TULSA Oklahoma — DHS worker faked forms in abuse case that ended with murder

Report: DHS worker faked forms in abuse case that ended with murder

http://newsok.com/article/3115727/1188703448?mp=0


By Nolan Clay
Staff Writer

TULSA — A state Department of Human Services worker failed to properly
investigate accusations a boy was being abused in the weeks leading up
to his death and faked reports to cover up the blunder, a new report has
revealed.


DHS discovered the fabricated reports only after the boy was murdered by
his father, according to a special report that a state oversight agency
prepared at the request of The Oklahoman.

Keenan Taylor, 2, died from burns on June 9, 2005, a day after he was
scalded by boiling water at his home.

The DHS "intake� worker reported he'd checked on the boy and three other
children two weeks earlier because of abuse complaints but found no
problems at the father's home.

The worker actually may not have interviewed or observed the boy at all
then, the special report shows.

Also, a DHS supervisor found key witnesses were never interviewed even
though reports reflect the worker questioned them, records show.

The worker resigned after he was confronted about inaccuracies in his
investigative reports, the oversight agency's report shows.

The tragedy is an extreme example of a recurring problem at the agency —
workers sometimes fail to check on a child's welfare then falsify
reports to show they did.

Some former employees have told The Oklahoman that workers make phony
reports because they are struggling with high caseloads and are under
extreme pressure from supervisors to make documentation a priority.

"They chose to put these kids in these types of situations and then they
don't follow up and they lie about following up,� said Keenan's
grandfather, Archie Taylor, who is suing DHS and current and former DHS
employees.

"It was like they were just half doing their job,� said Taylor, a Tulsa
aircraft machinist whose daughter is Keenan's mother. "I want to make
sure that this don't happen to other kids, and the only way to do that
is to expose DHS.�

DHS Director Howard Hendrick did not respond directly to a request for
comment. Instead, DHS spokesman George Johnson said, "When we hire and
train staff to do a job, we have to rely on a certain amount of trust
and honesty.

"With a work force the size of ours, that trust is going to be violated.
That's why we have policies in place to address those issues when they
do occur.�

In Keenan's case, both the worker who faked reports and a "permanency�
worker resigned shortly after the boy's death, records show. The
permanency worker failed twice to turn in accusations of mistreatment
for possible investigation, records show.

Keenan's father, Carlis Anthony Ball, 25, is serving a sentence of life
in prison without the possibility of parole for the boy's death. He was
found guilty of first-degree murder and neglect at a trial last year.

Prosecutors say Ball deliberately poured scalding water on his son,
burning 50 percent of the boy's body, on June 8, 2005. Ball allegedly
then stuck the boy in a dirty bedroom closet overnight. Ball watched a
movie, had sex with a girlfriend and went shopping in the hours after
the boy was burned, according to testimony at his trial.

Ball called for help the next afternoon and claimed he accidentally
knocked a pot of boiling water on Keenan while cooking, according to
testimony. Ball said he had not realized at first the boy was burned so
badly, court records show.

DHS disclosed to prosecutors its intake worker had done an inaccurate
investigation. DHS did not discuss the fraud in its only public report
on the case. The majority of DHS records on the case remain confidential
by law.

The Oklahoman discovered the fraud as part of its ongoing inquiry into
DHS. It is unclear if the worker faked the records before or after
Keenan died.

The Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth last week revealed some
details about the fraud in an 11-page report based in large part on a
review of DHS records.

The oversight agency did not name the employees in the report.

However, a DHS attorney identified Granville L. Haynes II and Billie J.
Mayberry as the two child-welfare specialists who resigned to avoid
being fired for their actions in the case.

DHS will not represent Haynes and Mayberry in the lawsuit, said the
attorney, Richard Freeman Jr.

The former employees could not be reached for comment. "I just cannot
take any more of the pressure,� Mayberry said in her resignation letter.

The report
The Commission on Children and Youth reported:

•Keenan had been placed with his father on Dec. 23, 2004, after his
mother tested positive for marijuana and cocaine. Ball was allowed to
care for the boy even though he had been in trouble with the police and
DHS before. He was caring for three other kids.

•Complaints about the father were made to DHS in 2005 on Feb. 25, April
4, May 3, May 20, May 24, May 25 and June 7.

•The accusations included claims that the father had whipped Keenan with
a belt, that his children were dirty and smelled of urine, and that he
was "smoking marijuana all the time.�

•Many of the complaints were not even investigated.

•DHS supervisors questioned whether the intake worker really checked on
the boy on May 23, 2005, two weeks before the death. The worker reported
he had found the apartment clean on May 23, 2005, the four children
there showed no signs of abuse or neglect and there was no evidence of
drugs or alcohol.

•However, after Keenan's death, his body was found to have injuries at
various stages of healing, and two other children in the home had a
pattern of marks on their bodies consistent with abuse and neglect.

•Confronted by a supervisor after the death, the intake worker "had
difficulty in locating the case notes and could not recall specific
information about the investigation.�

•"The supervisor checked with people who were reportedly interviewed by
the intake worker and determined that the worker never interviewed
certain key people.�

•"It remains unknown as to whether Keenan was interviewed or observed by
the intake worker.�

In the lawsuit
In his lawsuit, the grandfather blames DHS for Keenan's death, saying
workers failed to take steps to remove the boy from an abusive
situation. The grandfather alleges Keenan's civil rights were violated.

The grandfather's attorney, James Linger, said he learned about the
faked records after filing the lawsuit last year. He said he found the
evidence this summer when a Tulsa County judge allowed him to review
almost 6,000 pages of confidential DHS records. He said he is not
allowed to discuss what he found.

DHS has asked a federal judge to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing a state
agency cannot be sued for civil rights violations.

Freeman, the DHS attorney, also told The Oklahoman that DHS cannot be
held accountable for the wrongdoing of former employees whose actions
were not in the scope of their employment.

"They were acting illegally — I would contend — based on our
investigation,� Freeman said. "The two we are representing are a little
higher up in the supervisory chain.�

Keenan died nine days before his third birthday. His injuries were so
severe the casket was kept closed.

The boy's grandfather and his wife, Barbara Taylor, recalled Keenan as
sweet and quiet.

"He was really fond of Spider-Man,� said Archie Taylor who blinked back
tears during an interview at his home. "He loved Spider-Man.�

Contributing: Staff Writer Randy Ellis




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...