Horrific Abuse case

[srkruzich]

Sobering statistics on who is the abuser...


It is sickening how many children are subject to abuse, neglect and even killed at the hands of Child Protective Services.� The following statistics represent the number of cases per 100,000 children in the United States and includes DCF in Connecticut.� This information is from The National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect (NCCAN) in Washington.

Perpetrators of Maltreatment       CPS       Parents

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






http://protectingourchildrenfrombeingsold.wordpress.com/about/something-every-parent-should-have-a-how-to-booklet-never-trust-anyone-from-cps/

[twirldoggy]

When I talked with other counselors about foster care, the words were said that the parental home was better than a foster home.  Unfortunately some children need to be removed to someplace, either relatives or foster.  If the systems are functioning like they should be, then the evil foster homes would not exist. 

[srkruzich]

When I talked with other counselors about foster care, the words were said that the parental home was better than a foster home.  Unfortunately some children need to be removed to someplace, either relatives or foster.  If the systems are functioning like they should be, then the evil foster homes would not exist. 

You know churchs should be more involved in this function. 

[twirldoggy]

That would be a good idea as long as the churches were really Christian and avoiding extreme hypocrisy.

Some of the worst perps have been church president, music minister, assistant minister and minister.  

Some foster homes I dealt with wanted the child to be a perfect example of the true Christian child and had them reading the Bible full time and going to church many times a week. If the child didn't comply then they used extreme punishment.  

I think the best Christian foster homes would be homes where they have already done a good job of raising their own kids, have a close family and want to perform a community service.    

[srkruzich]

THeres one that i would support if i had the funds, called  bethel bible childrens village.  It was started by a minister many many years ago, where he took kids off the street during depression i think and raised them.  Taught them skills to make a living as well as gave them loving home. It has grown and still is in operation.  Patt Boone is a major sponsor and contributor of this home, my mom leads the kids in a class on quilting and every year they make a quilt to auction off for funds. The quilt is signed by a lot of big name folks, and the auction is a big event.   

They are housed in homes on the campus, and house parents are assigned to each home. They are held accountable not only by church leaders but community leaders as well as average citizens like my mom. 

My mom enjoys it. even gets hugged by patt boone which is kind of a big thing for her.

[Jo McDonald]

It makes me sick, when the judicial system removes a child from the parent and then will not let the grandparents have any rights to the children, but puts them in a foster care home.  Then the children are subject to people who do not know nor love them.  I personally believe children would be better off with a relative ( if the relative wants to be involved).
  Grandparents need to have a chance of involvement.  But the courts have the final say.......and now look how things turn out.  A dead Child - abused, threatened.  It makes me sick and VERY angry.  
  Thee are exceptions in every case, but a child is helpless against the courts and the laws that are imposed upon them.

[Mom70x7]

Jo -

They are working on changing the law in Kansas, and a couple of other states, to give the grandparents some standing, so they are considered before and alongside foster care. It a lot of cases that would be a good thing. I agree with you - I think it should be expanded to include other relatives as well. Grandparents is a good step, however.

There are good and bad foster homes, group homes and case workers. Regretfully, sometimes it's just the luck of the draw.

A good foster parent can work around a bad case manager in most cases. It's a lot of work and draining.

If the training is done correctly, most bad foster parents are weeded out. If the case managers are allowed to do their jobs, they make sure the bad foster parents don't have kids placed with them and their licenses aren't renewed.

It's just not a perfect world. We can, however, change it one child at a time. So we try.

[twirldoggy]

In Missouri the relatives are always considered.  But sometimes they are not able to care for the child full time.  Other times they have legal problems themselves and should not have children in the home.  Missouri pays a fee to the grandparents who care for their own grandchildren. 

[Janet Harrington]

This is a lawsuit by grandparents based on a case right in Coffeyville, Kansas. It's funny that this story was reported by the Wichita Eagle and nothing has ever been in the Independence Reporter or the Coffeyville Journal that I know of.

