Abuse cases settled for $14 million
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/state/content/state/epaper/2007/09/29/s1b_abuse_0929.html
By KATHLEEN CHAPMAN
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Saturday, September 29, 2007
The state of Florida has paid $14 million to settle the cases of 20
children, including three from Palm Beach County, who were terrorized by
a foster parent who beat them with sticks, pipes and extension cords
over nearly a decade, their attorney announced Friday.
A civil rights lawsuit filed in federal court said that the Florida
Department of Children and Families sent children from around the state
to the home of Nellie Jasper Johnson in Alachua County. The state used
Johnson's home as an inexpensive place to dump children with
disabilities, according to the suit, and repeatedly failed to act on
warnings they were being hurt.
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From 1991 to until it finally shut down the home 2001, DCF received at
least 17 reports that the children were being harmed, according to the
suit. Johnson, who received about $90,000 a year in state subsidies for
the children, was sentenced to 60 years in prison for charges including
aggravated child abuse in 2003.
The three siblings from Palm Beach County, an 11-year-old boy with
disabilities and his two younger sisters, then 10 and 8, were sent to
Johnson's home in July 1991, several years after being taken from their
birth parents.
Two months later, two of the siblings told child abuse investigators
that they were being beaten with extension cords and shoes. DCF removed
one child from the home as a result of the allegations, but left others
with Johnson. Despite finding some threat of harm to those children and
evidence that she bruised another child by beating him with a belt, they
allowed Johnson to adopt the siblings from Palm Beach County.
After receiving more abuse reports, DCF workers decided in 1995 that no
more children should be sent to Johnson's home. But caseworkers kept
referring children, according to the suit, and by 1997, Johnson had 14
children in her house.
The siblings from Palm Beach County ran away that year and were moved to
a shelter in West Palm Beach. But other children remained in Johnson's
home for four more years.
One of the Palm Beach County children overcame the abuse and now works
as a nurse in Georgia, said Howard Talenfeld, one of several attorneys
who represented the victims. Others are not doing as well, he said.
The payments for each child differ, depending on the extent of the abuse
and severity of the injuries. Some got more than $1 million in the
settlement.
Florida caps the amount that can be paid on claims in state courts at
$100,000, and the legislature must approve any verdict or settlement
exceeding that amount. But Florida does not limit damages on a federal
lawsuit, so the state was able to pay the victims in this case without
delay.
The state began settling with the individual victims in October 2006,
and resolved the last cases in June, DCF spokeswoman Erin Geraghty said
Friday.
Department of Children and Families Secretary Bob Butterworth announced
when he took over in January that he would not spend state money
fighting lawsuits when facts clearly showed the agency was wrong.
In a written statement Friday, Butterworth said he was "saddened and
horrified" by the case and did not see a need for trial.
"As evidenced by Ms. Johnson's sentencing to 60 years in prison for her
crimes, these children were harmed irreparably and it is important we
step forward now to do the right thing. We are one state, and as one
state we cannot prosecute a perpetrator for their crimes and then later
ask that the victims prove those crimes occurred," Butterworth said.
CURRENTLY CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES VIOLATES MORE CIVIL RIGHTS ON A
DAILY BASIS THEN ALL OTHER AGENCIES COMBINED INCLUDING THE NSA / CIA
WIRETAPPING PROGRAM....
CPS Does not protect children...
It is sickening how many children are subject to abuse, neglect and even
killed at the hands of Child Protective Services.
every parent should read this .pdf from
connecticut dcf watch...
http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com/8x11.pdf
http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com
Number of Cases per 100,000 children in the US
These numbers come from The National Center on
Child Abuse and Neglect in Washington. (NCCAN)
Recent numbers have increased significantly for CPS
*Perpetrators of Maltreatment*
Physical Abuse CPS 160, Parents 59
Sexual Abuse CPS 112, Parents 13
Neglect CPS 410, Parents 241
Medical Neglect CPS 14 Parents 12
Fatalities CPS 6.4, Parents 1.5
Imagine that, 6.4 children die at the hands of the very agencies that
are supposed to protect them and only 1.5 at the hands of parents per
100,000 children. CPS perpetrates more abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse
and kills more children then parents in the United States. If the
citizens of this country hold CPS to the same standards that they hold
parents too. No judge should ever put another child in the hands of ANY
government agency because CPS nationwide is guilty of more harm and
death than any human being combined. CPS nationwide is guilty of more
human rights violations and deaths of children then the homes from which
they were removed. When are the judges going to wake up and see that
they are sending children to their death and a life of abuse when
children are removed from safe homes based on the mere opinion of a
bunch of social workers.
CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES, HAPPILY DESTROYING THOUSANDS OF INNOCENT
FAMILIES YEARLY NATIONWIDE AND COMING TO YOU'RE HOME SOON...
BE SURE TO FIND OUT WHERE YOUR CANDIDATES STANDS ON THE ISSUE OF
REFORMING OR ABOLISHING CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES ("MAKE YOUR CANDIDATES
TAKE A STAND ON THIS ISSUE.") THEN REMEMBER TO VOTE ACCORDINGLY IF THEY
ARE "FAMILY UNFRIENDLY" IN THE NEXT ELECTION...
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