Blogs by Deborah K. Frontiera
Fighting CPS
2/10/2015 11:25:28 AM
The purpose of this blog has been to provide updates on some of the cases I reported in my book (Fighting CPS: Guilty Until Proven Innocent of Child Protective Services Charges ISBN 9-780-9800061-6-2) that had not been resolved when the book went to press, and to report other cases where CPS is not working up to par. I’d also like to hear about cases in which Child Protective Services did the right thing so those cases can serve as examples of what should be done. Occasionally, I will report helpful tips and web sites with advice on fighting CPS. To comment on this blog, or to tell your story, email Deborah Frontiera at frontiera.fightingcps.deborah.gmail.com
This report came from the Austin American Statesman and appeared in the Houston Chronicle, Jan. 12, 2015:
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas is not reporting hundreds of child deaths related to abuse and neglect, and more than 50 child welfare workers in recent years have been caught lying to prosecutors or engaged in other case misconduct, according to a newspaper investigation published Sunday.
Lawmakers are now calling for answers ahead of a new legislative session that begins Tuesday under Gov.-elect Greg Abbott. Findings from a six-month investigation by the Austin American-Statesman are likely to put the state's beleaguered Department of Family Services under more scrutiny.
Between 2010 and 2014, the state did not publicly report 655 child abuse fatalities because caseworkers decided that mistreatment was not directly responsible for those deaths, the newspaper found (http://bit.ly/14Jrbp5 ). Nearly half of those children who died came from families that had been investigated by the state multiple times.
Advocates say the state is intentionally suppressing the number of child abuse deaths to minimize culpability. Family and Protective Services spokesman Patrick Crimmins says the agency isn't trying to hide anything and has followed state and federal laws.
"I'm speechless," Democratic state Sen. Carlos Uresti said. "I want to know who these kids are. Every one of these kids has a name and has a story and would have had a life ahead of them."
Uresti authored a 2009 law that requires Family and Protective Services to provide the public with detailed reports when caseworkers rule that maltreatment directly killed a child. But that does not include cases in which abuse was found to be present but did not directly contribute to the death.
It is not always clear why seemingly comparable deaths end up on different lists. For example, Crimmins said that one type of case that might not be included in the public fatality count is when a child riding a four-wheeler is killed. The failure to supervise the child would not necessarily be considered to have been directly connected to the death, he said.
But the newspaper found three such fatalities in which a family member was blamed and landed on the publicly disclosed list.
State and court documents also reveal that since 2009, dozens of state caseworkers have been caught lying to prosecutors, ignoring court orders, falsifying state records or obstructing law enforcement. At least four former state Child Protective Services employees are currently facing criminal charges for their alleged misconduct.
State officials insist those cases are rare: Employees accused of misconduct found by the newspaper represent a fraction of the 3,400 investigators and foster care workers in the agency. But the agency cannot definitively say how often it happens since it does not comprehensively track the number of people who were fired for such offenses.
Frontiera’s note: I wonder if proposed laws in the Texas Legislature will “fix” any of this.
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