I-Team Investigation: Baby's Death in NV Clark County Care

I-Team Investigation: Baby's Death in Clark County's Care

http://www.klas-tv.com/Global/story.asp?S=6503306

When a seemingly health baby boy took his last breath at Child Haven
last August, few details were released about his death. Now, much more
is known about the quality of care Joshua Sharp received at the Clark
County facility.

The Channel 8 I-Team began investigating Joshua's death the day it
happened pouring over records from the police, the coroner, the county
and the state.

Read DFS's Child Fatality Report in the Case of Baby Joshua Sharp

For the first time, after some nine months, we see the face of Baby
Joshua and hear from his heartbroken family.

Carol Sharp, Joshua's grandmother, said, "We had to tell them their baby
was gone.'

Amanda Guidaitis can barely speak. Joshua Sharp, the baby's father,
said, "We weren't bad parents."

As Amanda listens to her boyfriend and his mother talk about the death
of their baby boy, it's as if she fears opening her mouth might cause
her to join him.

In June of 2006, Clark County Child Protective Services took
17-month-old Joshua Sharp from his teenage mom and dad. They'd taken him
to the hospital for a fever.

Sharp said, "The social worker came in and said, 'You guys don't have a
stable place to stay.' We were living with friends."

The caseworker told Joshua, Sr. the system could better care for their
baby. But it didn't.

A Child Haven employee made the call to 911. "Yeah, I'm at Child Haven
and I have a little child that's not breathing."

Child Haven staff administered CPR.

Baby Joshua never again showed signs of life.

The coroner ruled he died of natural causes from an ear infection that
progressed to a blood infection that attacked his entire body.

Dr. Harold Naiman said, "It seems, as a pediatrician and a father, it
seems very unnatural for a 17-month-old child to die of an infection
that may have progressed to sepsis and death."

Documents obtained by the I-Team suggest poor record keeping, a lack of
communication and a failure to follow-up interfered with Baby Joshua's
medical care. The only time he saw a doctor was the visit to the
hospital with his parents.

In the county's custody, a physician's assistant -- without access to
the baby's medical records -- prescribed antibiotics twice. The P.A.
prescribed a ten-day course in late July for an ear infection and then
again in early August for another ear infection and an eye infection.

A chronology of care put together by the county after Joshua's death
shows he received his medicine as prescribed. But a review of county
records by the state Department of Health and Human Services found it
impossible to say for sure.

One log notes Joshua received his medicine days before the pharmacy
delivered it. There are no nursing notes to indicate whether anyone
regularly checked his eyes and ears. In fact, the nursing notes stop all
together twelve days before he died.

Though his parents visited Child Haven almost every day to see their
son, they didn't know he was sick.

Joshua Sharp, Sr. said, "I go in there everyday and question them.
What's going on with my son? This was my kid. But they always told me
he's fine, he's fine. They never said nothing about an ear infection."

According to the state's review, the medical staff did not share
information about Joshua with the caregivers at Child Haven, his
caseworker, or his parents.

The day he died staff thought he seemed perfectly healthy. He spent the
morning playing with his mom, ate lunch and then went down for a nap.
During bed checks at 4:45 p.m. he was alive, but five minutes later he
wasn't.

Sharp continued, "From what they tell us, it took a couple of days for
his organs to shut down. How come they didn't' notice this?"

Why? Because they didn't pay any attention to him.

Baby Joshua's mother, Amanda shyly expresses the same concern. "I just
thought we could do it better than them. I didn't think they were doing
their job very good."

Amanda wishes she'd had more of a voice against a system dead set on
saving her son.

Emails the I-Team has gathered between the county and the state show the
county rejects the state's review.

The Department of Family Services Director Tom Morton declined our
request for an on-camera interview, but he did send the statement.

"Our hearts are with the family, and we share in their grief.

"Out of respect for their privacy, we do not wish to add to their
pain by commenting further on any specifics related to this case.

"Child Haven has a long history of helping families in crisis, and
we are always looking for ways to improve the quality of care we provide. "

We will continue to take a critical look at our policies and
procedures to ensure our children have the best care possible."

According to the state, as of May 10th, Clark County has yet to provide
a plan to correct the problems it found at Child Haven.

The I-Team has learned the family does have a lawyer and he's in
discussions with the county.



CURRENTLY CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES VIOLATES MORE CIVIL RIGHTS ON A
DAILY BASIS THEN ALL OTHER AGENCIES COMBINED INCLUDING THE NATIONAL
SECURITY AGENCY/CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY 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...

www.connecticutdcfwatch.com/8x11.pdf

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
Fatalities CPS 6.4, Parents 1.5

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...