Blogger note:
Thank you Linda from fightcps.com, for all that you do and for helping those trying to keep their families intact while CPS is trying to rip them apart. Thank you for writing this letter to help those who are devastated by the thought of losing their children. You are awesome!
---
Today I heard from a parent who is terrified because her neighbors are calling CPS to make reports about her. I was inspired to write this letter on her behalf. You can download this letter in a printable PDF format to print and give to neighbors in your area, to post on bulletin boards at stores and laundromats, or to send to a specific reporting party if you know who it is. I will modify the letter for other situations if you can give me some ideas on who needs a letter like this. Is it the teachers at the school, the doctor’s office? Who? Let’s educate the public on the dangers of CPS. You can help do that by distributing this letter in your area.
Dear Neighbors – PDF printable format
Dear neighbors,
Someone called CPS. Was it you? Please read this letter before calling CPS again.
I am honestly terrified of losing my children and implore you, if you are the one who made the call, to let me know if I do something you think is wrong regarding my children, and do not call CPS again.
My terror is nothing compared to the trauma my children suffer at the thought of losing me, their home, their friends, their school, their pets, their toys, their grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins, and everything else that is part of their world. In the foster care system siblings often even lose each other.
You might think foster care is a better place for children but according to federal statistics children are much more likely to be abused in state custody foster homes. In foster homes many thousands of children have been abused emotionally, physically, and sexually. Many children have died in foster homes – many of whom were beaten to death by foster “parents”.
A professor at MIT did a study on foster children and learned that their long-range outcomes are not good, and that they’re better off left in marginal homes if there’s no extreme abuse going on. Most prison inmates were foster children.
So I ask that even if you don’t like me, please have mercy on my children and do not call CPS. It is a very dangerous government agency and not good for children. You are welcome to come to my house to advise me if you think I’m doing something wrong.
The government is very intrusive these days, and interferes with people for many reasons. We the taxpayers are the ones footing the bill for all these intrusions. The cost of child protective services intrusions, the foster home placements, the “services” forced on parents – are all running up our tax bills. State custody for children is very expensive.
I would prefer a life where we as neighbors can help one another without having to call in government workers for every little thing. Please do not be afraid to contact me if you feel I’m doing something wrong. Do not be afraid to offer to help me. If you’re afraid, show me this letter… let me know that something has to change if that’s how you feel. But please, do not terrorize my children – they are traumatized at the thought of being taken away.
Thank you… from a neighbor.
Written by Linda at http://www.fightcps.com for someone in your neighborhood.
(If you use this but change the wording please do not use my name on your revised letter. I’d prefer that you use the printable PDF version.)
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 reports. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reports. Show all posts
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Monday, November 7, 2011
State blasted on Western Kentucky girl's slaying
Judge: Abuse ignored before brutal beating
Written by Deborah Yetter
A Franklin Circuit Court judge blasted state officials Monday for ignoring suspected prior abuse of a 9-year-old Western Kentucky girl beaten to death by her adoptive brother, saying they turned a “blind eye” to repeated reports of her horrific mistreatment.
In his second such order in four days, Judge Phillip Shepherd ordered the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to release records of child abuse death investigations — this time in the case of the Feb. 4 murder of Amythz “Amy” Dye. State officials have repeatedly refused to release such records, citing confidentiality.
“This case presents a tragic example of the potentially deadly consequences of a child welfare system that has completely insulated itself from meaningful public scrutiny,” Shepherd said in his order. “The Open Records Act is the only method available by which the public and the legislature can obtain information regarding the systematic breakdown of our child protective services that contributed so directly to this child’s death.”
The order notes cabinet officials had approved Amy’s adoptive home in Todd County, with Kimberly Dye, after removing her from her birth parents because of “severe neglect and sexual abuse.”
“An innocent, nine-year-old girl was brutally beaten to death after enduring months of physical and emotional abuse in a home approved by the Commonwealth of Kentucky for her adoption,” Shepherd wrote.
Cabinet officials received the order Monday and are reviewing it, said spokeswoman Jill Midkiff.
Garrett Dye, 17, Amy’s adoptive brother, pleaded guilty Oct. 21 in Todd Circuit Court to murdering her on Feb. 4 by beating her in the head with a jack handle. At the time, she was outside on a cold, snowy evening shoveling gravel as punishment for stealing pudding and juice from a friend’s lunch box at school, Shepherd’s order said.
Garrett Dye, who was prosecuted as an adult, will be sentenced Nov. 23.
After Amy’s death, police found the girl’s clothes in a dresser in a trailer outside the house, Shepherd’s order said. It said Amy sometimes soiled her clothes because of poor bowel control, and when she did, her adoptive mother — as punishment — forced her to go outside for clean clothes.
Shepherd’s ruling comes after The Todd County Standard sought records from the cabinet about reports of suspected abuse or neglect involving Amy. The cabinet refused to provide the records to the newspaper, initially claiming it had none; but then, after acknowledging it did have records, it claimed they were exempt from open records law.
In his ruling Monday, the judge ordered the cabinet to release the records to the paper, noting that the issues were “identical” to those raised in his ruling Thursday that the cabinet must release records of child abuse deaths and serious injuries to The Courier-Journal and the Lexington Herald Leader.
In that ruling, he excoriated the cabinet as being “so immersed in the culture of secrecy regarding these issues that it is institutionally incapable of recognizing and implementing the clear requirement of the law.”
The Louisville and Lexington newspapers are seeking the records under a law that permits the disclosure of child abuse and neglect records if a child dies or is seriously injured and if the cabinet had prior involvement with the child or family.
