Child Protective Services FAQ's - Why State cannot say how many foster children die each year?In memory of Children protected to DEATH by CPS. Children Protective Services approved these children placement. Innocence Destroyed video about kids murdered while in custody of CPSIt's a travesty that we remove these children from neglectful homes, only to raise them in an underfunded, dysfunctional system.We should give voice to the voiceless - A loving home for every child - SOS Children's Villages Petition To: The White House and President Barack Obama
Children In News Please Read....  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
Are you sure, Ms Ploehn?
 
"It is very rare for a child to die of abuse or neglect while in the care or under the supervision of DCFS, and we consistently work to perfect our performance to help keep children safe, even after they leave our protection and supervision."  -- By Trish Ploehn, director of the L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services.
 
Are you absolutely sure, Ms Ploehn?
 
268 Children Who Passed Through L.A. County's Child Welfare Program Died In Past 18 Months
 
At least 268 children who had passed through the child welfare system died from January 2008 through early August 2009, according to internal county records obtained by The Times. They show that 213 were by unnatural or undetermined causes, including 76 homicides, 35 accidents and 16 suicides.
Eighteen of the fatalities were deemed the direct result of abuse or neglect by a caregiver, subjecting them to public disclosure under a recent state law aimed at prevention. Read more.... Flawed county system lets kids die invisibly
 
L.A.'s beleaguered foster care kids
 
Recent tragedies could make the system more dangerous for children.
 
Gerardo R., as he is known in court documents, never beat his children. He did not torture them or stab them or brutalize them. He was a loving father who'd always been a part of his children's lives -- and when their mother lost custody, he immediately stepped forward. But he had to fight for his children's right to live with him.

Why? Because he was unable to afford housing deemed satisfactory to the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services. For that, his children were denied the chance to live with their father and even had their right to have him in their lives terminated forever, until a California appellate court intervened.

There is nothing unusual about such cases. Contrary to the stereotype, most parents who lose their children to the county and to foster care are nothing like the sadists and brutes who make headlines. Tragedies like the ones this summer -- in which two youngsters, Dae'von Bailey and Lars Sanchez, were killed within family units that the county had evaluated -- are rare. Far more common are cases in which parental poverty is confused with parental neglect. Other cases fall squarely between the extremes, the parents neither all victim nor all villain.

As it turns out, it is a serious mistake to pull children out of their homes just because their parents are poor or imperfect, just as it is a mistake to leave them in homes where parents are dangerous brutes. A landmark study of 15,000 typical foster care cases showed that children placed in foster care usually fared worse in later life than comparably maltreated children left in their own homes.

The foster children were more likely to commit crimes, more likely to become pregnant as teenagers and less likely to be able to hold a job as young adults. Another study found that only one in five former foster children was doing well as a young adult. That's not really surprising, considering that foster children often bounce from placement to placement, emerging years later unable to love or trust anyone.

These everyday horrors of foster care don't get much notice; they accumulate over years, and they are often hidden by confidentiality laws that protect not the children but the child welfare system itself. So the public, understandably, assumes that the only mistake the system makes is to keep children in dangerous homes.

In fact, agencies like the Department of Children and Family Services can be arbitrary, capricious and cruel. They do indeed leave some children in dangerous homes, even as they take more children from homes that are safe or could be made safe with the right kinds of help.

The two errors are directly related.

When children are left in dangerous homes, it's almost always because a caseworker didn't have the time to talk to one more witness, make one more phone call to law enforcement or check another record. What's overwhelming those workers is a huge number of false allegations, trivial cases and cases in which family poverty is confused with neglect. By the time the court cases were finished, the county had spent years keeping Gerardo R.'s family apart -- time, in effect, stolen from other cases and other children who could have been in real danger.

The number of Los Angeles County children taken from their parents has increased almost every year since 2003. Los Angeles County takes away proportionately more children from their parents than many other major metropolitan areas, including Chicago and Miami, where child welfare systems have been hailed for their progress in keeping children safe.

Now, the response by members of the county Board of Supervisors to the recent high-profile tragedies is likely to force more kids out of their homes, without any guarantee that such action would make for the best outcome. Zev Yaroslavsky is scapegoating efforts to keep families together. Gloria Molina has declared that heads will roll, which just pushes frontline workers to remove children from parents as a matter of self-protection, no matter how flimsy the rationale or how much harm foster care itself does to kids.

It's no wonder some lawyers say they're already seeing a foster care panic -- a sudden surge in removals of children from their homes. That only further overloads the system, making it even less likely that the next child in real danger will be found. That's why, across the country, such panics have been followed by increases in deaths of children "known to the system."

The tragic deaths of Bailey and Sanchez should not lead to responses that make all children less safe. Members of the Board of Supervisors should put the children ahead of their own penchant for grandstanding and avoid hasty panic reactions. They must send a message that caseworkers will be accountable for all mistakes but scapegoated for none. That means the investigation of recent deaths just getting underway should be expanded to include cases in which families allege their children were wrongfully taken away. At the very least, that would let caseworkers and the public know that taking a child from a safe home is every bit as harmful as leaving a child in a dangerous one.

Richard Wexler is executive director of the National Coalition for Child Protection. NCCPR's analysis of Los Angeles child welfare is available at nccpr.org -
 
Richard Wexler  rwexler@nccpr.org

Copyright © 2009, The Los Angeles Times
 
The 228 child deaths they didn't want to tell you about

The death of Baby P appalled the nation. But after a six-month investigation, Live reveals an even greater tragedy: the devastating hidden toll of young children who died in the care of their families despite social services being alerted.
To complete this, the first-ever study of all 150 child-protection authorities in England, we used Freedom of Information rights to demand files in the face of cover-up tactics by agencies all the way up to Children's Secretary Ed Balls.
On the eve of yet another review into child protection, Live publishes the full damning portrait of a nation incapable of protecting its most vulnerable members
 
It doesn't take long to tell the story of Hylene Essilfie's life, because it lasted only six months.
The immediate cause of its ending, on April 25, 2007, was that she brought up some of her food. In their flat in the east London suburb of Ilford, Hylene's mother, Faustina Osei-Agyapong, 21, had asked the baby's father, Francis Essilfie, 29, to give the baby rice pudding.
 
Instead, he fed her yoghurt, and when he tried to wind her, she was sick. Francis, a supermarket shelf-stacker, held Hylene upside down by her ankles. He screamed at Faustina: 'You two girls are something else! You are stressing me out!'
He strode across the room and punched his partner's face. Hylene was yelling, so Francis slapped her mouth. Then, boasting that he 'didn't give a damn', he hurled the baby, head-first, to the floor. She landed with a thud. 'Look at what I've done', Francis shouted accusingly. 'You let me kill my own baby.'
In fact, although her skull was fractured, Hylene was still alive. Faustina held her stricken daughter while she gasped for breath and dribbled blood, her head beginning to swell. She begged Francis to call an ambulance, but he refused, saying that if he did, the police would arrest him for murder. He got dressed, grabbed Faustina's mobile phone, and left.
Outside the flat, he finally phoned for an ambulance before boarding a bus for central London. Hylene was rushed to hospital, where, as prosecutor Crispin Aylett told the Old Bailey last April, an 'army of experts' battled to save her life. It was too late. According to the post mortem, Hylene's injuries were so severe that they were on a level normally found in car-crash victims. Convicted of murder, Francis was jailed for life.
After his trial, Redbridge Council, the London borough that covers Ilford, published the 'executive summary' of a Serious Case Review (SCR) into Hylene's death, a study by an independent expert into the way that the agencies responsible for child protection had dealt with her family.
92 - percentage of cases where children's services failed the victim
It reveals that on December 18, 2006, when Hylene was not quite two months old, Faustina went to the police in Tower Hamlets, where the family was then living. She told them Francis had been beating her since the start of her pregnancy. Once he had pointed a knife at her stomach and threatened to kill her unborn baby. She said that when Hylene cried, Francis would pinch the tiny baby to try to make her stop.
After Faustina made her statement, Francis was arrested, but merely cautioned and released. Moreover, the SCR summary says, 'the pinching of Hylene was not recorded as a crime'. The police did discuss the case with staff from Tower Hamlets children's services (as the social services that deal with children are now called).
 
But although research has shown that men who abuse their partners are likely to be violent towards their children, 'no child protection action was taken by either agency'. A social worker was asked to conduct an assessment, but according to the SCR, he did nothing at all.
On January 16 there was another confrontation, and Faustina called the police again. Afterwards she fled, managing to get herself and her baby re-housed in Ilford. The Tower Hamlets social worker duly passed their file to Redbridge. Having considered it, children's services there deemed the case needed 'no further action'. For a few weeks, Francis left Hylene and Faustina alone, but by February 26 he was accompany-ing them to the doctor's, where a nurse was so concerned about his 'controlling behaviour' that she insisted on speaking to Faustina alone, advising her how to get help for dealing with domestic violence.
 
Later that day, Faustina called the police yet again, saying Francis was refusing to leave the flat and threatening to abduct Hylene. The police alerted Redbridge children's services. As before, their staff failed to make a single phone call, much less pay a visit. Once again, they decided to take 'no further action'.
 
The SCR discloses that if the police had consulted their own records, alarm bells should have rung more loudly: they contained details of 'six previous incidents or episodes involving alleged domestic violence by Mr Essilfie with a discernible pattern including serious assaults on young, pregnant women'. There should, it adds, 'have been a clearer focus by police and children's services on the child'.
 
But the SCR's conclusion seems strangely at odds with its contents. There were, it says, lessons to be learned, especially about the need for agencies to share information. But overall, Hylene's murder 'could not have been anticipated'. Asked by Live to discuss the case, Redbridge declined.
 
One death every week
Fourteen weeks after Hylene's barely noticed death, another child was murdered a few miles away, in the north London borough of Haringey. Last November, when the cruelty inflicted on Baby P (as he must be called for legal reasons) became public, together with the total incompetence of the system that should have protected him, it triggered national outrage.
 
Baby P's mother, her boyfriend and another man had tortured him for eight months, a period in which he was seen by health and social workers 60 times.
 
Vainly protesting that an official inspection had awarded her department the maximum 'three star' rating, Sharon Shoesmith, Haringey's Director of Children's Services, was ignominiously sacked by Ed Balls, the Children's Secretary. Balls claimed that the case was 'exceptional'. But as he admitted, its horror was intensified by the fact that it happened in Haringey - the borough where, in April 2000, Victoria Climbie died aged eight from a combination of hypothermia, starvation and 128 separate injuries, inflicted by her guardians over many months.
 
Like Baby P, the Climbie case was a cause celebre. After a public inquiry chaired by Lord Laming, former Chief Inspector of Social Services, it led to a series of radical new policies, enshrined in the 2004 Children Act, which were supposed to ensure that in future, children would be safer than ever before.
 
Far from protecting children, however, a Live investigation shows that these policies have fundamentally failed. The annual numbers of 'other Baby Ps' - the heartbreaking cases like Hylene Essilfie's, of children under six who die through abuse and neglect but who do not make national headlines - have not declined at all, and may be increasing. In England alone, they are running at almost one dead child each week.
 
Our investigation has identified a shocking 228 children who have died at the hands of their parents or people known to the child in the five years since the Government introduced its Children Act. We know that there have been many more, although the authorities refuse to disclose details.
 
A system in crisis

Only a small proportion of these cases receive publicity, usually when the injuries have led to murder trials. Baby P aroused so much media attention because his abuse and sustained injuries were so extreme. The abuse of the other Baby Ps, such as Hylene, is less headline-grabbing but equally heart-wrenchingly cruel.
 
This cruelty is supposed to be spotted by the authorities. The 228 other Baby Ps were supposed to have been protected by the Labour Government, which put the policy 'Every Child Matters' at the heart of its government.
 
As part of our investigation, Live obtained details of 108 Serious Case Reviews into such child deaths, more than 40 per cent of the total undertaken in the past five years. This is by far the biggest sample ever seen by journalists. The reviews reveal that the same systemic failings on which Lord Laming blamed Climbie's death are still happening, and if anything, have got worse.
 
'Children's services are like a computer infected with several viruses,' says Professor Michael Preston-Shoot, who spent years as a social worker after qualifying in 1976 and now, as Dean of Health and Social Sciences at Bedfordshire University, is one of the field's leading experts.
 
'The viruses are poor management and leadership, a shortage of resources, political interference and the sheer irrationality of much of what the Government has put in place. Social workers find themselves in an environment that does not facilitate good practice.'
 
The only effective 'anti-viruses' are whistleblowers within the system, Preston-Shoot says. But as he points out, when Haringey social worker Nevres Kemal tried to blow the whistle over Baby P, she became the target of a witchhunt - investigated over bogus allegations that she had threatened another child.
 
'There are people who will kill their children: that's a hard fact we have to deal with,' says Nushra Mansuri, a child protection specialist who is in constant contact with colleagues across the country as a professional officer for the British Association of Social Workers.
 
'But the way the system works now may be making such deaths more likely. When you've been in social work a long time, you learn there are certain words you shouldn't use. "Crisis" used to be one of them. That's no longer true. Child protection is in crisis, and morale is lower than I've known it since I started working almost 20 years ago.'
 
'This is cover-up territory'
 
The shocking state of affairs is partly a result of the total lack of openness about what is happening. As we found in our investigation, one of the problems bedevilling any attempt to investigate child protection is an extraordinary level of secrecy. This makes even the most basic question - how many children are murdered by people they know or die from neglect each year? - difficult to answer.
 
Before Baby P, ministers often claimed that numbers of child abuse and homicide cases were steadily falling, citing World Health Organisation tables as evidence that Britain's record is among the best in the world. Indeed, the latest WHO figures say that in 2006 only 11 children aged 0-14 died through homicide in the entire UK - just over one child per million.
 
