search by hundreds of volunteers, law enforcement and search and rescue teams.
“I still have nightmares about that little guy,” said Jann Heffner, then director of Butler County Children Services. “You don’t get into this business unless you care about the care and physical well being of a child.”
She and some of her staff, including Marcus’ caseworker Joe Beumer went out immediately to search for the child.
Beumer was in “shock and disbelief” but said the story of his disappearance “wasn’t adding up.” He doubted Marcus would have run off — even though that would be something he would do, when his foster mother collapsed. “Any child that experiences something like that I think their natural instinct would be to stay with that person that’s hurt,” he said, “even if they couldn’t do anything they would just sit there.”
Worry quickly turned into horror at the end of August 2006 when the Carrolls were charged with murder.
The case
Not many things hang on the walls in Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters’ office, but a drawing of Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist Jim Borgman of Marcus holding hands with God walking toward heaven has a special place.
“To this day it just chills me that someone could do that to a little baby. They are where they belong and they will have to answer to God,” Deters said.
Deters had prosecuted the case before it was moved over to Clermont County since Marcus died in the Carrolls’ home. He said he thinks about the 3-year-old boy “all the time.”
“The inhumanity of how they treated him, it boggles my mind when you’ve got children,” he said.
The story of Marcus’ disappearance unraveled at Liz Carroll’s televised news conference, which Deters watched from his office. “It was rehearsed and came off very untruthful,” he said.
He immediately brought in Liz Carroll and Amy Baker (who now goes by Amy Ramsey) before a county grand jury. He talked to Baker first, and with her attorney present, said “if she was not truthful, she’ll go to prison.” After consulting with her attorney — who Deters said was ghostly pale after the attorney-client conversation — Baker admitted what happened to Marcus.
“It was disgusting,” Deters said of her testimony.
She revealed Marcus had been dead for days before the disappearance hoax at the park, and that she helped David Carroll burn the boy’s body in rural Brown County and throw the rest of his remains in the Ohio River.
Following a jury trial in February 2007, Liz Carroll was convicted of charges including murder and sentenced to 54 years to life in prison; her husband later was sentenced to 16 years to life as part of a plea deal.
The aftermath
An Ohio Department of Job and Family Services investigation pointed blame at Lifeway for Youth, the New Carlisle, Ohio-based foster care provider that placed Marcus with the Carrolls.
For reasons that include and extend beyond Marcus’ case, ODJFS later pulled Lifeway’s operational certificate, a decision upheld by a Franklin County judge.
Although investigations determined that Butler County Children Services did nothing wrong, Heffner was moved into a consulting role and then fired by the county commissioners. The Butler County Children Services Board — initially formed in the wake of 3-year-old Tiffany Hubbard’s abuse and death in 1986 at the hands of her biological father — was disbanded.
The Rev. Johnny Wade Sloan, chairman of the 11-member board, didn’t agree or see the reason to disband the board.
“(The Carrolls) promised 24-hour adult supervision and there was no reason for us not to place (the kids) when (Lifeway was) telling us, as a licensed agency, they had an ideal place,” he said.
But Sloan and Heffner said the decisions to disband the board and fire Heffner were political moves and not a result of Marcus’ death. “Marcus Fiesel became the focal point for that happening because that would have happened regardless,” Sloan said. Former Butler County Commissioner Mike Fox resigned his elected seat and later was appointment Children Services director. He has since resigned and is headed to federal prison in an unrelated case.
System changes
The death of Marcus Fiesel prompted change the Ohio child welfare system, though the need for retooling the system had been evident for years, said Gary Cates, a former state senator from West Chester Twp.
In 2007, Cates introduced legislation in the Ohio Senate and Rep. Courtney Combs, R-Hamilton, introduced legislation in the Statehouse.
“I hope and pray that it never happens again,” Combs said of Marcus’ death.
Implementing the legislation requirements cost about $15 million in both the 2008 and 2009 fiscal years, said ODJFS spokeswoman Angela Terez. That investment included about $5.2 million in federal funds in each of the years, she said. After Marcus’ death, the Criminal Justice Information System, formed in Montgomery County, expanded to now include 14 Ohio counties. Had CJIS been in effect in Butler County, Marcus could have been pulled from the Carroll home following a June 2006 domestic violence arrest of David Carroll Jr., though the charge was later dismissed.
“Any foster parent in our network — even foster parents where we don’t have children in their homes — if they are pulled over even for a speeding ticket we’re made aware of it instantly,” said Jeff Centers, current children services director. “Anything that might raise a red flag, we’ll know about it immediately.”
Centers said the county pays $46,000 a year for the CJIS licensing records checks and that the agency also has a $95,000 annual contract with the county sheriff’s office to have a deputy supervise the investigations unit and provide services such as security and finding runaways.
Source http://www.oxfordpress.com/news/oxford-news/young-boys-death-at-hands-of-foster-parents-led-to-change-1224553.html
By Michael D. Pitman, Staff Writer
2:20 AM Sunday, August 7, 2011
It’s been five years since the death of 3-year-old Marcus Fiesel at the hands of his foster parents that captured the attention of the region, state and nation, sent two people to prison for the rest of their lives and led to a child welfare system overhaul.
Marcus, the Middletown boy with an impish grin, would have turned 8 in June. Instead of marking another birthday, he will be remembered for his horrific death.
