Mike DeWine wants to know why kids are not being adopted or reunited with their families.
(Cincinnati) — Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine today called for a complete review of the foster care system in Ohio. DeWine's call for action was made at a Child Safety Summit he hosted in Cincinnati.
"I convened this child safety summit today, the first of many I intend to hold across Ohio, because we need to conduct a comprehensive, holistic review of the entire foster care system in this state," said Attorney General DeWine. "Too many of these children are languishing in foster care with no real hope of ever having a permanent loving home."
About 40 representatives from foster care agencies, law enforcement, advocacy groups, prosecutors' offices, and adoption agencies attended the summit, including Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters, Rita Soronen of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, and Moira Weir, director of the Hamilton County Department of Job and Family Services.
The Summit discussed several issues facing the foster care system, including recent deaths of foster children after being reunified with relatives.
According to data from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, 33 children died (not necessarily from abuse or neglect) after being in foster care and being reunified with their biological parents from 2005-2010.
Hamilton County has had three deaths of foster children reunified with their biological parents in 2010. In the U.S. Senate, DeWine authored language in the 1997 Adoption and Safe Families Act clarifying laws that in issues of family reunification, the best interests of the child always have to come first.
However, DeWine noted today that his call for review is not limited to family reunification.
"There are children in the Ohio child welfare system who are dying, but there are also children dying who have been abused and neglected who have never been in foster care," said Attorney General DeWine. "There are also children in foster care who spend their entire lives in the system, never being adopted into a safe and loving home."
Many of Ohio's foster care children end up "aging out of foster care," DeWine noted. The percentage of children aging out in Ohio is greater than the national average of 11 percent in 2010. In 2009, Ohio emancipated 1,453 foster children, which represented 15 percent of the foster care population.
DeWine also noted the alarming amount of psychiatric medications apparently being prescribed to foster children. A recently released federal Government Accountability Office report said foster children can be prescribed these drugs at doses higher than the maximum levels approved by the FDA, and many foster children received five or more psychiatric drugs at the same time.
Source http://www.wtam.com/cc-common/news/sections/newsarticle.html?feed=122520&article=9493889
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 ohio. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ohio. Show all posts
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Ohio - Verbal, emotional abuse case leads to teacher discipline at Miami Trace
Blog authors note:
Why are teachers and other "authorities" given lesser legal problems than parents or family member accused of the same type of abuse allegations or even lesser allegations? Why are they allowed to treat children poorly and basically only get a slap on the wrist? Why aren't they charged with child abuse? Are their crimes any less simply because they are not a family member? Is the child any less hurt or abused?
-----
RYAN CARTER
OCM News Service
FAYETTE COUNTY — The verbal and emotional abuse of a Miami Trace Middle School special education child has resulted in the discipline of a middle school teacher, the resignation of a teacher’s aide, and a $300,000 settlement with the child’s guardians.
On April 28, one of the child’s guardians alerted Miami Trace to the verbal abuse of the girl and following an investigation by the district, an audio tape of the abuse was presented to district officials by Children’s Services.
“The audio tapes were not the idea of Children’s Services, but the tapes proved that inappropriate comments had been made over a period of four days,” said Miami Trace Superintendent Dan Roberts.
According to court records, Christie Wilt is the teacher who was disciplined by both the Ohio Department of Education’s Office of Professional Conduct and Miami Trace Local Schools. Kelly Chaffin is the teacher’s aide who resigned.
Roberts characterized the comments made by the Chaffin as “emotional mistreatment.”
“After hearing the tapes, we acted immediately and gave the teacher’s aide a copy of the tape to share with her attorney,” said Roberts. “She resigned immediately.”
The student was immediately removed from the classroom and transferred to another. She is still a student at Miami Trace.
As for Wilt, there was originally uncertainty as to whether she participated in the emotional abuse.
“We immediately contacted the Ohio Department of Education’s Office of Professional Conduct and submitted a full report that their office received on May 5,” said Roberts. “It took the State Department of Education five full months to render a decision.”
The decision was to suspend Wilt’s teaching license for a year, however, that punishment will not occur if Wilt can complete a number of stipulations this school year.
“We will abide by all stipulations in order for her to keep her license,” said Roberts.