These statistics are supplied to the WHO by the Department of Health and, it can be safely said, are worthless. A more reliable source is the Home Office, which publishes figures for homicides for each age group recorded by police. To take only children aged 0-4, there were 32 such killings in England and Wales in 2005-6, and 41 in 2006-7. For 2007-8 the figure, published this month, was 45 - a level 50 per cent higher than those recorded annually through most of the Eighties.
 
However, in terms of assessing how many children die at the hands of their parents or carers, even these figures give only a partial picture. They do not include deaths by neglect, or cases which, while not obviously murder, were not exactly accidents - such as a parent who goes to bed drunk or high on drugs and rolls on to a child, smothering it.
7 - Authorities with most SCRs: Northamptonshire, Kent, Doncaster, Hampshire, Peterborough, Surrey, Southwark
The best statistics ought to be the number of SCRs carried out by each local authority, supposedly commissioned each time 'a child dies and abuse or neglect is known or suspected to be a factor in the death'. Full SCR reports are confidential, but summaries are meant to be published, though usually the subjects are anonymous.
 
On July 1 last year, John Hemming, the Liberal Democrat MP for Birmingham Yardley, wrote under the Freedom of Information Act to all local authorities in England that deal with child protection. He wanted to know the number of child death SCRs commissioned by the authorities, along with the ages of the children and the dates of their deaths. Hemming's findings - which he has shared with us exclusively and form part of our investigation- are important.
 
But they are also incomplete, because 21 councils, including huge authorities such as Birmingham, Manchester and Sheffield, refused to cooperate. Hemming soon discovered that the reason was a directive from Children's Secretary Ed Balls.
 
The non-cooperating authorities claimed that child deaths were not covered by the Freedom of Information Act, adding that they had been told by Balls's department that it would be replying to Hemming on their behalf. When it came, the department's reply was far from satisfactory. It said that, under its own rules, 'we cannot disclose information on authorities where there have been fewer than six cases'.
 
Earlier this month, Balls partially relented, sending Hemming SCR figures for the financial year 2007-8, including those from 'refusenik' councils. The total involving death was 89. A further 60 SCRs involving serious abuse but where death didn't occur were also carried out.
 
But the list did not include the victims' ages, gender or dates of death. Some will have been teenagers, who might have died through suicide or gang violence. According to Balls, 'providing such details... could prejudice the interests of children and their families'. He did not specify how.
 
Why the secrecy over something so fundamental? Hemming says: 'This is cover-up territory. They are avoiding telling the truth because they know the truth is embarrassing. We have one of the world's most intrusive systems for protecting children, and it fails.'
 
Beverley Hughes, the Children's Minister, in an apparent disagreement with her boss Balls, told Live that Hemming should have been given the full figures, including ages, as 'this is not sensitive information'.
 
Discovering the shocking truth
 
It may have gaps, but Hemming's research is compelling. Leaving out the 21 refuseniks, it reveals that there were 182 SCRs into the deaths of children aged 0-5 in England caused by confirmed or suspected negligence and homicide from the end of 2003 until the middle of 2008, plus others where the age was not specified.
 
The annual totals make uncomfortable reading: 37 in 2004, 36 in 2005, 47 in 2006 and 49 in 2007. Including the refuseniks would boost these numbers considerably: we have established that Birmingham, for example, has commissioned at least eight SCRs since 2004.
 
Attempting to dig deeper, we also approached all the authorities requesting copies of SCRs. We also trawled local newspaper reports for child deaths to get a more detailed picture of the scale of the problem. Combining our research with Hemming's, we have arrived at a figure that is the closest disclosure of child deaths under the age of six where parents or people known to them, such as step-parents or a mother's new partner, have been involved - and where social services have been alerted to the child. We have determined that in the five years since the Government introduced its Children Act there have been a shocking 228 such deaths. The majority - 60 per cent - were under the age of one.
 
Even this figure is not complete, as there are still a handful of councils that have refused to provide any information to either John Hemming or Live, but it provides the closest estimate ever produced. It is reasonable to suspect our figure is incomplete by about ten per cent, suggesting the number of children under six killed at the hands of their parents in just England could be at least 250 in the past five years.
 
The only year where Ed Balls has provided the figures broken down by age (but not by authority) is 2007. This shows that there were 51 SCRs carried out involving death of a child under six, a figure that is totally in tune with our estimates.
 

Failing the child

In our approach to the local authorities we also asked them to supply the SCR summaries to which these figures relate. Many councils refused to provide them. But the 108 summaries that we obtained reveal patterns that a Government that is committed to improving child protection should find deeply worrying.
 
The Government's response to Lord Laming's inquiry into the Climbie murder began with 'Every Child Matters', a green paper issued in 2003.
 
It said Victoria's death had highlighted 'problems of long standing'. The 'common thread' linking the failure to prevent hers and other child murders were 'poor coordination (between different services); a failure to share information; the absence of anyone with a strong sense of accountability; and frontline workers trying to cope with staff vacancies, poor management and a lack of effective training'. These failings, the paper said, were going to be put right.
 
Our investigation shows those words could easily be written today. Just eight of the SCRs we obtained made no criticism of children's services - just eight per cent of the total. That means in a shocking 92 per cent of the cases we have looked at, children's services have failed the child to some degree.
 
Lessons are clearly not being learned. Of the 100 that were critical, a quarter cited poor training as contributing to deaths, and a further quarter a failure to keep proper records - problems that had passed unnoticed by children's services management.
 
According to Laming's report, 'improvements to the way information is exchanged within and between agencies are imperative if children are to be adequately safeguarded'.
 
Often, there was a 'huge chronology' that only emerged when a child was already dead: if only different agencies such as the police, GPs and hospitals had shared their concerns with social workers, their life might have been saved.
 
60 - percentage of children who died before their first birthday
The Government claims that the 2004 Act solved this problem by imposing a 'duty to cooperate to improve (children's) wellbeing' and creating a vast, £250 million database, ContactPoint, which will contain children's details from the different agencies. This started to come online only last month.
 
Yet of our 100 critical SCR summaries, a staggering 75, three-quarters of the total, said poor coordination and information sharing between different services were significant factors in children's deaths, both within the same and between different localities.
 
Some of the most shocking SCR summaries echoed the Hylene Essilfie case, where police and children's services remained oblivious to the killer's violence towards previous victims.
 
Consider, for example, the murder of Deraye Lewis, three, who was beaten to death in Milton Keynes by his mother's boyfriend, Nicholas Halling, in January 2005. Like Baby P, he had been tortured for months: in the words of the judge who sentenced Halling to life, the boy had been treated with 'contempt, hostility and violence' for at least a year - burnt with cigarettes, beaten about the head and kicked in the stomach.
 
Halling, who had been to prison numerous times, moved in with Deraye's mother, Donna, when the boy was 16 months old and they were living in Dunstable, Bedfordshire.
 
According to the SCR obtained by Live: 'He was known to social services because he had been involved, two years previously, with a family where the children were observed to be terrified... social services and the police in Bedfordshire had taken the decision in 2002 that dog handlers should be used if the children needed to be removed and that the police should always be present during visits if Halling was in the household.'
 
That family's mother had always covered up for him, but only, records said, because she was also terrified. The police national computer had Halling flagged as 'dangerous'.
 
Yet when social workers first visited Deraye in July 2004, alerted by neighbours that Halling was physically and racially abusing him, they accepted Donna's assurances that everything was fine and closed the file.
 
The social workers were told of escalating abuse on three further occasions, and when they visited saw that Deraye was bruised, and once - like Baby P - had an untreated dog bite. The SCR says they were told by the neighbours that Halling 'had trained his dog to attack Deraye'. But 'the community paediatrician decided, with little evidence, his injuries were not deliberate,' and again the case was closed.
In September 2004, Donna and Deraye turned up at the social services office, both covered with cuts and bruises. She made a statement to police, saying Halling had attacked her when she tried to stop him beating her son. But it wasn't passed on to other agencies, and nothing was done to protect them.
 
Afterwards, she moved to Milton Keynes and applied for council housing. While she was waiting, she was still in harm's way: she and Deraye were staying with Halling's brother. However, the Bedfordshire agencies did not inform their Milton Keynes counterparts of any of the previous background.
 
The last chance to save Deraye's life came on December 31, when Donna dialled 999, telling the operator she was being attacked by her partner. In the middle of the call, the line went dead, but when the police arrived, she said the problem had been an exboyfriend who had left. She did not mention Halling's name, and unaware of any reason to be concerned, the officers took no action.
 
Next morning, Donna dialled 999 again. This time, it was to call for an ambulance, though by now, Deraye was dead.
 
Something to hide?
 
The Deraye SCR summary is unusual in that it is incredibly detailed. Other reports we received have been censored, a small number sanitised to the point where it is difficult to comprehend why things went wrong.
 
Some councils take this tendency to hide embarrassing details still further: after weeks of trying, when we finally obtained four summaries from Birmingham, they had been 'redacted' - huge chunks of text replaced with black ink. The council claimed this censorship had been done for legal reasons, citing its requirement to protect the identity of the child. In fact this is nonsense and something that Beverley Hughes has criticised.
 
It appears that Birmingham has something to hide. In the last three years it has carried out eight SCRs, the highest number of any authority. And Live has established that between 2000 and 2005 it carried out a further 12 SCRs, a total of 20 in eight years. Manchester, another council that refused to cooperate, also carried out 12 SCRs between 2000 and 2005.
 
Lord Laming saw SCRs as an essential link in a chain of accountability, and a way to avoid repeating mistakes. Indeed, our investigation suggests it is crucial that SCRs are published and distributed in full across the country.
 
Otherwise, how are social workers ever going to learn from past mistakes?
 
3/4 - Amount of SCRs citing poor communication as a factor in the death
Last year, a damning report by Ofsted found that 40 per cent of SCRs were 'inadequate' - despite their average cost of about £20,000. But something Ofsted did not point out is that the full SCR reports remain confidential to the local 'Safeguarding Children Boards' that commission them.
 
To services elsewhere that might face similar problems, they might as well not exist. The result is that the same errors are replicated, time and time again.
 
Ultimately, Deraye Lewis died because none of the agencies in Milton Keynes knew about the threat Halling posed. Almost identical conclusions are drawn by the SCR into the murder of Amaraye Bryan in Sheffield, who was killed at the age of 11 weeks by his father Courtney, on May 14, 2007, more than two years after Deraye's death.
 
It was only then that it emerged that he had assaulted two children almost the same age during previous relationships. One suffered severe brain damage and still needed full-time care as Bryan was convicted of murdering Amaraye in 2008. Bryan had also been suspected of seriously injuring two older children, one aged two, the other three.
 
However, these earlier cases took place in Nottingham. Even within that city, agencies had failed to identify that he was the common link between four families where children had been attacked. As the SCR puts it, 'as with most SCRs, inter-agency communication failings have been identified; but what is more unusual is a sequence of intra-agency communication failings'.
 
Needless to say, the authorities in Sheffield had no idea of the potential threat that Bryan posed to Amaraye: 'The significant information that (he) posed a threat to children existed but was not recognised or utilised.'
 
Hence, then, the critical lost opportunity when Amaraye might have been saved. Eleven days before he died, he was seen to have suffered bruising and bleeding in his eyes after being left alone with Bryan. But according to the SCR, 'medical opinion at the time was that there was plausible explanation for this condition'.
 
According to the Government, the ContactPoint database is its key weapon to improve communication.
 
But the information it contains will be very limited, and will concern each child, not the people who may be looking after them. It is hard to see how it would have made any difference to Amaraye, because it does not contain any details of potential perpetrators. Even with the new database Sheffield would still have been unaware of Amaraye's vulnerability.
 
 
Too many forms, too few meetings
 
Aside from better communication, both Laming's report and 'Every Child Matters' stressed the need for social workers to spend more time getting to know families properly: the Government, as the green paper said, was determined to 'address bureaucracy and identify ways of freeing up time for face to face work'.
 
By such means, families who deceived children's services - such as Baby P's - would be more easily detected, and killers like Halling and Bryan less likely to get away with intimidating their partners into silence.
 
Yet bureaucracy, in the shape of new, intensely demanding computerised forms, has got much worse, not better. A research team from Lancaster University has just finished compiling a devastating study based on two years' observation in five very different children's services departments, which was quietly published earlier this month in the British Journal of Social Work.
 
Among the report's authors was Professor Susan White, newly appointed to a Government task force charged with looking into child protection. The report concludes that the Government's reforms, far from improving protection for children, have actually created 'acute challenges to safe practice'.
 
The Government, it says, has become obsessed with computerised forms and targets. Computerised methods - the 'common assessment framework' and the 'integrated children's system' - are at the heart of the Government's post-Laming programme. It was because they had been successfully implemented that Haringey's Shoesmith made her disastrous claims about three-star ratings after Baby P.
 
But among their many damaging aspects are requirements to make an initial decision whether to pursue a case within 24 hours, and a more considered assessment of those not then rejected within seven days - creating, as the Lancaster study says, 'a rapid, but not necessarily reliable, response'. High absentee and sickness rates - other studies estimate that children's services departments are, on average, at least 20 per cent understaffed, with some at just 40 per cent strength - exacerbate this pressure.
 
Meanwhile, the computers punish those who file their forms late with flashing 'traffic lights,' and in some departments management 'print out weekly graphs of levels of attainment in meeting targets, alongside tables exposing individual failures'.
 
The inevitable consequence was that 'well-intentioned but very busy workers' found themselves with little time to meet families at all, much less weigh their decisions: 'There was a tendency to abort an assessment whenever the opportunity arose.'
 