The developmentally disabled boy was bound in a blanket wrapped with duct tape and placed in a playpen inside an upstairs closet while Liz and David Carroll Jr., live-in girlfriend Amy Baker, their children and foster children, and even the family dog, traveled to an August family reunion in Kentucky during the hottest days of the year.
“I’d like to think the laws that have changed in his memory have been beneficial in the fact that we haven’t had any other child have the same fate that he did,” said Gary Cates, a former state senator from West Chester Twp. “If that’s his legacy, that no other child’s been harmed, then that’s a tremendous legacy that Marcus left other children.”
Both Liz and David Carroll declined interview requests from prison.
Marcus’ death during the weekend of Aug. 4-6, 2006, in the closet of the Carrolls’ Union Twp. home in Clermont County placed a giant spotlight on some gaping holes in the child welfare system and led private foster placement agency, the former Lifeway for Youth, from operating in the state.
While his death was the breaking point to prompt reform in Ohio’s foster care and children services system, other children died while under the charge of Butler County Children Services: Tiffany Hubbard, 3, of Hamilton in 1986; Randi Fuller, 2, of Hamilton, in 2000; Christopher Long, 2, of Middletown, in 2001; Courtney Centers, 3, of Middletown in 2002; Jesus Rodriquez, 7 months, of Hamilton in 2003; and Justin Johnson, 13 months, of Middletown in 2004.
Marcus’ hurdles
Born on June 24, 2003, Marcus had many obstacles from the start. He was born with a developmental disability — though not specifically diagnosed, he had “global delays” and needed 24-hour care and attention.
Marcus slept on a foam mat at the home of his biological mother, Donna Trevino, and he and his siblings were not closely watched or cared for. Butler County Children Services became involved with the family in Aug. 9, 2004.
When Marcus was found wandering the streets on April 22, 2006, almost being hit by a car — roughly four months after he accidentally fell out of a second-story window — caseworkers removed Trevino’s three children from her home, where reports showed there was feces on the carpet and wall of the flea-infested home. This was the third time her children had been taken from her care.
The day Marcus went ‘missing’
The public story of Marcus’ disappearance began on Aug. 15, 2006, after Liz Carroll collapsed from an apparent heart condition at an Anderson Twp. park in Hamilton County. When medics responded, she told them she brought four children to the park, but only three were present. This sparked a massive three-day search by hundreds of volunteers, law enforcement and search and rescue teams.
“I still have nightmares about that little guy,” said Jann Heffner, then director of Butler County Children Services. “You don’t get into this business unless you care about the care and physical well being of a child.”
She and some of her staff, including Marcus’ caseworker Joe Beumer went out immediately to search for the child.
Beumer was in “shock and disbelief” but said the story of his disappearance “wasn’t adding up.” He doubted Marcus would have run off — even though that would be something he would do, when his foster mother collapsed. “Any child that experiences something like that I think their natural instinct would be to stay with that person that’s hurt,” he said, “even if they couldn’t do anything they would just sit there.”
Worry quickly turned into horror at the end of August 2006 when the Carrolls were charged with murder.
The case
Not many things hang on the walls in Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters’ office, but a drawing of Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist Jim Borgman of Marcus holding hands with God walking toward heaven has a special place.
“To this day it just chills me that someone could do that to a little baby. They are where they belong and they will have to answer to God,” Deters said.
Deters had prosecuted the case before it was moved over to Clermont County since Marcus died in the Carrolls’ home. He said he thinks about the 3-year-old boy “all the time.”
“The inhumanity of how they treated him, it boggles my mind when you’ve got children,” he said.
The story of Marcus’ disappearance unraveled at Liz Carroll’s televised news conference, which Deters watched from his office. “It was rehearsed and came off very untruthful,” he said.
He immediately brought in Liz Carroll and Amy Baker (who now goes by Amy Ramsey) before a county grand jury. He talked to Baker first, and with her attorney present, said “if she was not truthful, she’ll go to prison.” After consulting with her attorney — who Deters said was ghostly pale after the attorney-client conversation — Baker admitted what happened to Marcus.
“It was disgusting,” Deters said of her testimony.
She revealed Marcus had been dead for days before the disappearance hoax at the park, and that she helped David Carroll burn the boy’s body in rural Brown County and throw the rest of his remains in the Ohio River.
Following a jury trial in February 2007, Liz Carroll was convicted of charges including murder and sentenced to 54 years to life in prison; her husband later was sentenced to 16 years to life as part of a plea deal.
The aftermath
An Ohio Department of Job and Family Services investigation pointed blame at Lifeway for Youth, the New Carlisle, Ohio-based foster care provider that placed Marcus with the Carrolls.
For reasons that include and extend beyond Marcus’ case, ODJFS later pulled Lifeway’s operational certificate, a decision upheld by a Franklin County judge.
Although investigations determined that Butler County Children Services did nothing wrong, Heffner was moved into a consulting role and then fired by the county commissioners. The Butler County Children Services Board — initially formed in the wake of 3-year-old Tiffany Hubbard’s abuse and death in 1986 at the hands of her biological father — was disbanded.
The Rev. Johnny Wade Sloan, chairman of the 11-member board, didn’t agree or see the reason to disband the board.
“(The Carrolls) promised 24-hour adult supervision and there was no reason for us not to place (the kids) when (Lifeway was) telling us, as a licensed agency, they had an ideal place,” he said.
