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http://www.kentucky.com/471/story/138324.html
Posted on Tue, Jul. 31, 2007
Grand jury declines to indict social workers, chides cabinet
By DYLAN T. LOVAN
Associated Press Writer
LOUISVILLE, Ky. --State social service workers targeted by an investigation into allegations of misconduct in Hardin County were cleared of criminal wrongdoing by a grand jury on Tuesday.
The grand jury probe followed a January report by the inspector general of the state Cabinet for Health and Family Services. The report detailed allegations of misconduct, including allegations that some workers falsified records and that supervisors provided misleading information in court documents.
But the grand jury's six-page report, released on Tuesday, expressed frustration with the state cabinet for its lack of "any serious disciplinary action" against the employees. The report did not say how many workers were under investigation.
"We found it both disturbing and shocking that these few employees were able to act in such a manner toward the families involved, as well as toward the court system, without any significant disciplinary measures being taken," the report said.
The cabinet's human resource department and the state Department for Community Based Services is reviewing the inspector general's report, including "thousands of pages of case files," and will issue personnel actions by August, according to a statement Tuesday from Mark A. Washington, commissioner of community based services.
The grand jury report said state laws that grant social service workers the power to remove children from their homes don't address potential abuses of those powers.
"The system didn't work here. It didn't appear the follow-up system to the system is working real well," said Hardin County Commonwealth's Attorney Chris Shaw, whose office brought the case before the grand jury.
Shaw said many of the potential charges were misdemeanors that were too old to prosecute because of time restrictions imposed by state law. He added that there were no instances where a child was found to have been wrongly removed from a family.
Shaw said a grand jury doesn't typically file a report when no indictments are issued, but "they felt compelled to in this case."
Shaw suggested that state social service workers and their supervisors need better oversight.
"With as much power as we're putting there, to reach into a family, pull out a child - possibly permanently - do we need to have an outside agency that has the authority to step in and discipline and take ultimate sanctions if necessary?" he said.
The grand jury interviewed 142 people and reviewed more than 75 case files from Hardin County's Department for Community Based Services, the report said.
Hardin County's problems were highlighted in a January survey by Kentucky Youth Advocates that said the state's children are at risk of abuse and neglect due to an underfunded system of demoralized social workers struggling under growing caseloads. Advocates complained that in Hardin County, children removed from their homes were being too hastily adopted instead of trying to reconcile families.
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http://www.kentucky.com/211/story/138635.html
Posted on Wed, Aug. 01, 2007
Social work oversight criticized
No Hardin indictments, but Cabinet is blasted
By Valarie Honeycutt Spears
[email protected]
A grand jury yesterday blasted the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services for not disciplining state social workers based in Hardin County for "serious acts of misconduct" against families whose children they removed.
But after a two-month investigation, the grand jury said it found "no prosecutable crimes" in the case, and it did not issue any indictments. One reason, the report said, is that 12 months has already passed, barring prosecution of "any potential misdemeanor offenses."
The social workers' alleged actions occurred between 2003 and March 2006.
The grand jury investigation followed a report released in January by the Inspector General of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services that said workers falsified records, lied in court and mocked parents.
In its report, the grand jury said it was concerned by "the lack of any significant response on the part of the Cabinet hierarchy in the form of any serious disciplinary action, revealing deeper problems on all levels of operation" of the cabinet.
"We found it both disturbing and shocking that these few employees were able to act in such a manner toward the families involved, as well as toward the court system, without any significant measures being taken," the report said. "... The Cabinet seems unable or unwilling to sanction severely in situations when such action is clearly necessary."
The report said that a new and separate state agency might need to be created to remove social workers whose actions are "undesirable."
Cabinet officials said they would take action regarding the social workers in August.
Mark A. Washington, commissioner of the Department for Community Based Services, testified before the grand jury, the report said.
Yesterday, Washington said the results of the Office of Inspector General's investigation, issued in January, did not include case numbers or the names of staff members involved.
"Since receiving the individual case files from the OIG in April, the Department for Community Based Services and the Cabinet's Office of Human Resource Management have conducted an extensive review of the thousands of pages of case files, as required by merit system laws in order for disciplinary action to be taken," Washington said.
One problem, the grand jury report said, is Kentucky doesn't have strong enough criminal laws for social workers who abuse their power. The report called on the General Assembly to make such misbehavior a felony.
The inspector general's report dealt with alleged misconduct pertaining to child removal, termination of parental rights, and state adoption proceedings.
The grand jury praised the two Louisville-based child advocacy groups that first revealed problems with inappropriate child removals and inappropriate state adoptions in January 2006: Kentucky Youth Advocates and the National Institute on Children, Youth and Families, Inc.
"The message goes out loud and clear that you can abuse families and get a pass from grand juries because of the time limitations," said David Richart, executive director of the National Institute.