Twice, for instance, Hylene Essilfie's case was marked 'no further action'.
 
Laming had wanted to 'reduce the distance' between social workers and those they served, but instead this had increased.
 
'The real tragedy', concludes the report, 'is that, in busy departments, demands to support families will be routinely subordinated to pressures to maintain "workflow"'.
 
Dr Karen Broadhurst, the study's lead author, told us that the Government has created 'a difficult, if not a lethal cocktail,' with social workers not only placed under impossible pressures but finding it impossible to voice their concerns for fear of being victimised.
 
Like Nushra Mansuri, she says children's social work 'is in a state of real crisis'. With the recession likely to increase the risks to children as families slide into poverty, the time has come 'for some very frank and honest discussions between policymakers and practitioners'.
 
According to Mansuri, some social workers spend no time with children at all because of the system's bureaucratic demands. An average estimate from the academics and professionals we spoke to is that most spend 80 per cent of their time at their computers. The social workers' union, Unison, backed up their claims, while everybody involved in the profession that we spoke to complained about the appalling bureaucracy and chronic levels of electronic form-filling that preoccupies their time.
 
A new Children Act?
 
Belatedly, in the wake of Baby P, the Government has started to recognise that things are going wrong. However Hughes rejects the claim that child protection is in crisis.
 
Later this month, Lord Laming will issue a 'review' - much less than a fullscale inquiry - of the way the system is working, while Ed Balls's department has set up its child protection 'task force'.
 
This, says Hughes will 'get under the skin of the practitioners', and if it finds problems actions will be taken. However, she added that she rejects the idea that social workers do not need to make careful records in order to spend almost all their time 'having tea in people's front rooms.'
 
Some of the improvements that could be made would be small-scale. One example comes from Staffordshire, where Rachel Bramble, a social worker since 1982, works not from a children's services office but at Wolgarston School in Penkridge. There, she gets to know children and their families by a natural process, making herself available to give help and advice and thus to notice problems early on.
 
80 - percentage of time social workers spend at their PCs
'You can see how it works,' she says. 'It could start with a kid with a bruise.' If social workers were based in schools and GPs' surgeries widely, Bramble says, many of the problems of inter-agency cooperation would not exist. Yet her initiative has no official backing, and depends on the school funding it from its own budget.
 
Other changes are more strategic. John Fox, the Laming inquiry's police advisor, says that one of the system's central problems is that Laming's main recommendations were never properly implemented, especially its call for stronger accountability. 'Laming wanted accountability to run from top to bottom,' Fox says. 'That meant that the new local
 
Safeguarding Children's Boards should have been chaired by councils' chief executives, the most powerful local official and the person who controls the chequebook. Instead - as in Haringey - they're often chaired by the director of children's services, creating an immediate conflict of interest.'
 
Fox reserves his deepest contempt for the phrase found in so many SCRs, Hylene Essilfie's included - that a child's death 'could not have been anticipated'. 'That's a very questionable claim,' Fox says.
 
'Maybe the death couldn't have been foreseen given the current level of inadequate practice. But that's a different thing. If there are failings, you should be saying so.'
 
Ultimately, there is an argument for a new Children Act - one that finally puts the principles identified by Laming into effect.
 
It is difficult to see how children can be better safeguarded without freeing social workers from bureaucratic tyranny, encouraging them to be more active in the community, establishing a database that includes potential perpetrators as well as vulnerable children and re-establishing accountability by the publishing of full Serious Case Reviews.
 
Only then could the Government be said to be serious about ensuring that every child really does matter.
 
 
THE COVER UP
Summaries of all Serious Case Reviews are supposed to be made public, or at least available upon request. By sharing SCRs, social workers and other services can learn from past mistakes.
 
However in Birmingham, where it has been reported that eight children known to social services have died in just three years, local authority officials at first refused to send through any of the SCRs. After weeks of pressing, they finally released just four documents, yet each of them was seriously redacted (blacked out), rendering the exercise almost irrelevant.
 
THE FACTS
How did we arrive at our figures? In July 2008, John Hemming, the Liberal Democrat MP for Birmingham Yardley, wrote to every local authority requesting information about every Serious Case Review (SCR) that involved the death of a child known to social services. He asked for the date of death, the child's initials and the age of the child at death.
All but 21 local authorities responded to his request, but not every one provided full details. So we then contacted each of the authorities to request actual copies of the Serious Case Reviews.
 
In the meantime, Children's Secretary Ed Balls provided Hemming with a list of SCRs involving death that were carried out between 2007 and 2008. We cross-referenced this list with Hemming's original list to ensure that our numbers were as up to date as possible. Furthermore, we checked our figures against local newspaper reports of child deaths.
From all this data, we compiled a master table - an extract is shown above. Because the process was extremely complicated, we used a colourcoded system to signify where we had got to in our investigation. For example, a red entry means we were unable to obtain an SCR. But even after these checks, our figures are not complete, as we still do not have full data from every authority.
It is important to note that our investigation was only concerned with the deaths of children under six since the end of 2003. Where possible, we struck out every SCR that was irrelevant.
 
THE FAILINGS
Lord Laming's 2003 inquiry report into the death of Victoria Climbie was supposed to transform child protection for the better. Here are some of its key recommendations  -  and what has actually happened:

LORD LAMING'S RECOMMENDATIONS
 
1. Social workers should be freed from time-consuming bureaucracy in order to spend much more time with children and their families.
 
2. A new child-protection agency be formed to ensure policy is implemented at a local level and that lessons are shared when children are killed.
 
3. Local agencies must always work together and share information on children and possible perpetrators.
 
4. Every child at risk should be given their own allocated social worker.
 
5. Accountability should be ensured by creating powerful local safeguarding children's boards, to be chaired by the council chief executive.
 
6. No child protection case should ever be closed until social workers have seen the child and their families.
 
WHAT HAS REALLY HAPPENED
 
1. Experts say social workers now spend 80 per cent of their time in front of computers, thanks to the demands of the Government's reforms.
 
2. The agency was never created.
 
3. About three-quarters of serious case reviews say the failure to share information was a problem.
 
4.Often four to five different workers will be involved in any given case.
 
5. Boards are often chaired by children's services directors, as was the case with Haringey's Sharon Shoesmith. It means they are reporting to themselves.
 
6. Many cases  -  like Hylene Essilfie's  -  are marked 'no further action' without further interviews with the parents in order to meet deadlines.
 
 
THE BUREAUCRACY
This is an example of the type of form that has to be filled in by social workers. This particular one is a labyrinthine eight-page 'initial assessment' that must be filed within seven days of a case being referred to social services by the police, doctor or hospital, for example. The social worker assigned to the case must then decide within seven days whether to take the case forward, or no further action is required.
Social workers, who maybe working on four or five such forms in a single week, say filling them in takes hours of time and is one of the reasons they are spending 80 per cent of their time in front of computers.
A newly published two-year study by Lancaster University has found that it is simply impossible to collect all the information required, and that as a result social workers not only fail to spend time with children and families but have to 'cut corners'. One social worker told Live: 'Sometimes, you're virtually making it up.' Failing to meet the deadline can lead to individuals being disciplined.

By David Rose Research by GEORGE ARBUTHNOTT

Last updated at 10:00 PM on 14th February 2009

 

ONTARIO - CANADA 

Why did 90 children die? - Troubling report about our child welfare system
 
Ontario's child advocate was appalled to learn how many in the province's welfare system die each year and is equally shocked at how difficult it is to get answers

Ninety children known to Ontario's child welfare system died in 2007, according to the latest report from the chief coroner's office - a number the province's new child advocate says is shocking and should trouble us all.
 
Equally disturbing, says Irwin Elman in his first annual report to the Legislature today, is the government's refusal to share detailed information on these deaths with his office.
 
"These are obviously very critical documents for the understanding of the events leading to the death of the child or youth, and entirely necessary for the work of the Advocacy Office," Elman writes in the report entitled 90 Deaths: Ninety Voices Silenced. "The matter of access to information is one that we will pursue vigorously."
 
In an interview, Elman, who has worked with youth in the care of children's aid societies in Toronto for more than 20 years, said he had "no idea" so many of these vulnerable children, who were either open cases of the CAS or had died within a year of their files being closed, could perish in a single year in Ontario. Nor did he know that the number of children who have died has been constant since the late 1990s when the Coroner's office began tracking their deaths.
 
When he asked medical officers of health and colleagues in child welfare, they, too, were surprised by the number and urged him to speak out, Elman said.
 
It is why the deaths are highlighted on the cover of his 25-page report, he said, with the face of a child whose mouth is covered by a red banner reading "90 deaths, ninety voices silenced."
 
Elman notes the deaths represent less than a quarter of all children who died in the province in 2007 and are a fraction of the 26,260 open cases of children's aid societies. But the number of deaths is "too high by any standard."
 
"These are children that we, as a province, have determined are in some peril and should be receiving the best of what we, as their parents, have to offer," he said. "So how could 90 of them die? I want all of us to be thinking about that."
 
Gaining more access to information about children and youth involved in the child welfare and youth criminal justice systems, and broadening his office's legal right to the coroner's files on deaths are key goals this year, he said.
 
"We need (this information) to help resolve issues that youth have contacted us about, to know how to respond to incidents involving children and youth in care and to investigate any deaths among our charges," his report says.
 
The 90 deaths in 2007 are recorded as part of the chief coroner's annual Pediatric Death Review Committee report released last June. They include children and youths in foster care, whose families had open files with a children's aid society or had died within a year of their files being closed.
 
Most of the deaths were preventable, the committee concluded.
 
Sixteen were accidental; nine were listed as suicides; four were homicides; eight died from natural causes and could probably not have been prevented; 22 were considered undetermined, which means there was no evidence for any specific classification or they fit within more than one classification; 17 are yet to be assigned a classification; and 14 were not considered appropriate by the Coroner for investigation because their deaths were expected due to fragile health.
 
Of the 76 classified deaths, 34 were babies younger than one year old and 24 were youths between the ages of 12 and 18.
 
The report provides broad geographical information about where in the province the children died, but there is no information about ethnicity, family income and community resources, or if the child was in foster care or living with parents. (In an interview, a spokesperson for the coroner's office said 14 of the classified deaths in 2007 were children in foster care.)
 
Prevention strategies suggested in the coroner's report include safer sleeping arrangements for babies; co-ordinated mental health services for youth; better supervision; educating caregivers early in a baby's life to be more mindful; and paying more attention to children's medical needs.
 
Elman says his office must focus on the deaths and strive to understand the circumstances - broad and specific - to ensure the children are safe and thriving.
 
"I would like to honour the kids who died by looking at their journeys and using them to help the living in as broad a sense as we can," he said. In his report, Elman says his office will request legal standing at all inquests into deaths of children in the system and will conduct an independent review of jury recommendations dating back 10 years to determine trends and gaps.
 
The office receives about 3,000 phone calls for help each year from among more than 20,000 children and youth in contact with Children's Aid. Those in foster care are there because of parental neglect or abuse and many feel their lives are spinning out of control, the report says. Worse, many say the stigma of being connected to the system is overwhelming.
 
Elman wants his office to do more to reach out and give these children a voice and a role in improving their lives. And he hopes to form regional youth reference groups so their concerns can be heard.
 
The report includes a section and letter addressed directly to children and youth in care, advising them of their rights and urging them to phone the office - collect if they can't access the 1-800-263-2841 number - if they need help.
 
"Children and youth like you have overcome tremendous barriers in the past to become loving parents, lawyers, professors, plumbers, artists, activists - you name it," Elman writes. "We are here to help you with the hard work and courage needed for you to take the risks to overcome barriers you face," he adds. "I intend to lead an office ... that demonstrates each day our belief in you."
 
The office will work to implement Jordan's Principle - named for a First Nations child in Manitoba - which aims to ensure conflicts over which level of government has financial responsibility to help a status Indian or Inuit child are settled after the service is provided.
 
For Northern Ontario, where only one advocate fields calls from 15 child welfare agencies, the report said the office will appoint a special director or deputy provincial advocate to consult with the community on how best to proceed. New measures, which likely won't take effect until later in the year, would need additional funding, the report says.
 
The child advocate's annual budget when the office existed as part of the provincial ministry of children and youth services was $1.8 million. But it will top $3.9 million in this, its first year as an independent office.
 
Still, the report notes that with a staff of just 21, including 13 advocates, Ontario has the smallest per capita staff and budget of any provincial children and youth advocate's office and may need more resources in the future to fulfill its mandate.
Laurie Monsebraaten
 
SOCIAL JUSTICE REPORTER - TORONTO STAR -February 23, 2009
 
 
IRELAND 
 
20 children in care have died over last six years
 
A TOTAL of 20 children who were placed in the care of the State have died over a six-year period, new figures show.

Five young people died from drug overdoses, two from traffic accidents, two from assaults and two from suicide, according to the Health Service Executive.

A further nine died from what health officials describe as "medical issues". No further details of these deaths were provided. The figures come at a time of mounting concern over the standards of care available to children at risk in the care system, particularly the "out of hours" or emergency care system.

Several children who died from overdoses in recent years were in emergency care, which provides care for relatively small numbers of children.

Social workers say this system is failing vulnerable young people due to its lack of structure and support.

There are a total of more than 5,300 children in the care of the State. Some 92 per cent are placed with foster families, with the remaining children placed in residential settings. Between 20 and 30 children are typically in emergency placements at any one time.

Ombudsman for Children Emily Logan has expressed concern that there are no automatic investigations into the circumstances surrounding the deaths of children in general.

She has circulated an options paper to the Government and other relevant organisations which sets out how a child death review group could be established. Its aim would be to reduce or eliminate the number of preventable child deaths.

