School, DCFS stonewall on blind girl's death

School, DCFS stonewall on blind girl's death
By GEOFF WALLIN
published:Aug 07, 5:29 PM
School and child welfare officials refused to explain today why a
malnourished 13-year-old girl beaten to death on Friday was allowed to
remain in the care of her mother and stepfather.

http://www.chitowndailynews.org/Chic...nd_girls_death

The girl, Shavon Miles, was whipped with an extension cord and
bludgeoned with a 2-by-4 at her South Side home. Lynessia Hiles-Sloan,
her mother, and Gabriel Sloan, her stepfather, were charged yesterday
with first-degree murder in the case.

Shavon weighed just 73 pounds when she was killed -- about 50 pounds
less than average for her age. She had liver damage, small, circular
burn marks on her skin, and her body showed evidence of old head injuries.

Chicago Public Schools officials would not discuss whether anyone at
Shavon's school noticed that she was severely underweight or reported
their concerns to the state Department of Child and Family Services.

Educators are legally required to report suspected abuse.

Mike Vaughn, a spokesman for the Chicago Public Schools, said
confidentiality issues prevented him from speaking about the case.

Neighbors said Shavon attended McKay Elementary.
Dawn Prather-Hawk, the principal there, said information regarding
Shavon was unavailable to her. She then demanded that a Daily News
reporter leave the building.

Department of Children and Family Services spokesman Kendall Marlowe
said the agency had received three complaints regarding Shavon.

In 1994, the Department of Children and Family Services removed Shavon
and her twin brother from the custody of their mother and biological father.

Last year, DCFS received a complaint alleging an unknown perpetrator had
abused Shavon.

And earlier this year, a complaint against Sloan and Hiles-Sloan had
been filed alleging medical neglect.

Marlowe refused to provide additional information on those complaints,
including the type of abuse alleged, whether the department found
evidence of abuse, and why Shavon remained in the custody of her mother
and stepfather afterward.

"I want this agency to be as transparent as it can be," said Marlowe.
"Sometimes that's going to show that we were in situations where we
should have intervened."

Marlowe said he was legally barred from discussing the cases involving
Shavon by the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act.

In fact the law allows DCFS to disclose information about abuse cases
when a child has died, as long as releasing details would not be
contrary to the interests of the victim's siblings.

Richard Gelles, a child-welfare expert at the University of
Pennsylvania, said he's been advocating greater transparency at agencies
like DCFS.

In Philadelphia, giving the public greater access to child welfare case
documents improved accountability.

"That might end the practice of burying mistakes," he said.

- Daily News staff writer Kate Gardiner contributed to this report




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...

Was race a factor?
Did the bio father's fight for visitation motivate CPS?

Photo
http://media1.suntimes.com/multimedi...0.imageContent

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/4...buse07.article

Decade of abuse ends in death
BRUTAL SLAYING | Couple charged in beating, killing of daughter, 13

August 7, 2007
BY ANNIE SWEENEY AND STEFANO ESPOSITO Staff Reporters
A mother and stepfather beat their legally blind, half-starved teenage
daughter to death last week because they thought the girl faked a
fainting spell, Cook County prosecutors said.

A plank and an electric cord -- fashioned into a whip -- were among
the implements the South Side couple used to inflict the fatal blows,
prosecutors said.

Gabriel Sloan, 31, and Lynnessia Sloan-Hiles, 34, both appeared at the
26th and California courthouse, where Judge Raymond Myles ordered them
held without bail Monday in the slaying of Shavon Miles.

Photo
Marcus Miles (right) talks about his daughter, Shavon, 13.
(Keith Hale/Sun-Times)
As she laid out the case, Cook County assistant state's attorney LuAnn
Snow shared details of earlier abuse, including cigarette burns on the
girl's skin and bleeding in the brain.
Snow told Myles that "undernutrition" contributed to the death of
Shavon, who weighed 73 pounds.

Three times in the last 13 years, the Illinois Department of Children
and Family Services had been notified about potential abuse and
neglect involving Shavon. Officials with DCFS said Monday they plan to
review the family's case file.