Ryan Craig, publisher and owner of the Todd County newspaper, said the details of Amy’s life and death — outlined in Shepherd’s order — are horrifying.
“Her death was horrible, but it seems like her life must have been just as bad,” Craig said.
He called on Gov. Steve Beshear to look into conduct of the cabinet.
“The governor needs to take a long, hard look at the cabinet,” Craig said. “I think there needs to be some housecleaning.”
At a campaign stop in Louisville Monday evening, Beshear said he hadn't read Shepherd's opinion but planned to take it up with cabinet officials.
“Certainly we are going to be reviewing that decision,” he said.
He declined to fault social service officials. “I know the cabinet works hard in the protection of children,” Beshear said.
In the five years before Amy’s death, reports of suspected abuse or neglect “flooded in,” starting the year after she was adopted by Kimberly Dye, Shepherd’s order said. Some of the reports came from school officials, including a school nurse, and some said she was being beaten by other children in the home. Yet state social workers performed cursory inquiries and took no action, his order said.
Kimberly Dye, who shared the home with her ex-husband, Christopher, could not be reached for comment. The family’s phone has been disconnected.
The reports cited by Shepherd included a May 2, 2007, letter from a school nurse detailing six separate reports she made of suspected abuse to Amy. The nurse reported injuries such as severe bruises, thumbprints on the girl’s face and scraped and peeling skin.
The nurse said Amy told her she had been hurt by another child in the home and her mother threatened to spank her if she told anyone. Amy then lived with two adoptive brothers, Garrett Dye, and an older brother not identified in Shepherd’s order.
The order said most of the abuse allegations involved the older brother, not Garrett Dye.
The cabinet dismissed the complaints as “child against child” altercations or accepted Kimberly Dye’s explanation that Amy fell or that the girl “bruises easily and plays rough with her brothers,” the order said.
“It is stunning to believe that the cabinet will refuse to protect a child from repeated acts of physical violence when the parent knows of and tolerates such abuse and does nothing to prevent it,” Shepherd’s order said. “Yet that is exactly what happened here.”
The case also appears to be the second in which the cabinet failed to conduct a fatality review required by law when a child dies or is seriously injured from abuse or neglect and the cabinet had prior involvement with the family.
The Courier-Journal and Herald-Leader filed suit in 2009, seeking the cabinet’s records of its investigation of the death of a Wayne County toddler who died after drinking drain cleaner at an alleged meth lab where he lived with his teenage parents. Both the child and his teen mother had been under the cabinet’s supervision.
The cabinet fought the newspapers’ request, citing confidentiality. After Shepherd ordered the cabinet to release the fatality report, cabinet officials acknowledged they never conducted the investigation required by state law.
In Amy’s case, cabinet officials concluded that they had no obligation to conduct such a review, Shepherd’s order said.
Attorney Jon Fleischaker, who represented the Todd County newspaper along with lawyer Jeremy Rogers, said Monday’s ruling is clear, yet the cabinet continues to litigate a battle it lost in 2010 when Shepherd first ordered it to release such records.
“They are using tax dollars to defend the indefensible,” said Fleischaker, who also represents The Courier-Journal.
Source http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20111107/NEWS01/311070081/State-blasted-Western-Kentucky-girl-s-slaying?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CHome
Written by Deborah Yetter
A Franklin Circuit Court judge blasted state officials Monday for ignoring suspected prior abuse of a 9-year-old Western Kentucky girl beaten to death by her adoptive brother, saying they turned a “blind eye” to repeated reports of her horrific mistreatment.
In his second such order in four days, Judge Phillip Shepherd ordered the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to release records of child abuse death investigations — this time in the case of the Feb. 4 murder of Amythz “Amy” Dye. State officials have repeatedly refused to release such records, citing confidentiality.
“This case presents a tragic example of the potentially deadly consequences of a child welfare system that has completely insulated itself from meaningful public scrutiny,” Shepherd said in his order. “The Open Records Act is the only method available by which the public and the legislature can obtain information regarding the systematic breakdown of our child protective services that contributed so directly to this child’s death.”
The order notes cabinet officials had approved Amy’s adoptive home in Todd County, with Kimberly Dye, after removing her from her birth parents because of “severe neglect and sexual abuse.”
“An innocent, nine-year-old girl was brutally beaten to death after enduring months of physical and emotional abuse in a home approved by the Commonwealth of Kentucky for her adoption,” Shepherd wrote.
Cabinet officials received the order Monday and are reviewing it, said spokeswoman Jill Midkiff.
Garrett Dye, 17, Amy’s adoptive brother, pleaded guilty Oct. 21 in Todd Circuit Court to murdering her on Feb. 4 by beating her in the head with a jack handle. At the time, she was outside on a cold, snowy evening shoveling gravel as punishment for stealing pudding and juice from a friend’s lunch box at school, Shepherd’s order said.
Garrett Dye, who was prosecuted as an adult, will be sentenced Nov. 23.
After Amy’s death, police found the girl’s clothes in a dresser in a trailer outside the house, Shepherd’s order said. It said Amy sometimes soiled her clothes because of poor bowel control, and when she did, her adoptive mother — as punishment — forced her to go outside for clean clothes.
Shepherd’s ruling comes after The Todd County Standard sought records from the cabinet about reports of suspected abuse or neglect involving Amy. The cabinet refused to provide the records to the newspaper, initially claiming it had none; but then, after acknowledging it did have records, it claimed they were exempt from open records law.