This follows a number of tragic cases brought to the attention of Ms Logan's office where no independent review took place or key questions remained unanswered about the circumstances of children's deaths.

Similar arrangements are in place in other jurisdictions such as the UK, US, Australia and Canada.

In a statement, the HSE said the death of any child in care is a serious matter and requires careful and detailed consideration.

"Prior to the establishment of the HSE in 2005, individual health boards had procedures in place for dealing with deaths of children in care.

"As part of an on-going process of standardisation the HSE is currently reviewing its procedures for dealing with deaths of children in the care of the HSE," the statement says.

The deaths of a number of children in care have been the subject of investigations or reports, but none has yet been formally published.

They include Kim Donovan, a 15-year-old girl who was found dead at a city centre BB from a suspected drugs overdose; David Foley, a 17-year-old who died from an overdose three years after he voluntarily sought care from the State; and 18-year-old Tracey Fay, who was found dead after injecting herself in 2002.

All three of these young people had sought greater levels of support or assistance from health authorities in the years before their deaths.

CARL O'BRIEN, Social Affairs Correspondent

CBS 42 Reporter: At Least 370 Texas CPS Workers Have Criminal Histories
 
Assault, burglary, driving while intoxicated, theft, domestic violence, indecent exposure and prostitution, possession of cocaine and marijuana, selling alcohol to minors -- what do all of these crimes have in common?

They are just some of the crimes committed by people who work for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, the agency in charge of protecting the state's children.

KEYE Investigates found at least 370 employees have a criminal background, and some have direct contact with foster children.

Romanus Ike was one of Ashley Gallardo's caseworkers when she and her brothers were in foster care. Yet her brothers requested a different caseworker soon after Ike's assignment.

"He was really uncomfortable to be around, really, he always wanted to be a little too close," she said.

That was about a year after Ike was arrested and charged with indecent exposure. He was caught performing a sex act on himself in a public park. He later pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of disorderly conduct and paid a $500 fine.

Gallardo said such conduct should rule out anyone from being able to decide what is best for vulnerable children.

"At that time, I'm a young girl, going to school, and what he did was disgusting," she said. "It's really just perverted, and it's disgusting. That's all I can say. Like how could anyone let him be around kids? That's just gross."

She first learned about his arrest when she decided to do some research at the courthouse. Gallardo said she was shocked to find a couple of her former caseworkers also had criminal histories.

"God, this guy was in my life," she said. "He was in charge of me and my brothers. He made decisions for us."

It was no secret that at the time of his arrest Gallardo worked for Child Protective Services. It was written on his bail bond in 1998, and he's still working as a caseworker. A conviction of disorderly conduct would not bar someone from employment.

Richard Landon was arrested for indecent exposure in 1997, and in 1994 he was arrested for prostitution after soliciting an undercover cop. He works for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services as a systems analyst.

Cordelia Jones works for Statewide Intake, the 24 hour abuse/neglect hotline. She is currently probation for a drug possession charge out of Williamson County She is on probation for a drug possession charge in Williamson County.

CPS investigator Cynthia Crayton has numerous criminal cases in her background, mostly thefts by check. She still owes $193 in fines for driving with an invalid license.

David Mendoza pleaded guilty to assault with bodily injury to a family member and violation of a protective order. He is a CPS supervisor in El Paso.

The number of employees with criminal histories is small compared to the total number of those employed by the Department of Family and Protective Services. Most offenses were misdemeanors.

The most common offenses were thefts by check and DWI.

KEYE's search revealed some financial crimes such as forgery, fraud, credit-debit card abuse, larceny and shoplifting. In addition to DWI, there were cases of marijuana, cocaine and controlled substance possessions. Some employees were charged with failure to identify a fugitive from justice, interference with the duties of a public servant, interference of an emergency call, evading arrest, and hindering apprehension or prosecution. Several cases were burglary related. There were also violent offenses such as assault, assault with bodily injury and assault of a family member.

The findings caught the attention of State Rep. Patrick Rose, who said "it's unacceptable."

Rose is in a position to push for change. He chairs the House Health and Human Services Committee, which oversees the agency.

"I think there are several solutions," he said. "The first is to make sure we get all background checks across all states and any convictions. We can do that by requiring FBI fingerprint background check on the front end upon employment. And as we move forward, we have to have annual background checks here to make sure all current employees that have direct access to kids don't have these convictions."

The department conducts criminal background checks in the state when someone is hired. Employees are then required to report their arrests or convictions. Annual background checks are conducted on approximately 250 employees whose jobs are to approve foster homes for the placement of children.

Rose said he would like to see better coordination between the justice system and CPS. One idea would be to require local jurisdictions to immediately notify the department when an employee is arrested, charged or convicted of a crime. The department could decide if any immediate action should be taken.

Gallardo said she thinks that is a good idea. She added that it's important for those who have contact with foster children or are responsible for making life-changing decisions on their behalf be closely screened and monitored.

"We trust these people," Gallardo said. "They are all we have in the end, because we're just taken away from out families, and that's all we have."
 
 
 
Copyright 2008, Four Points Media Group LLC. All Rights Reserved.
 
 
Alta. foster-care tragedies dominated by native children
 
Nearly all of them are faceless and nameless.
 
They are the 51 Alberta children who have died in the province's care over the past decade, some at the hands of government-approved caregivers.
 
Their deaths happened in all sorts of manners: in freak car crashes and suicides, in accidental falls and at the hands of violent shaking.
 
Most of these children, though, have one thing in common. Two-thirds of them were native.
 
Indeed, this is true of the three youngsters killed in foster care since 2005.
 
Today, another aboriginal foster child is struggling with severe brain damage in a Calgary hospital. Mounties are investigating how the 15-month-old was so badly injured and whether his perilous state is the result of an accident or a criminal act.
 
Alberta laws governing children in care, prevent the publishing of his name or the names of other children who've died in government care.
 
The toddler's 21-year-old mother, a member of the Calgary-area Tsuu T'ina First Nation says she's frustrated with the whole child-welfare system.
 
She said she wishes her son and daughter had been placed in a home on the reserve, but was told no aboriginal family was available to take the pair.
 
"Their excuse is that there wasn't enough foster parents on the reserve," said the young mother, who also can't be identified under provincial laws. "Even so, they should have put him with a native family in the city."
 
As she and the public wait for the outcome of the police probe, the reality is several more aboriginal children have been placed in Alberta government care since the boy's injuries were reported March 2.
 
Of the 5,970 children currently in foster or kinship care, 3,760, or 63 per cent, are native - drastically disproportionate to their four per cent share of Alberta's population.
 
The rate of serious injury and death in government care, at 0.1 per cent, is lower than in the general population, the province's figures show. However the sheer volume of native youngsters in child welfare, most of them from First Nations communities, underscore the complex social problems that cross decades and generations.
 
Funding inequities are also at play, the federal auditor general reported last May.
 
In its first examination of child and family services on First Nations, the auditor general found Ottawa's two-decades-old funding model was broken.
 
Federal dollars have been based on an assumption that six per cent of on-reserve children require government care, when in reality the figure ranged as high as 28 per cent in 2007.
 
Moreover, these dollars kicked in when children were taken from their families, while few funds were put toward prevention efforts.
 
As a result of the "outdated" formula, the auditor general said, some aboriginal children and families didn't get the services they needed.
 
Inadequate funding also hampered the communities' ability to attract and retain child-welfare workers, who can generally make more money doing the same job off-reserve.
 
"The use of this funding formula has led to inequities," said Jerome Berthelette, who was on the federal audit team.
 
The auditor general concluded the federal department can't properly answer a fundamental question: Are aboriginal children in government care better off?
 
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada accepted all of the auditor general's recommendations.
 
The year before, it already began moving toward a new funding model, signing an agreement with the Alberta government and the province's First Nations in June 2007.
 
The five-year, $98-million pledge will boost funding for child-welfare operations and prevention programs by 74 per cent. Ottawa hopes to ink similar deals with the other provinces and territories by 2012.
 
"It's more of a prevention-focused approach," said Indian and Northern Affairs spokeswoman Patricia Valladao.
 
Reaction to the federal change has been largely positive.
 
Provincial minister Gene Zwozdesky, who oversees aboriginal relations, said the new model will better help families struggling to care for their children.
 
Zwozdesky said the shift toward early intervention should lead to fewer aboriginal youngsters in government care.
 
"Another initiative coming out of these funds will be more mentorship programs and also those that deal with social-related issues, like suicide prevention, family-violence prevention," he added.
 
Chief Morris Monias of Heart Lake First Nation, northeast of Lac La Biche, believes the extra dollars will help alleviate some of the frustration felt by child-welfare workers in his community.
 
"A lot of the programs we wanted to fund we just couldn't afford in the past, so a lot of children fall through the gaps," Monias said.
 
Meanwhile, the assembly and the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada have filed a joint human rights complaint, accusing the federal government of racially discriminating against aboriginal children by underfunding them. A tribunal has been ordered.
 
"The critical area of underfunding is services to keep children safely in their homes," said Cindy Blackstock, executive director of First Nations child society.
 
"That drives unbelievable removal rates. We have three times the number of First Nations kids in child welfare care today than we did at the height of residential schools."
 
Recently, the province has made a greater effort to place native foster children with relatives in a program called kinship care, which has seen the number of placements grow 97 per cent in the past three years.
 
The Alberta government has also launched an aggressive drive to recruit foster parents, particularly from aboriginal communities. The number of foster parents overall has decreased 15 per cent since 2005.
 
Still, the latest Children and Youth Services annual report shows that only 38.5 per cent of native children in foster and kinship care are being placed with native families.
 
Siksika Nation Chief Leroy Good Eagle, who himself was a foster child, said it's crucial to ensure aboriginal foster children don't lose ties to their culture.
 
Unlike foster care homes, kinship placements are not licensed and there are no limits on the number of youngsters, although provincial figures show only seven of the 780 kinship homes have more than four foster children. (Five per cent of Alberta's 2,300 foster homes have more than four children.)
 
Kinship caregivers must complete the same initial training as foster parents and are subject to a home assessment, a criminal record check and a child welfare intervention history.
 
Of the three youngsters killed in foster care since 2005, two were in the kinship program and the third was under the care of a registered nurse.
 
In January, a four-year-old Metis girl died of head injuries in Edmonton.
 
Her 24-year-old aunt, who was also looking after the girl's five siblings, has been charged with murder, criminal negligence causing death, and failing to provide the necessities of life.
 
Neither the RCMP or Alberta Children and Youth Services will disclose any information about the foster parents who were caring for the 15-month-old boy in Calgary hospital.
 
The toddler was moved out of the intensive care unit last week, his grandmother said Saturday.
 
A team of brain injury experts at the Children's Hospital is working with him. Doctors have told the family the toddler has severe cerebral palsy and will have to stay in the hospital for months.
 
But at least he's finally awake and breathing on his own.
 
"He's yawning, he's moving a bit," his grandmother said. "It's still a long road ahead."
 
By Renata D'Aliesio, Canwest News Service March 14, 2009
 
Calgary Herald
 
With files from Jamie Komarnicki and Jason Fekete, Calgary Herald
 
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES - "Nothing Ever Changes - Ever"
 
To all the citizens of Sacramento County:
 
The Grand Jury has reported on the shortcomings of CPS since 1996. Findings and recommendations have fallen on deaf ears. "Nothing Ever Changes.Ever." When are the citizens going to demand that something be done with CPS? We heard promises that CPS is studying and working on problems. How many years does it take to do "something.or anything?"

The current Grand Jury was soon met with numerous complaints and letters from citizens along with past and present social workers concerning CPS. Media reports and articles from the local paper echoed the same sentiments.

The Grand Jury heard testimony from the Health and Human Services Director. It was the same old story: they were aware of problems and were working on changes.

The Grand Jury discovered that nothing really changed. Systemic problems were found throughout the organization. CPS does not have the capability to record hot line calls, devices that would help the social worker in the field did not work, cases are not properly followed up, evaluations are rarely done, social workers and supervisors are not given the support they need, manuals that could help direct the employees are totally confusing and outdated.

Social Workers have a very complex job. There are many people who care about the work they do at CPS. Apparently, some top CPS management does not share the same view. Management made misrepresentations to the Grand Jury. We need the help of the community to put pressure on our county administrators to act quickly and take responsibility to see that changes are made.

DONALD PRANGE SR., Foreman
2008-2009 Sacramento County Grand Jury
 
Report Issued by the
2008-2009 Sacramento County Grand Jury
           April 2009

Read Document: Grand Jury Report
 
State children services agency to meet with Columbia police chief in wake of attempted murder case
 
Columbia Police Chief Joe Edwards got a call Monday night that he didn't expect -- from the head of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.
 
Erwin McEwen told Edwards that "his phone was ringing off the hook" after the arrest of Elyse Mamino of Belleville, who was charged Feb. 27 with attempted first-degree murder for trying to drown her newborn daughter in a toilet while at a family gathering in Columbia.
 
Edwards publicly criticized DCFS investigators' decision to allow Mamino to retain custody of her baby while police investigated what happened.
 
"He said that he was sending his assistant director (George Vennikandam) next week and he was coming to meet with me at the end of March," Edwards said.
 
McEwen's visit was already planned as part of a routine trip to Southern Illinois, DCFS spokesman Kendall Marlowe said, but the meeting with Edwards was the result of the Mamino case.
 
"Child welfare is a cooperative effort and we always seek better collaboration between DCFS and other public and private agencies and the families we serve," Marlowe said.
 