KYA's executive director, Terry Brooks, said he was surprised and disappointed no indictments were returned since the grand jury said it found evidence of serious employee misconduct.
With no indictments, Brooks said, "How do we ensure that a rogue social worker can't do harm to families and children?"
Brooks said if the grand jury's admonishment of the cabinet drives reform by the General Assembly, then the report will have had some success. If not, and "if maverick social workers get off, then it's a tragedy," he said.
Meanwhile, the report said proper supervision and timely discipline of offending employees could fix the problems the grand jury found.
The grand jury report said there are good Cabinet social workers in Hardin County and across the state: "It is unfortunate that they have been tainted in the eyes of the public by these few bad apples."
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Kentucky System
Moderators: family_man, LindaJM
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http://www.kentucky.com/news/state/story/157136.html
Posted on Thu, Aug. 23, 2007
State social workers put on leave
Inquiry found mocking of parents, lies in court
By Valarie Honeycutt Spears
[email protected]
FRANKFORT --Five state social workers based in Hardin County have been put on paid leave for 60 days, and seven workers in all have been put on notice that they face major disciplinary action, officials said yesterday.
The actions result from an investigation by the inspector general for the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, which found that Hardin-based social workers lied in court, altered documents and mocked parents as they removed children from families.
The investigation began after two Louisville-based child advocacy groups revealed problems with inappropriate child removals and inappropriate state adoptions.
A Hardin grand jury declined to indict the social workers earlier this month, but criticized the cabinet for letting the workers involved in the problems stay on the job.
Cabinet spokeswoman Vikki Franklin would not name the seven workers, saying that the disciplinary action was a personnel matter. She would not say why two were allowed to stay on the job or whether any of the workers was a supervisor.
Franklin said the final disciplinary measures could range from suspension to termination or no action at all if the workers are not found guilty of wrongdoing.
The cabinet hopes to finalize its part of the state personnel action against the workers by the end of August, Franklin said. The matter will ultimately go to the state Human Resources Cabinet. The workers can appeal an adverse decision.
David Richart, executive director of the Louisville-based National Institute on Children, Youth and Families, said the action represents the smallest of steps.
"It's a long way away from somebody actually being held accountable," Richart said.
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http://www.kentucky.com/news/state/story/157136.html
Posted on Thu, Aug. 23, 2007
State social workers put on leave
Inquiry found mocking of parents, lies in court
By Valarie Honeycutt Spears
[email protected]
FRANKFORT --Five state social workers based in Hardin County have been put on paid leave for 60 days, and seven workers in all have been put on notice that they face major disciplinary action, officials said yesterday.
The actions result from an investigation by the inspector general for the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, which found that Hardin-based social workers lied in court, altered documents and mocked parents as they removed children from families.
The investigation began after two Louisville-based child advocacy groups revealed problems with inappropriate child removals and inappropriate state adoptions.
A Hardin grand jury declined to indict the social workers earlier this month, but criticized the cabinet for letting the workers involved in the problems stay on the job.
Cabinet spokeswoman Vikki Franklin would not name the seven workers, saying that the disciplinary action was a personnel matter. She would not say why two were allowed to stay on the job or whether any of the workers was a supervisor.
Franklin said the final disciplinary measures could range from suspension to termination or no action at all if the workers are not found guilty of wrongdoing.
The cabinet hopes to finalize its part of the state personnel action against the workers by the end of August, Franklin said. The matter will ultimately go to the state Human Resources Cabinet. The workers can appeal an adverse decision.
David Richart, executive director of the Louisville-based National Institute on Children, Youth and Families, said the action represents the smallest of steps.
"It's a long way away from somebody actually being held accountable," Richart said.
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http://www.kentucky.com/news/state/story/157137.html
Posted on Thu, Aug. 23, 2007
Child removal procedures are examined
By Valarie Honeycutt Spears
[email protected]
FRANKFORT --Proposals that would make court proceedings on state foster care adoptions, termination of parental rights and child removals open to the public could be introduced in the 2009 legislative session.
Members of a panel studying the state's removal of children from their biological families said yesterday that for the 2008 session, which begins in January, they might recommend legislation that pays more money to attorneys appointed to represent indigent parents in danger of losing their children, Cabinet Secretary Mark D. Birdwhistell said.
The panel might also push for bills that would allow indigent parents to get attorneys appointed earlier in the court process. The panel would also recommend, as it did in 2007, that parents get more information about the process that could take away their children forever.
Birdwhistell created the panel of professionals and officials who deal with custody issues in 2006 in an attempt to bring about changes in the way Kentucky removes children from their biological families. None of the group's major recommendations to the 2007 General Assembly became law.
The panel is trying again. But David Richart, executive director of the Louisville-based National Institute on Children, Youth and Families, and others said there was not enough time between now and and the 2008 session to craft laws that could open records and courtrooms.