In his ruling Monday, the judge ordered the cabinet to release the records to the paper, noting that the issues were “identical” to those raised in his ruling Thursday that the cabinet must release records of child abuse deaths and serious injuries to The Courier-Journal and the Lexington Herald Leader.
In that ruling, he excoriated the cabinet as being “so immersed in the culture of secrecy regarding these issues that it is institutionally incapable of recognizing and implementing the clear requirement of the law.”
The Louisville and Lexington newspapers are seeking the records under a law that permits the disclosure of child abuse and neglect records if a child dies or is seriously injured and if the cabinet had prior involvement with the child or family.
Ryan Craig, publisher and owner of the Todd County newspaper, said the details of Amy’s life and death — outlined in Shepherd’s order — are horrifying.
“Her death was horrible, but it seems like her life must have been just as bad,” Craig said.
He called on Gov. Steve Beshear to look into conduct of the cabinet.
“The governor needs to take a long, hard look at the cabinet,” Craig said. “I think there needs to be some housecleaning.”
At a campaign stop in Louisville Monday evening, Beshear said he hadn't read Shepherd's opinion but planned to take it up with cabinet officials.
“Certainly we are going to be reviewing that decision,” he said.
He declined to fault social service officials. “I know the cabinet works hard in the protection of children,” Beshear said.
In the five years before Amy’s death, reports of suspected abuse or neglect “flooded in,” starting the year after she was adopted by Kimberly Dye, Shepherd’s order said. Some of the reports came from school officials, including a school nurse, and some said she was being beaten by other children in the home. Yet state social workers performed cursory inquiries and took no action, his order said.
Kimberly Dye, who shared the home with her ex-husband, Christopher, could not be reached for comment. The family’s phone has been disconnected.
The reports cited by Shepherd included a May 2, 2007, letter from a school nurse detailing six separate reports she made of suspected abuse to Amy. The nurse reported injuries such as severe bruises, thumbprints on the girl’s face and scraped and peeling skin.
The nurse said Amy told her she had been hurt by another child in the home and her mother threatened to spank her if she told anyone. Amy then lived with two adoptive brothers, Garrett Dye, and an older brother not identified in Shepherd’s order.
The order said most of the abuse allegations involved the older brother, not Garrett Dye.
The cabinet dismissed the complaints as “child against child” altercations or accepted Kimberly Dye’s explanation that Amy fell or that the girl “bruises easily and plays rough with her brothers,” the order said.
“It is stunning to believe that the cabinet will refuse to protect a child from repeated acts of physical violence when the parent knows of and tolerates such abuse and does nothing to prevent it,” Shepherd’s order said. “Yet that is exactly what happened here.”
The case also appears to be the second in which the cabinet failed to conduct a fatality review required by law when a child dies or is seriously injured from abuse or neglect and the cabinet had prior involvement with the family.
The Courier-Journal and Herald-Leader filed suit in 2009, seeking the cabinet’s records of its investigation of the death of a Wayne County toddler who died after drinking drain cleaner at an alleged meth lab where he lived with his teenage parents. Both the child and his teen mother had been under the cabinet’s supervision.
The cabinet fought the newspapers’ request, citing confidentiality. After Shepherd ordered the cabinet to release the fatality report, cabinet officials acknowledged they never conducted the investigation required by state law.
In Amy’s case, cabinet officials concluded that they had no obligation to conduct such a review, Shepherd’s order said.
Attorney Jon Fleischaker, who represented the Todd County newspaper along with lawyer Jeremy Rogers, said Monday’s ruling is clear, yet the cabinet continues to litigate a battle it lost in 2010 when Shepherd first ordered it to release such records.
“They are using tax dollars to defend the indefensible,” said Fleischaker, who also represents The Courier-Journal.
Source http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20111107/NEWS01/311070081/State-blasted-Western-Kentucky-girl-s-slaying?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CHome
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Judge orders Kentucky to release records on child-abuse deaths
Written by Deborah Yetter
For the second time in 18 months, a Franklin Circuit Court judge has ordered the state to release records pertaining to child-abuse deaths and serious injuries, finding that there is “no legal basis” for withholding them.
“The court must conclude that the (Cabinet for Health and Family Services) is so immersed in the culture of secrecy regarding these issues that it is institutionally incapable of recognizing and implementing the clear requirement of the law,” Judge Phillip Shepherd said in his ruling, issued Thursday.
The decision comes after a lengthy court fight by The Courier-Journal and the Lexington Herald-Leader to obtain the records — and more than a year after Shepherd first ruled that the cabinet must disclose the material.
After that decision, the cabinet released some information about the death of a Wayne County toddler who drank drain cleaner at an alleged methamphetamine laboratory. But the cabinet refused to provide the newspapers with information about other child-abuse deaths.
A 2009 Courier-Journal investigation found that nearly 270 Kentucky children had died of abuse or neglect during the past decade — more than half in cases in which state officials knew of or suspected problems.
Thursday’s ruling is a major open-records victory for the newspapers and the public because it forces the cabinet to disclose details of how well the state does its job of protecting children from severe abuse, said Jon Fleischaker, a lawyer for The Courier-Journal.
“It’s about time the cabinet recognizes that it is not above the law,” Fleischaker said. “It has to comply with the mandate of state and federal law. This is not a difficult issue.”
Cabinet officials released a brief statement Thursday saying that they are reviewing the ruling. They gave no indication when they would release the records.
Fleischaker said the cabinet could appeal but added that he doubts it would succeed because Shepherd found for the newspapers in the virtually identical case last year. The cabinet did not appeal that ruling, making the decision final.
