Foster children file millions in claims against WA state

Foster children file millions in claims against WA state

http://www.bellinghamherald.com/nort...ry/116164.html
Foster children of Carole Ann DeLeon have filled millions of dollars in
claims against Washington state, saying it failed to protect them from
abuse by the woman who is charged with killing her adopted son.

Claims totaling more than $55 million have been filed against the state
Department of Social and Health Services on behalf of five children,
including the estate of 7-year-old Tyler DeLeon, who died in DeLeon's
Deer Park-area home in 2005.

State records showed that school officials repeatedly reported concerns
about the bruised, emaciated boy.

"They were abused in a licensed foster home," said Cynthia Novotny, one
of the lawyers representing the children.

If the state won't settle the cases, Novotny said, the children's claims
will likely be filed as lawsuits in Spokane in a couple of months.

The homicide by abuse case against DeLeon, 51, is set for trial on July 16.

Stevens County Prosecutor Tim Rasmussen said Tuesday that plea
negotiations with DeLeon have broken down.

She has pleaded innocent to homicide by abuse and to an additional
charge of second-degree criminal mistreatment of a second boy,
identified in court records only by his initials: S.M.M.

Superior Court Judge Al Nielson has also approved bringing a jury from
Okanogan County to hear the high-profile case in the Colville courtroom.

Most of the claims against DSHS are for $10 million; one in Tyler's name
is for $15 million. The surviving children will likely need lifelong
counseling, Novotny said.

A DSHS spokeswoman said the agency has made substantial changes in the
wake of the tragedy but referred specific questions about the claims to
the attorney generals office, which didn't want to comment.

Novotny's law firm has said it also intends to file claims against the
children's pediatricians and others who should have detected and
reported negligence or abuse.

"How many 7-year-olds weigh 28 pounds?" she said.

State records paint a bleak picture of life in the home, where Tyler was
one of six children in the care of DeLeon and her adult daughter,
Christina DeLeon-Burns.

Of average weight when he was brought to the home as an infant in 1998,
the boy gained only 12 pounds in the ensuing 6 1/2 years.

Carole DeLeon insisted that his teachers and caregivers not give him
food or water. She claimed that the boy could have a life-threatening
reaction to overeating or drinking, a diagnosis for which subsequent
state investigations have found no evidence.

A day before he died, the boy reportedly tore through his basement
window screen so he could eat some snow.

State records regarding Tyler show numerous reported cuts, bruises, a
severely broken leg and two teeth "knocked out."

DeLeon, state records indicate, told his teachers to ignore such
injuries because Tyler would injure himself and "make up stories."

The claimants include children ages 7, 9, and 11, as well as Amber Lynn
Daniels, who is now 18.

According to court documents, Daniels lived at the DeLeon home from 1998
to 2000. In that time, her weight plummeted from 175 pounds to 102. She
told investigator that DeLeon forced her to go without water for long
periods.

DeLeon's attorney, Carl Oreskovich, didn't return a call seeking comment
on the allegations.

Even if the state must pay tens of millions of dollars in damages to the
children, Novotny doubted it will have a substantial impact on policy.

"The state keeps saying that they're going to change their policies
every time a child dies," she said. "It doesn't appear that happens."

On the contrary, said DSHS spokeswoman Kathy Spears. More than 95
percent of high-risk child-abuse complaints are now investigated within
24 hours instead of the previous 10-day standard, she said.

Information from: The Spokesman-Review, http://www.spokesmanreview.com







MR. PRESIDENT. PLEASE STOP CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES THE FROM USING THE
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES AS TOILET PAPER...


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 HUNDREDS OF INNOCENT
FAMILIES YEARLY NATIONWIDE AND COMING TO YOU'RE HOME SOON...


better? Yes No?