GUILTY PA - Danieal Kelly, 14, disabled, starved to death, Philadelphia, 4 Aug 2006

We cant give them absolute authority with no accountability.

You know, that model is built into our court system as well-judges can rule basically with impunity because of the whole shades of grey area of the law. The SO here in MA who was out on bail for raping a child, and raped a three year old, beat her and then threatened to kill her mother springs to mind. The judge who set the bail is protected because bail is not a punishment-it is something used to assure the defendant's next court appearance. Hope the judge sleeps well at night.

But I digress-I wonder what would happen if CPS/DYS was run like a corporation? A certain amount of transparency, accountability-but more importantly, structured support for those who work within it? Rules, guidelines?

What if they were allowed to treat child abuse as if it were A&B? Then you couldnt run from state to state and avoid the paper trail....

Just trying to think of a fix....
 
We cant give them absolute authority with no accountability.

You know, that model is built into our court system as well-judges can rule basically with impunity because of the whole shades of grey area of the law. The SO here in MA who was out on bail for raping a child, and raped a three year old, beat her and then threatened to kill her mother springs to mind. The judge who set the bail is protected because bail is not a punishment-it is something used to assure the defendant's next court appearance. Hope the judge sleeps well at night.

But I digress-I wonder what would happen if CPS/DYS was run like a corporation? A certain amount of transparency, accountability-but more importantly, structured support for those who work within it? Rules, guidelines?

What if they were allowed to treat child abuse as if it were A&B? Then you couldnt run from state to state and avoid the paper trail....

Just trying to think of a fix....

This is a good point about support for the cps workers who get few accolades but get blasted when the cases go wrong (even when they recommended pulling the child and the judge went with reuniting the family).

But the workers need an outside source of support. An ability to take a file that they have a hinky feeling about, that needs more time than then their workload allows (the moms that pull their kids out of school and dodge in home visits, or the kid is asleep, or with dad at the visit time come to mind) and do something other than check the check box and move on.

No system will ever be perfect as we are trying to protect kids from their own parents which is just unnatural in and of itself
 
I agree that the details of the cases should not be public but I do think there should be some sort of watch group, made up of appropriate types of professionals bound by confidentiality. But someone that has the authority to look at a case before the child is dead and the records are evidence. Someone that a concerned relative can go to when they have called CPS and nothing is happening. The system is broken but I don't think having the details of every victim's homelife in the public eye is the answer. I agree that there should be no shame in it but I also believe it is my decision as an adult what I choose to share about the details of my abuse and with whom I want to share it.

And the cynical side of me says it wouldn't do any good. There are more than enough details of these crimes in the news everyday and rather than outrage and change the general public seems to become more numb to it everyday. And part of me sees dollar signs in the move to prosecute cps workers for negligence followed by damages while we ignore the parental responsibility of women who allow their boyfriend du jour to beat, torture and rape their kids. Can't sue mom for damages though so there will be no one motivated by dollars to pursue them.

CPS workers who fail at their jobs should be held responsible no doubt, but it is still ignoring the core issue. moo

Most areas have that person, it's the governor or the children's ombudsman. But noone knows what these people do within the child welfare system or when to call them.

IMO, one of the core issues is "worker discretion". It's a dated and unsafe concept. One worker can see a sink full of overflowing dirty dishes and think, "That's disgusting and unsafe." Another worker can see the same thing and think, "I've seen a lot worse."
I think there have to be set rules and greater awareness of who is involved in the system besides just the social workers.
No more worker discretion.
No more judges who blindly agree with every recommendation of the CPS worker.
No more absolute power with minimum responsibility and
Full psychological histories and exams on each prospective worker to avoid the power seekers.

Maybe then things will change.
 
Most areas have that person, it's the governor or the children's ombudsman. But noone knows what these people do within the child welfare system or when to call them.

IMO, one of the core issues is "worker discretion". It's a dated and unsafe concept. One worker can see a sink full of overflowing dirty dishes and think, "That's disgusting and unsafe." Another worker can see the same thing and think, "I've seen a lot worse."
I think there have to be set rules and greater awareness of who is involved in the system besides just the social workers.
No more worker discretion.
No more judges who blindly agree with every recommendation of the CPS worker.
No more absolute power with minimum responsibility and
Full psychological histories and exams on each prospective worker to avoid the power seekers.

Maybe then things will change.

I am referring to something bigger and more involved than the govenor or ombudsman. More of an body/organization that has power to step in when needed that can be utilized when the system isn't working.