Fleischaker called on Gov. Steve Beshear to direct officials at the cabinet to comply with the court’s ruling.
“We now have a judge talking about the inability of the cabinet to understand its legal obligations,” Flesichaker said. “Maybe the governor needs to step in. He probably should have stepped in before this.”
Beshear spokeswoman Kerri Richardson didn’t respond to a question about whether Beshear will get involved. She said in a statement only that the cabinet is reviewing the decision.
Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates, said Thursday’s ruling has important ramifications.
“It’s not just a win for the press,” Brooks said. “It’s a win for kids and for citizens who are taking a look at this issue.”
In his opinion, Shepherd had harsh words for cabinet officials who have consistently fought releasing material the newpapers sought after several highly publicized child abuse or neglect deaths, including the 2009 case of the Wayne County toddler.
His order said the cabinet “misinterpreted” state law and “continues to flatly ignore” provisions that require it to disclose the records.
“The release of these records will help to keep the cabinet accountable to prevent future tragedies and to answer to taxpayers who fund the cabinet,” it said.
State law — conforming to federal law — says such records may be “publicly disclosed” in cases in which a child was killed or severely injured from abuse or neglect if the cabinet had involvement with the family. But in recent years, cabinet officials have refused to release such material, citing the need for confidentiality.
Shepherd’s order noted the “exact issues” in the current case were already addressed in the initial lawsuit filed by the newpapers in 2009.
In that case, Shepherd ruled in May 2010 that the cabinet must release records related to the death of Kayden Daniels, the 20-month-old Wayne County boy who died at the home of his teenage parents, the site of the alleged meth lab. Both the child and his mother, then 14, had been under supervision of the cabinet before the death.
Records sought by the newspapers included a “fatality report” that the cabinet is required by law to conduct, examining the circumstances of the child’s death and actions of cabinet officials involved with the family. After Shepherd ordered the cabinet to release the report, agency officials acknowledged they had never conducted the review or produced such a report.
Shepherd ordered the release of other cabinet records in the case, such as documents relatging to state contacts with the family, the cabinet disclosed.
But it refused subsequent requests for information about other child-abuse deaths. That prompted the newspapers to file a second lawsuit in January, asking Shepherd to order the cabinet to comply with his previous order.
Shepherd, in Thursday’s ruling, also struck down “emergency regulations” that cabinet officials enacted in January seeking to sharply restrict the information it must release about child deaths and injuries. Shepherd’s order found no basis in state law for the regulations.
Because the newspapers had requested records related to child deaths for the past several years, such records are likely to be voluminous and could impose a “substantial administrative burden on the cabinet,” Shepherd’s order said.
For that reason, Shepherd ordered the cabinet to meet with the newspapers within the next 10 days to try to reach an agreement on the “orderly and timely production of the records.”
If the parties can’t agree, Shepherd’s order said he will hold a hearing on the matter and spell out the “time, place and manner of production.”
Shepherd also reserved a ruling on the newspapers’ request for attorneys fees until the other issues are resolved.
He already has awarded the newspapers $20,700 in legal costs from the first round of litigation. The cabinet has appealed that order.
Fleischaker called on Gov. Steve Beshear to direct officials at the cabinet to comply with the court’s ruling.
“We now have a judge talking about the inability of the cabinet to understand its legal obligations,” Flesichaker said. “Maybe the governor needs to step in. He probably should have stepped in before this.”
Beshear spokeswoman Kerri Richardson didn’t respond to a question about whether Beshear will get involved. She said in a statement only that the cabinet is reviewing the decision.
Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates, said Thursday’s ruling has important ramifications.
“It’s not just a win for the press,” Brooks said. “It’s a win for kids and for citizens who are taking a look at this issue.”
In his opinion, Shepherd had harsh words for cabinet officials who have consistently fought releasing material the newpapers sought after several highly publicized child abuse or neglect deaths, including the 2009 case of the Wayne County toddler.
His order said the cabinet “misinterpreted” state law and “continues to flatly ignore” provisions that require it to disclose the records.
“The release of these records will help to keep the cabinet accountable to prevent future tragedies and to answer to taxpayers who fund the cabinet,” it said.
State law — conforming to federal law — says such records may be “publicly disclosed” in cases in which a child was killed or severely injured from abuse or neglect if the cabinet had involvement with the family. But in recent years, cabinet officials have refused to release such material, citing the need for confidentiality.
Shepherd’s order noted the “exact issues” in the current case were already addressed in the initial lawsuit filed by the newpapers in 2009.
In that case, Shepherd ruled in May 2010 that the cabinet must release records related to the death of Kayden Daniels, the 20-month-old Wayne County boy who died at the home of his teenage parents, the site of the alleged meth lab. Both the child and his mother, then 14, had been under supervision of the cabinet before the death.
Records sought by the newspapers included a “fatality report” that the cabinet is required by law to conduct, examining the circumstances of the child’s death and actions of cabinet officials involved with the family. After Shepherd ordered the cabinet to release the report, agency officials acknowledged they had never conducted the review or produced such a report.
Shepherd ordered the release of other cabinet records in the case, such as documents relatging to state contacts with the family, the cabinet disclosed.
But it refused subsequent requests for information about other child-abuse deaths. That prompted the newspapers to file a second lawsuit in January, asking Shepherd to order the cabinet to comply with his previous order.
Shepherd, in Thursday’s ruling, also struck down “emergency regulations” that cabinet officials enacted in January seeking to sharply restrict the information it must release about child deaths and injuries. Shepherd’s order found no basis in state law for the regulations.