Patrick Yewell, an official with the state Administrative Office of the Courts, said his agency will spend the coming year trying to improve how Kentucky courts deal with children. That effort will begin with next week's Kentucky Summit on Children in Louisville and continue until April with nine forums across the state.
Birdwhistell also said that, until the next legislature convenes, the cabinet is stepping up its commitment to keeping children with relatives on both sides of a child's family.
In the next six months, Birdwhistell said, the cabinet will work to make sure that judges, who approve custody decisions, know that social workers are under a directive to look first to appropriate relatives before placing a child in a foster home.
For years, the cabinet has been spending more money on putting children in foster homes and institutions than on keeping them with their families. Birdwhistell said cabinet officials are working to reverse that.
"I feel good that we are making progress," he said.
The cabinet will also invite judges and lawyers who represent parents to sit in on the training that social workers get. The goal, Birdwhistell said, is for everyone involved in a court proceeding dealing with a child to understand the policies dictating a social worker's decisions.
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http://www.kentucky.com/news/state/story/157137.html
Posted on Thu, Aug. 23, 2007
Child removal procedures are examined
By Valarie Honeycutt Spears
[email protected]
FRANKFORT --Proposals that would make court proceedings on state foster care adoptions, termination of parental rights and child removals open to the public could be introduced in the 2009 legislative session.
Members of a panel studying the state's removal of children from their biological families said yesterday that for the 2008 session, which begins in January, they might recommend legislation that pays more money to attorneys appointed to represent indigent parents in danger of losing their children, Cabinet Secretary Mark D. Birdwhistell said.
The panel might also push for bills that would allow indigent parents to get attorneys appointed earlier in the court process. The panel would also recommend, as it did in 2007, that parents get more information about the process that could take away their children forever.
Birdwhistell created the panel of professionals and officials who deal with custody issues in 2006 in an attempt to bring about changes in the way Kentucky removes children from their biological families. None of the group's major recommendations to the 2007 General Assembly became law.
The panel is trying again. But David Richart, executive director of the Louisville-based National Institute on Children, Youth and Families, and others said there was not enough time between now and and the 2008 session to craft laws that could open records and courtrooms.
Patrick Yewell, an official with the state Administrative Office of the Courts, said his agency will spend the coming year trying to improve how Kentucky courts deal with children. That effort will begin with next week's Kentucky Summit on Children in Louisville and continue until April with nine forums across the state.
Birdwhistell also said that, until the next legislature convenes, the cabinet is stepping up its commitment to keeping children with relatives on both sides of a child's family.
In the next six months, Birdwhistell said, the cabinet will work to make sure that judges, who approve custody decisions, know that social workers are under a directive to look first to appropriate relatives before placing a child in a foster home.
For years, the cabinet has been spending more money on putting children in foster homes and institutions than on keeping them with their families. Birdwhistell said cabinet officials are working to reverse that.
"I feel good that we are making progress," he said.
The cabinet will also invite judges and lawyers who represent parents to sit in on the training that social workers get. The goal, Birdwhistell said, is for everyone involved in a court proceeding dealing with a child to understand the policies dictating a social worker's decisions.
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http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbc ... 1/70907032
Friday, September 7, 2007
UPDATED: 1:37 PM
State plans to fire six social workers
By Deborah Yetter
[email protected]
The Courier-Journal
State officials plan to fire six social service workers in the Hardin County region over allegations of misconduct in child welfare cases.
A seventh worker retired rather than be subject to termination proceedings, officials said.
The Cabinet for Health and Family Services did not identify the workers, because under the state merit system, each employee may contest the action through a “pre-termination” proceeding before it becomes final.
The planned firings, announced today, follow an investigation by the cabinet’s inspector general that found widespread abuse in the Hardin County region among some workers conducting child abuse and neglect investigations. Some workers falsified records, lied in court and mistreated parents and children they investigated, it said.
A Hardin County grand jury investigated possible criminal wrongdoing by some workers but reported in July that too much time had elapsed to charge anyone with what would have amounted to misdemeanors.
Mark Washington, the cabinet’s commissioner for social services, said yesterday the agency has made major changes aimed at preventing such problems it believes are isolated.
“The vast majority of our workers are extremely dedicated to doing what’s right for Kentucky’s children and families,” Washington said. “I strongly believe that the actions of a few do not reflect the work of our staff as a whole.”
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http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbc ... 1/70907032
Friday, September 7, 2007
UPDATED: 1:37 PM
State plans to fire six social workers
By Deborah Yetter
[email protected]
The Courier-Journal
State officials plan to fire six social service workers in the Hardin County region over allegations of misconduct in child welfare cases.
A seventh worker retired rather than be subject to termination proceedings, officials said.
The Cabinet for Health and Family Services did not identify the workers, because under the state merit system, each employee may contest the action through a “pre-termination” proceeding before it becomes final.