But Sloan and Heffner said the decisions to disband the board and fire Heffner were political moves and not a result of Marcus’ death. “Marcus Fiesel became the focal point for that happening because that would have happened regardless,” Sloan said. Former Butler County Commissioner Mike Fox resigned his elected seat and later was appointment Children Services director. He has since resigned and is headed to federal prison in an unrelated case.
System changes
The death of Marcus Fiesel prompted change the Ohio child welfare system, though the need for retooling the system had been evident for years, said Gary Cates, a former state senator from West Chester Twp.
In 2007, Cates introduced legislation in the Ohio Senate and Rep. Courtney Combs, R-Hamilton, introduced legislation in the Statehouse.
“I hope and pray that it never happens again,” Combs said of Marcus’ death.
Implementing the legislation requirements cost about $15 million in both the 2008 and 2009 fiscal years, said ODJFS spokeswoman Angela Terez. That investment included about $5.2 million in federal funds in each of the years, she said. After Marcus’ death, the Criminal Justice Information System, formed in Montgomery County, expanded to now include 14 Ohio counties. Had CJIS been in effect in Butler County, Marcus could have been pulled from the Carroll home following a June 2006 domestic violence arrest of David Carroll Jr., though the charge was later dismissed.
“Any foster parent in our network — even foster parents where we don’t have children in their homes — if they are pulled over even for a speeding ticket we’re made aware of it instantly,” said Jeff Centers, current children services director. “Anything that might raise a red flag, we’ll know about it immediately.”
Centers said the county pays $46,000 a year for the CJIS licensing records checks and that the agency also has a $95,000 annual contract with the county sheriff’s office to have a deputy supervise the investigations unit and provide services such as security and finding runaways.
Source http://www.oxfordpress.com/news/oxford-news/young-boys-death-at-hands-of-foster-parents-led-to-change-1224553.html
Psychiatry Drugs Foster Care Children – Tristen
Psychiatry Drugs Foster Care Children – Tristen I took my video camera to a Foster Care Alumni meeting and asked seven foster kids to tell me about there experiences in Child Protective Services while wards of the state. One thing they all had in common was massive over drugging with psychiatric drugs. Child placement agencies, foster parents, RTCs (Residential Treatment Centers) and Therapeutic Foster Homes get paid a certain amount of money each day for taking care of a foster child. The amount of money they get paid depends on a level of care system. The more difficult the child or the more problems that child has, the more money you get. A child at the basic level of care is worth about 17 dollars a day where as a child in the highest level of care could be worth as much as a 1000 dollars a day. This puts the incentive on diagnosing children with behavior problems to justify raising their level of care. A child on psychiatric drugs is worth more than a child without problems. It is not uncommon for a foster child to be placed on many different psychotropic drugs at the same time. Some investigations have found children on as many as 13 mind altering drugs prescribed by a psychiatrists at one time. These drugs include all categories of psychiatric drugs; antidepressants, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, anxiety medications, anticonvulsants medications, etc. The SSRI drugs are commons such as Paxil, Zoloft, Prozac, etc. Also a number of these children described taking …
Psychiatry Drugs Foster Care Children – Aisha
Psychiatry Drugs Foster Care Children – Aisha I took my video camera to a Foster Care Alumni meeting and asked seven foster kids to tell me about there experiences in Child Protective Services while wards of the state. One thing they all had in common was massive over drugging with psychiatric drugs. Child placement agencies, foster parents, RTCs (Residential Treatment Centers) and Therapeutic Foster Homes get paid a certain amount of money each day for taking care of a foster child. The amount of money they get paid depends on a level of care system. The more difficult the child or the more problems that child has, the more money you get. A child at the basic level of care is worth about 17 dollars a day where as a child in the highest level of care could be worth as much as a 1000 dollars a day. This puts the incentive on diagnosing children with behavior problems to justify raising their level of care. A child on psychiatric drugs is worth more than a child without problems. It is not uncommon for a foster child to be placed on many different psychotropic drugs at the same time. Some investigations have found children on as many as 13 mind altering drugs prescribed by a psychiatrists at one time. These drugs include all categories of psychiatric drugs; antidepressants, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, anxiety medications, anticonvulsants medications, etc. The SSRI drugs are commons such as Paxil, Zoloft, Prozac, etc. Also a number of these children described taking …
Source: http://health5news.com/?p=1631
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Mom jailed for false child abuse story against ex
The Associated Press
SARASOTA, Fla. -- Three southwest Florida residents have been charged with falsely reporting child abuse to the state hotline.
Lisa Ann Schinnow was arrested Tuesday after officials say the 48-year-old woman called in three separate reports alleging her ex-husband was abusing their son. DCF found no evidence of abuse and believe Schinnow made the allegations because of the custody arrangement.
Taiwandra Burks and Stacey Hendry were also arrested last week for making false child abuse reports after DCF investigated claims that a child was being sexually abused. The agency found no evidence of abuse.
Falsely reporting child abuse is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison. Each report is a separate violation.
DCF stressed false reports waste time and resources for investigators busy with thousands of legitimate cases.
Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/08/17/2363282/mom-jailed-for-false-child-abuse.html
SARASOTA, Fla. -- Three southwest Florida residents have been charged with falsely reporting child abuse to the state hotline.
