Sociology > Education > What did CPS do for abused kids? Let caseworker date dad: a casemanager with Child Protective Services, She was supposed to be the lastline of protection for three kids who had long been terrorized and beatenby their father.
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Sociology > Education |
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"fx" |
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12 May 2007 11:10:21 AM |
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What did CPS do for abused kids? Let caseworker date dad: a casemanager with Child Protective Services, She was supposed to be the lastline of protection for three kids who had long been terrorized and beatenby their father. |
What did CPS do for abused kids? Let caseworker date dad
http://www.azcentral.com/news/columns/articles/0512roberts0512.html
May. 12, 2007 12:00 AM
She was supposed to be the last line of protection for three kids who
had long been terrorized and beaten by their father. She was supposed to
be the one person in this world who would look out for them when no one
else gave a damn.
She was, after all, a case manager with Child Protective Services, the
official assigned by the state of Arizona to watch over these three
Tucson children and keep them safe.
Instead, confidential documents suggest that Amy Gile actually helped an
abusive father hang onto his kids, and later ignored the oldest child's
plea for help. By then, she had become the abusive father's girlfriend.
So what, you might ask, did CPS do about it when one of the children
showed up at day care in 2004 covered with welts and the story of Gile's
romantic relationship became known?
Nothing.
"An investigation was conducted by our human resources staff," said CPS
spokeswoman Liz Barker Alvarez. "We found no merit to the allegations
because any alleged relationship between the parties involved in the
complaint occurred over one year after his initial involvement with CPS
ended."
Alvarez said that the agency found no evidence that Gile failed to
report abuse.
Even if that's true - and the records suggest it may not be - I've got
to wonder what goes on in an agency that permits its caseworkers to date
their assigned child's abusers as long as they first get a judge to
close the case? And how it is that this worker, now a supervisor, can
still be overseeing cases when the report suggests she took no action
when told of continued abuse?
While the CPS brass is apparently unfazed, the case has infuriated
caseworkers familiar with the situation, and a state legislator is
adding it to the list a House committee plans to investigate this
summer. As he should. CPS for too long has been able to operate out of
public sight, aided by state laws that render virtually everything the
agency does a secret in the name of protecting children.
Rep. Jonathan Paton, R-Tucson, says CPS shouldn't be allowed to brush
off such outrages because the law allows the agency to hide from prying
eyes.
"Every other government agency has scrutiny over it," he said. "They are
not protected by the kinds of protections that CPS has. And I believe
that when you have those kind of protections in place, you're ripe for
abuse."
Gile didn't return a call for comment but claimed in the records that
she did nothing wrong and that the children lied.
According to the CPS records, which date from the 2004 incident reported
by the day-care center, the father admitted having an extensive history
of assault, theft and drug use that landed him behind bars in California
and Arizona. (The Arizona Republic is not publishing his name to protect
the identity of the children.)
CPS reports on the family date to 1995 when the father punched his
year-old daughter in the face. A later report suggested he picked up
each of his young children by their faces during a family fight.
In 2000, the children were put into foster care because they were dirty,
appeared to be malnourished and were going to neighbors asking for food.
The caseworker assigned the task of reuniting the kids with their father
(the mother by then had been sent to prison for 10 years) was Gile.
In February 2001, the father was arrested for disorderly conduct and
weapons violations. According to the records, his case manager supported
his request for work furlough instead of straight jail so that he could
continue working to get his kids back.
In April 2002, the children were returned to the father, though CPS
retained legal custody. Four months later, the daughter showed up at her
elementary school with bruises and swelling on her face. She told a
counselor her father had hit her and told Tucson police that he hits all
the kids with a belt. No criminal charges were brought.
"The city court prosecutor declined to issue charges against the father,
saying it was in the 'best interests of the children and their overall
family preservation,' " the CPS records say.
