Blog authors note:
How can CPS possibly be this incompetent and grossly negligent that this kind of thing happens, let alone happens frequently across the US? Aren't they supposed to be trained professionals?
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Posted by Matt Kreamer
The Department of Social and Health Services has agreed to pay $4.6 million to two children who were abused by their father and stepmother three years ago in their Carnation home.
A girl, who was so emaciated she wore a size 2 shoe and weighed 48 pounds at age 14, had begged a social worker to put her in foster care more than three years before her father and stepmother were arrested in 2008, according to a King County Superior Court lawsuit filed against the state.
The civil suit claimed the girl's "nightmare of abuse and torture" extended to her younger brother, who was forced to participate in the abuse of his sister and was "essentially her jailer."
Because the plaintiffs are minors, the settlement will not be final until approved by the court, according to a DSHS news release.
"We deeply regret that these children had to suffer at the hands of the two adults they trusted to love them and keep them safe," said DSHS Children's Administration Assistant Secretary Denise Revels Robinson.
The case, and the subsequent arrest and guilty pleas of both parents of first and second degree criminal mistreatment in October 2008, received broad media attention at the time.
When law enforcement arrived at the children's home in August of 2008, they did not take the children into protective custody but referred the case to DSHS Child Protective Services, who went to the home the next day and directed the parents to seek immediate medical attention for the girl. She was subsequently transported to Children's Hospital by ambulance, where doctors found her to be suffering from extreme malnutrition and other abuse and neglect, according to the news release.
Child Protective Services received one previous referral on this family in March 2005 -- more than three years earlier -- in which the girl told a public school teacher she was frequently locked in her room and was given little to eat. Child Protective Services, working with local law enforcement, found that the stepmother's locking the child in her room constituted negligent treatment and maltreatment. The stepmother agreed to stop doing so. At the time, when interviewed by Child Protective Services, the girl indicated she was provided adequate food to eat every day, according to the release.
Source http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/theblotter/2016439296_state_agrees_to_pay_46_to_vict.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.
Showing posts with label federal lawsuit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label federal lawsuit. Show all posts
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Children's Right: Texas' Rick Perry defends dismal treatment of foster care kids
AUSTIN, September 27, 2011—Last March, a child advocacy group filed a lawsuit against the state of Texas, claiming serious problems in that state’s foster care system.
The 89-page lawsuit was filed by the New York-based child advocacy group Children’s Rights on behalf of nine Texas children between the ages of nine and 16.
Among the most common abuses in the Texas system under Governor Perry’s stewardship, is the uprooting of foster care children. Statistics show that, as of 2009, children who had been in the state's custody more than three years had been in an average of 11 different homes or shelters.
The lawsuit alleges that under the leadership of Governor Rick Perry, the state of Texas has allowed these children, and, reportedly 12,000 others, to be bounced from home to home under the foster care system, systematically denying them a right to a permanent family.
The suit also claims that children in the state’s foster care suffer both physical and mental abuse, are denied mental health services, and are routinely separated from siblings.
The suit cites specific examples of the detriment caused by Perry’s administration to foster kids, like one child who wound up in a hospital in Belton, Texas so severely medicated that he was brought in on a stretcher unable to stand or communicate. Another incident is detailed involving a child who was consistently sexually abused by his foster care family chosen by the state.
While the suit seeks no damages, it asks that the state reform and improve its foster care system, which during Perry’s tenure has been seriously compromised due to negligent supervision and outsourced contracts to third parties without accountability.
Governor Rick Perry, who is officially one of the defendants in the suit, had his office issue this innocuous statement in response:
Child protective services has continued to be a priority for the governor, including declaring CPS reform an emergency item in the 2005 legislative session, and taking other steps to further improve the system since then.
The governor believes the elected members of the Texas Legislature, rather than a New York interest group or a federal judge, are better suited to determine how the State of Texas should care for some of our most vulnerable Texans – our children.
The governor expects the agency to continue ensuring Texas children are safe, and receive the proper care and services they need.
Source http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/red-thread-adoptive-family-forum/2011/sep/27/rick-perry-defends-dismal-treatment-foster-care-ki/
The 89-page lawsuit was filed by the New York-based child advocacy group Children’s Rights on behalf of nine Texas children between the ages of nine and 16.
Among the most common abuses in the Texas system under Governor Perry’s stewardship, is the uprooting of foster care children. Statistics show that, as of 2009, children who had been in the state's custody more than three years had been in an average of 11 different homes or shelters.