Columbia Police began investigating Mamino on Nov. 15 when they said during a family party, she placed the baby, named Victoria, in the toilet, where the newborn gasped for air and kicked her legs. A police officer responding to a 911 call pulled her out of the toilet and began to resuscitate her.
 
Victoria survived after being in the water about 30 minutes, police said.
 
During the course of the three-month investigation that followed, police interviewed more than 30 of Mamino's relatives while awaiting lab test results and the processing of evidence.
 
The investigation resulted in the discovery of another baby born in September 2007, whose remains were found in a dresser drawer in Mamino's basement at 5 S. 42nd St. in Belleville. Attempted murder charges were filed against Mamino for the injury to Victoria.
 
DCFS have not addressed why a DCFS child protection investigator assigned to the case decided not to take baby Victoria into state custody after she was released from the hospital.
 
A law exists that would allow DCFS records to be made public in a case where a child has been seriously injured or killed and someone is criminally charged. But there is a loophole: DCFS can withhold the records if releasing them might jeopardize an ongoing criminal investigation.
 
State representatives Tom Holbrook, D-Belleville, and Ron Stephens, R-Highland, who helped sponsor the bill, have said no records should be released if investigations are ongoing.
 
But state Rep. Paul Froehlich, D-Schaumburg, who also sponsored the open records legislation, said Thursday he sees no harm in releasing the DCFS files.
 
"You're talking about just releasing the basic facts. I think that ought to be released," said Froehlich, who, like Holbrook and Stephens, was a member of the DCFS Oversight Committee that was formed after the Belleville News-Democrat published its series "Lethal Lapses" in 2006, which reported that 53 children under DCFS care died after caseworkers and supervisors made poor judgments or failed to follow their own regulations.
 
" I don't see how releasing it does some kind of harm to a (police) case. ... Knowing in an individual case that some individual blew it would certainly be good to know. We know that's happened before. ... I think it's a systemic problem," said Froehlich, who added that DFCS staff reductions can have an impact.
 
The News-Democrat requested last month the DCFS case file for 3-year-old Joseph Schoolfield of Madison, who died after a beating. His mother, Valerie Schoolfield, and her boyfriend, Scott Endicott, were charged with first-degree murder in Clinton County.
 
The News-Democrat also has requested the DCFS file in the Mamino case. Those requests are pending.
 
St. Clair County Coroner Rick Stone said Thursday that the first baby's remains would be conveyed to the University of Illinois so an anthropologist could study them to determine any other information about the infant.
 
Belleville police continue to investigate that case, but no charges have yet been filed.
 
BY BETH HUNDSDORFER AND GEORGE PAWLACZYK - News-Democrat
 
Contact reporters Beth Hundsdorfer at bhundsdorfer@bnd.com or 239-2570, and George Pawlaczyk at gpawlaczyk@bnd.com or 239-2625.

CBS 42 Reporter: At Least 370 Texas CPS Workers Have Criminal Histories

Assault, burglary, driving while intoxicated, theft, domestic violence, indecent exposure and prostitution, possession of cocaine and marijuana, selling alcohol to minors -- what do all of these crimes have in common?

They are just some of the crimes committed by people who work for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, the agency in charge of protecting the state's children.

KEYE Investigates found at least 370 employees have a criminal background, and some have direct contact with foster children.

Romanus Ike was one of Ashley Gallardo's caseworkers when she and her brothers were in foster care. Yet her brothers requested a different caseworker soon after Ike's assignment.

"He was really uncomfortable to be around, really, he always wanted to be a little too close," she said.

That was about a year after Ike was arrested and charged with indecent exposure. He was caught performing a sex act on himself in a public park. He later pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of disorderly conduct and paid a $500 fine.

Gallardo said such conduct should rule out anyone from being able to decide what is best for vulnerable children.

"At that time, I'm a young girl, going to school, and what he did was disgusting," she said. "It's really just perverted, and it's disgusting. That's all I can say. Like how could anyone let him be around kids? That's just gross."

She first learned about his arrest when she decided to do some research at the courthouse. Gallardo said she was shocked to find a couple of her former caseworkers also had criminal histories.

"God, this guy was in my life," she said. "He was in charge of me and my brothers. He made decisions for us."

It was no secret that at the time of his arrest Gallardo worked for Child Protective Services. It was written on his bail bond in 1998, and he's still working as a caseworker. A conviction of disorderly conduct would not bar someone from employment.

Richard Landon was arrested for indecent exposure in 1997, and in 1994 he was arrested for prostitution after soliciting an undercover cop. He works for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services as a systems analyst.

Cordelia Jones works for Statewide Intake, the 24 hour abuse/neglect hotline. She is currently probation for a drug possession charge out of Williamson County She is on probation for a drug possession charge in Williamson County.

CPS investigator Cynthia Crayton has numerous criminal cases in her background, mostly thefts by check. She still owes $193 in fines for driving with an invalid license.

David Mendoza pleaded guilty to assault with bodily injury to a family member and violation of a protective order. He is a CPS supervisor in El Paso.

The number of employees with criminal histories is small compared to the total number of those employed by the Department of Family and Protective Services. Most offenses were misdemeanors.

The most common offenses were thefts by check and DWI.

KEYE's search revealed some financial crimes such as forgery, fraud, credit-debit card abuse, larceny and shoplifting. In addition to DWI, there were cases of marijuana, cocaine and controlled substance possessions. Some employees were charged with failure to identify a fugitive from justice, interference with the duties of a public servant, interference of an emergency call, evading arrest, and hindering apprehension or prosecution. Several cases were burglary related. There were also violent offenses such as assault, assault with bodily injury and assault of a family member.

The findings caught the attention of State Rep. Patrick Rose, who said "it's unacceptable."

Rose is in a position to push for change. He chairs the House Health and Human Services Committee, which oversees the agency.

"I think there are several solutions," he said. "The first is to make sure we get all background checks across all states and any convictions. We can do that by requiring FBI fingerprint background check on the front end upon employment. And as we move forward, we have to have annual background checks here to make sure all current employees that have direct access to kids don't have these convictions."

The department conducts criminal background checks in the state when someone is hired. Employees are then required to report their arrests or convictions. Annual background checks are conducted on approximately 250 employees whose jobs are to approve foster homes for the placement of children.

Rose said he would like to see better coordination between the justice system and CPS. One idea would be to require local jurisdictions to immediately notify the department when an employee is arrested, charged or convicted of a crime. The department could decide if any immediate action should be taken.

Gallardo said she thinks that is a good idea. She added that it's important for those who have contact with foster children or are responsible for making life-changing decisions on their behalf be closely screened and monitored.

"We trust these people," Gallardo said. "They are all we have in the end, because we're just taken away from out families, and that's all we have."
 
 
 
Copyright 2008, Four Points Media Group LLC. All Rights Reserved.
They had names and faces once. Now they have coroner's numbers.
         Social workers call them their "worst outcomes".

   In Loving Memory Of Children Who Didn't Have to Die - 2009
January-February-March-April  
January
 
