Family Forum / Parenting / Spanking / July 2007

Settlement in case of infant injured in Ore. foster home
7/8/2007, 12:08 p.m. PT
The Associated Press   

http://www.oregonlive.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/news-20/1183922644123480.xml
&storylist=orlocal
   

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Caseworkers saw the warning signs: The baby girl
lived in a home littered with dirty diapers. Her brothers both showed
signs that they were undernourished.

Yet, despite the signs, caseworkers couldn't remove the children from
their foster home until it was too late. The 3-month-old girl was shaken
so violently by her foster father that she was left with permanent brain
damage.

State officials in May settled a federal lawsuit brought on the
unidentified girl's behalf in May. Oregon taxpayers will pay $960,000 to
help cover lifelong care for the girl, now 3. It is one of the largest
settlements ever paid by the state.

"Children who go into foster care should have a fighting chance for a
good placement," said David Paul, the attorney who handled the case.
"That didn't happen here, with a terrible outcome."

According to the state Department of Human Services, more than Oregon
12,000 children faced neglect or abuse last year, a 7 percent increase
from 2005. About 100 foster children were victims last year.

Two recent reviews of the state's child welfare system have found that
officials need to focus on child safety and that caseworkers need better
training and supervision.

The reviews stemmed from the 2004 case of Jordan Knapp, a 5-year-old
found starving and unconscious in her foster home, and the case of
14-month-old Ashton Parris, who died from a cracked skull after the
state returned him to his parents.

The infant girl left with brain damage was born to a young mother who
tested positive for methamphetamine use. The baby was placed with two
young foster parents, Melissa Kavanaugh and Terence Chi Hui, who were in
their early 20s and had no children of their own.

"The only concern worthy of note at this time is that these providers
are young, inexperienced and perhaps naive about the demands of foster
parenting," state certifier Efosa C. Odighizuwa wrote in a family
assessment.

The couple first took on the two toddler boys, one 3 and one 15 months.
A few weeks later they got the baby girl. All of the children had
special needs.

In November 2003, reports from the Portland Relief Nursery said that the
girl's older brothers "eat ravenously," arrived dirty and had
"deteriorated" in foster care.

Kavanaugh told The Oregonian newspaper that nursery workers told her the
boys were thriving.

"These children were not getting the attention they deserved until they
came to me," Kavanaugh said. "I treated them as if they were my own."

But state worker Norene Owens wrote in an agency e-mail on Nov. 10,
2003: "This is a very young woman who has never parented and who is
struggling. I am sorry she has this baby now, too, although I know it's
nice to have the children together ... She is fragile, though, and I am
worried."

Six weeks later, on Dec. 22, a caseworker found the foster home strewn
with dirty diapers and empty pizza boxes. The girls was sleeping in
urine-soaked clothes. A decision was made to remove the Children after
Christmas.

On Dec. 29, Kavanaugh reported the baby had tremors and took her to
Legacy Emanuel Hospital & Health Center. Doctors determined the girl had
a skull fracture.

Hui confessed to police he had shaken the baby on two prior occasions
when she wouldn't stop crying. He also said he hit the girl in the face.

Hui pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted assault and was sentenced
to 72 months in prison.

David Kramer, senior assistant attorney general who defended the lawsuit
for the state, said workers had no idea the baby faced imminent physical
danger.

"This was a case of neglect, and that's the real significant point from
the agency's point of view," Kramer said. "For reasons unrelated to
neglect, the foster dad just lost it."

Paul, the attorney for the girl, said she now lives with foster parents
who hope to adopt her. She struggles with damage to her hearing, vision,
speech and mobility, and that she may never have a mental capacity
beyond that of a 7-year-old.

"When red flags gets ignored," Paul said, "kids get hurt."

___

Information from: The Oregonian, http://www.oregonlive.com

Settlement in case of infant injured in Ore. foster home
7/8/2007, 12:08 p.m. PT
The Associated Press       

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Caseworkers saw the warning signs: The baby girl
lived in a home littered with dirty diapers. Her brothers both showed
signs that they were undernourished.

Yet, despite the signs, caseworkers couldn't remove the children from
their foster home until it was too late. The 3-month-old girl was shaken
so violently by her foster father that she was left with permanent brain
damage.

State officials in May settled a federal lawsuit brought on the
unidentified girl's behalf in May. Oregon taxpayers will pay $960,000 to
help cover lifelong care for the girl, now 3. It is one of the largest
settlements ever paid by the state.

"Children who go into foster care should have a fighting chance for a
good placement," said David Paul, the attorney who handled the case.
"That didn't happen here, with a terrible outcome."