Lisa Ann Schinnow was arrested Tuesday after officials say the 48-year-old woman called in three separate reports alleging her ex-husband was abusing their son. DCF found no evidence of abuse and believe Schinnow made the allegations because of the custody arrangement.
Taiwandra Burks and Stacey Hendry were also arrested last week for making false child abuse reports after DCF investigated claims that a child was being sexually abused. The agency found no evidence of abuse.
Falsely reporting child abuse is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison. Each report is a separate violation.
DCF stressed false reports waste time and resources for investigators busy with thousands of legitimate cases.
Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/08/17/2363282/mom-jailed-for-false-child-abuse.html
Newspapers accuse state of illegally withholding child-death records
By Beth Musgrave — bmusgrave@herald-leader.com
Posted: 7:43pm on Aug 17, 2011; Modified: 10:18pm on Aug 17, 2011
FRANKFORT — A lawyer for Kentucky's two largest newspapers told a Franklin Circuit Court judge Wednesday that the state was "thumbing its nose at the law" by withholding records relating to the deaths of abused and neglected children.
"They are acting illegally and they are doing it in a brazen fashion," said Jon Fleischaker, a lawyer representing the Lexington Herald-Leader and The Courier-Journal of Louisville.
Fleischaker's comments came during a hearing about whether the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, which oversees child protection, must turn over records regarding children who died of abuse and neglect while under the state's care. This is the second time in two years the newspapers have sued the cabinet to get such records.
Cabinet officials said Wednesday there were about 44 cases during the past two years that involved children who died or were nearly killed as a result of abuse and neglect while under the cabinet's supervision.
Meanwhile, a convicted murderer and four anonymous women tried to intervene in the case, saying release of the records would harm a legal appeal or violate privacy rights.
Fayette Commonwealth's Attorney Ray Larson also wrote a letter to Judge Phillip Shepherd expressing concerns about the release of child death documents. Larson said it could prejudice a jury if documents were released about the death of Katelynn Stinnett, a 2-year-old Fayette County girl. Brian Crabtree, who lived with Stinnett's father at the time of her death on Nov. 26, 2008, has been charged with rape and murder.
Shepherd on Wednesday allowed Patrick Watkins to intervene in the case.
Watkins and his wife were sentenced to life in prison in October 2008 for the murder of their daughter Michaela Watkins, 10. The Clark County girl's body was found severely bruised and burned on March 11, 2007, at the Watkinses' apartment. She had more than 77 injuries at the time of her death.
B. Scott West, a lawyer for Watkins, argued that Watkins could be granted a new trial and that releasing the cabinet's documents regarding Michaela could prejudice a jury. The state Supreme Court has overturned part of the case against Watkins but the Supreme Court's decision is not final yet.
Scott White, a Lexington lawyer, also filed a motion to intervene in the case on behalf of four anonymous women who say their privacy rights would be violated if the information requested by the media was made public. White said the four women had been investigated for abuse and neglect of their children.
Fleischaker questioned why the women could file to intervene in the case without telling the court who they were. There is no provision in the law that would allow the women to do so, he said.
White argued that their privacy rights would be violated if he revealed their identities before Shepherd ruled on whether they had a right to intervene. Shepherd said he would rule soon on whether the women could file to intervene as "Jane Does."
Fleischaker also argued Wednesday that the cabinet was purposely dragging its feet on releasing records regarding child deaths, despite a previous order by Shepherd that declared similar documents were public. The cabinet has engaged in a series of moves to thwart the media's attempts to get those records, lawyers for the media have argued.
Brent Irvin, a lawyer for the cabinet, said the cabinet was not trying to circumvent the law. The cabinet still thinks federal law prohibits it from releasing some of the records.
If the cabinet releases information that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says is private, the state fears it could lose federal child protection funding, Irvin said.
Shepherd asked whether any state had ever lost federal funding because of the release of information about child deaths. Irvin said he was not sure.
Both newspapers sued the cabinet in 2010 to get access to records regarding the death of Kayden Branham, a 20-month-old Wayne County toddler who died after drinking drain cleaner used to make methamphetamine. He and his teen mother had been under cabinet supervision before his death.
After Shepherd made public the documents regarding Branham's death, both newspapers filed requests to get records about other children who have died of abuse and neglect while under the cabinet's care.
The cabinet denied both requests and then filed an emergency state regulation that limited the amount of information it could release about child deaths. The media sued the cabinet again in state court in January, but the cabinet had the case transferred to federal court. A federal court judge later ruled that the case involved state law, not federal law, and returned it to Shepherd's court.
Fleischaker argued that the issues before the court Wednesday were the same as those in the case involving Kayden Branham. The cabinet did not appeal Shepherd's previous ruling, Fleischaker noted.
"They don't care what the law is," Fleischaker said of the cabinet.
Irvin countered that there are still unanswered questions about what should be released to the public.
Shepherd released some of the information involving Kayden's death after he reviewed the file, but he did not tell the cabinet what information he chose not to release, Irvin said.
Shepherd said Wednesday that he released all of the information about Kayden Branham and his mother. The only records he did not release were about another minor related to Kayden Bran ham's mother.
Source: http://www.kentucky.com/2011/08/17/1849003/newspapers-accuse-state-of-illegally.html
Posted: 7:43pm on Aug 17, 2011; Modified: 10:18pm on Aug 17, 2011
FRANKFORT — A lawyer for Kentucky's two largest newspapers told a Franklin Circuit Court judge Wednesday that the state was "thumbing its nose at the law" by withholding records relating to the deaths of abused and neglected children.