Samauri Mayes
2-year-old
January 2, 2009
Greenville,South Carolina
 
Tina-Marie
Ida Southwind
16-year-old
January 2,2009
Amherstview,Ontario
 
Lucas Isaac Polanco
2-year-old 
January 4,2009
Milton-Freewater,Oregon
 
Zach O'Kane
4-month-old
January 5, 2009 
Collie,Australia
 
Lucas Payton
Theede-Bennett
9-month-old
January 6,2009
Willard,Missouri
 
Seth Ireland
10-year-old
January 6, 2009
Fresno,California
 
Alexis "Lexie" Glover
13-year-old
January 7,2009
Manassas,Virginia
 
Tatina Riveria
8-month-old 
January 9,2009
Omaha,Nebraska
 
Alex Angulo 
4-year-old 
January 11,2009
Chicago,Illinois
 
Melody Velasquez
3-year-old
January 11,2009
San Antonio,Texas
 
Foster Girl
4-year-old
January 13,2009
Edmonton,Canada
 
Ania Duncan
6-month-old
January 14,2009
Cleveland, Ohio
 
Halle Shamille Smith
8-year-old 
January 16, 2009
Houston,Texas
 
Karina Moore
2-year-old
January 16, 2009
Post Falls,Idaho
 
Baby Miller
newborn
January 17,2009
New Brunswick
Canada
 
Caitlyn Garrigan
4-week-old 
January 17,2009
Hartlepool, England
 
Luke Borusiewicz
2-year-old
January 18,2009
Queensland,Australia
 
Guadalupe Correa
3-year-old
January 20, 2009
Stockton,California
 
Naomi Whitecrow
2-year-old
January 20, 2009
Edmond, Oklahoma
 
Danil Boiko
3-year-old 
January 24,2009
Moscow,Russia
 
Joseph M.Schoolfield
3-year-old
January 24,2009
Carlyle, Illinois
 
Sasha Grechushkin
3-year-old
January 26,2009
Lyubertsy, Russia
 
Iven Carlos
2-month-old
January 27,2009
Chicago,Illinois
 
Darcey Iris Freeman
4-year-old
January 29,2009
Melbourne,Australia
 
Austin Seese
3-year-old
January 31,2009
Gary,Indiana
 
February
 
Patrick Atkins
15-year-old
February,2009
Las Vegas,Nevada
 
Bridgette Barbara
Wynne
15-year-old
February 1,2009
Albany,Australia
 
Hope Richard
9-year-old 
February 3,2009
Manitoba,Canada
 
Miraculious Fuentes
Manriquez
3-year-old
February 3,2009
Amarillo,Texas
 
Aquan Lewis
10-year-old
February 4,2009
Evanston,Illinois
 
Kyra D.Buckley
6-month-old
February 4, 2009
Bismarck
North Dakota
 
Natalie M. Emami 
5-month-old
February 5,2009
Oklahoma City
Oklahoma
 
Angel DeHerrera
4-year-old
February 6, 2009 
Colorado Springs,CO
 
Amaya Marie Walker
3-year-old
February 7,2009
Madison,Wisconsin
 
Esmond Ross
7-year-old
February 7, 2009
Kansas City,Missouri
 
Foster Girl
10-year-old
February 7,2009
Rockhampton, Australia
 
Curtis Williams
9-month-old
February 8,2009
Cayce, South Carolina
 
Abigail Johnson
4-month-old
February 9, 2009
Evansville,Indiana
 
Tendral Meytok
Gurung
9-month-old
February 10, 2009
Virginia Beach,Florida
 
Kaylan Broumley
3-year-old
February 12,2009
Nacogdoches,Texas
 
Thomas Joel Villa
7-month-old
February 12,2009
Canyon,Texas
 
Isiah Martin
2-year-old
February 13,2008
Detroit,Michigan
 
Jeremiah Ray Swafford
2-year-old
February 13,2009
Shelby,North Carolina
 
Joshua Pinckney
2-year-old
February 13,2009
Cumming,Georgia
 
Jyhiem Adam Bacon
2-month-old 
February 14, 2009
Salisbury,North Carolina
 
Harlee N. Whitmire
5-year-old
Feruary 15,2009
Clark County,Nevada
 
Darlene Diles
35-day-old
February 17,2009
Dallas,Texas
 
Malake Dancer
11-year-old
February 19,2009
Springfield Township
Ohio
 
Cherishsiliala
Tahuri-Wright
3-year-old
February 19,2009
Porirua,New Zealand
 
Alena Breann Garcia
2-month-old
February 20, 2009
Bakersfield,California
 
Kevion Shand Smith 
4-year-old
February 20,2009
Bronx,New York
 
Alycia Nipp
13-year-old
February 21,2009
Vancouver,Washington
 
Samuel Udomeh
11-year-old
February 21,2009
Baton Rouge,Louisiana
 
Glenda Pinkney
19-year-old
February 22,2009
Houston,Texas
 
Jessika Toledo Haberle
3-year-old 
February 23,2009
Sparks,Nevada
 
Kamereon Foster
5-month-old 
February 24,2009
Chicago,Illinois
 
Rihanna Robinson
6-month-old
February 25,2009
Pine Bluff,Arkansas
 
Maxim Vorobyev
16-year-old 
February 25,2009
Valletta,Malta
 
5 foster children
1 to 9 years old
February 25, 2009
Tijuana,Mexico
 
Sandra Furgason
2-year-old
February 26,2009
Paint Township
Pennsylvania
 
March
 
Jessica Joy Owens
16-year-old
March 2009
Winnipeg,Canada
 
Shylea Myza Thomas
9-year-old
March 2009
Flint, Michigan
 
Emiliano Garcia-Cruz
6-month-old
March 1,2009
Milwaukee,Wisconsin
 
Gayloyd Roberts
10-year-old
March 2,2009
Cassatt,S.Carolina
 
Foster Boy
1-year-old
March 6,2009
Strathmore-Alberta
Canada
 
Lazhanae Renita Harris
13-year-old
March 7, 2009 
Los Angeles,California
 
Ceianna Buchanan
6-day-old
March 8, 2009
Milwaukee,Wisconsin
 
Kevin Michael King
5-year-old
March 8,2009
Bakersfield,California
 
Zachary Cole
Johnson
17-month-old
March 13,2009
Lakeland,Florida
 
Priscilla Walker
18-month-old
March 14,2009
New Bedford
Massachusetts
 
Deandre
Washington
10-month-old 
March 14,2009 
Houston,Texas
 
Christopher
Lee Joy Jr.
18-month-old
March 16, 2009
Richmond,Ohio
 
Tyler Andrews
8-month-old
March 16,2009
Ava, Missouri
 
Annie Brown
17-year-old
March 17,2009
Glen Cove,New York
 
Asia Grace Robinson
2-month-old
March 17,2009
Clark County,Nevada
 
Joseph Clayton Kohn
23-month-old
March 17,2009
Charlestown Townsh
Pennsylvania
 
Kalli Bekia Martin
4-year-old
March 18,2009
Greensboro
North Carolina
 
Christian Degraff 
3-year-old
March 23,2009 
Lubbock,Texas
 
Sri Rohini
6-year-old
March 24,2009
Tiruchi,India
 
Heaven Hernandez
23-month-old
March 25,2009
Livermore,California
 
Jayden Bernard
18-month-old
March 27,2009
Bolton,Canada
 
Alissa Guernsey
15-month-old
March 28,2009 
Topeka,Indiana
 
Cohen Parker
11-week-old
March 28,2009
Palmerston
New Zealand
 
Foster Girl
13-month-old
March 28,2009
Edmonton,Canada
 
Makayla N.Thomas
8-month-old
March 28,2009
Monroe,Louisiana
 
Duncan Connolly
Leichtenberg
9-year-old
March 29, 2009
LeRoy,Illinois
 
Jack Connolly
Leichtenberg
7-year-old
March 29, 2009
LeRoy,Illinois
 
Mason Brown
5-month-old
March 29,2009
Indianapolis,Indiana
 
Keisha Tate
3-year-old
March 29,2009
Milwaukee,Wisconsin
 
Anthony White Jr.
13-year-old
March 30,2009
Bushkill
Pennsylvania
 
Eba Chapple Jr
2-year-old
March 30 ,2009
Fort Worth,Texas
 
Jamarr Cruz
9-year-old
March 31,2009
Camden,New Jersey
 
Amanda Giovanna
De Vito
9-year-old
March 31,2009
Laval,Canada
 
Sabrina Angela
De Vito
8-year-old 
March 31,2009
Laval,Canada
 
April
 
Farzin Batlivala
7-year-old
April 2,2009
Vasai,India
 
Tiffany Sue Banks-Cross
21-month-old 
April 2,2009
Trumbull County, Ohio
 
Maxine Harrison
16-year-old
April 4,2009
Graham,Washington
 
Jamie Harrison
14-year-old
April 4,2009
Graham,Washington
 
Samantha Harrison
12-year-old
April 4,2009
Graham,Washington
 
Heather Harrison
9-year-old
April 4,2009
Graham,Washington
 
James Harrison
7-year-old
April 4,2009
Graham,Washington
 
Jeremiah Shaneyfelt
4-month-old
April 4,2009
Kissimmee,Florida
 
Bhia Hadid
2-year-old
April 5,2009
Chicago,Illinois
 
Paris Whitehead
Hamilton
8-year-old 
April 5, 2009
St. Petersburg
Florida
 
Joseph Walker-Hoover
11-year-old 
April 6,2009
Springfield, Massachusetts
 
Trenton Giachetti
4-month-old
April 6,2009
Ormond Beach
Florida
 
Natalia Santillan
3-year-old
April 7,2009 
Peoria, Arizona
 
Amber Maccurdy
2-month-old
April 9,2009
Katy,Texas
 
Jalen Knox-Perkins
4-month-old
April 9,2009
Milwaukee,Wisconsin
 
Trenton LaMadline
4-year-old
April 12,2009
Allendale Township
Michigan
 
Amrin Spencer
18-month-old
April 16,2009
Fort Worth,Texas
 
Gabriel Myers
7-year-old
April 16, 2009
Margate,Florida
 
Wen Xue
9-year-old
April 16,2009
Quincy,Massachusetts
 
Shano Khan
11-year-old
April 17, 2009
New Delhi,India
 
Huang
10-month-old
April 21,2009
Taiwan,China
 
Michael Zamarripa
21-month-old
April 20,2009
Manteca,California
 
Gracie Ann
Trentham
3-year-old
April 21, 2009
Georgetown
Tennessee
 
Caden Rivera
2 year-old
April 22,2009 
Woodbine,New Jersey
 
Sean Payne
2-year-old 
April 22, 2009
Allen,Texas
 
Foster Boy
17-year-old 
April 25,2009
Hobbema,Canada
 
Jessica McCagh
17-year-old 
April 25,2009
Arbroath,Scotland
 
Ratapu Taitapanui
2-year-old  
April 25,2009
Taupo New Zealand
 
Kristina Hepp
4-year-old
April 27,2009
Waccasassa
Florida
 
Iyanla Kuamo'o
Andrews
2-year-old
April 29,2009
Hilo,Hawai'i
 
Chloe Fletcher
4-year-old
April 29,2009
Wallasey
Merseyside,England
 
Derrick Alvarez
18-month-old 
April 29, 2009
El Paso,Texas
 
Isiah Ian McGuire
11-month-old
April 29,2009
Tampa,Florida
May - June -July - August 

May

Nicholas Ryan Kelly
18-month-old
May 4,2009
Cape Coral,Florida
 
Emanuel Wesley
Murray
3-month-old
May 5, 2009
Tampa, Florida
 
Ayveionse Cruz-Carter
22-month-old
May 6,2009
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
 