The lawsuit alleges that under the leadership of Governor Rick Perry, the state of Texas has allowed these children, and, reportedly 12,000 others, to be bounced from home to home under the foster care system, systematically denying them a right to a permanent family.
The suit also claims that children in the state’s foster care suffer both physical and mental abuse, are denied mental health services, and are routinely separated from siblings.
The suit cites specific examples of the detriment caused by Perry’s administration to foster kids, like one child who wound up in a hospital in Belton, Texas so severely medicated that he was brought in on a stretcher unable to stand or communicate. Another incident is detailed involving a child who was consistently sexually abused by his foster care family chosen by the state.
While the suit seeks no damages, it asks that the state reform and improve its foster care system, which during Perry’s tenure has been seriously compromised due to negligent supervision and outsourced contracts to third parties without accountability.
Governor Rick Perry, who is officially one of the defendants in the suit, had his office issue this innocuous statement in response:
Child protective services has continued to be a priority for the governor, including declaring CPS reform an emergency item in the 2005 legislative session, and taking other steps to further improve the system since then.
The governor believes the elected members of the Texas Legislature, rather than a New York interest group or a federal judge, are better suited to determine how the State of Texas should care for some of our most vulnerable Texans – our children.
The governor expects the agency to continue ensuring Texas children are safe, and receive the proper care and services they need.
Source http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/red-thread-adoptive-family-forum/2011/sep/27/rick-perry-defends-dismal-treatment-foster-care-ki/
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
DHS pays $3.4 million in child death, neglect cases
Kelsey Smith-Briggs, 2, died in Meeker in October 2005 from broken bones and other injuries. DHS settled the case for $525,000, with insurance paying $375,000 and the agency paying the rest. Courtesy
By GINNIE GRAHAM World Staff Writer
Published: 9/17/2011 3:08 PM
Last Modified: 9/17/2011 3:08 PM
More than $3.4 million in civil lawsuits settlements for child deaths and neglect have been made since 2005 with the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, according to records obtained by the Tulsa World.
The 24 payouts range from $15,000 to settle civil rights violations of parents after DHS placed their children into emergency custody to a $700,000 payout in the death of a toddler at a Tulsa child-care home, records show.
Of the settlements, DHS paid about $1.4 million from its budget while insurance entities paid about $2 million. The agency has a self-insured liability fund with AIG/Chartis and the Department of Central Services Risk Management Division.
“The fiscal cost of failures in the child welfare system pales in comparison to the cost Oklahoma’s most vulnerable children paid as a result of those failures,” stated House Speaker Kris Steele, R-Shawnee, in an e-mail to the World.
“Facts and figures like these clearly indicate a need to pursue serious policy changes at DHS. The status quo at DHS must improve and the Legislature is committed to seeing that it does.”
Oklahoma ranks fifth in the nation in the rate of child abuse and neglect deaths, with 3.4 deaths of children per 100,000, according to the National Coalition to End Child Abuse Death. This is a slight improvement from 2001, when the state ranked third in the country with a rate of 3.7.
DHS spokeswoman Sheree Powell said lawsuit settlements are approved based on the type of case. She said the litigation is used to change policy and practices.
“They work closely with the relevant agency divisions to propose statutory or policy changes or training requirements as necessary,” Powell stated in an e-mail.
Source http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=298&articleid=20110917_298_0_Moreth863560
By GINNIE GRAHAM World Staff Writer
Published: 9/17/2011 3:08 PM
Last Modified: 9/17/2011 3:08 PM
More than $3.4 million in civil lawsuits settlements for child deaths and neglect have been made since 2005 with the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, according to records obtained by the Tulsa World.
The 24 payouts range from $15,000 to settle civil rights violations of parents after DHS placed their children into emergency custody to a $700,000 payout in the death of a toddler at a Tulsa child-care home, records show.
Of the settlements, DHS paid about $1.4 million from its budget while insurance entities paid about $2 million. The agency has a self-insured liability fund with AIG/Chartis and the Department of Central Services Risk Management Division.
“The fiscal cost of failures in the child welfare system pales in comparison to the cost Oklahoma’s most vulnerable children paid as a result of those failures,” stated House Speaker Kris Steele, R-Shawnee, in an e-mail to the World.
“Facts and figures like these clearly indicate a need to pursue serious policy changes at DHS. The status quo at DHS must improve and the Legislature is committed to seeing that it does.”