A CPS investigator, however, substantiated the abuse, though Gile would
later say she believed the girl had lied. Just six weeks after the
incident, the father was given legal custody, and CPS closed the case.
While a judge would have had to approve the plan, CPS workers tell me
that judges rely heavily on the case manager's input and that it would
be rare for such a thing to happen without the case manager's OK.
Some are shocked that Gile didn't immediately yank the kids from the
house after the father slugged his daughter. "I would have absolutely
taken them out and probably said we're done with this person," one
worker told me.
Too bad that didn't happen.
Two years later, in December 2004, the youngest of the three arrived at
day care with nine or 10 bright red welts on his hip and leg along with
a partial handprint on his hip. The boy told CPS, "My daddy whupped me."
He told police that his father "made him lie on the bed with his hands
clasped behind his back when he was hit with the belt," the CPS report
says. This, for jumping on the bed.
Can you imagine the investigator's reaction when the child continued,
saying that his dad "has a girlfriend and her name is Amy"?
Gile told the investigator that her "romantic relationship" with the
father began in February 2004, 16 months after her CPS involvement with
the family ended. But the daughter told authorities Gile had been her
father's girlfriend for about two years, adding that the kids go to her
house "almost every day."
"Amy works for CPS," the girl was quoted as saying. "She was our
caseworker. She and Dad started dating then. It was right after the
other case closed, they started dating. My dad met her at a park and
brought her flowers and they've been dating ever since."
The three children told authorities that their father beats them with a
belt and punishes them in a number of other ways, including grabbing
them by the throat and pushing them against the wall. He also regularly
swears at them and calls them "the baddest kids ever." The oldest child
said he twice hit her with a belt while at Gile's house and that Gile
"has spanked her brothers with a hairbrush when they 'pee in their pants.' "
The girl said she told Gile about the abuse once. " 'I told her I'm
scared of my dad because he hits us,' " the investigator reported. "(The
girl) said the girlfriend told her, 'It's alright, he just gets really
mad' and that she looked 'scared' about what (the girl) had said."
Gile told the investigator that that conversation never happened and
that she was unaware of any abuse, though she acknowledged that her
boyfriend swears at his kids and forces the boys to wash their underwear
in the toilet if they wet the bed.
"Ms. Gile denied ever seeing the father discipline the children and
denied that she disciplines the children," the investigator wrote. "When
this investigator said that the children are afraid to go home, Ms. Gile
said she didn't understand why."
It was pretty clear to some people.
CPS records indicate the daughter was suffering from emotional abuse due
to "maltreatment" by the father over a significant period of time. The
preschooler showed signs of post traumatic stress disorder.
The investigator, in her report, called them "the most terrified
children this investigator has interviewed."
She noted "significant physical abuse and psychological damage," adding
that she believes the abuse was occurring even before the dismissal of
the prior case that Gile oversaw. She singled out the oldest child,
noting that she had repeatedly tried to tell people what was going on.
"Mostly recently, she has confided in the father's girlfriend," the
investigator wrote. "Despite what are remarkable and heroic attempts by
a child to get the attention of adults, nothing has been done to protect
these children from the father."
The father pleaded guilty in 2005 to child abuse and was sentenced to
three years of probation. CPS cleared Gile of any wrongdoing, apparently
believing Gile's story over the investigator's report.
Alvarez won't say what happened to the kids but there are reports that
they now are back with their father.
And Gile, the woman who didn't know why the kids would be scared to go
home, is now a supervisor who oversees child-abuse cases.
Reach Roberts at (602) 444-8635. Read her blog at robertsblog.azcentral.com.
CURRENTLY CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES VIOLATES MORE CIVIL RIGHTS ON A
DAILY BASIS THEN ALL OTHER AGENCIES COMBINED INCLUDING THE NATIONAL
SECURITY AGENCY/CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY 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...
www.connecticutdcfwatch.com/8x11.pdf
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
Fatalities CPS 6.4, Parents 1.5
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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