Because the newspapers had requested records related to child deaths for the past several years, such records are likely to be voluminous and could impose a “substantial administrative burden on the cabinet,” Shepherd’s order said.
For that reason, Shepherd ordered the cabinet to meet with the newspapers within the next 10 days to try to reach an agreement on the “orderly and timely production of the records.”
If the parties can’t agree, Shepherd’s order said he will hold a hearing on the matter and spell out the “time, place and manner of production.”
Shepherd also reserved a ruling on the newspapers’ request for attorneys fees until the other issues are resolved.
He already has awarded the newspapers $20,700 in legal costs from the first round of litigation. The cabinet has appealed that order.
Source http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20111103/NEWS01/311030033/Judge-orders-Kentucky-release-records-child-abuse-deaths?odyssey=nav%7Chead
For the second time in 18 months, a Franklin Circuit Court judge has ordered the state to release records pertaining to child-abuse deaths and serious injuries, finding that there is “no legal basis” for withholding them.
“The court must conclude that the (Cabinet for Health and Family Services) is so immersed in the culture of secrecy regarding these issues that it is institutionally incapable of recognizing and implementing the clear requirement of the law,” Judge Phillip Shepherd said in his ruling, issued Thursday.
The decision comes after a lengthy court fight by The Courier-Journal and the Lexington Herald-Leader to obtain the records — and more than a year after Shepherd first ruled that the cabinet must disclose the material.
After that decision, the cabinet released some information about the death of a Wayne County toddler who drank drain cleaner at an alleged methamphetamine laboratory. But the cabinet refused to provide the newspapers with information about other child-abuse deaths.
A 2009 Courier-Journal investigation found that nearly 270 Kentucky children had died of abuse or neglect during the past decade — more than half in cases in which state officials knew of or suspected problems.
Thursday’s ruling is a major open-records victory for the newspapers and the public because it forces the cabinet to disclose details of how well the state does its job of protecting children from severe abuse, said Jon Fleischaker, a lawyer for The Courier-Journal.
“It’s about time the cabinet recognizes that it is not above the law,” Fleischaker said. “It has to comply with the mandate of state and federal law. This is not a difficult issue.”
Cabinet officials released a brief statement Thursday saying that they are reviewing the ruling. They gave no indication when they would release the records.
Fleischaker said the cabinet could appeal but added that he doubts it would succeed because Shepherd found for the newspapers in the virtually identical case last year. The cabinet did not appeal that ruling, making the decision final.
Fleischaker called on Gov. Steve Beshear to direct officials at the cabinet to comply with the court’s ruling.
“We now have a judge talking about the inability of the cabinet to understand its legal obligations,” Flesichaker said. “Maybe the governor needs to step in. He probably should have stepped in before this.”
Beshear spokeswoman Kerri Richardson didn’t respond to a question about whether Beshear will get involved. She said in a statement only that the cabinet is reviewing the decision.
Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates, said Thursday’s ruling has important ramifications.
“It’s not just a win for the press,” Brooks said. “It’s a win for kids and for citizens who are taking a look at this issue.”
In his opinion, Shepherd had harsh words for cabinet officials who have consistently fought releasing material the newpapers sought after several highly publicized child abuse or neglect deaths, including the 2009 case of the Wayne County toddler.
His order said the cabinet “misinterpreted” state law and “continues to flatly ignore” provisions that require it to disclose the records.
“The release of these records will help to keep the cabinet accountable to prevent future tragedies and to answer to taxpayers who fund the cabinet,” it said.
State law — conforming to federal law — says such records may be “publicly disclosed” in cases in which a child was killed or severely injured from abuse or neglect if the cabinet had involvement with the family. But in recent years, cabinet officials have refused to release such material, citing the need for confidentiality.
Shepherd’s order noted the “exact issues” in the current case were already addressed in the initial lawsuit filed by the newpapers in 2009.
In that case, Shepherd ruled in May 2010 that the cabinet must release records related to the death of Kayden Daniels, the 20-month-old Wayne County boy who died at the home of his teenage parents, the site of the alleged meth lab. Both the child and his mother, then 14, had been under supervision of the cabinet before the death.
Records sought by the newspapers included a “fatality report” that the cabinet is required by law to conduct, examining the circumstances of the child’s death and actions of cabinet officials involved with the family. After Shepherd ordered the cabinet to release the report, agency officials acknowledged they had never conducted the review or produced such a report.
Shepherd ordered the release of other cabinet records in the case, such as documents relatging to state contacts with the family, the cabinet disclosed.
But it refused subsequent requests for information about other child-abuse deaths. That prompted the newspapers to file a second lawsuit in January, asking Shepherd to order the cabinet to comply with his previous order.
Shepherd, in Thursday’s ruling, also struck down “emergency regulations” that cabinet officials enacted in January seeking to sharply restrict the information it must release about child deaths and injuries. Shepherd’s order found no basis in state law for the regulations.
Because the newspapers had requested records related to child deaths for the past several years, such records are likely to be voluminous and could impose a “substantial administrative burden on the cabinet,” Shepherd’s order said.
For that reason, Shepherd ordered the cabinet to meet with the newspapers within the next 10 days to try to reach an agreement on the “orderly and timely production of the records.”
If the parties can’t agree, Shepherd’s order said he will hold a hearing on the matter and spell out the “time, place and manner of production.”
Shepherd also reserved a ruling on the newspapers’ request for attorneys fees until the other issues are resolved.