The ODE found that Wilt was guilty of some emotional abuse, mainly due to the fact that she allowed her teacher’s aide to verbally abuse the student.
“We would love to let the citizens know the whole story but because the parents signed a waiver that does not allow them to talk about it, we can’t,” said Roberts.
The complaint was also taken to the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office and presented to the Fayette County Prosecutor’s Office. It was determined that there was no basis for criminal charges and there was no physical abuse.
Roberts added that the guardians originally requested a $1 million settlement. Recently, the $300,000 agreement was settled on, according to Roberts.
“Miami Trace does have insurance coverage for matters like this, but the taxpayers will bear some of that burden,” he said. “Our mission is always to protect and educate our children. Anytime that mission is not achieved, we are extremely disappointed. Anytime something like this happens, we have to identify that issue and correct it…that is what we did. Mistakes have been made, discipline imposed, and we move forward. We’re regretful but we’re very much committed to this not happening again.”
All Miami Trace teachers are required to undergo five hours of training related to spotting signs of child abuse, verbal or physical, and being cautious about what they say to children.
Source http://www.wnewsj.com/main.asp?SectionID=49&SubSectionID=156&ArticleID=193910
Why are teachers and other "authorities" given lesser legal problems than parents or family member accused of the same type of abuse allegations or even lesser allegations? Why are they allowed to treat children poorly and basically only get a slap on the wrist? Why aren't they charged with child abuse? Are their crimes any less simply because they are not a family member? Is the child any less hurt or abused?
-----
RYAN CARTER
OCM News Service
FAYETTE COUNTY — The verbal and emotional abuse of a Miami Trace Middle School special education child has resulted in the discipline of a middle school teacher, the resignation of a teacher’s aide, and a $300,000 settlement with the child’s guardians.
On April 28, one of the child’s guardians alerted Miami Trace to the verbal abuse of the girl and following an investigation by the district, an audio tape of the abuse was presented to district officials by Children’s Services.
“The audio tapes were not the idea of Children’s Services, but the tapes proved that inappropriate comments had been made over a period of four days,” said Miami Trace Superintendent Dan Roberts.
According to court records, Christie Wilt is the teacher who was disciplined by both the Ohio Department of Education’s Office of Professional Conduct and Miami Trace Local Schools. Kelly Chaffin is the teacher’s aide who resigned.
Roberts characterized the comments made by the Chaffin as “emotional mistreatment.”
“After hearing the tapes, we acted immediately and gave the teacher’s aide a copy of the tape to share with her attorney,” said Roberts. “She resigned immediately.”
The student was immediately removed from the classroom and transferred to another. She is still a student at Miami Trace.
As for Wilt, there was originally uncertainty as to whether she participated in the emotional abuse.
“We immediately contacted the Ohio Department of Education’s Office of Professional Conduct and submitted a full report that their office received on May 5,” said Roberts. “It took the State Department of Education five full months to render a decision.”
The decision was to suspend Wilt’s teaching license for a year, however, that punishment will not occur if Wilt can complete a number of stipulations this school year.
“We will abide by all stipulations in order for her to keep her license,” said Roberts.
The ODE found that Wilt was guilty of some emotional abuse, mainly due to the fact that she allowed her teacher’s aide to verbally abuse the student.
“We would love to let the citizens know the whole story but because the parents signed a waiver that does not allow them to talk about it, we can’t,” said Roberts.
The complaint was also taken to the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office and presented to the Fayette County Prosecutor’s Office. It was determined that there was no basis for criminal charges and there was no physical abuse.
Roberts added that the guardians originally requested a $1 million settlement. Recently, the $300,000 agreement was settled on, according to Roberts.
“Miami Trace does have insurance coverage for matters like this, but the taxpayers will bear some of that burden,” he said. “Our mission is always to protect and educate our children. Anytime that mission is not achieved, we are extremely disappointed. Anytime something like this happens, we have to identify that issue and correct it…that is what we did. Mistakes have been made, discipline imposed, and we move forward. We’re regretful but we’re very much committed to this not happening again.”
All Miami Trace teachers are required to undergo five hours of training related to spotting signs of child abuse, verbal or physical, and being cautious about what they say to children.
Source http://www.wnewsj.com/main.asp?SectionID=49&SubSectionID=156&ArticleID=193910
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
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