The planned firings, announced today, follow an investigation by the cabinet’s inspector general that found widespread abuse in the Hardin County region among some workers conducting child abuse and neglect investigations. Some workers falsified records, lied in court and mistreated parents and children they investigated, it said.
A Hardin County grand jury investigated possible criminal wrongdoing by some workers but reported in July that too much time had elapsed to charge anyone with what would have amounted to misdemeanors.
Mark Washington, the cabinet’s commissioner for social services, said yesterday the agency has made major changes aimed at preventing such problems it believes are isolated.
“The vast majority of our workers are extremely dedicated to doing what’s right for Kentucky’s children and families,” Washington said. “I strongly believe that the actions of a few do not reflect the work of our staff as a whole.”
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http://www.wlky.com/news/14576385/detai ... u&psp=news
Target 32 Investigates: Child Protective Services
POSTED: 5:33 pm EST November 12, 2007
UPDATED: 7:02 pm EST November 12, 2007
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The Chief Supreme Court Justice of Kentucky is surveying judges across the state to see if he should suggest opening up child protection courts.
Kentucky is one of 21 states that still close child protection proceedings. But there is a growing movement to open them after the Inspector General of Kentucky documented widespread abuses within the child protection system.
After three years of controversy, problems linger. A Target 32 investigation found that social workers are troubled by what they call suspicious conduct by their colleagues already under fire in the Inspector General’s report.
Linda Roberts, a single mother who had her four children taken away after her ex-husband sexually assaulted one of them, turned over a tape of her child custody proceeding.
“All of a sudden she called in and said ‘remove those kids,’” Roberts said. “It was a very heart-wrenching thing to do after I’d worked so hard to get them back, then for no good reason to take them away again. It was very difficult.”
The next time her children were taken, she didn’t get a hearing to defend herself within 72 hours, as required by law.
“They were just in shock to come home and pick up a few things and go away,” Roberts said.
Now she’s in family court defending herself from an allegation that she spanked her daughter with a belt.
The school system never saw any marks on the children, so the CPS social worker ruled the physical abuse allegation unsubstantiated. Then, Roberts was also accused of neglect due to allegations that she left the children alone.
The Louisville CPS workers also determined the neglect allegation was unsubstantiated, in large part due to a note from a supervisor giving the single working mom permission to leave the children with their 16-year-old sibling for short periods of time, in emergencies, which she did.
The Louisville-based social workers took Roberts’ side, as a success story.
“Ms. Roberts appears to me to go above and beyond with her kids because she puts them in child enrichment programs and takes them to school, she picks them up after school,” a CPS social worker said. “We have letters from supervisors, directors, neighbors, co-workers, all stating that whenever they see Ms. Roberts, they see her kids. Neighbors say they never see kids home alone.”
But judge Shan Embry ruled differently because of a previous court order reading “The children may only be left with their older adult siblings when not in the care of their mother.” Roberts was found in contempt because, according to the court, “younger siblings were left with the 16-year-old on four to five occasions.”
The judge also found that the children “were all physically disciplined by Linda Roberts with a belt and switch on numerous occasions.”
And the final reason cited by the judge for taking Roberts’ children: “Leaving three of her children alone in the Lizard Bay pool at Disney World for at least 30 minutes” while she was looking for another child who got lost.
“They go by what they want to do regardless of the law,” Roberts said.
While that ruling outraged Roberts, something else that happened in the case was disturbing, even to social workers. A supervisor in the Louisville office detailed what she called suspicious conduct in the Meade County CPS office where the case against Roberts originated.
“The case file was not there and we don’t know where the case file went,” the supervisor said. “Once we started requesting the records, the phone calls stopped. We didn’t get any phone calls back.”
The case file that contained records supporting Linda Roberts disappeared, while the information against her was forwarded to Louisville when the case transferred.
Then, Louisville investigators learned the “Meade County investigator who executed the initial affidavit alleging contempt is the best friend of the temporary custodian’s mother-in-law.”
“They can pull strings and do things and files can disappear, reports can be made and children can be snatched out of a home without even a hearing,” Roberts said. “In many ways they make their own decisions, not based on legal grounds, and nobody's doing anything about it."
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http://www.wlky.com/news/14576385/detai ... u&psp=news
Target 32 Investigates: Child Protective Services
POSTED: 5:33 pm EST November 12, 2007
UPDATED: 7:02 pm EST November 12, 2007
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The Chief Supreme Court Justice of Kentucky is surveying judges across the state to see if he should suggest opening up child protection courts.
Kentucky is one of 21 states that still close child protection proceedings. But there is a growing movement to open them after the Inspector General of Kentucky documented widespread abuses within the child protection system.
After three years of controversy, problems linger. A Target 32 investigation found that social workers are troubled by what they call suspicious conduct by their colleagues already under fire in the Inspector General’s report.
Linda Roberts, a single mother who had her four children taken away after her ex-husband sexually assaulted one of them, turned over a tape of her child custody proceeding.
