PHOENIX Arizona Objection to releasing slain kids' files ends...

Objection to releasing slain kids' files ends
Judge to decide how much CPS info to reveal
By Josh Brodesky
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 07.24.2007

http://azstarnet.com/dailystar/193076

PHOENIX — The Pima County Attorney's Office has dropped its objection to
releasing Child Protective Services case files for three slain Tucson
children who were under its watch.
After a hearing Monday in Maricopa County Superior Court, Judge Edward
O. Burke said he would rule on whether to release the files to the
Arizona Daily Star and the Arizona Republic — which sued to obtain them
— by next Monday at the latest.
For months, the County Attorney's Office had said that releasing records
of CPS' involvement with Ariana Payne, Tyler Payne and Brandon Williams
would compromise its prosecution of the children's cases.
Last week, however, CPS released case summaries after the County
Attorney's Office said the information would not affect its prosecution.
And on Monday, the Arizona Attorney General's Office, representing the
state's Child Protective Services, did not argue against releasing the
more complete files. Rather, it presented Burke with a full version of
the files and a version with some confidential information blacked out,
for his review.
Assistant Attorney General Gaylene Morgan acknowledged that in addition
to the release of the case summaries, the County Attorney's Office has
"no position" on the release of case files.
As a result, the hearing's main focus wasn't so much on whether
documents should be released, but rather on how much information can be
released while balancing any potential remaining privacy issues.
"The children have died. Information about the parents is public. What
am I balancing?" Burke asked.
On Feb. 18, police found 4-year-old Ariana's body in a trash bin.
Despite several searches, police have not found 5-year-old Tyler's remains.
Their father, Christopher Matthew Payne, and his girlfriend, Reina
Gonzales, have been charged with their murders.
In March, 5-year-old Brandon Williams, who was autistic, died from a
skull fracture, but he also had a large amount of over-the-counter
medication in his system. His mother, Diane Marsh, and a roommate,
Flower Tompson, have been charged with his murder.
Phoenix attorney Kevin Wein, who represents the Star, said any lingering
confidentiality issues should be minimal.
The children are dead. The parents have been arrested, and Jamie Hallam,
who is Ariana and Tyler's mother, has waived her confidentiality rights.
"The privacy interests that are left are minimal at best," Wein said.
The cases are of intense public interest, he said. And the lack of
information about the agency's involvement with the children — and what
its workers did and did not do to protect them — undermines public
debate about the agency and how it could improve in the wake of the deaths.
After the hearing, Wein said, "CPS would benefit, because what's
happening now is speculation is being fueled by a continued veil of
secrecy that's being imposed on everybody, including the agency."
Wein and the attorney representing the Arizona Republic asked that full
files, with minor deletions, be released to the public.
In an interview after the hearing, Ken Deibert, the state Department of
Economic Security's deputy director, said the agency has been following
state and federal confidentiality laws and trying not to undermine
prosecution of the cases in withholding the files.
He also agreed with Wein that the release of the case files could
benefit the agency — although he had a different take on why. The media,
he said, have painted "an inaccurate picture of how we conduct ourselves."
"I believe the public at times has a misconception of what child welfare
does or doesn't do," Deibert said.
Also in attendance, but not participating in the hearing, was Jorge
Franco Jr., who is representing Hallam.
Franco said he plans to file a notice of claim against the state in the
next few weeks, and he will move to have all of the case documents made
public at that time.
Gov. Janet Napolitano, to whom CPS ultimately answers, defended
withholding the files.
"First of all, nobody wants a child to die," Napolitano said. "So let's
begin with that. Whenever a child dies and there's CPS involvement, we .
.. . go back and say: Is there something CPS should have done or could
have done differently that would have prevented a death?
"The issue of what files get open and when, the easiest thing to say is:
'Of course. I believe every record should be public immediately,' " she
said.
But there are some impediments to doing that, including confidentiality
laws and the needs of prosecutors, Napolitano said.
"If there's a criminal prosecution, that should take precedence," she said.
In addition, she said, "when you're dealing with a child-abuse
situation, you have, many times, other children involved, innocent
family members involved. You have very, very delicate and private
information about innocent people involved who themselves may be
victims. . . . That too needs to be taken into account," she said.
Meanwhile, in Pima County Superior Court on Monday, Judge Richard Fields
denied Payne's motion to dismiss the case against him.
Defense attorneys Rebecca McLean and John O'Brien asked for dismissal,
saying there was a lack of evidence.
Although grand jurors were told Ariana suffered some broken bones in the
months before her death, they weren't given any evidence about what
caused her death, McLean said. In addition, prosecutors were unable to
provide the grand jurors with proof that Tyler was dead, McLean said.
Payne told detectives that Tyler and Ariana died of starvation, but
Tyler hasn't been found, and the autopsy performed on Ariana didn't
corroborate that statement, McLean said.
In denying the motion, Fields said he agreed with prosecutors who argued
that the evidence presented to the grand jury could be interpreted many
ways.


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

CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES, HAPPILY DESTROYING HUNDREDS 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...