Kirsten Anderson 
2-year-old
May 7,2009
Centerfield, Utah
 
Cheree Goard
13-month-old
May 9,2009
Gilbert, Arizona
 
Sarai Melendez
15-year-old
May 10,2009
San Angelo,Texas
 
Akeelia Fisher
1-year-old
May 13,2009
McMinnville
Tennessee
 
Kayndace Fisher
3-year-old
May 13,2009
McMinnville
Tennessee
 
Tyruss "Ty" Toribio 
3-year-old
May 13,2009
Albuquerque
New Mexico
 
Babli Ghosh
11-year-old
May 14, 2009
West Bengal
India
 
Aiman Zeeshanuddin 
4-year-old
May 14,2009
Abu Dhabi,India
 
Lakshmi Paine
10-year-old
May 14,2009
Sodepur,India
 
Tavaryna Choeun
17-year-old
May 14, 2009
Lawrence
Massachusetts
 
Johnny Ruiz Cotter
13-year-old
May 15,2009
Pima,Arizona
 
John P. Fields
8-year-old
May 18, 2009
Fort Wayne
Indiana
 
Shyanne Nicole
Holcomb
18-month-old
May 18,2009
Lawrenceville,Georgia
 
Isiah Wilson
8-month-old
May 19,2009
Widefield, Colorado
 
Shauna-Lee Kerr
15-year-old
May 22,2009
Armandale
St Ann,Jamaica
 
Ann-Marie Samuels
17-year-old
May 22,2009
Armandale
St Ann,Jamaica
 
Nerrissa Gooden
17-year-old
May 22,2009
Armandale
St Ann,Jamaica
 
Rachel King
17-year-old
May 22,2009
Armandale
St Ann,Jamaica
 
Kaychell Nelson
15-year-old
May 22,2009
Armandale
St Ann,Jamaica
 
Eldon Jay
Rebhan Smith
4-year-old
May 23,2009
Portland,Oregon
 
Destiny Lawson
5-week-old
May 21,2009
Palatka,Florida
 
Foster Boy
1-year-old
May 24,2009
Salford, United Kingdom
 
Alex Cotten
8-year-old
May 25, 2009 
Rutherford
Tennessee
 
Jason Woodson
3-year-old
May 25.2009
Richmond,California
 
Jessie Woodson
3-year-old
May 27,2009
Richmond,California
 
Adrian Madrid 
3-year-old
May 27, 2009
Las Vegas,Nevada
 
Kaedyn Short
22-month-old
May 27, 2009
Avon Park,Florida
 
Jaiheim Gaither
6-year-old
May 28, 2009
Lexington
South Carolina
 
Tyler Gumm
7-year-old
May 29,2009
Hillsboro,Oregon
 
Kylie Gumm
6-year-old
May 29,2009
Hillsboro,Oregon
 
Aniyah Boone
7-month-old
May 30, 2009
Merriam, Kansas
 
Kayden Branham
20-month-old
May 31,2009
Monticello,Kentucky
 
Toby Simmons
22-year-old
May 2009
Killeen,Texas
 
June
 
Jason Lee Hoy
5-year-old
June 2,2009
Grayville, Illinois
 
Jor-el Macnamara
21-month-old
June 3,2009
New Hazelton
British Columbia
 
Reina Patterson
2-year-old
June 3,2009
Coshocton,Ohio
 
Stefan Markovic
14-year-old
June 3,2009
Krusevac,Serbia
 
Brandon Saddler
11-year-old
June 4,2009
Stony Hill
Jamaica
 
Georgian Saunders
16-year-old
June 4,2009
Armandale
St Ann,Jamaica
 
Trent Matthews
1-year-old
Jun 5,2009
Rotorua
New Zealand
 
Fernando Chavez
17-year-old
June 6, 2009
Portland,Oregon
 
Zoey Sandercox
3-year-old
June 6,2009
Troy, New York
 
Madison Bell 
21-day-old
June 7,2009
Springfield, Ohio
 
Michael Levigne 
6-year-old
June 7,2009
Commerce
Georgia
 
Ashley Shaw
10-week-old
June 8,2009
Skellow
Doncaster,UK
 
Taron Luetjen
15-year-old
June 8, 2009 
Cole Camp, Missouri
 
Malechi Dechawn
Wilson
2-year-old
June 9, 2009
Dayton,Ohio
 
Rachel Michelle
Lambert
6-month-old
June 9, 2009
Oklahoma City
Oklahoma
 
Carly Sawyer
5-year-old
June 11, 2009
Chesapeake
Virginian
 
Max Carlton
2-month-old
June 11, 2009
Dewey Beach
Maryland
 
Kelvin Gouws
2-year-old
June 12, 2009
Randfontein
South Africa
 
Angeliah Duncan
11-month-old
June 15,2009
Hollywood,Florida
 
Lucas Laboy
2-year-old
June 15,2009
Springfield
Massachusetts
 
Rebecca Watkins
16-year-old
June 16,2009
Suffolk
United Kingdom
 
Avion Bell
10-year-old
June 17, 2009
Schenectady
New York
 
Baby Girl
6-week-old
June 17,2009
Milton
Cambridge,UK
 
Michael Belitz
12-year-old
June 17,2009
Omaha,Nebraska
 
Tyriffe D. Lewis
17-year-old
June 20,2009
Framingham
Massachusetts
 
Sincear Jaywon
Kirven
5-year-old
June 21,2009
Mexia,Texas
 
Guierrmo Alvarez
2-year-old
June 22,2009
Bakersfield
California
 
Jessika Rena James
4-year-old
June 22, 2009
Shawneetown
Illinois
 
Nathaniel Turner
7-year-old
June 23, 2009
Worcester
Massachusetts
 
Bernard Davis
20-month-old
June 24, 2009
Jacksonville
Florida
 
Jayden Farrington
4-month-old 
June 24,2009
Arlington,Texas
 
Emma Thompson
4-year-old
June 27,2009
Spring,Texas
 
Jaylene Sanderson
Redhead
20-month-old
June 29,2009
Winnipeg,Manitoba
Canada
 
July
 
Chrissa Matthews
23-month-old
July 1,2009
Las Vegas,Nevada
 
Damiyn McElveen
3-year-old
July 1,2009
Baton Rouge
Louisiana
 
Cherisse Houle
17-year-old
July 1,2009
Winnipeg,Canada
 
Shaiunna Hare
2-year-old
July 1,2009
Oxford,Florida
 
Brianna Rose Jackson
18-month-old
July 2,2009
St. Paul,Minnesota
 
Bryce Barros
2-year-old
July 3,2009
Hallandale Beach
Florida
 
Iyana Perez
9-month-old
July 3, 2009
Pueblo,Colorado
 
Kati Earnest
5-year-old 
July 4,2009 
Vernon,Texas
 
Kurt "Kurty" Krause
3-year-old
July 6,2009
Cuyahoga Falls
Ohio
 
Derek Gonzales
13-year-old  
July 7,2009
Pueblo,Colorado
 
Howlis Scott III
18-month-old
July 7, 2009
Corpus Christi
Texas
 
Rachel Green 
1-year-old
July 8,2009
Tucson, Arizona
 
Andrew Worley
17-year-old
July 9,2009
Franklin,Ohio
 
Parion Williams
16-month-old
July 9,2009
Milwaukee,Wisconsin
 
Rachael Dodd
16-year-old
July 10, 2009
Shildon,Durham
UK
 
Tabitha Wilkens
15-year-old 
July 12, 2009
Sunderland
Vermont
New England.USA
 
Bryan Guzman
Moreno
6-year-old
July 16,2009
Cumming,Georgia
 
Jasmine Hall 
4-week-old
July 16,2009
Houston,Texas
 
Natalie Marie Hill
3-month-old
July 16,2009
Westwego
Louisiana
 
Lars Sanchez
4-year-old
July 18,2009
Highland Park
California
 
Jenesis Gomez
2-year-old
July 20,2009
Alice,Texas
 
Cameron Todd
13-year-old
July 20,2009
Sunshine Coast
Australia
 
Zumante Lucero
9-year-old 
July 20,2009 
Denver, Colorado
 
Giovanni Bass
Kopystenski
5-year-old
July 21,2009
Las Vegas,Nevada
 
Dae'von Bailey
6-year-old
July 23,2009
Los Angeles
California
 
Jeremiah Williams
8-year-old
July 23,2009
Indianapolis,Indiana
 
Robert Manwill 
8-year-old
July 24,2009
Boise,Idaho
 
Jayden Al-Alas
4-month-old
July 25,2009
London
England, UK
 
Scott Wesley
Buchholz-Sanchez
25-day-old
July 26, 2009
San Antonio,Texas
 
Gao Chenxi
2-year-old
July 27,2009
Ningbo,China
 
Apollonia Yanez
3-year-old
July 30,2009
Goodyear,Arizona
 
August
 
Marina Sabatier
8-year-old
August 2009
Le Mans,France
 
Hayley Monteau
2-year-old 
August 2009
Victoria,Australia
 
Deng Senshan
15-year-old
August 2, 2009
Guangxi,China
 
Stevie Noelle Milburn
15-year-old
August 2,2009
Dyersburg,Tennessee
 
Danny Talbot
19-year-old
August 3, 2009
Dublin,Ireland
 
Justin Pribbernow
17-year-old
August 4,2009
Coleman,Michigan
 
Jasmine Granados
2-year-old 
August 8,2009
Los Angeles
California
 
Jacqui Peterson-Davis
2-year-old 
August 8, 2009
Kaitaia,New Zealand
 
Angel Duenas
2-year-old
August 9,2009
Baltimore,Maryland
 
Janice Moat
17-year-old
August 9,2009
Lake Wales,Florida
 
Hasanni Campbell
5-year-old
August 10,2009
Fremont, California
 
Sarah R.
3-year-old
August 10,2009
Thalmässing
Germany
 
Summer Dunham
14-month-old
August 11,2009
Springfield,Missouri
 
Julian Montoya
13-month-old
August 12,2009
Albuquerque
New Mexico
 
Loyce D. Decker
19-month-old
August 12, 2009
Licking, Missouri
 
Pyari
15-year-old 
August 12,2009
Gujarat,India
 
Kaden Warren
5-month-old
August 13,2009
Brandon, Florida
 
Dionna Ervin
17-month-old
August 13,2009
Brandon, Florida
 
Gaige Pyles
7-month-old 
August 15,2009
Elsmere,Kentucky
 
Laquiza Gholar
16-year-old
August 16,2009
Hattiesburg
Mississippi
 
Shamar Collins
9-year-old
August 16,2009
Brooklyn,New York
 
Travis Bohannon
16-month-old
August 16, 2009
Midland,Indiana
 
DaJae Guy
11-month-old
August 17,2009
Altgeld Gardens,
Illinois
 
Haju Ben
16-year-old
August 17,2009 
Gujarat,India
 
Hillary Angel Wilson 
18-year-old
August 20,2009
Winnipeg,Canada
 
Sergey Blashchishen
16-year-old
August 28,2009
Portland,Oregon
 
Craig Britton 
23-month-old
August 29,2009
Lake Shastina, California
 
David Lee Tijerina
3-year-old
August 31,2009
Conroe,Texas
 
Schala Vera 
3-year-old
August 31,2009
Chandler,Arizona
 
Sept - Oct - Nov - Decem  

September

Daneah Cousins 
20-month-old
September 2,2009
Sauk Village, Illinois
 
Diana Moreno
17-year-old
September 2,2009
Los Angeles,California
 
Edith Moreno
11-year-old
September 2,2009
Los Angeles,California
 
Baby Boy
11- month-old
September 2,2009
Gauteng,South Africa
 
Darrell "Tre"
Singleton III
1-year-old
September 3,2009
Arlington,Texas
 
Jamia Hazel
17-year-old
September 5, 2009
Bronx,New York
 
George "Calvin" Gonzales
14-month-old
September 7,2009
Queen Creek,Arizona
 
Erial Summers
3-year-old
September 9,2009
Liberty, Indiana
 
Fawziyah Abdullah
Youssef 
12-year-old
September 11,2009
Sanaa,Yemen
 
Javen Teague
2-year-old
September 14,2009
Oklahoma City,Oklahoma
 
Tiffany Wright
15-year-old
September 14, 2009
Charlotte,North Carolina
 
 Jennifer Mulvaney 
7-year-old
September 16,2009
Thousand Oaks
California
 
Jason Mulvaney 
12-year-old
September 16,2009
Thousand Oaks
California
 
Eli Kevin Johnson
3-year-old
September 16,2009
Oklahoma City
Oklahoma
 
LaKaylee Chambers
18- month-old
September 17, 2009
Manchester,Ohio
 
Michzach Damas
9-year-old
September 19, 2009
North Naples, Florida
 
Marven Damas 
6-year-old
September 19, 2009
North Naples, Florida
 
Maven Damas
5-year-old
September 19, 2009
North Naples, Florida
 
Megan Damas 
3-year-old
September 19, 2009
North Naples, Florida
 
Morgan Damas
11-month-old
September 19, 2009
North Naples, Florida
 
Aaliyah Faye Wright
6-day-old
September 20, 2009
Charlotte,North Carolina
 
Jeremiah Reese
14-year-old
September 26,2009
Port Orange,Florida
 
Hail-Sage McClutchie
22-month-old
September 26,2009
Morrinsville,Waikato
New Zealand
 
Janessa Sandoval
2-year-old
September 26,2009
Casselberry,Florida
 
October
 
Latrice Trecie Williams
3-year-old
October 1,2009
River Forest,Illinois
 
Georgia Rowe
14-year-old
October 4,2009
Hull,Scotland
 
Niamh Neve Lafferty
15-year-old
October 4,2009
Helensburgh,Scotland
 
Marco Nieves
4-year-old
October 4, 2009
Cranston,Rhode Island
 
Donald L. Rathman
7-week-old
October 8, 2009
St. Joseph, Missouri
 
Keegan Sharkey
3-month-old
October 10,2009
San Antonio,Texas
 
Carl Wiseman
24-year-old
October 11,2009
Silicon Valley
California
 
Myleahya Woods
18-month-old
October 11, 2009 
Pensacola,Florida
 
Bri'Vion Keith Curry
2-year-old
October 11, 2009
Houston,Texas
 
Javunte White
4-year-old
October 11, 2009
Houston,Texas
 
Jariel Alexander
2-year-old
October 12,2009 
Kissimmee,Florida
 
Dylan Thomas McDonald
11-year-old
October 14,2009 
Kendal Cumbria,England
 
Auston Morales
2-year-old
October 17,2009
Jamestown
New York
 
Stephani Wojak
15-year-old
October 17,2009
Torquay, Devon,UK
 
Ben McAuliffe
8-year-old
October 17,2009
Torquay, Devon,UK
 
Emerson Isiah Cardona
4-year-old
October 18,2009
Winston-Salem
North Carolina
 
Somer Thompson
7-year-old
October 19, 2009
Orange Park,Florida
 
Kaleb Nelton
10-month-old
October 20, 2009
Chauvin, Louisiana
 
Charlenny Ferreira
10-year-old
October 21,2009
Feltonville,Philadelphia
 
Kelapile Kayawe
8-year-old
October 21,2009 
Botswana, Africa
 
Stephen Troy
23-month-old
October 23, 2009
London,Kentucky
 
Arshon Baker
5-year-old
October 24,2009
Cleveland,Ohio
 
Joshua Clayton
18-month-old
October 24, 2009
Oak Park. Illinois
 
Catherine Willis
15-year-old
October 26, 2009
Queens,New York
 
Melissa Elhmer-Mirra
5-year-old
October 26, 2009
Queens,New York
 
Matthew Gorzynski
14-year-old
October 26, 2009
Coral Springs, Florida
 
Heather Marie Catterton
17-year-old
October 28,2009
Gastonia,South Carolina
 
 
November
 
Chauntasia Gardner 
5-month-old
November 1,2009
Lakeland,Florida
 
Cameron Blake
Clements
3-year-old
November 1, 2009 
Wynne,Arkansas
 
Caitlynn Mackenzie
Clements
2-year-olld
November 1, 2009
Wynne,Arkansas
 
Alexis Oesterle
15-year-old
November 2,2009
Rockport,Indiana
 
Dan Benson 
7-month-old 
November 5,2009
Tulsa,Oklahoma
 
Jason Mattison Jr.
15-year-old 
November 10,2009
Baltimore,Maryland
 
Kyra Zubah
3-year-old
November 10,2009
Okmulgee,Oklahoma
 
Shaniya Nicole Davis 
5-year-old
November 10,2009 
Fayetteville,North Carolina
 
Jashon Williams
17-month-old
November 13,2009
Berkeley,California
 
Divya Ram
3-year-old
November 14,2009
Sacramento,California
 
Bryce Atkeson
6-year-old 
November 15, 2009
Pasco,Florida
 
Tymain Peters
19-month-old
November 15, 2009
Orange County,Florida
 
Aaron Bowman Jr
18-month-old
November 18,2009
New Roads, Louisiana
 
Ayonna Thompson
6-month-old
November 18, 2009
Bakersfield,California
 
Bryson Mershon
4-month-old 
November 18, 2009
Lancaster, Ohio
 
Edward Barry
14-year-old
November 20,2009
Gravesend,England
 
Frank Anthony Gornick
14-year-old 
November 22, 2009
Poquoson,Virginia
 
Diamond Hillman
4-month-old
November 22,2009 
Santa Monica,California
 
Devon A. Harris
13-year-old
November 24, 2009
Bath, New York
 
JaCarra Robinson
1-year-old
November 29,2009
Jackson,Mississippi
 
Janet Searan
16-year-old
November 30,2009
Lockwood,Montana
 
Jean-Paul Massey
4-year-old 
November 30, 2009
Wavertree, Liverpool,UK
 
Jahmeshia Conner
12-year-old
November 30, 2009
Chicago,Illinois
 
December
 
Medine Memi
16-year-old 
December 2009 
Adiyaman,Turkey
 
Samantha Kuberski
6-year-old
December 2,2009
McMinnville,Oregon
 
Dzhingiz Rushen
13-year-old
December 5, 2009
Krumovgrad,Bulgaria
 
Dzhingiz Dzhemal
15-year-old 
December 5, 2009
Krumovgrad,Bulgaria
 
Sunay Keazim
16-year-old 
December 5, 2009
Krumovgrad,Bulgaria
 
Kailash Rai
12-year-old 
December 5, 2009
Kolkata,India
 
Major Gonzalez
11-month-old
December 7,2009
Brooklyn,New York
 
Jeanette Marie Maples
15-year-old
December 9,2009
North Eugene,Oregon
 
Millie Martin
15-month-old 
December 11, 2009
Enniskillen,Fermanagh
Ireland
 
Hannah Grace Dowdie 
23-month-old
December 12,2009
Pulaski County,Arkansas
 
Christopher Kayden Roedel
5-year-old
December 13, 2009
Odessa,Texas
 
Chandler Nash-Elliott 
11-year-old 
December 14,2009
Stateline,Nevada
 
Catherine Fontaine
4-year-old 
December 14,2009
San Clemente,California
 
Julia Fontaine
2-year-old 
December 14,2009
San Clemente,California
 
Khloe Love Labelle
11-month-old
December 18,2009
Bakersfield,California
 
Orionis L Barron-Taylor
2-year-old
December 19,2009
Hazelwood,Missouri
 
Christiano Belle-Felix
1-year old 
December 20,2009
Boca Rato,Florida
 
Daron Mayes
5-year-old
December 20,2009 
Paterson,New Jersey
 
Sarah Haley Foxwell
11-year-old
December 22,2009 
Salisbury,Maryland
 
Akanksha Devi-Lal
7-year-old
December 23,2009
Sarai Khati,Kanpur
India
 
Ashley Watrous
10-year-old
December 24, 2009
Oak Point,Texas
 
Dekia Mattox 
6-month-old
December 26, 2009
Milwaukee,Wisconsin
 
Jones
6-year-old
December 28,2009
Loganville, Georgia
 
Fruma Anshin
8-month-old
December 31,2009
Jerusalem, Israel
 
Leon Kalantarov
7-year-old
December 31,2009
Bnei Ayish,Israel
When an Apology Is Not Enough 

You thought it would never happen again,but is happening, here TODAY.....2009

 When they become adults, will today's children receive an apology for their childhoods lost?

 New news or Old news ?:   "Children who were placed in foster homes, orphanages and other institutions. Many were emotionally, physically and sexually abused and died in state care."
 
British Children's Secretary Ed Balls said:"It would never happen today. But I think it is right that as a society when we look back and see things which we now know were morally wrong, that we are willing to say we're sorry." 
 
Brits Apologize for Shipping Off Poor Kids
 
 
Children As Young as 3 Were Sent to the Colonies
 
LONDON (Nov. 15,2009) - As many as 150,000 poor British children were shipped off to the colonies over three and a half centuries, often taken from struggling families under programs intended to provide them with a new start -- and the Empire with a supply of sturdy white workers.
Forty years after the program stopped, Britain and Australia are saying sorry to the child migrants, who were promised a better life only to suffer abuse and neglect thousands of miles from home.
The British government said Sunday that Prime Minister Gordon Brown would apologize for child migrant programs that sent boys and girls as young as 3 to Australia, Canada and other former colonies. Many ended up in institutions where they were physically and sexually abused, or were sent to work as farm laborers.
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd will offer his own apology Monday to the child migrants, as well as to the "forgotten Australians," children who suffered in state care during the last century.
Sandra Anker, who was 6 when she was sent to Australia in 1950, said the British government has "a lot to answer for."
"We've suffered all our lives," she told the BBC. "For the government of England to say sorry to us, it makes it right -- even if it's late, it's better than not at all."
The British government has estimated that a total of 150,000 British children may have been shipped abroad between 1618 -- when a group was sent to the Virginia Colony -- and 1967, most of them from the late 19th century onwards.
After 1920, most of the children went to Australia through programs run by the government, religious groups and children's charities.
A 2001 Australian report said that between 6,000 and 30,000 children from Britain and Malta, often taken from unmarried mothers or impoverished families, were sent alone to Australia as migrants during the 20th century. Many of the children were told that they were orphans, though most had either been abandoned or taken from their families by the state. Siblings were commonly split up once they arrived in Australia.
Authorities believed they were acting in the children's best interests, but the migration also was intended to stop them from being a burden on the British state while supplying the receiving countries with potential workers. A 1998 British parliamentary inquiry noted that "a further motive was racist: the importation of 'good white stock' was seen as a desirable policy objective in the developing British Colonies."
British Children's Secretary Ed Balls said the child migrant policy was "a stain on our society."
"The apology is symbolically very important," he told Sky News television.
"I think it is important that we say to the children who are now adults and older people and to their offspring that this is something that we look back on in shame," he said.
"It would never happen today. But I think it is right that as a society when we look back and see things which we now know were morally wrong, that we are willing to say we're sorry."
Britain has been trying to make amends since the late 1990s by funding trips to reunite migrants with their families in Britain.
Brown's office said officials would consult with representatives of the surviving children before making a formal apology next year.
Official apologies for historical wrongs have proved controversial.
Former Australian Prime Minister John Howard initially resisted calls to apologize to institutionalized children and Australian Aborigines, arguing that contemporary Australians should not take responsibility for mistakes made by past generations.
Rudd reversed the policy after he was elected in 2007 and apologized to Aborigines for 200 years of injustice since European settlement.
At a ceremony Monday in Canberra that hundreds of former child migrants are expected to attend, Rudd will apologize for his country's role in the migration and say sorry to the 7,000 survivors of the program who still live in Australia.
He also will apologize to the Australian children -- more than 500,000, according to a 2004 Australian Senate report -- who were placed in foster homes, orphanages and other institutions during the 20th century. Many were emotionally, physically and sexually abused in state care.
 