"They are acting illegally and they are doing it in a brazen fashion," said Jon Fleischaker, a lawyer representing the Lexington Herald-Leader and The Courier-Journal of Louisville.
Fleischaker's comments came during a hearing about whether the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, which oversees child protection, must turn over records regarding children who died of abuse and neglect while under the state's care. This is the second time in two years the newspapers have sued the cabinet to get such records.
Cabinet officials said Wednesday there were about 44 cases during the past two years that involved children who died or were nearly killed as a result of abuse and neglect while under the cabinet's supervision.
Meanwhile, a convicted murderer and four anonymous women tried to intervene in the case, saying release of the records would harm a legal appeal or violate privacy rights.
Fayette Commonwealth's Attorney Ray Larson also wrote a letter to Judge Phillip Shepherd expressing concerns about the release of child death documents. Larson said it could prejudice a jury if documents were released about the death of Katelynn Stinnett, a 2-year-old Fayette County girl. Brian Crabtree, who lived with Stinnett's father at the time of her death on Nov. 26, 2008, has been charged with rape and murder.
Shepherd on Wednesday allowed Patrick Watkins to intervene in the case.
Watkins and his wife were sentenced to life in prison in October 2008 for the murder of their daughter Michaela Watkins, 10. The Clark County girl's body was found severely bruised and burned on March 11, 2007, at the Watkinses' apartment. She had more than 77 injuries at the time of her death.
B. Scott West, a lawyer for Watkins, argued that Watkins could be granted a new trial and that releasing the cabinet's documents regarding Michaela could prejudice a jury. The state Supreme Court has overturned part of the case against Watkins but the Supreme Court's decision is not final yet.
Scott White, a Lexington lawyer, also filed a motion to intervene in the case on behalf of four anonymous women who say their privacy rights would be violated if the information requested by the media was made public. White said the four women had been investigated for abuse and neglect of their children.
Fleischaker questioned why the women could file to intervene in the case without telling the court who they were. There is no provision in the law that would allow the women to do so, he said.
White argued that their privacy rights would be violated if he revealed their identities before Shepherd ruled on whether they had a right to intervene. Shepherd said he would rule soon on whether the women could file to intervene as "Jane Does."
Fleischaker also argued Wednesday that the cabinet was purposely dragging its feet on releasing records regarding child deaths, despite a previous order by Shepherd that declared similar documents were public. The cabinet has engaged in a series of moves to thwart the media's attempts to get those records, lawyers for the media have argued.
Brent Irvin, a lawyer for the cabinet, said the cabinet was not trying to circumvent the law. The cabinet still thinks federal law prohibits it from releasing some of the records.
If the cabinet releases information that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says is private, the state fears it could lose federal child protection funding, Irvin said.
Shepherd asked whether any state had ever lost federal funding because of the release of information about child deaths. Irvin said he was not sure.
Both newspapers sued the cabinet in 2010 to get access to records regarding the death of Kayden Branham, a 20-month-old Wayne County toddler who died after drinking drain cleaner used to make methamphetamine. He and his teen mother had been under cabinet supervision before his death.
After Shepherd made public the documents regarding Branham's death, both newspapers filed requests to get records about other children who have died of abuse and neglect while under the cabinet's care.
The cabinet denied both requests and then filed an emergency state regulation that limited the amount of information it could release about child deaths. The media sued the cabinet again in state court in January, but the cabinet had the case transferred to federal court. A federal court judge later ruled that the case involved state law, not federal law, and returned it to Shepherd's court.
Fleischaker argued that the issues before the court Wednesday were the same as those in the case involving Kayden Branham. The cabinet did not appeal Shepherd's previous ruling, Fleischaker noted.
"They don't care what the law is," Fleischaker said of the cabinet.
Irvin countered that there are still unanswered questions about what should be released to the public.
Shepherd released some of the information involving Kayden's death after he reviewed the file, but he did not tell the cabinet what information he chose not to release, Irvin said.
Shepherd said Wednesday that he released all of the information about Kayden Branham and his mother. The only records he did not release were about another minor related to Kayden Bran ham's mother.
Source: http://www.kentucky.com/2011/08/17/1849003/newspapers-accuse-state-of-illegally.html
Child Protective Services Worker Jailed
Woman faces drug distribution and weapons charges, police say.
Date published: 8/17/2011
By PORTSIA SMITH
A Spotsylvania County Child Protective Services worker and two family members face drug charges in Westmoreland County.
According to Westmoreland Sheriff C.O. Balderson, a search warrant was executed July 25 at a home in the 100 block of Stratford Circle in Colonial Beach.
Investigators reported seizing prescription drug pills, drug paraphernalia, a firearm and an undisclosed amount of cash, Balderson said.
Upon further investigation, three Colonial Beach residents were charged this week.
Sherry Heslop-Dazy, 48, who works as a child protective services worker in Spotsylvania, was arrested Tuesday and charged with distribution of a controlled substance, possession with intent to distribute, possession of a firearm while possessing a controlled substance and conspiring to distribute a controlled substance.
Her husband, 42-year-old Kenneth R. Dazy, is charged with two counts of distributing a controlled substance, conspiring to distribute a controlled substance, possession of a firearm while possessing a controlled substance and possession of a firearm while being a convicted felon.
