Child abuse attorney not trained - Penn.

By Terrie Morgan-Besecker

WILKES-BARRE – Luzerne County has lost out on potentially thousands of dollars in state reimbursements because an attorney who represented children in abuse cases did not obtain training required by the state.

Frank Castano, executive director of Children and Youth Services, said he cannot seek reimbursement for work attorney John Bellino performed as a guardian ad litem after July 1, 2011 because Bellino did not obtain specialized training mandated by state legislation that went into effect last year.

The revelation comes as the court system faces mounting criticism for failing to monitor payments made to Angela Stevens, a Kingston attorney who admitted she double billed the county for representing parents in Children and Youth cases.

A Times Leader investigation revealed Stevens, who was paid more than $144,000 in 2011, charged the county for each fee petition she delivered to the court, even though many appeared to have been delivered in one trip.

President Judge Thomas Burke on Friday would not comment on why Bellino, who was paid a flat salary of $50,230, was permitted to remain employed if the county could not be reimbursed. Burke said he could not discuss the matter because it is a personnel issue.

Guardian ad litems are attorneys appointed by the court to represent children who are in the custody of Children and Youth Services to ensure their best interests are protected, independent of their parents’ interest.

The state Department of Public Welfare reimburses Luzerne County Children and Youth 50 percent for guardian services. As of July 1, the department no longer provided that funding for a guardian who did not obtain the training, which was mandated under an amendment to the state’s Adoption Act that went into effect last April.

Bellino, who had served as guardian for 11 years, was among the 59 county employees who were laid off Thursday.

It’s not known how much of Bellino’s salary from 2011 and 2012 might have been reimbursed by the state because the court system did not submit any invoices to Children and Youth detailing the number of hours he worked on cases, Castano said.

In the 2010-11 fiscal year, Castano said he sought 50 percent reimbursement for $48,208 in invoices submitted by court administration for work Bellino performed. The court had to submit invoices, even though Bellino was paid a flat salary, because DPW required documentation of the number of hours and cases on which he worked, Castano said.

Bellino said Friday he did not obtain the training because he did not know he was required to take it.

“I thought I was exempt from it because I’ve been doing this so long. I thought it was for new guardians,” Bellino said.

Bellino said was told by Castano of one training session held last year, but he did not learn about it until the last minute and could not attend due to a conflict. He said he assumed he could take it this year.

“When (Castano) told me that was a requirement for reimbursement, I believed at that point I could get it this coming year,” he said.

Children and Youth also has a contract with North Penn Legal Services to provide two attorneys as guardian ad litems. Castano said he was able to seek reimbursement for their work because both of those attorneys had received the training.

To date DPW has reimbursed the county $17,833 for the first quarter of fiscal year 2011-2012, according to deputy press secretary Ann Bale. The county spent a total of $66,252 with North Penn in the second quarter, which will be eligible for 50 percent reimbursement. That request has not yet been processed, Bale said.

Source http://www.timesleader.com/news/Child_abuse_attorney_not_trained_03-03-2012.html

Fatal Child Abuse Cases Spark Outrage In Fayette County

Note from blog author:
It blows us away that every time that CPS fails a child, they cry it's because they lack funding... another reason for the money game to continue and grow larger. Why? It is our belief that if CPS wasn't so busy looking at false allegations and trying to create cases against those who are not abusing their children, CPS would have enough time, staff and money to look after real abuse cases appropriately. They need to stop the witch hunts and focus on those that are truly abusing children.
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UNIONTOWN (KDKA) — Two fatal child abuse cases in Fayette County have people outraged and looking for answers.

Trenton St. Clair, 4, died this week after he was allegedly beaten to death by his mother’s boyfriend.

Earlier this year, 15-month-old Madison Dodson was found dead on the floor of a filthy Point Marion home. Her feeding tube was improperly installed.

Fayette County Commissioner Vince Zapotosky told KDKA-TV’s Trina Orlando by phone: “We are fighting a battle. Two deaths in less than a year is a crisis and we are reaching out to the state as well as the federal government for help.”

Video Link: http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/video?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=6261269

The help is needed because decreased allocations from the state and federal government have resulted in a nearly $800,000 cut in funding this year for the department of Children and Youth Services.

That is despite an increase in the number of cases CYS is dealing with. In the 2006-2007 fiscal year, the agency was asked to investigate 1,021 households.

In 2010-2011, that number jumped to 1,204 households.

The number of households needing CYS services went from 361 in 2006-2007 to 392 in 2010-11.

“Right now, we’re holding our own and we’re doing what we need to do,” Gina D’Auria, a casework manager for Fayette County CYS, said.

“But what you will see down the road is we will be requesting additional funding from the county level in the hopes that they’ll be able to fill in what we’re losing from the state and federal.”

Video Link: http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/video?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=6260546

D’Auria said she can’t talk about specific cases, but says right now she has 20 caseworkers dealing with more than 900 open cases in the county.

“They’re all here for the right reasons, they believe in what they’re doing and they’re here because they want to work with families and keep children safe,” she said. “I can’t praise my staff enough.”

CYS says the biggest misconception about their department is that they’re not doing anything. Confidentiality laws keep them from telling the public about the many things that are happening.

Source http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2011/09/16/fatal-child-abuse-cases-spark-outrage-in-fayette-county/