“All of a sudden she called in and said ‘remove those kids,’” Roberts said. “It was a very heart-wrenching thing to do after I’d worked so hard to get them back, then for no good reason to take them away again. It was very difficult.”
The next time her children were taken, she didn’t get a hearing to defend herself within 72 hours, as required by law.
“They were just in shock to come home and pick up a few things and go away,” Roberts said.
Now she’s in family court defending herself from an allegation that she spanked her daughter with a belt.
The school system never saw any marks on the children, so the CPS social worker ruled the physical abuse allegation unsubstantiated. Then, Roberts was also accused of neglect due to allegations that she left the children alone.
The Louisville CPS workers also determined the neglect allegation was unsubstantiated, in large part due to a note from a supervisor giving the single working mom permission to leave the children with their 16-year-old sibling for short periods of time, in emergencies, which she did.
The Louisville-based social workers took Roberts’ side, as a success story.
“Ms. Roberts appears to me to go above and beyond with her kids because she puts them in child enrichment programs and takes them to school, she picks them up after school,” a CPS social worker said. “We have letters from supervisors, directors, neighbors, co-workers, all stating that whenever they see Ms. Roberts, they see her kids. Neighbors say they never see kids home alone.”
But judge Shan Embry ruled differently because of a previous court order reading “The children may only be left with their older adult siblings when not in the care of their mother.” Roberts was found in contempt because, according to the court, “younger siblings were left with the 16-year-old on four to five occasions.”
The judge also found that the children “were all physically disciplined by Linda Roberts with a belt and switch on numerous occasions.”
And the final reason cited by the judge for taking Roberts’ children: “Leaving three of her children alone in the Lizard Bay pool at Disney World for at least 30 minutes” while she was looking for another child who got lost.
“They go by what they want to do regardless of the law,” Roberts said.
While that ruling outraged Roberts, something else that happened in the case was disturbing, even to social workers. A supervisor in the Louisville office detailed what she called suspicious conduct in the Meade County CPS office where the case against Roberts originated.
“The case file was not there and we don’t know where the case file went,” the supervisor said. “Once we started requesting the records, the phone calls stopped. We didn’t get any phone calls back.”
The case file that contained records supporting Linda Roberts disappeared, while the information against her was forwarded to Louisville when the case transferred.
Then, Louisville investigators learned the “Meade County investigator who executed the initial affidavit alleging contempt is the best friend of the temporary custodian’s mother-in-law.”
“They can pull strings and do things and files can disappear, reports can be made and children can be snatched out of a home without even a hearing,” Roberts said. “In many ways they make their own decisions, not based on legal grounds, and nobody's doing anything about it."
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http://www.kentucky.com/news/state/story/236970.html
Posted on Wed, Nov. 21, 2007
reprint or license print email Digg it del.icio.us AIM Firing of 6 by state is reversed
Social workers faced conduct charges
By Valarie Honeycutt Spears
[email protected]
Citing a lack of evidence, the state has reversed a preliminary decision to fire six Hardin County-based social workers who were accused of falsifying records and inappropriate conduct as they removed children from their parents.
The reversal, announced yesterday by the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, came even though a Hardin grand jury admonished the cabinet in July for allowing the workers to remain on the job.
A cabinet inspector general's report in January said social workers lied to judges and falsified documents. One state social worker struck and cursed a biological parent during a visit with a child, the report alleged.
Yesterday's announcement did not sit well with advocates for children.
"If I'm a resident of Hardin County I have as many fears and questions as I did" in the past, said Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates. "Are there safeguards in place? Or can a rogue social worker do in a family or an individual child?"
In September, the cabinet announced its intention to fire the six workers, who had been placed on paid leave in August. A seventh worker who faced disciplinary action decided to retire. Cabinet officials cited poor work performance, inappropriate conduct and falsification of records as reasons for the firings.
But more recently, cabinet lawyers and personnel officials reviewed the rebuttals that employees presented at pre-termination hearings and "found insufficient evidence to fire the workers," the cabinet said in a statement.
The remaining six employees have been demoted, transferred or retired.
"None of the employees serves in the same role in DCBS (Department of Community Based Services) as they did previously. Four other implicated employees previously resigned or retired," the cabinet statement said.
Cabinet officials said the inspector general's report exposed many critical management problems that have been addressed "through direct changes in structure, management and oversight in the Hardin County office, as well as fundamental changes throughout the system."
Specifically, the cabinet has hired an independent contractor to conduct intensive case reviews in Hardin County.
The cabinet is also establishing a court liaison in Hardin to improve communication between the courts and the cabinet. The liaison will be a facilitator between the worker and the family.
David Richart, executive director of the National Institute on Children, Youth & Families Inc., co-authored a report with Kentucky Youth Advocates in January 2006 that initially focused on problems with Hardin County social workers.