He already has awarded the newspapers $20,700 in legal costs from the first round of litigation. The cabinet has appealed that order.
Fleischaker called on Gov. Steve Beshear to direct officials at the cabinet to comply with the court’s ruling.
“We now have a judge talking about the inability of the cabinet to understand its legal obligations,” Flesichaker said. “Maybe the governor needs to step in. He probably should have stepped in before this.”
Beshear spokeswoman Kerri Richardson didn’t respond to a question about whether Beshear will get involved. She said in a statement only that the cabinet is reviewing the decision.
Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates, said Thursday’s ruling has important ramifications.
“It’s not just a win for the press,” Brooks said. “It’s a win for kids and for citizens who are taking a look at this issue.”
In his opinion, Shepherd had harsh words for cabinet officials who have consistently fought releasing material the newpapers sought after several highly publicized child abuse or neglect deaths, including the 2009 case of the Wayne County toddler.
His order said the cabinet “misinterpreted” state law and “continues to flatly ignore” provisions that require it to disclose the records.
“The release of these records will help to keep the cabinet accountable to prevent future tragedies and to answer to taxpayers who fund the cabinet,” it said.
State law — conforming to federal law — says such records may be “publicly disclosed” in cases in which a child was killed or severely injured from abuse or neglect if the cabinet had involvement with the family. But in recent years, cabinet officials have refused to release such material, citing the need for confidentiality.
Shepherd’s order noted the “exact issues” in the current case were already addressed in the initial lawsuit filed by the newpapers in 2009.
In that case, Shepherd ruled in May 2010 that the cabinet must release records related to the death of Kayden Daniels, the 20-month-old Wayne County boy who died at the home of his teenage parents, the site of the alleged meth lab. Both the child and his mother, then 14, had been under supervision of the cabinet before the death.
Records sought by the newspapers included a “fatality report” that the cabinet is required by law to conduct, examining the circumstances of the child’s death and actions of cabinet officials involved with the family. After Shepherd ordered the cabinet to release the report, agency officials acknowledged they had never conducted the review or produced such a report.
Shepherd ordered the release of other cabinet records in the case, such as documents relatging to state contacts with the family, the cabinet disclosed.
But it refused subsequent requests for information about other child-abuse deaths. That prompted the newspapers to file a second lawsuit in January, asking Shepherd to order the cabinet to comply with his previous order.
Shepherd, in Thursday’s ruling, also struck down “emergency regulations” that cabinet officials enacted in January seeking to sharply restrict the information it must release about child deaths and injuries. Shepherd’s order found no basis in state law for the regulations.
Because the newspapers had requested records related to child deaths for the past several years, such records are likely to be voluminous and could impose a “substantial administrative burden on the cabinet,” Shepherd’s order said.
For that reason, Shepherd ordered the cabinet to meet with the newspapers within the next 10 days to try to reach an agreement on the “orderly and timely production of the records.”
If the parties can’t agree, Shepherd’s order said he will hold a hearing on the matter and spell out the “time, place and manner of production.”
Shepherd also reserved a ruling on the newspapers’ request for attorneys fees until the other issues are resolved.
He already has awarded the newspapers $20,700 in legal costs from the first round of litigation. The cabinet has appealed that order.
Source http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20111103/NEWS01/311030033/Judge-orders-Kentucky-release-records-child-abuse-deaths?odyssey=nav%7Chead
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Safety of group homes hard to check
Why wasn't CPS called in on this situation? Why are these "homes" allowed to take children if they are abusing them? Why aren't they more closely monitored (even for the adults) when many of these patients can not defend themselves? Why....? Why..? Why???
---
By JULIE MURPHY, Staff writer
August 28, 2011 12:30 AM
GLENWOOD -- Chris Nicoles sits and draws at the kitchen table while Louise Harwin watches television in the family room.
It's a familiar scenario in homes everywhere, except that Nicoles and Harwin live in a group home for adults with disabilities.
"These houses are supposed to look like any other house in the neighborhood," said Ed DeBardeleben, area administrator for the state Agency for Persons with Disabilities. "These (group homes) are their homes."
Outside of making frequent personal visits, there's little parents or guardians can do to ensure the safety and well-being of loved ones who live in such group homes. Most are left to trust that the system and its safeguards are working.
But are they?
Reviews and violations found on a state website for 57 licensed group homes in Volusia and Flagler counties, as well as for other group homes statewide, are often outdated, with the most recent reports in many cases being more than 3 years old. State inspection reports are often vague, providing few, if any, details about a particular home's overall condition or employees' qualifications.
A recent case of criminal abuse of a disabled Palm Coast teen living in a Palatka group home run by O'Carroll Homes illustrates that sometimes problems slip through cracks.
O'Carroll Homes, which runs several facilities in Palatka and one in Hastings, had its Medicaid waiver agreements pulled by the state after four workers and a former employee accused of burning the 17-year-old girl with a clothes iron were arrested and charged in January.
One of the workers was sentenced to four years in prison earlier this month for his role in the abuse case. Four others have September court dates, according to the State Attorney's Office.
NO EASY FIXES
Many group home providers are paid through Medicaid waiver agreements, according to Agency for Persons with Disabilities spokeswoman Melanie Etters. The waivers pay for care and supplies for adults diagnosed with certain disabilities before the age of 18.
While pulling Medicaid waivers doesn't technically close a home, its residents or their families would have to pay for their care privately. Costs vary widely based on behavioral issues, daily living and medical needs, but can run between $35,000 and $150,000 per year, Etters said.
