Texas hides its child protection failures behind the Child AbusePrevention and Treatment Act.

Ken Rodriguez: Disclosure is a key baby step in protection of children,
reform

Web Posted: 07/14/2007 11:13 PM CDT

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/met...z.35d9e7a.html

San Antonio Express-News

When Ericka Lopez died, it was as if she had never been born.

She lived long enough to be neglected — five months and three days. She
lived long enough for Child Protective Services to intervene and place
her with another relative.

But when little Ericka stopped breathing, almost no one stopped to
notice because her death did not become public. The how and why of her
demise, along with her name, vanished like a wisp of smoke.

Though the medical examiner found abrasions and bruises on Ericka's
scalp, her passing did not make the news.

Though CPS classified her as a victim of neglect, the agency charged
with protecting her shut its mouth and closed its books.

In death, Ericka became a mere number to CPS: the second tragic fatality
of 2006.

Her killer remains at large. When the next CPS-monitored baby succumbs,
the killer will enjoy a measure of protection in tough-on-crime Texas
from the law.

If a baby dies from abuse under its watch, the state will seal the name,
mask the identity of the suspect, lock the details in a closet and
practically throw away the key.

If friends or the media ask questions, sorry. The state must protect the
privacy of the guilty, the innocent and the dead.

It's the law, CPS says.

More accurately, it's a convenient, twisted interpretation of the law.

Texas hides its child protection failures behind the Child Abuse
Prevention and Treatment Act. The federal law mandates a shield of
confidentiality around abuse records. The law also requires states to
release information in child fatality cases.

Texas has decided that means it must only disclose numbers. How many
babies, for example, died from abuse during a given year.

Florida has decided it's obligated to disclose entire case histories.
The state, for example, reveals names of victims, causes of death and
how many visits caseworkers made to the home of the abused.

Texas believes disclosing names, dates and details could cost it federal
money.

New Jersey believes that's a load of crap. In May, the state posted on
its Web site the horrific events that led to the death of 21-month-old
Xavier Jones in 2006. The tot ingested methadone he found in the closet
of his foster mother. New Jersey's child advocate blamed the baby's
death on neglect.

But Child Advocate E. Susan Hodgson also chastised the state's child
protection agency, the Division of Youth and Family Services.

"There's evidence," Hodgson found, "of missed opportunities by DYFS in
planning for and supervising this child throughout his life."

Imagine that. A state watchdog holding a child protection agency
accountable. Imagine this: The disclosure hasn't cost New Jersey a penny.

The state has made child fatality records public since 1997. A child
agency spokesman says New Jersey has never lost any federal money.

Last year, New Jersey lost 23 children to abuse — the lowest number
since 2000. Only five died while under the state's supervision. Perhaps
lessons learned from publicly disclosed mistakes saved a life.

In the name of confidentiality, Texas conceals possible lifesaving lessons.

In San Antonio, two infants died from suffocation during the 2006 fiscal
year. In one case, a mother fell asleep on her son. In another, an
11-year-old fell asleep on her sister.

You'd never know about those fatalities if not for the digging of
Express-News reporter Nancy Martinez, revealed in today's paper.

CPS will confirm fatality information when a reporter secures it from
another source. Otherwise, the agency remains silent. It's the law, you
know.

Privacy must be guarded, the state reasons, even if it means protecting
a killer on the loose.

Call Ken Rodriguez at (210) 250-3369 or e-mail .







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...

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.

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...