Boy's tragic death a loud wakeup call

Boy's tragic death a loud wakeup call
Corrective actions are too late for Chandler Grafner, but not for the
next child. School welfare referrals can't be ignored.
By The Denver Post Editorial Board
Article Last Updated: 09/01/2007 04:48:06 PM MDT

http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_6763227


The gut-wrenching starvation death of 7-year-old Chandler Grafner needs
to serve as a wakeup call to all schools, teachers and social service
agencies in Colorado.

The public agencies created to protect our most vulnerable citizens
failed him. In three different counties.

In the end, a little boy slowly wasted away of hunger and neglect. He
died on May 6 after being imprisoned in a tiny closet by his guardians.

More than three months earlier, Denver Human Services decided that a
school official's report that the little boy had bruises and might have
been abused by the man caring for him was "unfounded."

Nineteen days before the boy died, the same agency ignored another
school report that Chandler had missed school for more than a month.
They didn't investigate. A more timely report by the school or a visit
by a caseworker may have revealed an emaciated little boy. Denver Human
Services director Roxane White said the agency was told he was being
home-schooled. She couldn't provide documentation on when or who told them.

A state review released last week outlines the failures. Karen Beye,
executive director of the Colorado Department of Human Services,
indicated that county agencies did not contribute to the little boy's
death. But all three department of human service agencies in Arapahoe,
Jefferson and Denver counties were lax in one way or another. Strong and
decisive action by one of those agencies might very well have saved the
little boy.

Was it ineptness? Indifference? Caseworkers overworked?

Whatever the reason, multiple failures up and down the line were
inexcusable. Agencies failed to follow up on complaints and to share
information across counties. Had there been better communication among
county officials and the state, alarm bells would have had to go off
somewhere.

If a school notifies an agency with a concern about a child and that
agency fails to respond, they must seek another avenue, whether it be
going directly to state officials or to the police, which had been
notified in January. Better follow-up is critical in every case
involving potential abuse.

School officials should have hounded child protection workers or the
police if they believed the boy was in danger - and someone obviously
thought he was.

More than two years before he died, at the age of 4, Chandler had
expressed fear of the man caring for him, Jon Phillips, who had
voluntarily taken custody of him. Phillips is the father of Chandler's
half- brother. Phillips and his common-law wife Sarah Berry have been
charged with first-degree murder.

Arapahoe County was the first to investigate neglect, and the report
criticized two of its practices. Jefferson County later placed the child
with Phillips and Berry without a comprehensive assessment and despite
warnings from the boy's birth mother, who had lost custody, that he was
abusive and might hurt the boy. Jefferson County was cited for five
violations of state policy, Denver with one.

The state is requiring all three counties to draw up corrective action
plans within 45 days. It's too late for Chandler, but maybe not for the
next child. In the future, Denver officials say police or a social
worker will respond in person to child welfare referrals from a school.
If only Chandler had received the benefit of such foresight.



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...