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Marina
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Postby Marina » Fri Aug 07, 2009 9:41 am

http://blog.al.com/live/2009/07/report_ ... onecu.html

Report finds fault with Conecuh County DHR foster care
Posted by Connie Baggett, Press-Register July 31, 2009 4:57 AM


EVERGREEN, Ala. -- A state probe of the Conecuh County Department of Human Resources shows it investigated abuse allegations by telephone, didn't enforce a state ban on corporal punishment by foster parents, and failed to make efforts to place foster children with family members, among other problems, according to a report released Thursday.


The investigation followed the May arrest of foster parents Joyce Ann Savage Sims, 41, and Lonnell Sims, 51. Both were charged with attempted murder after a 2-year-old foster child in their care suffered severe brain injuries that doctors said could not have been accidental.
Both remain in the Conecuh County Jail, and a grand jury this week indicted them on lesser charges of aggravated child abuse and willful maltreatment.


Calls for comment to the local department were not returned Thursday. Alabama Department of Human Resources spokesman Barry Spear said the report "stands for itself," and the agency would have no additional comment.

Conecuh County District Attorney Tommy Chapman has called it "the most horrific case of abuse" he's ever prosecuted, and called for a state investigation of the local agency. The report arrived on his desk last week, he said.

"It shows DHR has been a shoddy operation here," Chapman said Thursday. "There have been numerous people from Montgomery to help correct things, and I believe there will be some staff changes."

The prosecutor said he was "encouraged by the outrage" he observed in meetings with state DHR Commissioner Nancy T. Buckner.

"I am persuaded she will make every effort to prevent this from happening again," he said.

Among the problems cited in the report:

Workers often made telephone calls, rather than face-to-face visits, to investigate abuse allegations.

Documentation was lacking in both background checks and training of foster parents.

Not all foster parents signed a required agreement banning corporal punishment, and instances of corporal punishment were investigated.

There was no evidence that foster children's relatives were assessed as possibilities for placement.

Workers had no ongoing assessment program for foster homes.

One foster home housed eight children for several days, which is above the maximum limit of six children.

The county agency's quality assurance committee did not adequately review cases, and reports for the last half of 2008 and the first half of 2009 were not done.

Chapman said in May that he suspected some DHR workers were referring children to certain foster homes in an effort to increase income for those parents.The state pays foster parents more than $400 per month per foster child.

Chapman said that his office had received no reports of abuse and neglect cases this year until the local DHR director brought more than 10 files to his office in recent days.

Some were from months earlier, he said, and that time lapse means evidence in potentially criminal cases could have since been destroyed or altered. Chapman said he is reviewing the cases to see if there is cause to prosecute.

He also offered an update on the toddler who had been under the Sims' care, saying the child has improved a little and is currently living with family members.

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