Coffeyville couple sues SRS worker after granddaughter's beating death

BY TIM POTTER

The Wichita Eagle

A family's lawsuit accuses a state social worker of gross negligence, saying she failed to protect a 23-month-old Coffeyville girl beaten to death by herfather's meth-addicted girlfriend.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court Tuesday, accuses SRS social worker LindaGillen of not taking steps to remove Brooklyn Coons and her brother from adangerous household after the maternal grandparents repeatedly raised concernsabout injuries to Brooklyn.

The lawsuit — brought by Brooklyn's maternal grandparents, Larry and MaryCrosetto — contends Gillen "failed to act to protect their grandchildren becauseof a pre-existing grudge." The grudge involved actions the Crosettos took yearsearlier in their adoption of Brooklyn's mother, Angela Crosetto Coons, thelawsuit says.

Brooklyn's death is a case of a social worker who remained determined to keepchildren with a parent even when it put the children at serious risk, thelawsuit contends. Other agencies that could have protected Brooklyn deferred toSRS because they thought the social worker was taking steps to monitor the girl,it says.

In an interview, Larry Crosetto said Gillen, a licensed social worker withthe Coffeyville office of the Kansas Department of Social and RehabilitationServices (SRS), "was aware there was a situation in that home. She didn'tinvestigate and find out what the situation was.

"What we hope to do is get SRS to act in these situations ... and prevent itfrom happening to another family," Crosetto said.

SRS won't comment because of the pending litigation, spokeswoman MichellePonce said Friday.

Gillen remains employed as an SRS social worker, Ponce said.

Gillen could not be reached for comment.

The litigation is filed in federal court because of the argument thatBrooklyn and her survivors were denied their constitutional rights by the state,said Randy Rathbun, a Wichita lawyer and former U.S. attorney for Kansas who isrepresenting the Crosettos in their lawsuit.

The Kansas Attorney General's Office prosecuted the girlfriend in Brooklyn'sdeath, which occurred on Jan. 20, 2008. The girlfriend later married Brooklyn'sfather. On Dec. 30, 2009, a judge sentenced Melissa Wells Coons to life inprison for the murder of Brooklyn.

The same day the judge sentenced Melissa Coons, Brooklyn's father, RandyCoons, was charged with aggravated child endangerment, said Ashley Anstaett,spokeswoman for the Attorney General's Office.

The lawsuit against Gillen seeks more than $75,000 in damages.

The first loss

The Crosettos had dealt with a tragic loss less than six months before theirgranddaughter's murder. On Aug. 9, 2007, Brooklyn's mother, Angela Coons, diedof a sudden illness at a Wichita hospital. She was 24.

Angela Coons had moved her small children — Brooklyn and son Christian, now 7— to be with her in Wichita just weeks before she died, Larry Crosetto said.Angela Coons was working in Wichita as a Comcare caseworker.

After their daughter became ill, the Crosettos rushed to Wichita. After shedied, they brought their grandchildren back to their Coffeyville home, Crosettosaid.

Before Angela Coons moved to Wichita, she had left Randy Coons and moved inwith her parents. Because Angela was busy completing her degree at PittsburgState University, the Crosettos had "practically raised" their grandchildren,Larry Crosetto said.

The weekend after they buried their daughter, their son-in-law, Randy Coons,showed up on their front porch with two Coffeyville police officers and demandedto take the children, Crosetto said. The son-in-law moved the children in withhim and his girlfriend, Melissa Wells.

"Within a week of the kids being put into that home, Brooklyn showed up on aweekend with her lip stitched together," Crosetto said.

A narrative, timeline

The lawsuit provides this timeline:

In the fall of 2007, the Crosettos started seeing bruises on Brooklyn, andtheir granddaughter received medical treatment twice for suspiciousinjuries.

"The Crosettos began to get more and more concerned about the bruises ontheir grandchildren," the lawsuit says.

On Nov. 5, 2007, school officials told Gillen, the SRS social worker, thatChristian had bruising that looked suspicious, the lawsuit says.