You could utilize doctors, mental health professionals, attorneys a
nd experienced foster parents (that have passed screening and commit to confidentiality) to review redflagged cases.

An elected official or someone working for him has personal interest in not disclosing to the public that the system is not working. Their motivation is usually cya and the political impact. The type of resource I am talking about wouldn't be to investigate cps (though their findings could be used by the appropriate people to improve cps) their purpose would be to intervene in cases that are going off in a ditch. The ones that everyone sees happening but they don't have the "right" data for the worksheet for the judge, or they have an evasive slippery parent that needs more resources than an overloaded case worker can handle.

Skilled CPS workers are a valuable resource and a limited one. Adding personal liablity to their plates when they have limited ability to intervene isn't going to attract more people to the field. It will just create a new type of professional liablity insurance policy for attorneys to pursue damages/dollars from. At the end of the day it will not protect children which is supposedly the goal.

And that does not even consider how future social workers basing decisions on a personal liability trial will handle parents who are victims of false reports.

moo
 
Around here, all the CO does is point out when the system doesn't work....he gets paid for it.
The problem with a review board is still discretion, at whose discretion is a child in trouble?

A foster parent with minimal training? A review board of professionals, many of whom ae already corupt or self serving?

Nah, the same problems will happen.

Let's take away their Godlike power, bust the workers down to mere mortal status again, and see if the system we have would work if it were utilized properly. I feel it would, and at any rate, it will have to be tried before a new system is put in place or we would just return to this system later, saying that it would have worked if used correctly.

And I really think that a lot of money is going to the wrong place, paying workers bonuses for removing kids was an idea, that failed miserably...48% of the kids in Wayne Co. MI living with non parent family/foster parents on CPS orders. But that's a whole different thread.
 
Around here, all the CO does is point out when the system doesn't work....he gets paid for it.
The problem with a review board is still discretion, at whose discretion is a child in trouble?

A foster parent with minimal training? A review board of professionals, many of whom ae already corupt or self serving?

Nah, the same problems will happen.

Let's take away their Godlike power, bust the workers down to mere mortal status again, and see if the system we have would work if it were utilized properly. I feel it would, and at any rate, it will have to be tried before a new system is put in place or we would just return to this system later, saying that it would have worked if used correctly.

And I really think that a lot of money is going to the wrong place, paying workers bonuses for removing kids was an idea, that failed miserably...48% of the kids in Wayne Co. MI living with non parent family/foster parents on CPS orders. But that's a whole different thread.

I think well screened foster parents who have experienced the system from another side are a totally untapped resource when looking at these cases. And the panel incorporating different types of experts would give a better chance of someone missing an indicator sign.

I don't see social workers as being in some godlike role personally. I see their hands being tied by redtape and overruled by judges when they do manage to get the kids pulled. I have yet to see a case where a kid is pulled out of a home based on a social workers gut instinct and in absence of physical evidence, so I just don't see them as being very powerful.
 
In this case the thing that got me the worse is how Danieal's parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit. They're both charged with criminal complaints, but they go and file a lawsuit.

Besides social services being charged there's also three family friend's being charged. According to our news when this all started they said the father almost never saw the child. I checked on our search here and I could have sworn I had a thread on this as soon as poor Danieal died.

Here's a link of our Mayor running his yap. I usually pay no mind to what he says because he's a maroon. At the end of the article he explains that in the end the burden should be on the parents as it was their responsibility. I'm guessing same thing for the friends who saw this poor child almost daily. That would include her being emaciated. Laying in her own excrement and whatever else goes along with such a horrific thing.


http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/cityhall/Mayor_Disgusted_By_Lawsuit_From_Danieals_Parents.html
 
At the end of the day it was the child who paid the price-if your mayor is OK with that, well then glad he is not mine F!!!

I came from a neighborhood where you *advertiser censored** could be beaten by whatever parent caught you misbehaving, and then you could expect something worse from your own parents. OK, so not everyone could smack you but you could be chastised and/or punished....and then expect your parents would hear about it.

Why is the reverse not true? If your neighbor is beating his wife and kids, why can't you make a call? Not just me, of course but the collective we...why is that so bad I wonder? This stuff thrives in dark corners-why not shine a light?

In MA we proposed that when there was a call to DSS, that child had to be taken to a physician for an exam if the claim was physical/sexual abuse. I found out later that some of the case workers allow the parent/suspect to make an appt with their own physician within a certain amount of time.

