Woman sues DYFS after her adopted child was allegedly sexually, physically abused under institution's watch - New Jersey

By Megan DeMarco/Statehouse Bureau

TRENTON — While under the care of the state’s child protection agency, a Monmouth county baby was burned, beaten, and sexually abused, then ignored as doctor after doctor recommended therapy for anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, a lawyer for her adopted mother says.

Three different caseworkers at the state’s Division of Youth and Family Services could have stopped the abuse several times, attorney David Mazie contends, but none did.

Now the girl is 13, and her adopted mother is suing the state Division of Youth and Family Services and three caseworkers for damages in a trial that kicked off Monday with impassioned opening arguments in Trenton.

Child advocates say it is rare for civil cases against DYFS to reach a full trial, where the actions of caseworkers in charge of protecting children can be put on full display.

The case also comes amid an ongoing overhaul of the child welfare system that was in its early stage when the allegations were first raised.

Some child welfare advocates say the case indicates problems that exist in DYFS to this day, but others say reports of a federal monitor appointed in 2003 show the child protection system is improving. The state has spent more than $1 billion on the reforms.

"To the extent that there is any good news in all this it is only that this case is part of the legacy of DYFS’ failed past," said Richard Wexler, executive director of the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform. He added the federal monitor’s reports show, "this is a much better agency now than it was before, and such tragedies are a lot less likely."

Richard Gelles, a dean at the University of Pennsylvania who provided expert testimony for the woman suing DYFS, said the case exposes "a severe systemic dysfunction" that still exists, noting that some of those who handled the girl’s case continued to work for the division. One of the three caseworkers named in the case worked for the Department of Children and Families as of Sept. 30, according to public payroll records.

During opening arguments, Mazie outlined alleged negligence by DYFS from 2000 to 2005, when the girl, identified as S.A., was placed with the woman who would adopt her.

"They failed in this case, they failed miserably. They turned a blind eye on this child," Mazie said. "This is going to be with her for the rest of her life."

As a 2-year-old, she was given to her biological father in 2000, without proper vetting, Mazie said. While in his care and under DYFS supervision, the toddler suffered sexual and physical abuse.

She was brought to the emergency room twice, and a neighbor reported she had burns on her body and a belt mark on her chest, the attorney said. She was removed when the father’s girlfriend reported she was bound, beaten and hanging from a hook in the wall, he added.

Mazie said after she was removed from the home, doctors recommended therapy for post traumatic stress disorder. It took DYFS two years to provide it, and escalated the girl’s anxiety by allowing visits with her father, he said.

He added that a caseworker was supposed to visit with the girl once a month, but there were several months when no one appeared at the home, or checked on her in foster care.

Elliott Abrutyn, a lawyer hired by the state to represent DYFS, said children under the state’s care also have a legal guardian independent of DYFS, and often the caseworkers were following court orders.

"What happened to (her) of course is tragic," he said, telling the jury that it was "paramount" to understand DYFS caseworkers "were always absolutely looking out for the best interest of the child."

Abrutyn said doctors who treated the baby when she was brought into the emergency room could have reported suspected abuse to DYFS, and did not.

"Whatever our clients did, they did in good faith," he said.

Lauren Kidd, a spokeswoman for DYFS, said the division does not comment on pending litigation.

The adopted mother, identified only as L.A., is seeking monetary damages to assist in the care of her daughter. The case is expected to last two to three weeks.

Source http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/12/woman_sues_dyfs_after_her_adop.html

Grandma: Boy in four foster homes in 14 months

By Rita Price
The Columbus Dispatch Monday October 24, 2011 6:01 AM

The weekly phone conversations are eagerly awaited but rarely make her feel better.

“I hear a defeated little boy,” Mary Ann O’Garro said.

Her grandson often says he wishes he were there, in Washington state, instead of at another new place, O’Garro said. The 8-year-old’s calls have come from many phone numbers.

Franklin County Children Services brought the troubled boy back to Franklin County last year after denying Lenford and Mary Ann O’Garro’s request for in-patient treatment near their home in the Seattle area, where they could visit and work with the child’s doctors.

Their grandson had been placed with them in 2008, a little less than a year after police discovered him beaten, burned and tortured while living with his mother — Mr. O’Garro’s daughter — in a suspected house of prostitution on Columbus’ North Side.

Months of love and therapy hadn’t managed to curb his bizarre and dangerous behavior, the O'Garros and Washington therapists said, so they wanted to try hospitalization.

Children Services disagreed. The agency’s former chief said he thought the boy could be better served, and stabilized, in a foster home here with people trained to support his therapy. But after 14 months back in Franklin County, the boy has lived in four foster homes in three school districts, his grandparents say.

Add in those who provide periodic respite for the foster parents, and the child probably has been in at least 10 homes, Mrs. O’Garro said. “In our minds, there’s no way this could not have damaged him further. He was already traumatized, then he was ripped from our house, and now he’s just bouncing around.”

Because the boy might have been sexually abused, The Dispatch is not naming him.

Chip Spinning, who recently took over as Children Services executive director after Eric Fenner’s retirement, said in an email that no one wants the boy to experience more trauma. But officials still think he should be cared for in a specially trained foster home instead of at an institution. He said the child is making progress and will receive “all recommended services to enable continued progress.”

The moves are unfortunate but happen for a variety of reasons in the child-welfare system, Spinning said. He said he couldn’t share the specifics.

Mrs. O’Garro said it’s hard to be hopeful. She said she has heard various reasons for the boy’s change of placement, including foster parents’ moving, an allegation of abuse against a foster provider, and the child’s intensive needs.

“I have not, to date, ever seen a single document that says he’s been stabilized,” she said. "His level of care has continued to increase. He’s been up to six psychotropic drugs.”

Children Services has acknowledged numerous mistakes in the case, starting with a failure to inform the O’Garros of the extent of the child’s abuse — and his likely need for psychological help — after he was placed with them.

The grandparents say they needed an attorney to get the agency to pay for the child’s initial treatment in Washington. The O’Garros have health insurance, but it isn’t sufficient to cover the expensive mental-health services.

After a review in late 2009, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services cited the agency for its handling of the case and ordered a plan for preventing future violations. Two employees were disciplined as a result of the agency’s internal investigation.

Mrs. O’Garro said she doesn’t know whether Children Services wants the child to return to his mother, to them or to be adopted.

Agency attorneys, a therapist and the child’s court-appointed guardian agreed last week that the boy’s mother, who has been released from prison, could have at least one supervised visit.

“He hasn’t seen her in nearly four years, since she was put in the police car and he was taken in an ambulance,” Mrs. O’Garro said. “That’s his last memory of her.”

The grandparents still struggle with their decision to surrender custody, a move that ultimately allowed Children Services to bring their grandson to Columbus last year. Their attorney, Susan Eisenman, has said the O’Garros made that difficult choice because they couldn’t pay for the treatment he needed and because they hoped the agency would approve a nearby Washington facility.

Instead, they had to put him on a plane.

Mrs. O’Garro cries when she thinks about all the boy has been through. Had he gone to a treatment center, “We think he’d be home with us,” she said. “All we can do now is just hope something positive happens.”

Source http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2011/10/24/grandma-boy-in-four-fosterhomes-in14months.html