According to the lawsuit narrative: The next day, Larry Crosetto tried toreach Gillen about the bruising, but got no return call, so he tried to contacther again on Nov. 14, 15 and 16, eventually reaching her on Nov. 20. Gillen saidshe had interviewed a school official, the children's father, his girlfriend andChristian. Gillen indicated she had been at the girlfriend's home, the lawsuitsays.

Gillen said a case had been opened and she would make a recommendation inabout 30 days. "She refused to discuss the suspected drug situation in thehome," the lawsuit says.

Crosetto said the grandchildren remained with the girlfriend during the week;the grandparents got the children on weekends. They would exchange the childrenin the front yard of the girlfriend's home. He said he wasn't allowedinside.

He became concerned about the conditions in the house, noticing that thechildren had rashes that appeared to be from fleas and that they looked "filthydirty" every Friday night when he or his wife picked them up.

"Sometimes it was hard to tell if it was bruises or dirt," he said.

"I tried everything to find out what was going on inside that house," saidCrosetto, a 62-year-old accountant.

He said he began taking pictures to document injuries he saw.

Escalating situation

The situation got worse.

On Dec. 10, 2007, the lawsuit says, Crosetto called Gillen again because the"bruising and marks were beginning to escalate. She told Crosetto to call thepolice as it was her duty to try to protect the family and keep it together.Larry asked for an appointment to visit about her duty to protect thechildren."

On Dec. 12, 2007, Crosetto sought help from school officials. "Their positionwas that SRS had taken control of the situation and it was out of their hands,"the lawsuit says.

On Sunday Dec. 23, the Crosettos' doctor noticed bruises on Brooklyn's facewhile she was at church, and he thought SRS should be notified. The doctorrecommended that Larry Crosetto have another doctor examine Brooklyn the nextday. On Dec. 24, the second doctor saw the girl, called police and sent a letterto the Coffeyville SRS office asking that "they investigate the situation andget back to him."

Gillen did not respond to the letter, the lawsuit says. But that same day thedoctor called police, a Coffeyville police officer took a report from Crosettoin the doctor's office and said he would contact the prosecutor's office when itopened after the holiday, Crosetto said.

"I was under the understanding that the Police Department was trying ... tointervene, that the roadblock was SRS," Crosetto said.

The Crosettos believed Brooklyn was in danger.

"I was scared to death," Crosetto said.

The grandparents met with Gillen at her office on Dec. 28, and Larry Crosettooffered a CD showing Brooklyn's injuries. Gillen refused to accept it, saying itwould be a police matter, the lawsuit said.

"The meeting became heated when it became apparent to the Crosettos that thedefendant had some animus against them and was not going to do anything toprotect the children. Mr. Crosetto made it clear that he was afraid she was notgoing to do anything until one of his grandchildren was killed."

And then the worst happened. On Jan. 17, 2008 — 20 days after the Crosettosexpressed their fears to Gillen — Coffeyville police responded to a 911 callabout Brooklyn. She was unresponsive, and she was in the care of Wells. Policesaw head trauma and bruises.

Doctors found that Brooklyn's brain was bleeding as a result of her beingstruck on the head, and she had brain damage from being shaken, the lawsuitsays.

The day after the 911 call, it says, police put three other children from thehome of Wells and Randy Coons into protective custody because of "deplorable"living conditions and because of the fatal injuries to Brooklyn.

The lawsuit says that the Police Department didn't take more steps to protectBrooklyn and the other children before Jan. 18, 2008, "as it reasonably believedthat the defendant was undertaking her statutory obligations to safeguard" thechildren.

The lawsuit argues that Gillen's "conduct increased the danger to (Brooklyn)from the meth addicted girlfriend."

[twirldoggy]

The first time bruises or injuries were observed, then all the children should have been removed.  Then the father would have to show that the home was safe.  In Missouri bruises are considered the indicator of abuse. 

I think it would be better to go after the social worker's license.  This would prevent any further work in this kind of setting.