Oklahoma ranks fifth in the nation in the rate of child abuse and neglect deaths, with 3.4 deaths of children per 100,000, according to the National Coalition to End Child Abuse Death. This is a slight improvement from 2001, when the state ranked third in the country with a rate of 3.7.
DHS spokeswoman Sheree Powell said lawsuit settlements are approved based on the type of case. She said the litigation is used to change policy and practices.
“They work closely with the relevant agency divisions to propose statutory or policy changes or training requirements as necessary,” Powell stated in an e-mail.
Source http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=298&articleid=20110917_298_0_Moreth863560
Suit Filed Over Wrongful Child Abuse Allegation
By John Sullivan
Times Herald-Record
Published: 2:00 AM - 09/16/11
Goshen — A local couple wrongly accused of sexually abusing their child are taking the unusual step of drawing attention to themselves and their legal fight against the questioning of their daughter by Orange County Child Protective Service investigators.
Marie Condoluci and her husband, Steven Phillips, claim that CPS caseworkers had no good reason to question their daughter, then a student at Scotchtown Avenue Elementary School, without their permission in 2010. The investigation, which did not result in charges, stemmed from hearsay allegations that the child's father sexually abused her.
Condoluci and Phillips struggled with anxiety, isolation, and even physical revulsion after the investigation, Condoluci said.
Condoluci, who is a lawyer, filed a federal lawsuit in U.S. Southern District Court in White Plains. Parties named include the county and the Goshen School District. She says that CPS and the school district failed to vet the allegations against the couple before taking their child aside and asking her questions such as "whether Mommy or Daddy ever fight," whether they ever "touched her down there," and who sleeps with her.
Condoluci initially declined to identify herself, her husband or their daughter for fear of the impact on their child. The couple have since removed their daughter, now 7, from the school and taken their fight public. "I thought it's the only way to clear our names," she said.
The lawsuit raises a rare challenge to the practice of hastily conducting child abuse investigations, often on the basis of an anonymous tip to the state's child-abuse hotline.
In Condoluci's case, officials failed to question the fact that the call to the state hot line came from a pastor reporting hearsay about her family from a third-party source, Condoluci said. Condoluci allowed that reasonable cause, such as visible bruises or telling statements by a child, might justify an unfettered CPS investigation. But "that's different from somebody calling and saying I heard from someone else that there were concerns of abuse," she said. Defense lawyers in the case argue that their clients were just following state law. "The law was not violated," said Lewis Silverman, the Manhattan lawyer representing the school district.
http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110916/NEWS/109160361
Times Herald-Record
Published: 2:00 AM - 09/16/11
Goshen — A local couple wrongly accused of sexually abusing their child are taking the unusual step of drawing attention to themselves and their legal fight against the questioning of their daughter by Orange County Child Protective Service investigators.
Marie Condoluci and her husband, Steven Phillips, claim that CPS caseworkers had no good reason to question their daughter, then a student at Scotchtown Avenue Elementary School, without their permission in 2010. The investigation, which did not result in charges, stemmed from hearsay allegations that the child's father sexually abused her.
Condoluci and Phillips struggled with anxiety, isolation, and even physical revulsion after the investigation, Condoluci said.
Condoluci, who is a lawyer, filed a federal lawsuit in U.S. Southern District Court in White Plains. Parties named include the county and the Goshen School District. She says that CPS and the school district failed to vet the allegations against the couple before taking their child aside and asking her questions such as "whether Mommy or Daddy ever fight," whether they ever "touched her down there," and who sleeps with her.
Condoluci initially declined to identify herself, her husband or their daughter for fear of the impact on their child. The couple have since removed their daughter, now 7, from the school and taken their fight public. "I thought it's the only way to clear our names," she said.
The lawsuit raises a rare challenge to the practice of hastily conducting child abuse investigations, often on the basis of an anonymous tip to the state's child-abuse hotline.
In Condoluci's case, officials failed to question the fact that the call to the state hot line came from a pastor reporting hearsay about her family from a third-party source, Condoluci said. Condoluci allowed that reasonable cause, such as visible bruises or telling statements by a child, might justify an unfettered CPS investigation. But "that's different from somebody calling and saying I heard from someone else that there were concerns of abuse," she said. Defense lawyers in the case argue that their clients were just following state law. "The law was not violated," said Lewis Silverman, the Manhattan lawyer representing the school district.
http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110916/NEWS/109160361
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