He says the changes are not enough.
"What does it take for a state employee to be disciplined?" Richart said.
"I'm just befuddled by the state's inaction. This sends a terrible message to social workers throughout the state and it discredits
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http://www.kentucky.com/news/state/story/236970.html
Posted on Wed, Nov. 21, 2007
reprint or license print email Digg it del.icio.us AIM Firing of 6 by state is reversed
Social workers faced conduct charges
By Valarie Honeycutt Spears
[email protected]
Citing a lack of evidence, the state has reversed a preliminary decision to fire six Hardin County-based social workers who were accused of falsifying records and inappropriate conduct as they removed children from their parents.
The reversal, announced yesterday by the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, came even though a Hardin grand jury admonished the cabinet in July for allowing the workers to remain on the job.
A cabinet inspector general's report in January said social workers lied to judges and falsified documents. One state social worker struck and cursed a biological parent during a visit with a child, the report alleged.
Yesterday's announcement did not sit well with advocates for children.
"If I'm a resident of Hardin County I have as many fears and questions as I did" in the past, said Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates. "Are there safeguards in place? Or can a rogue social worker do in a family or an individual child?"
In September, the cabinet announced its intention to fire the six workers, who had been placed on paid leave in August. A seventh worker who faced disciplinary action decided to retire. Cabinet officials cited poor work performance, inappropriate conduct and falsification of records as reasons for the firings.
But more recently, cabinet lawyers and personnel officials reviewed the rebuttals that employees presented at pre-termination hearings and "found insufficient evidence to fire the workers," the cabinet said in a statement.
The remaining six employees have been demoted, transferred or retired.
"None of the employees serves in the same role in DCBS (Department of Community Based Services) as they did previously. Four other implicated employees previously resigned or retired," the cabinet statement said.
Cabinet officials said the inspector general's report exposed many critical management problems that have been addressed "through direct changes in structure, management and oversight in the Hardin County office, as well as fundamental changes throughout the system."
Specifically, the cabinet has hired an independent contractor to conduct intensive case reviews in Hardin County.
The cabinet is also establishing a court liaison in Hardin to improve communication between the courts and the cabinet. The liaison will be a facilitator between the worker and the family.
David Richart, executive director of the National Institute on Children, Youth & Families Inc., co-authored a report with Kentucky Youth Advocates in January 2006 that initially focused on problems with Hardin County social workers.
He says the changes are not enough.
"What does it take for a state employee to be disciplined?" Richart said.
"I'm just befuddled by the state's inaction. This sends a terrible message to social workers throughout the state and it discredits
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http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbc ... /712080460
Saturday, December 8, 2007 E-mail this | Print page
Child-welfare workers erred, Daniels says
'Tragic mistake' preceded death
By Rick Callahan
Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS -- Gov. Mitch Daniels said yesterday that state child welfare workers clearly made the wrong call in the case of a 3-year-old girl who was beaten to death while under state supervision, declaring it a "tragic error in judgment."
Daniels defended the Indiana Department of Child Services and said it had improved in the past few years, including cutting caseloads in half.
But the governor told reporters he was troubled by the death of TaJanay Bailey, who was allegedly killed by her mother and her mother's live-in boyfriend. He said that when he heard of the circumstances of her death, it "broke my heart."
"The system is dramatically better, provably better, recognized nationally now as better, but it still made a tragic mistake here," Daniels said. "Human judgment will always enter in, and I guess we will always have to accept that occasionally mistakes like this will be made."
Prosecutors said TaJanay, who was returned from foster care to her mother's care on Oct. 31 despite evidence of earlier abuse, died Nov. 27 after being repeatedly beaten by her mother and her boyfriend for wetting her pants and soiling herself.
Charity Bailey and her boyfriend, Lawrence Green, 20, both face murder and neglect charges.
Some 1,500 pages of court documents released Thursday by the department revealed numerous worrisome signs that TaJanay had been placed in a potentially dangerous household, including evidence of domestic abuse and drug use.
Those documents show that caseworkers were worried that Bailey was uneducated, had no job and lacked the parenting skills needed to care for her daughter and her son, 6-month-old Lawrence Green Jr.
Included in the documents are e-mail exchanges between state workers assigned to the girl's case showing they had asked a department supervisor, without success, to ask a judge to order TaJanay removed from her mother's home.
E-mail correspondence also show a court hearing on the child's status was scheduled for Nov. 27, at which a counselor and child advocate planned to ask a judge to remove her from the home.
That hearing never took place, however, because TaJanay had died hours before after being found injured and unconscious in her mother's apartment.
An e-mail sent Nov. 19 by a department worker stated that both Bailey and Green were no longer working and that Bailey had no tickets to use Indianapolis' bus system.
"It speaks to their inability to provide for their most basic needs," stated that e-mail, which concludes, "My recommendation is for the removal of the children as soon as possible."