"In general, APD typically closes about two group homes a month statewide," Etters said. "Generally, there are two main reasons why this occurs. First would be some major incident occurs at the group home endangering the health and safety of one or more individuals. Second would be when a home is continually cited for issues during monthly monitoring and has not corrected any of the issues within a reasonable amount of time, and the agency is concerned for the health and safety of the people living in the home."
After her daughter was burned in January, Jeanette Roscoe moved her to another group home in North Florida and thought she had found an ideal site -- just as she had when she took her daughter to the O'Carroll Homes facility in Palatka 11 years ago.
"The first time I did research, (O'Carroll Homes) were long-standing and had all the credentials," Roscoe said. "I looked at the cleanliness, that she'd have her own room and the ratio of staff to patients."
Roscoe also closely inspected the North Florida facility where she decided to move her daughter, who she said has the mind of a 2- or 3-year-old. Again, Roscoe studied employee folders and resumes, scrutinizing who administered medications and where they were kept.
But again, her daughter suffered serious injuries. This time, she jumped through a window at 5:30 a.m. Aug. 10 and wound up needing more than 100 stitches and staples to close her wounds, Roscoe said.
"It was a 5- to 6-foot drop out the window," Roscoe wrote in an email to The News-Journal that included images of her daughter's injuries. "I thought she had one-on-one supervision, but she didn't. At least she didn't then."
LONG WAIT FOR CARE
The group homes overseen by DeBardeleben's office, which covers Volusia and Flagler counties, include small family-run operations as well as homes owned by large businesses such as Duvall Home, LifeShare, Sunrise Community and National Mentor.
Group home workers are expected to undergo criminal background checks through the FBI, Florida Department of Law Enforcement and local agencies. They must also sign an affidavit that they are of good moral character, DeBardeleben said. "Zero tolerance" training is also required and employees are instructed to treat residents with dignity and respect, as well as to look for signs of abuse or neglect and to report it to law enforcement.
But researching group homes is complicated, said Jim King, executive director for The Arc of Volusia, which provides programs to increase independence and quality of life for adults with developmental disabilities.
"It's not an easy situation," King said. "There (is) a waiting list of people not getting any services. Funding has always been limited and it keeps getting cut. These are all independent businesses -- some big, some small."
DeBardeleben said more than 20,000 people are on the waiting list for Medicaid waivers statewide.
Martin Favis, president of the Duvall Home -- among the largest care providers for the developmentally disabled in the country -- said the challenge is to provide a homey setting for its 160 residents who live in 10 group homes and one larger congregate-living facility. Some pay privately while others have Medicaid waivers.
"Not every individual has a vested parent or guardian," Favis said as he walked through the home where Nicoles and Harwin live. "We want to have compatible homes where people have things in common. This is their home and it should feel that way."
Favis admits things weren't picture-perfect at Duvall before his arrival three years ago.
"We've come a long way in three years," he said. "APD (Agency for Persons with Disabilities) wasn't happy with us. There were funding cuts and financial problems. We had to really mend our relationship."
Group homes are monitored monthly, typically by a two-person team from the Agency for Persons with Disabilities. The exception is "respite homes," those that only take people who need temporary care -- for instance, if a family goes on vacation. They are not inspected if they have no residents during a given month.
"Group homes have their own niche," DeBardeleben said. "We want clients to have a choice so they integrate into the community, and different clients have different needs."
FINDING A NICHE
Some homes have nurses on staff. Others are "intensive behavioral residential habitation group homes," which handle patients who may be a danger to themselves or others.
One Duvall Home niche is that it is an adult-only facility.
"I'm hoping to get (my daughter) placed in Duvall," Roscoe said. "She turns 18 on Sept. 9 and hopefully we'll be able to transfer her that day."
Roscoe, her daughter, her daughter's case manager -- officially referred to as a waiver support coordinator -- and other officials from the Agency for Persons with Disabilities, as well as Favis, are working together to help Roscoe's daughter make the transition.
"I'm waiting for this to all settle down," Roscoe said before breaking into tears.
Roscoe believes her daughter should have been reassessed in January after she was burned. A reassessment is usually done once every three years, with exceptions made for crises.
"That was a crisis," Roscoe said. "I think she was in shock immediately afterward, but I can only guess that because of her limited verbal communication. She wets the bed now and has been self-mutilating. It's post-traumatic stress. And I'm tired. I'm trying to protect her. I'm trying to protect her from other people. I'm trying to protect other people."
Source
http://www.news-journalonline.com/news/local/flagler/2011/08/28/safety-of-group-homes-hard-to-check.html
---
By JULIE MURPHY, Staff writer
August 28, 2011 12:30 AM
GLENWOOD -- Chris Nicoles sits and draws at the kitchen table while Louise Harwin watches television in the family room.
It's a familiar scenario in homes everywhere, except that Nicoles and Harwin live in a group home for adults with disabilities.
"These houses are supposed to look like any other house in the neighborhood," said Ed DeBardeleben, area administrator for the state Agency for Persons with Disabilities. "These (group homes) are their homes."
Outside of making frequent personal visits, there's little parents or guardians can do to ensure the safety and well-being of loved ones who live in such group homes. Most are left to trust that the system and its safeguards are working.
But are they?
Reviews and violations found on a state website for 57 licensed group homes in Volusia and Flagler counties, as well as for other group homes statewide, are often outdated, with the most recent reports in many cases being more than 3 years old. State inspection reports are often vague, providing few, if any, details about a particular home's overall condition or employees' qualifications.