By JILL LAWLESS
 
In Victoria, another forgotten generation in the making
 
A NATIONAL apology may one day be due to the children of today.
 
Only two weeks ago, the Prime Minister apologised to the Forgotten Australians and former child migrants for what he described as an "ugly chapter" in our nation's history. He said sorry several times, for the physical suffering, the injustices, and "the absolute tragedy of childhoods lost".
 
In a ceremony that reduced many to tears, Kevin Rudd resolved that this overdue apology should be a "turning point in our nation's story".
 
Exactly 10 days later, the Victorian ombudsman described another "ugly chapter": the disturbing and deeply ironic failures of that state's child protection system. "The cases that shame us all" was the headline across two pages of the Herald Sun. Some of the children already had their own headlines: "The little girl we failed" and "Why wasn't she saved?"
 
Some of the case studies in the report defy belief. The ombudsman described the Victorian department's failure to intervene when it was reported that two children were living with their grandfather, "a convicted sex offender". It took 18 days to refer this to front-line child protection workers, who in turn took no immediate action. The children were eventually found with the sex offender 48 days after the first referral. The ombudsman states there were several such cases, but he has not "included their details, as the facts are too disturbing".
 
The ombudsman found evidence that many other children did not receive a "timely response". Other children who were abused received no response at all, with almost a quarter of all cases unallocated. The regional variations are staggering: in Gippsland there were more unallocated than allocated cases, with almost 60 per cent having no child protection worker. Even this figure, the report states, "under represents the true number" because cases unallocated for fewer than four days are not included.
 
Even the definition of child abuse varies according to where the child lives, with one doctor reporting that in some parts of the state the response will be that "we're not considering bruising to be particularly worrying" any more. The result, the ombudsman reports, is a "system focused on case closure rather than the best interests of the children".
 
He states that "it is not defensible" that risk to a child is "based on geographic location".
 
This report takes us beyond departmental neglect and carelessness into a world where children are abused by the very system designed to protect them. A senior worker told the ombudsman that data is manipulated to make it appear that a child has been seen when all that really happened was a telephone call to the family.
 
Deep in the report, there are stories of the silencing of professionals, the death of advocacy. One member of a community service organisation described it as "a totally unaccountable system".
 
Even the responses to the death of a child were deeply flawed: "possibly" 12 children known to child protection and "believed to have been victims of homicide" were not subject to child death reviews. Some of the department's own staff reported that the reviews that took place were of "little value". Opportunities to learn from cases where children "come close to death" are also lost, according to the report.
 
The ombudsman repeatedly exposes the lack of transparency and public accountability that we identified a year ago in The Australian (November 18, 2008).
 
Child abuse, as we wrote, requires secrecy. It is ironic that child protection services also conspire to hide their failures.
 
There are many further ironies. On the same day as the ombudsman's report was made public, the Child Safety Commissioner announced that he had completed his report into the death of Hayley, who "tragically died from head injuries". Barely three pages long, the announcement makes no mention of her age, or how she died, because he was merely asked to provide a "systems report". Nevertheless, a "$77 million government funding boost" is mentioned five times.
 
Coincidentally, the next day, the minister issued eight media releases, all mentioning the increased budget, called a "$77.2 million child protection workforce plan". It is difficult to imagine a clearer demonstration of the inadequacy of the reviews of child deaths and the limited role of the commissioner. The ombudsman's report stresses that additional resources alone will never be sufficient.
 
Rudd apologised two weeks ago to adults who were traumatised and silenced as children. Careless adults had re-worked the language so that children could be placed in orphanages even though they had parents, and in homes akin to prisons, in the hands of abusive strangers. Children were lost in a system lacking transparency and accountability.
 
At the very time he apologised, it is clear there were hundreds if not thousands of children being traumatised and silenced, whose abuse and neglect did not merit the attention of child protection workers, and whose severity of bruising depended on the location of the child rather than the location of the bruises.
 
The protection of children, the Prime Minister said, is "the sacred duty of us all". Unfortunately, as the Victorian ombudsman has shown, it is a duty that governments still fail to fulfil. When they become adults, will today's children receive an apology for their childhoods lost?
 
Chris Goddard is director, Child Abuse Prevention Research Australia, at Monash University. Dr Joe Tucci is chief of the Australian Childhood Foundation
 
Chris Goddard and Joe Tucci From: The Australian  December 07, 2009
 
Dead Children: Sent Legally and Officially to Die 
Dead children: How many are battered, bruised, heartbroken and neglected to death before all who order their housing and ignore them to death are made accountable?
 
 
America offers a single avenue for abused or neglected children: the child protection agency of that child's state.  Names vary from Child Protective Services, Department of Child and Family Services, Department of Human Resources and several other titles.
 
If abuse and neglect reporters, many anonymous and also non-accountable, make an error in sharing suspicions it can be the beginning of the end for that child.
 
When a report is mistaken or malicious, the child is traumatized.  In those worst cases a child's life may be totally needlessly changed.  In those non-cases taxpayers have paid exorbitant expenses and have been defrauded.  When is anyone involved prosecuted? 
 
Too often, when a child is truly in danger, real abuse may be ignored u ntil the child is dead or brain-damaged.  Parents who cannot or should not have children at home must be monitored or children moved.  When they are not who answers when the child is killed?
 
Decades ago the child protection system was dubbed "the child abuse industry" because so many people profited.  All supposedly cared about children and put their expertise on the line: from guardians ad litem and mental health evaluators and counselors to nurses and doctors, prosecutors and the ultimate person approving and immunizing the plan and planners by ordering where a child will live and with whom.  That is the judge.
 
Constitutional safeguards?for children, parents or caretakers?are purposely lacking in most family courts as well as CPS agency process.  Yet, children are removed, adopted to strangers or returned to dangerous living arrangements and the child deaths persist.
 
How high must that pile of dead child bodies become to get the attention it has begged for decades?  If many children vanished in railroad cars instead of one or a couple of children from various places in county cars, would that make a difference?
 
Read the site suncanaa.com and weep.  In tight financial times, with more stress and poverty, children cannot afford more mistakes minus basic accountability that everyone else operates under.

Concerned professionals and media may learn more at http://www.falseallegation.org or by calling NCADRC at 419-865-0513.

  By Barbara Bryan

Communications Director
National Child Abuse Defense & Resource Center
Phone : 704-582-1059  Email : BHBryan@aol.com
 
                                                                                
Birmingham,UK -- child protection services were officially branded "not fit for purpose" in a council scrutiny report.
 
Tyndale: What DO you have to do to get sacked at Birmingham City Council?
 
SO just how bad at your job do you need to be before you get the sack at Birmingham City Council?
 
Well, pretty much anything goes. If a child in your care is killed, don't worry. These things happen.
 
The full extent of the council's bungling social services department was laid bare last week with the publication of a report that shames our city - and should, but doesn't appear to, shame its bosses.
 
An all-party scrutiny investigation led by Tory councillor Len Clark exposed a litany of failures from the top to the bottom of this organisation, riddled with a sicknote culture and a "can't do" attitude.
 
We used to accuse shoddy companies and groups of operating "Spanish practices".
 
In future, incompetent councils should be damned for using "Brummie practices" in honour of the plods, pen-pushers and skivers who have brought disrepute on child care services in this city.
 
Clark's six-month probe into the murky world of Birmingham social services revealed that "long-term malpractice" had led to "significant malfunctioning" within the service.
 
This is a polite way of saying the department was led by muppets. If you are led by muppets, and you treat people like muppets, you get a service delivered at the grassroots by muppets.
 
Here are just some of the bleak findings of the Clark inquiry:
 
More than half of the case files on 1,200 kids at risk of abuse contained "unacceptably poor practice"; social workers couldn't be bothered to turn up for case reviews; so-called professionals had little contact with the children they were suppose to be protecting from harm.
 
There was no proper plan for sorting out children's homes; a quarter of job vacancies in children's services were unfilled, and a fifth of social workers were off sick. Oh, and yes, the council spends £30 million a year hiring agency staff to cover those employees who can't be bothered to get out of bed.
 
It's hard to think of a more damning indictment of local government failure. This is despite the fact that social services has been flooded with £100 million of extra cash to get its house in order, although in fairness it's more of a pig sty than a house.
 
Then there is a further inconvenient truth - the needless death of 19 children since 2004/05.
 
On average, three children known to social workers in Birmingham die each year. Five died in 2005/06.
 
The victims have included seven year-old Toni-Ann Byfield, who was executed by a drug dealer. Social workers thought it was a good idea for little Toni-Ann to stay at a grubby ex-offenders' hostel with the man she thought was her dad.
 
He wasn't. He was a crack dealer. A rival dealer burst in and shot Toni-Ann in the back.
 
At the time of that scandal, a council chief said: "We've made really significant changes to address all the recommendations of an independent review."
 
Three children died the following year.
 
Seeing as no-one has bothered in the past, who's going to do the honourable thing and walk the plank this time?
 
Certainly not Tony Howell, the council's well-paid strategic director for children, young people and families.
 
Children's services came under his control in 2007 and he's not really to blame, you see. He's only the man in charge of this monstrous mess.
 
Neither does it seem likely that anyone else will stick up their hand and admit they got it horribly wrong.
 
Of course, one would hope slack social workers responsible for child deaths and other misdemeanours get their comeuppance, but the hope is forlorn.
 
It is inescapable that Birmingham's social services is a weeping sore and no-one can be bothered to do anything about it.
 
But now isn't the time for more dilly-dallying. How many more children do we have to see die?
 
The department was put under special measures by the Government in February and told to work to an improvement plan. This decision was fatally misguided.
 
The council was given the opportunity to draw up a 50-point recovery plan in 2007. It was hopeless and was quietly dropped.
 
Putting social services on special measures was like giving the authority a second yellow card - and allowing it to stay on the pitch.
 
The Government should intervene, and show the red now. The bunch running social services in Birmingham should be shown the door, and shown it robustly.
 
Oct 11 2009 by Richard McComb, Sunday Mercury

                                               

Torn Apart
We survived the street, but lost each other in foster care

Carried nine months by a drug-addicted mother, I was born into a house where I was only as good as her next fix. I don't know what neighborhood we lived in. I only remember the reeking smell of piss in the hallway of our project, leaks in the ceiling, cracks in the wall, no heat in the winter and no AC in the summer. My little brother and sister and I slept on the floor because we had no bed to call our own. Our fridge was as empty as a poor man's pocket. Our mother never cooked for us; we survived on the scraps of food that she left. Read more.....
 
Hoping to Be Heard
Teens need to have a say in placement

The child welfare worker was acting like it was nothing and I didn't matter. She didn't seem to care how I felt about being placed in this group home, or if I wanted to go back home. If she'd asked, I could have told her that my mother hadn't harmed me in any way, and that putting me in foster care wouldn't solve anything. Read more....

Nowhere to Call Home
Almost half of former foster youth become homeless. I'm one of them.

I've been in and out almost every youth shelter in New York City, but nothing prepared me for the adult women's shelter that I am in now, Brooklyn Women's Shelter.
The shelter rules are simple: You have to sign for your bed at 9:30 and lights out is 11:00. You can't smoke anywhere in the building and you are not allowed to bring in food after 6:30 p.m. But other than at bed check, you can do whatever you want, because the staff really don't care. Read More.......
 

We urge legislators to take a closer look at funding child protection issues and authorities to use wisdom in investigating abuse cases.

Is there someone to speak for children so that their unfinished lives do not slip silently away? 

If hundreds and hundreds of predictably and preventably dead children is not enough to inspire action, what is?  If you choose not to act, who will?  If not now, when?
Children In News Please Read.... 2009 
 
 
 
  
  

                                                          

               Haiti orphan crisis impacts one million children

"Why? That's the question so many of are you asking. Why should you give more? ... At the core of every religion is that we care for one another and that we take care of each other, especially in time of need. The Haitian people need our help.They need to know that they are not alone." -- by George Clooney

Please donate now - Stand With Haiti - SOS Children's Villages

Hope for Haiti Now:  Text "GIVE" to "50555" to give $10 (your cell phone bill will be charged) or Donate online


Red Cross: Text "HAITI" to "90999" to give $10 (your cell phone bill will be charged); donate online; or call 800-RED-CROSS
              
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