In court, Snow said Sloan and Sloan-Hiles became angry with Shavon
after she collapsed outside the family home in the 7200 block of South
Maplewood last Friday. Sloan then pulled Shavon inside the house and
repeatedly smashed the girl's head against the walls and floor, Snow
said.

"The victim is screaming, and both offenders accuse her of faking the
collapse," Snow said.

The girl's mother beat her with an electrical cord and a 2-by-4 plank,
Snow said. The couple then took the girl upstairs because they were
expecting a repairman, prosecutors said.

Later in the day, the couple called 911, claiming Shavon had suffered
a seizure.

But the couple admitted in videotaped statements to beating Shavon and
to hiding evidence, including the bloody plank.

Shavon had a twin brother, who also lived at the Maplewood address,
state officials said. The twin is staying with family, officials
said.

The twins' paternal grandmother, Trudy Hurst, said Monday that she
made a call to DCFS last month to report that her granddaughter was
"withdrawn.'' The girl had spent time on July 1 with her biological
father --

who said he has been fighting for two years to have visitation with
his children.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"It was strange,'' said Hurst, who saw Shavon July 1. "When she left,
she didn't want to leave. I felt there was something wrong there.''

Hurst said her granddaughter suffered seizures. But Hurst said her son
had been kept from the kids for several years, and the family of the
children's father didn't really know what was happening at the South
Side address.



On Aug 7, 10:01 pm, fx wrote:
School, DCFS stonewall on blind girl's death
By GEOFF WALLIN
published:Aug 07, 5:29 PM
School and child welfare officials refused to explain today why a
malnourished 13-year-old girl beaten to death on Friday was allowed to
remain in the care of her mother and stepfather.

http://www.chitowndailynews.org/Chic...chool_DCFS_sto...

The girl, Shavon Miles, was whipped with an extension cord and
bludgeoned with a 2-by-4 at her South Side home. Lynessia Hiles-Sloan,
her mother, and Gabriel Sloan, her stepfather, were charged yesterday
with first-degree murder in the case.

Shavon weighed just 73 pounds when she was killed -- about 50 pounds
less than average for her age. She had liver damage, small, circular
burn marks on her skin, and her body showed evidence of old head injuries.

Chicago Public Schools officials would not discuss whether anyone at
Shavon's school noticed that she was severely underweight or reported
their concerns to the state Department of Child and Family Services.

Educators are legally required to report suspected abuse.

Mike Vaughn, a spokesman for the Chicago Public Schools, said
confidentiality issues prevented him from speaking about the case.

Neighbors said Shavon attended McKay Elementary.
Dawn Prather-Hawk, the principal there, said information regarding
Shavon was unavailable to her. She then demanded that a Daily News
reporter leave the building.

Department of Children and Family Services spokesman Kendall Marlowe
said the agency had received three complaints regarding Shavon.

In 1994, the Department of Children and Family Services removed Shavon
and her twin brother from the custody of their mother and biological father.

Last year, DCFS received a complaint alleging an unknown perpetrator had
abused Shavon.

And earlier this year, a complaint against Sloan and Hiles-Sloan had
been filed alleging medical neglect.

Marlowe refused to provide additional information on those complaints,
including the type of abuse alleged, whether the department found
evidence of abuse, and why Shavon remained in the custody of her mother
and stepfather afterward.

"I want this agency to be as transparent as it can be," said Marlowe.
"Sometimes that's going to show that we were in situations where we
should have intervened."

Marlowe said he was legally barred from discussing the cases involving
Shavon by the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act.

In fact the law allows DCFS to disclose information about abuse cases
when a child has died, as long as releasing details would not be
contrary to the interests of the victim's siblings.

Richard Gelles, a child-welfare expert at the University of
Pennsylvania, said he's been advocating greater transparency at agencies
like DCFS.

In Philadelphia, giving the public greater access to child welfare case
documents improved accountability.

"That might end the practice of burying mistakes," he said.

- Daily News staff writer Kate Gardiner contributed to this report




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...