The couple's son-in-law, William J. Whitlock, 33, is also charged with possession of a controlled substance.
All three are being held without bond at the Northern Neck Regional Jail in Warsaw.
Kenneth Dazy was already incarcerated on unrelated charges prior to these charges, Balderson said.
"Having the capability to use technology in order to monitor communication enabled us to not only further our investigation, but to obtain several indictments and arrest these individuals," Balderson said.
Sherry Dazy and Whitlock will appear in Westmoreland Circuit Court on Friday. Kenneth Dazy will make his next appearance on Monday.
Source: http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2011/082011/08172011/1313607603fls
Date published: 8/17/2011
By PORTSIA SMITH
A Spotsylvania County Child Protective Services worker and two family members face drug charges in Westmoreland County.
According to Westmoreland Sheriff C.O. Balderson, a search warrant was executed July 25 at a home in the 100 block of Stratford Circle in Colonial Beach.
Investigators reported seizing prescription drug pills, drug paraphernalia, a firearm and an undisclosed amount of cash, Balderson said.
Upon further investigation, three Colonial Beach residents were charged this week.
Sherry Heslop-Dazy, 48, who works as a child protective services worker in Spotsylvania, was arrested Tuesday and charged with distribution of a controlled substance, possession with intent to distribute, possession of a firearm while possessing a controlled substance and conspiring to distribute a controlled substance.
Her husband, 42-year-old Kenneth R. Dazy, is charged with two counts of distributing a controlled substance, conspiring to distribute a controlled substance, possession of a firearm while possessing a controlled substance and possession of a firearm while being a convicted felon.
The couple's son-in-law, William J. Whitlock, 33, is also charged with possession of a controlled substance.
All three are being held without bond at the Northern Neck Regional Jail in Warsaw.
Kenneth Dazy was already incarcerated on unrelated charges prior to these charges, Balderson said.
"Having the capability to use technology in order to monitor communication enabled us to not only further our investigation, but to obtain several indictments and arrest these individuals," Balderson said.
Sherry Dazy and Whitlock will appear in Westmoreland Circuit Court on Friday. Kenneth Dazy will make his next appearance on Monday.
Source: http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2011/082011/08172011/1313607603fls
Bariatric Physicians do not Support State Intervention for Childhood Obesity
AURORA, Colo., Aug. 17, 2011 -- The American Society of Bariatric Physicians (ASBP) does not support the concept that state intervention to remove a child from his or her home is the proper way to address life threatening cases of childhood obesity. Comprised of physicians involved in the frontline clinical treatment of obesity, the ASBP believes that in most cases this type of state intervention is extreme and unjustified.
With approximately one out of three children in America considered overweight or obese, it is clear that childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions. Since the CDC began tracking childhood obesity data in the mid 1970s, and despite millions of dollars spent on various campaigns and research efforts, childhood obesity rates have continued to rise. ASBP does not attribute this dramatic increase solely to poor parenting.
Race and ethnicity, genetic predisposition, environment in utero and birth weight all affect obesity rates long before any active parenting occurs. After birth, poverty, infant feeding practices, parent education level, and the well recognized cost disparity between healthy and less healthful foods play a role. Children cannot expend energy as in the past due to the unfortunate fear of injury or abduction as well as unsafe sidewalks, trails, and parks left behind due to state budget deficits. In schools, vending machines, poor quality subsidized school lunches, and the regrettable removal of physical education, recess, and health education classes factor in. If that child turns on a computer and browses the internet, she is barraged by cereal, candy, soda and various other unhealthy advertisements. The same occurs if he listens to the radio, downloads music, or turns on the television. Increased caloric density of foods and portion sizes, and introduction of processed foods have also paralleled our obesity epidemic.
This is not to say that parents are completely defenseless to our obesogenic environment. As physicians who treat childhood obesity, ASBP recognizes that parental involvement is paramount to a child's long term success. Simple changes such as sitting down to dinner as a family, decreasing dining out and fast food consumption, controlling electronics and modeling good behavior can have a significant impact on the weight of the entire family. Parents can drink water instead of sugar sweetened beverages, remove junk foods from the home, decrease processed foods and increase produce (if they can afford to do so and have access to fresh fruits and vegetables). However, these behaviors alone do not guarantee success. Consider an engaged family who has made these changes and the child remains severely obese. ASBP does not agree that the only option is to put him through surgery or remove him from his home.
Approximately two million children are severely obese, clearly more than an overburdened foster care system can handle. Research has shown that the quality of life of an obese child is analogous to that of a child with cancer. Obese children are discriminated against by peers and teachers, and are bullied relentlessly. The additional insult of removing a child from her home will in most cases do more harm than good. In addition, given the fact that 2/3 of our society is overweight and 1/3 obese, the chances that a child will be placed in a home of a family who itself struggles with a weight problem is more likely than not.
Choices do exist separate from surgery and state intervention that should be considered, including early recognition and treatment by medical obesity experts. Research has shown that the probability of childhood obesity persisting into adulthood is estimated to be 20% at age 4 and 80% by adolescence. Research is currently being conducted by bariatricians and other childhood obesity experts using techniques that are much less invasive and equally promising as surgical outcomes without the risks.