According to the state Department of Human Services, more than Oregon
12,000 children faced neglect or abuse last year, a 7 percent increase
from 2005. About 100 foster children were victims last year.

Two recent reviews of the state's child welfare system have found that
officials need to focus on child safety and that caseworkers need better
training and supervision.

The reviews stemmed from the 2004 case of Jordan Knapp, a 5-year-old
found starving and unconscious in her foster home, and the case of
14-month-old Ashton Parris, who died from a cracked skull after the
state returned him to his parents.

The infant girl left with brain damage was born to a young mother who
tested positive for methamphetamine use. The baby was placed with two
young foster parents, Melissa Kavanaugh and Terence Chi Hui, who were in
their early 20s and had no children of their own.

"The only concern worthy of note at this time is that these providers
are young, inexperienced and perhaps naive about the demands of foster
parenting," state certifier Efosa C. Odighizuwa wrote in a family
assessment.

The couple first took on the two toddler boys, one 3 and one 15 months.
A few weeks later they got the baby girl. All of the children had
special needs.

In November 2003, reports from the Portland Relief Nursery said that the
girl's older brothers "eat ravenously," arrived dirty and had
"deteriorated" in foster care.

Kavanaugh told The Oregonian newspaper that nursery workers told her the
boys were thriving.

"These children were not getting the attention they deserved until they
came to me," Kavanaugh said. "I treated them as if they were my own."

But state worker Norene Owens wrote in an agency e-mail on Nov. 10,
2003: "This is a very young woman who has never parented and who is
struggling. I am sorry she has this baby now, too, although I know it's
nice to have the children together ... She is fragile, though, and I am
worried."

Six weeks later, on Dec. 22, a caseworker found the foster home strewn
with dirty diapers and empty pizza boxes. The girls was sleeping in
urine-soaked clothes. A decision was made to remove the Children after
Christmas.

On Dec. 29, Kavanaugh reported the baby had tremors and took her to
Legacy Emanuel Hospital & Health Center. Doctors determined the girl had
a skull fracture.

Hui confessed to police he had shaken the baby on two prior occasions
when she wouldn't stop crying. He also said he hit the girl in the face.

Hui pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted assault and was sentenced
to 72 months in prison.

David Kramer, senior assistant attorney general who defended the lawsuit
for the state, said workers had no idea the baby faced imminent physical
danger.

"This was a case of neglect, and that's the real significant point from
the agency's point of view," Kramer said. "For reasons unrelated to
neglect, the foster dad just lost it."

Paul, the attorney for the girl, said she now lives with foster parents
who hope to adopt her. She struggles with damage to her hearing, vision,
speech and mobility, and that she may never have a mental capacity
beyond that of a 7-year-old.

"When red flags gets ignored," Paul said, "kids get hurt."

CURRENTLY CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES VIOLATES MORE CIVIL RIGHTS ON A
DAILY BASIS THEN ALL OTHER AGENCIES COMBINED INCLUDING THE NATIONAL
SECURITY AGENCY/CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY WIRETAPPING PROGRAM....

CPS Does not protect children...
It is sickening how many children are subject to abuse, neglect and even
killed at the hands of Child Protective Services.

every parent should read this .pdf from
connecticut dcf watch...

http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com/8x11.pdf

http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com

Number of Cases per 100,000 children in the US
These numbers come from The National Center on
Child Abuse and Neglect in Washington. (NCCAN)
Recent numbers have increased significantly for CPS

*Perpetrators of Maltreatment*

Physical Abuse CPS 160, Parents 59
Sexual Abuse CPS 112, Parents 13
Neglect CPS 410, Parents 241
Medical Neglect CPS 14 Parents 12
Fatalities CPS 6.4, Parents 1.5

Imagine that, 6.4 children die at the hands of the very agencies that
are supposed to protect them and only 1.5 at the hands of parents per
100,000 children. CPS perpetrates more abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse
and kills more children then parents in the United States. If the
citizens of this country hold CPS to the same standards that they hold
parents too. No judge should ever put another child in the hands of ANY
government agency because CPS nationwide is guilty of more harm and
death than any human being combined. CPS nationwide is guilty of more
human rights violations and deaths of children then the homes from which
they were removed. When are the judges going to wake up and see that
they are sending children to their death and a life of abuse when
children are removed from safe homes based on the mere opinion of a
bunch of social workers.

BE SURE TO FIND OUT WHERE YOUR CANDIDATES STANDS ON THE ISSUE OF
REFORMING OR ABOLISHING CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES ("MAKE YOUR CANDIDATES
TAKE A STAND ON THIS ISSUE.") THEN REMEMBER TO VOTE ACCORDINGLY IF THEY
ARE "FAMILY UNFRIENDLY" IN THE NEXT ELECTION...