People who actually do this job need to weigh in-what kind of time/effort would it take to bring these kids to a local ER for evaluation for a truly independent evaluation? The flip side is, how much would it save the state in terms of repeat visits for multiple complaints?

Here is another example-I know someone who has custody of his kids and an open complaint with DSS. He told me his children do not have a pediatrician, in spite of being covered with Mass Health. One is 10 and one is 6. How is this possible? WHY does no one know that these kids have not seen Dr's and dentists?? And they could-MA has great coverage from the state...especially for kids.
 
In this case the thing that got me the worse is how Danieal's parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit. They're both charged with criminal complaints, but they go and file a lawsuit.

Besides social services being charged there's also three family friend's being charged. According to our news when this all started they said the father almost never saw the child. I checked on our search here and I could have sworn I had a thread on this as soon as poor Danieal died.

Here's a link of our Mayor running his yap. I usually pay no mind to what he says because he's a maroon. At the end of the article he explains that in the end the burden should be on the parents as it was their responsibility. I'm guessing same thing for the friends who saw this poor child almost daily. That would include her being emaciated. Laying in her own excrement and whatever else goes along with such a horrific thing.


http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/cityhall/Mayor_Disgusted_By_Lawsuit_From_Danieals_Parents.html

BBM. Ball* of steel these people have.
 
An expert in neglected and abused children testified in court yesterday after reviewing Danieal's medical records.

Cindy W. Christian who is a pediatrician said that the bed sores that poor Danieal had would have smelled so badly that it would knock a person back. So, obviously these "social workers" would have caught on to something besides the poor girl weighing only half of what she should have.

Warning reading the link will make you angry. It's so sad.


http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/84290497.html
 
Girl’s death not a surprise to agency director

By Nathan Gorenstein
Posted on Tue, Feb. 16, 2010

INQUIRER STAFF WRITER


On the day Manuelita Buenaflor learned that 14-year-old Danieal Kelly had died, the social service administrator with two doctorate degrees was sad, but unsurprised.

Buenaflor was the "quality assurance" director for the agency responsible for insuring the well-being of Kelly and hundreds of other children. But Buenaflor knew that the MultiEthnic Behavior Health Inc. workers regularly failed to make the home visits required by their contract with Philadelphia.

"In my heart I said it was just a matter of time before this would happen," Buenaflor sobbed today in U.S. District Court, "My reminders were ignored."


more here

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/brea..._death_not_a_surprise_to_agency_director.html

WTH???? She "reminded" someone w/ memos?? :furious:
 
"Sentencing is scheduled for Thursday and Friday for four social service agency managers and employees convicted of fraud, linked to what the government calls the unimaginably horrible neglect death of 14-year-old Danieal Kelly in August of 2006 (see related story)."

Truly a horrific horrific story. The related story is here:

http://www.kyw1060.com/Trial-Set-for-4-in-Danieal-Kelly-Starvation-Neglec/52498

Contracted social service agency not only failed to follow up on this girl, they actively falsified reports stating they were doing work and collecting their fee. In the meantime this beautiful special needs girl starved to death in squalor. I read the Grand Jury report when it came out. It's long but riveting, heartbreaking, and enraging:

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/5802508/Danieal-Kelly-Grand-Jury-Report

The radio just announced the director of the agency has been sentenced to 17 years.
 
I couldn't finish reading that report. There are no words I can come up with. I'm glad these people are being held accountable but the multiple levels of sheer cruelty and negligence here are beyond the pale.
 
I think we have a thread on this somewhere for this case-I remember posting about the verdicts for the social workers and hoping it was precedence setting...
 
Final Two Get long terms in Danieal case.

Julius Murray gets 11 years in prison and has to pay $316,000 restitution. Yeah we'll see how long he actually serves and how much loot he'll pay.

Mariam Coulibaly gets 11 and a quarter years and has to pay $1,044.

Murray ignored Danieal's cindition as a caseworker. Coulibaly falsified records that had the city believing visits were being made to the homes of at risk children.


http://www.philly.com/dailynews/loc...s_given_long_terms_in_Danieal_Kelly_case.html
 
that poor child never had a chance. i'm surprised but glad they were able to charge these child service people. too many times they are able to hide behind a law that they are gov. workers and can't be charge. i've had to deal with child services in NJ, there isn't much different between the ones in NJ and in philly. too many times they go after the ones that are trying but might need extra help and close a blind eye to those that don't even try. thank GOD these people are being held accountable!
 

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