Certainly, the premise of turning a severely obese child over to the state is thought provoking, but unless there are clear signs of neglect or abuse in conjunction with the obesity, the ASBP considers it unnecessary, unrealistic and likely damaging to that child long term.
About the ASBP
Founded in 1950, the ASBP is the oldest medical association dedicated to the non-surgical treatment of obesity and associated diseases. The ASBP is a collaborative organization that provides its members practical information and business tools to implement a successful medical bariatric practice. For more information about the ASBP, visit http://www.asbp.org.
SOURCE: American Society of Bariatric Physicians
RELATED LINKS" http://www.asbp.org
With approximately one out of three children in America considered overweight or obese, it is clear that childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions. Since the CDC began tracking childhood obesity data in the mid 1970s, and despite millions of dollars spent on various campaigns and research efforts, childhood obesity rates have continued to rise. ASBP does not attribute this dramatic increase solely to poor parenting.
Race and ethnicity, genetic predisposition, environment in utero and birth weight all affect obesity rates long before any active parenting occurs. After birth, poverty, infant feeding practices, parent education level, and the well recognized cost disparity between healthy and less healthful foods play a role. Children cannot expend energy as in the past due to the unfortunate fear of injury or abduction as well as unsafe sidewalks, trails, and parks left behind due to state budget deficits. In schools, vending machines, poor quality subsidized school lunches, and the regrettable removal of physical education, recess, and health education classes factor in. If that child turns on a computer and browses the internet, she is barraged by cereal, candy, soda and various other unhealthy advertisements. The same occurs if he listens to the radio, downloads music, or turns on the television. Increased caloric density of foods and portion sizes, and introduction of processed foods have also paralleled our obesity epidemic.
This is not to say that parents are completely defenseless to our obesogenic environment. As physicians who treat childhood obesity, ASBP recognizes that parental involvement is paramount to a child's long term success. Simple changes such as sitting down to dinner as a family, decreasing dining out and fast food consumption, controlling electronics and modeling good behavior can have a significant impact on the weight of the entire family. Parents can drink water instead of sugar sweetened beverages, remove junk foods from the home, decrease processed foods and increase produce (if they can afford to do so and have access to fresh fruits and vegetables). However, these behaviors alone do not guarantee success. Consider an engaged family who has made these changes and the child remains severely obese. ASBP does not agree that the only option is to put him through surgery or remove him from his home.
Approximately two million children are severely obese, clearly more than an overburdened foster care system can handle. Research has shown that the quality of life of an obese child is analogous to that of a child with cancer. Obese children are discriminated against by peers and teachers, and are bullied relentlessly. The additional insult of removing a child from her home will in most cases do more harm than good. In addition, given the fact that 2/3 of our society is overweight and 1/3 obese, the chances that a child will be placed in a home of a family who itself struggles with a weight problem is more likely than not.
Choices do exist separate from surgery and state intervention that should be considered, including early recognition and treatment by medical obesity experts. Research has shown that the probability of childhood obesity persisting into adulthood is estimated to be 20% at age 4 and 80% by adolescence. Research is currently being conducted by bariatricians and other childhood obesity experts using techniques that are much less invasive and equally promising as surgical outcomes without the risks.
Certainly, the premise of turning a severely obese child over to the state is thought provoking, but unless there are clear signs of neglect or abuse in conjunction with the obesity, the ASBP considers it unnecessary, unrealistic and likely damaging to that child long term.
About the ASBP
Founded in 1950, the ASBP is the oldest medical association dedicated to the non-surgical treatment of obesity and associated diseases. The ASBP is a collaborative organization that provides its members practical information and business tools to implement a successful medical bariatric practice. For more information about the ASBP, visit http://www.asbp.org.
SOURCE: American Society of Bariatric Physicians
RELATED LINKS" http://www.asbp.org
Police: Youth Home Worker Admits To Sex Abuse
By Jay Ditzer/WLKY.com
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- A Louisville man is facing multiple sex abuse charges after police said he told them he abused a juvenile foster child in his care.
According to arrest records, 55-year-old Lyle C. Kenobbie turned himself in to Metro Police around 10 p.m. Monday.
Police said Kenobbie admitted he sodomized and fondled a child in his custody.
Kenobbie told police he is suicidal, according to arrest records.
Kenobbie is employed by Boys Haven of Louisville, according to arrest records.
He is charged with four counts of third-degree sodomy and two counts of first-degree sexual abuse.
On Tuesday afternoon, Boys and Girls Haven CEO Jeff Hadley released a statement regarding Kenobbie's arrest:
"We are saddened by the allegations against Mr. Kenobbie, and we accepted his resignation last night.
"For more than 60 years, Boys and Girls Haven has been deeply committed to protecting thousands of vulnerable children. We absolutely do not tolerate any behavior, alleged or substantiated, that compromises that trust.
"Mr. Kenobbie had been a long-time employee, serving as a food services supervisor. Three months ago, he became a foster parent for our agency after completing a battery of background checks.
"Our thoughts and concerns are with the young person involved. We will continue to work cooperatively with state child-welfare officials and law-enforcement personnel in this matter."
Source: http://www.wlky.com/news-archives/28881260/detail.html
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- A Louisville man is facing multiple sex abuse charges after police said he told them he abused a juvenile foster child in his care.
According to arrest records, 55-year-old Lyle C. Kenobbie turned himself in to Metro Police around 10 p.m. Monday.