Months before, on May 15, another department document declared that "Mom makes decisions that are not in the best interest and safety of her children."
Daniels said yesterday the records show that state workers had made eight visits to the household within the last three weeks of TaJanay's life.
"Eight visits in 21 days still did not eliminate the possibility that after a lot of discussions someone made a tragic error in judgment, and whoever made that error is probably the most heartbroken person around right now," he said.
The governor said he still had faith in Child Services Director James Payne, a former Marion County juvenile court judge.
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http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbc ... /712080460
Saturday, December 8, 2007 E-mail this | Print page
Child-welfare workers erred, Daniels says
'Tragic mistake' preceded death
By Rick Callahan
Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS -- Gov. Mitch Daniels said yesterday that state child welfare workers clearly made the wrong call in the case of a 3-year-old girl who was beaten to death while under state supervision, declaring it a "tragic error in judgment."
Daniels defended the Indiana Department of Child Services and said it had improved in the past few years, including cutting caseloads in half.
But the governor told reporters he was troubled by the death of TaJanay Bailey, who was allegedly killed by her mother and her mother's live-in boyfriend. He said that when he heard of the circumstances of her death, it "broke my heart."
"The system is dramatically better, provably better, recognized nationally now as better, but it still made a tragic mistake here," Daniels said. "Human judgment will always enter in, and I guess we will always have to accept that occasionally mistakes like this will be made."
Prosecutors said TaJanay, who was returned from foster care to her mother's care on Oct. 31 despite evidence of earlier abuse, died Nov. 27 after being repeatedly beaten by her mother and her boyfriend for wetting her pants and soiling herself.
Charity Bailey and her boyfriend, Lawrence Green, 20, both face murder and neglect charges.
Some 1,500 pages of court documents released Thursday by the department revealed numerous worrisome signs that TaJanay had been placed in a potentially dangerous household, including evidence of domestic abuse and drug use.
Those documents show that caseworkers were worried that Bailey was uneducated, had no job and lacked the parenting skills needed to care for her daughter and her son, 6-month-old Lawrence Green Jr.
Included in the documents are e-mail exchanges between state workers assigned to the girl's case showing they had asked a department supervisor, without success, to ask a judge to order TaJanay removed from her mother's home.
E-mail correspondence also show a court hearing on the child's status was scheduled for Nov. 27, at which a counselor and child advocate planned to ask a judge to remove her from the home.
That hearing never took place, however, because TaJanay had died hours before after being found injured and unconscious in her mother's apartment.
An e-mail sent Nov. 19 by a department worker stated that both Bailey and Green were no longer working and that Bailey had no tickets to use Indianapolis' bus system.
"It speaks to their inability to provide for their most basic needs," stated that e-mail, which concludes, "My recommendation is for the removal of the children as soon as possible."
Months before, on May 15, another department document declared that "Mom makes decisions that are not in the best interest and safety of her children."
Daniels said yesterday the records show that state workers had made eight visits to the household within the last three weeks of TaJanay's life.
"Eight visits in 21 days still did not eliminate the possibility that after a lot of discussions someone made a tragic error in judgment, and whoever made that error is probably the most heartbroken person around right now," he said.
The governor said he still had faith in Child Services Director James Payne, a former Marion County juvenile court judge.
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http://www.wlky.com/news/14886429/detai ... u&psp=news
Louisville Lawmaker Wants CPS Changes
POSTED: 11:44 pm EST December 18, 2007
UPDATED: 8:09 am EST December 19, 2007
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- A state lawmaker from Louisville is proposing changes to the state's Child Protective Services System.
Rep. Darryl Owens said he and his colleagues have heard complaints from parents about children being improperly removed from their homes. A state commission recently concluded parents weren't getting a fair shake in the courts when it came to fighting for their kids.
Owens said he wants to level the playing field by requiring attorneys to represent the parent and the child at termination hearings. He also wants training for lawyers and judges in family court cases and more pay for publicly appointed attorneys working the cases.
"There are some instances in which the removal does not appear to be warranted and the fact they go in court and there's nobody there to advocate on behalf of the child or parent works to their detriment," said Owens.
Owens pre-filed the bill in Frankfort for discussion in January.
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http://www.wlky.com/news/14886429/detai ... u&psp=news
Louisville Lawmaker Wants CPS Changes
POSTED: 11:44 pm EST December 18, 2007
UPDATED: 8:09 am EST December 19, 2007
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- A state lawmaker from Louisville is proposing changes to the state's Child Protective Services System.
Rep. Darryl Owens said he and his colleagues have heard complaints from parents about children being improperly removed from their homes. A state commission recently concluded parents weren't getting a fair shake in the courts when it came to fighting for their kids.
Owens said he wants to level the playing field by requiring attorneys to represent the parent and the child at termination hearings. He also wants training for lawyers and judges in family court cases and more pay for publicly appointed attorneys working the cases.