A recent case of criminal abuse of a disabled Palm Coast teen living in a Palatka group home run by O'Carroll Homes illustrates that sometimes problems slip through cracks.
O'Carroll Homes, which runs several facilities in Palatka and one in Hastings, had its Medicaid waiver agreements pulled by the state after four workers and a former employee accused of burning the 17-year-old girl with a clothes iron were arrested and charged in January.
One of the workers was sentenced to four years in prison earlier this month for his role in the abuse case. Four others have September court dates, according to the State Attorney's Office.
NO EASY FIXES
Many group home providers are paid through Medicaid waiver agreements, according to Agency for Persons with Disabilities spokeswoman Melanie Etters. The waivers pay for care and supplies for adults diagnosed with certain disabilities before the age of 18.
While pulling Medicaid waivers doesn't technically close a home, its residents or their families would have to pay for their care privately. Costs vary widely based on behavioral issues, daily living and medical needs, but can run between $35,000 and $150,000 per year, Etters said.
"In general, APD typically closes about two group homes a month statewide," Etters said. "Generally, there are two main reasons why this occurs. First would be some major incident occurs at the group home endangering the health and safety of one or more individuals. Second would be when a home is continually cited for issues during monthly monitoring and has not corrected any of the issues within a reasonable amount of time, and the agency is concerned for the health and safety of the people living in the home."
After her daughter was burned in January, Jeanette Roscoe moved her to another group home in North Florida and thought she had found an ideal site -- just as she had when she took her daughter to the O'Carroll Homes facility in Palatka 11 years ago.
"The first time I did research, (O'Carroll Homes) were long-standing and had all the credentials," Roscoe said. "I looked at the cleanliness, that she'd have her own room and the ratio of staff to patients."
Roscoe also closely inspected the North Florida facility where she decided to move her daughter, who she said has the mind of a 2- or 3-year-old. Again, Roscoe studied employee folders and resumes, scrutinizing who administered medications and where they were kept.
But again, her daughter suffered serious injuries. This time, she jumped through a window at 5:30 a.m. Aug. 10 and wound up needing more than 100 stitches and staples to close her wounds, Roscoe said.
"It was a 5- to 6-foot drop out the window," Roscoe wrote in an email to The News-Journal that included images of her daughter's injuries. "I thought she had one-on-one supervision, but she didn't. At least she didn't then."
LONG WAIT FOR CARE
The group homes overseen by DeBardeleben's office, which covers Volusia and Flagler counties, include small family-run operations as well as homes owned by large businesses such as Duvall Home, LifeShare, Sunrise Community and National Mentor.
Group home workers are expected to undergo criminal background checks through the FBI, Florida Department of Law Enforcement and local agencies. They must also sign an affidavit that they are of good moral character, DeBardeleben said. "Zero tolerance" training is also required and employees are instructed to treat residents with dignity and respect, as well as to look for signs of abuse or neglect and to report it to law enforcement.
But researching group homes is complicated, said Jim King, executive director for The Arc of Volusia, which provides programs to increase independence and quality of life for adults with developmental disabilities.
"It's not an easy situation," King said. "There (is) a waiting list of people not getting any services. Funding has always been limited and it keeps getting cut. These are all independent businesses -- some big, some small."
DeBardeleben said more than 20,000 people are on the waiting list for Medicaid waivers statewide.
Martin Favis, president of the Duvall Home -- among the largest care providers for the developmentally disabled in the country -- said the challenge is to provide a homey setting for its 160 residents who live in 10 group homes and one larger congregate-living facility. Some pay privately while others have Medicaid waivers.
"Not every individual has a vested parent or guardian," Favis said as he walked through the home where Nicoles and Harwin live. "We want to have compatible homes where people have things in common. This is their home and it should feel that way."
Favis admits things weren't picture-perfect at Duvall before his arrival three years ago.
"We've come a long way in three years," he said. "APD (Agency for Persons with Disabilities) wasn't happy with us. There were funding cuts and financial problems. We had to really mend our relationship."
Group homes are monitored monthly, typically by a two-person team from the Agency for Persons with Disabilities. The exception is "respite homes," those that only take people who need temporary care -- for instance, if a family goes on vacation. They are not inspected if they have no residents during a given month.
"Group homes have their own niche," DeBardeleben said. "We want clients to have a choice so they integrate into the community, and different clients have different needs."
FINDING A NICHE
Some homes have nurses on staff. Others are "intensive behavioral residential habitation group homes," which handle patients who may be a danger to themselves or others.
One Duvall Home niche is that it is an adult-only facility.
"I'm hoping to get (my daughter) placed in Duvall," Roscoe said. "She turns 18 on Sept. 9 and hopefully we'll be able to transfer her that day."
Roscoe, her daughter, her daughter's case manager -- officially referred to as a waiver support coordinator -- and other officials from the Agency for Persons with Disabilities, as well as Favis, are working together to help Roscoe's daughter make the transition.
"I'm waiting for this to all settle down," Roscoe said before breaking into tears.
Roscoe believes her daughter should have been reassessed in January after she was burned. A reassessment is usually done once every three years, with exceptions made for crises.
"That was a crisis," Roscoe said. "I think she was in shock immediately afterward, but I can only guess that because of her limited verbal communication. She wets the bed now and has been self-mutilating. It's post-traumatic stress. And I'm tired. I'm trying to protect her. I'm trying to protect her from other people. I'm trying to protect other people."
Source
http://www.news-journalonline.com/news/local/flagler/2011/08/28/safety-of-group-homes-hard-to-check.html
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