Police said Kenobbie admitted he sodomized and fondled a child in his custody.
Kenobbie told police he is suicidal, according to arrest records.
Kenobbie is employed by Boys Haven of Louisville, according to arrest records.
He is charged with four counts of third-degree sodomy and two counts of first-degree sexual abuse.
On Tuesday afternoon, Boys and Girls Haven CEO Jeff Hadley released a statement regarding Kenobbie's arrest:
"We are saddened by the allegations against Mr. Kenobbie, and we accepted his resignation last night.
"For more than 60 years, Boys and Girls Haven has been deeply committed to protecting thousands of vulnerable children. We absolutely do not tolerate any behavior, alleged or substantiated, that compromises that trust.
"Mr. Kenobbie had been a long-time employee, serving as a food services supervisor. Three months ago, he became a foster parent for our agency after completing a battery of background checks.
"Our thoughts and concerns are with the young person involved. We will continue to work cooperatively with state child-welfare officials and law-enforcement personnel in this matter."
Source: http://www.wlky.com/news-archives/28881260/detail.html
Lisa Holland guilty in son's death; prosecutor calls case 'scarring'
Written by
Kevin Grasha
Lansing State Journal
Lisa Holland was found guilty this morning of murder in the July 2005 death of her 7-year-old adopted son Ricky.
An Ingham County jury that had been deliberating since Wednesday afternoon found Holland guilty of both first-degree felony murder and first-degree child abuse. Her sentencing was set for Nov. 28; Holland faces mandatory life in prison on the charges.
Ricky was reported missing from his family’s Williamston home on July 2, 2005, but testimony in the six-week trial revealed he died the previous evening. His remains were found in a marshlike area near Dansville in January.
After the verdict, a deputy immediately led Holland from the courtroom. She had to be brought back to hear her sentencing date and was in tears when she returned.
Assistant Prosecutor Mike Ferency called the case one of the most emotional of his 21-year career. "I will carry this one for a long time," he said.
Ferency reflected upon the afternoon when he and detectives were led to Ricky's remains, saying they were "scarred for life."
Lisa’s husband, Tim Holland, already has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the case and testified in her trial. He asked her to accept her role in Ricky’s death.
After the verdict, Ingham County Sheriff Gene Wriggelsworth said he has no sympathy for the two. "There should be a special place in Hell for both Hollands," he said.
Wriggelsworth complimented the jury, saying it wasn't a "smoking gun" kind of case and that they came to a reasonable conclusion.
Lisa Holland's co-counsel Mike Nichols called the verdict "crushing." He said the prosecution's case, which included more than 50 witnesses and 312 exhibits, was likely too much to overcome for the jury.
Tim Holland’s nephew, Rodney Weston, who was in the courtroom for the verdict, said the family is satisfied with the outcome.
“If I had my wish, none of this would ever have happened, but since it did, then this was justice done,” said Weston, a writer and editorial assistant for the State Journal.
Source: http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20061027/NEWS01/61027001/Lisa-Holland-guilty-son-s-death-prosecutor-calls-case-scarring-?odyssey=nav%7Chead
Kevin Grasha
Lansing State Journal
Lisa Holland was found guilty this morning of murder in the July 2005 death of her 7-year-old adopted son Ricky.
An Ingham County jury that had been deliberating since Wednesday afternoon found Holland guilty of both first-degree felony murder and first-degree child abuse. Her sentencing was set for Nov. 28; Holland faces mandatory life in prison on the charges.
Ricky was reported missing from his family’s Williamston home on July 2, 2005, but testimony in the six-week trial revealed he died the previous evening. His remains were found in a marshlike area near Dansville in January.
After the verdict, a deputy immediately led Holland from the courtroom. She had to be brought back to hear her sentencing date and was in tears when she returned.
Assistant Prosecutor Mike Ferency called the case one of the most emotional of his 21-year career. "I will carry this one for a long time," he said.
Ferency reflected upon the afternoon when he and detectives were led to Ricky's remains, saying they were "scarred for life."
Lisa’s husband, Tim Holland, already has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the case and testified in her trial. He asked her to accept her role in Ricky’s death.
After the verdict, Ingham County Sheriff Gene Wriggelsworth said he has no sympathy for the two. "There should be a special place in Hell for both Hollands," he said.
Wriggelsworth complimented the jury, saying it wasn't a "smoking gun" kind of case and that they came to a reasonable conclusion.
Lisa Holland's co-counsel Mike Nichols called the verdict "crushing." He said the prosecution's case, which included more than 50 witnesses and 312 exhibits, was likely too much to overcome for the jury.
Tim Holland’s nephew, Rodney Weston, who was in the courtroom for the verdict, said the family is satisfied with the outcome.
“If I had my wish, none of this would ever have happened, but since it did, then this was justice done,” said Weston, a writer and editorial assistant for the State Journal.
Source: http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20061027/NEWS01/61027001/Lisa-Holland-guilty-son-s-death-prosecutor-calls-case-scarring-?odyssey=nav%7Chead
Amy Charron On CPS Corruption and Organized Crimes
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Amy Charron: World wide child kidnapping epidemic - Vinny Eastwood 23/12/10 2/3
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Amy Charron: World wide child kidnapping epidemic - Vinny Eastwood 23/12/10 3/3
Amy Charron's fight back againt CPS Corruption and Organized Crimes
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