"There are some instances in which the removal does not appear to be warranted and the fact they go in court and there's nobody there to advocate on behalf of the child or parent works to their detriment," said Owens.
Owens pre-filed the bill in Frankfort for discussion in January.
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http://www.kentucky.com/471/story/264345.html
Posted on Thu, Dec. 20, 2007
Report: Central Ky. social workers have most valid complaints
The Associated Press
http://www.kentucky.com
FRANKFORT, Ky. --More than 160 valid complaints have been made against Kentucky's social workers over the past six months, and the Lexington area has the worst record, a state report says.
The report, released by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services' ombudsman, revealed that 60 legitimate complaints involving child placements were made against the Lexington-based Southern Bluegrass regional office. The office oversees social workers in Fayette, Jessamine, Clark, Powell, Estill, Madison, Garrard, Lincoln, Boyle and Mercer counties.
Lexington has been identified as a "hot spot" of complaints against social workers, said David Richart, executive director of the National Institute on Children, Youth and Families in Louisville.
When asked whether Gov. Steve Beshear's new administration would address the issue, press secretary Vicki Glass said a new secretary for the cabinet would be named "in the very near future. She said that person "will be reviewing the situation."
A law passed earlier this year mandates the tracking and reporting of such complaints against social workers. The law was prompted by allegations that Kentucky's social workers were improperly removing children in some cases.
The complaints are from families and cabinet employees who claim fellow social workers have violated state policy in their decisions about child placement. The report, however, didn't offer specifics about the complaints.
Between October 2006 and October 2007, 3,421 complaint were made across the state. The Cabinet found 221 to be valid.
"It's a signal of a system's failure," said Terry Brooks, executive director of the Louisville-based Kentucky Youth Advocates. "The individual cases are troubling. But when that kind of a volume jump is out there, there are system issues that go beyond individuals."
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http://www.kentucky.com/471/story/264345.html
Posted on Thu, Dec. 20, 2007
Report: Central Ky. social workers have most valid complaints
The Associated Press
http://www.kentucky.com
FRANKFORT, Ky. --More than 160 valid complaints have been made against Kentucky's social workers over the past six months, and the Lexington area has the worst record, a state report says.
The report, released by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services' ombudsman, revealed that 60 legitimate complaints involving child placements were made against the Lexington-based Southern Bluegrass regional office. The office oversees social workers in Fayette, Jessamine, Clark, Powell, Estill, Madison, Garrard, Lincoln, Boyle and Mercer counties.
Lexington has been identified as a "hot spot" of complaints against social workers, said David Richart, executive director of the National Institute on Children, Youth and Families in Louisville.
When asked whether Gov. Steve Beshear's new administration would address the issue, press secretary Vicki Glass said a new secretary for the cabinet would be named "in the very near future. She said that person "will be reviewing the situation."
A law passed earlier this year mandates the tracking and reporting of such complaints against social workers. The law was prompted by allegations that Kentucky's social workers were improperly removing children in some cases.
The complaints are from families and cabinet employees who claim fellow social workers have violated state policy in their decisions about child placement. The report, however, didn't offer specifics about the complaints.
Between October 2006 and October 2007, 3,421 complaint were made across the state. The Cabinet found 221 to be valid.
"It's a signal of a system's failure," said Terry Brooks, executive director of the Louisville-based Kentucky Youth Advocates. "The individual cases are troubling. But when that kind of a volume jump is out there, there are system issues that go beyond individuals."
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http://www.kentucky.com/471/story/262168.html
Posted on Tue, Dec. 18, 2007
Bill would safeguard parental rights
The Associated Press
http://www.kentucky.com
LEXINGTON, Ky. --A Kentucky task force studying how children can be removed from their families has crafted a bill that would reform the process.
State Rep. Darryl Owens of Louisville is introducing the measure. It would further protect parents' rights in cases where social workers sought to remove children from a home. It would also address termination of parental rights and adoption of children who have been in foster care.
States are working through what children's advocates say are problems caused by the federal Adoption and Safe Families Act. It expedites the removal of children and gives states incentive money to facilitate adoptions.
A similar, though weaker, state proposal failed to become law last legislative session.
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http://www.kentucky.com/471/story/262168.html
Posted on Tue, Dec. 18, 2007
Bill would safeguard parental rights
The Associated Press
http://www.kentucky.com
LEXINGTON, Ky. --A Kentucky task force studying how children can be removed from their families has crafted a bill that would reform the process.
State Rep. Darryl Owens of Louisville is introducing the measure. It would further protect parents' rights in cases where social workers sought to remove children from a home. It would also address termination of parental rights and adoption of children who have been in foster care.
States are working through what children's advocates say are problems caused by the federal Adoption and Safe Families Act. It expedites the removal of children and gives states incentive money to facilitate adoptions.
A similar, though weaker, state proposal failed to become law last legislative session.
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