PHOENIX, ARIZONA — Legislators seek answers on why CPS ignored custody order?

Legislators seek answers on why CPS ignored custody order, are told of
agency staff shortage
'Based on the information, we should have kept the case open. We did
not.' — Lillian Downing, CPS's Pima County head

By Josh Brodesky
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 09.26.2007

http://www.azstarnet.com/dailystar/203126

PHOENIX — Child Protective Services made a mistake when it closed its
investigation into the mother of Ariana and Tyler Payne, the agency's
Pima County head said Tuesday during a legislative hearing.

At the very least, keeping the case open would have allowed
investigators to continue to check on the welfare of the two children
while their parents' custody dispute played out in court, said Lillian
Downing, adding the closure was a result of extreme staffing shortages.

"Based on the information, we should have kept the case open. We did
not," she said.


Roughly seven months after the police investigation started into the
deaths of Ariana and Tyler Payne, Downing and other CPS officials
testified before the House Government Committee about how the Payne case
was handled.


The hearing opened the door for changes allowing CPS to have better
access to criminal histories, improve communication with police and file
missing persons reports.


The hearing did not address CPS's handling of the case of Brandon
Williams, a 5-year-old boy who died in March despite contact with CPS.
Williams' mother and a friend are charged with the murder.


The decision to close the case was one of the few mistakes Downing and
other officials acknowledged in the face of questions about why CPS
workers disregarded a court order, failed to check court records or did
not intervene with a temporary custody notification. Nonetheless,
Downing also said, the case's closure was appropriate.


"I cannot say it was an error that we closed the case because, regarding
the allegations and our involvement with the mother, there was nothing
further for us to do," she said.

Such inconsistent answers during the five-hour hearing left lawmakers
frustrated.


"We simply couldn't get straight answers from the questions," said
Jonathan Paton, a Tucson Republican who has taken the lead on the hearings.


"We asked if there were mistakes made. Somehow there weren't mistakes,
but somehow there were. It was very confusing to me as far as what the
real answer was," Paton said.

In February, 4-year-old Ariana's decomposing body was found in a trash
bin after it had been kept in a storage locker. Five-year-old Tyler's
remains have not been found, but he is presumed dead.


Documents have shown CPS workers and Tucson police did not follow a
court order giving the children's mother, Jamie Hallam, sole custody
without visitation rights because there were concerns she was using
methamphetamine, an allegation that has never been proven.


Instead of following the order, CPS and the Tucson Police Department
kept the children with their father, Christopher Matthew Payne, and his
girlfriend Reina Gonzales, who are charged with murdering them.


CPS officials acknowledged investigator Cindy Graupmann never checked
court records to verify the court order.

But the decision to disregard the order was a major focus of the
hearing. CPS officials said there were no indications the children were
in danger as Payne had never been the subject of any child abuse
allegations.


Moreover, it was Hallam who violated the court order by placing the kids
with Payne in January 2006, CPS officials said.
"We had no reason to say these children were in imminent risk with their
father," Downing said.


Documents have shown that on March 9, 2006, Hallam attempted to get her
kids back from Payne — one week after she was told her CPS case had been
closed. She went to a gas station near Payne's apartment and called
Tucson police asking for help.


When officers arrived, she showed them her court order. The officers
went to Payne's home but decided to keep the kids there at the direction
of CPS because of the concerns about methamphetamine use.


Deputy Chief Kermit Miller said if Hallam had protested that decision,
the officer would have enforced the court order.
"If she had objected, he would have had to have gone back and at least
threatened an arrest," he said.


It is the department's policy to follow CPS's direction on child
placement, Miller said.
Another key point in the hearing was why CPS never intervened by using a
temporary custody notice, which would have allowed the agency to take
custody of the kids for 72 hours.
Much of the CPS rationale for keeping the kids with Payne was the
suspicion Hallam was using methamphetamine.
Case notes have documented the investigator, Graupmann, believed Hallam
was using methamphetamine because of sores on her body and her repeated
refusal to take drug tests.
Rep. Kirk Adams, R-Mesa, who chairs the committee, asked why a temporary
custody notice wasn't used if there were so many concerns about Hallam's
supposed drug use.
"They could have gone to court. They could have had a hearing. The judge
could have ruled whether it was appropriate to stay with the father,"
Adams said.
Downing said there wasn't enough evidence to take action; and if CPS
lost in court the children would have had to go back to their mother.


No one has been disciplined in the handling of the Payne case, and
officials said any problems that did arise in the course of the
investigation were due to a staffing shortage.


"We had as many as 40 percent vacancies" in Pima County at that time,
said Ken Debeirt, deputy director of the Department of Economic
Security, who oversees CPS.


"When you get that kind of movement, change in relationships, it has an
impact in how the practice is conducted," he said.
Said Downing, "We should have kept the case open. We did not. It was due
to staffing issues, the workload. This particular case investigator had
30 open cases."


While there was much rehashing of the Payne case, the hearing also
highlighted some potential changes to the agency to ensure child safety.
Some ideas were allowing CPS workers to file missing-persons reports and
providing better access to Department of Public Safety criminal records.
"Access to criminal history information is particularly important both
from a worker safety standpoint as well as assisting us" with
investigations, Deibert said.


While endorsing the changes, Paton said, "I think there were serious
mistakes that were made, and I want to make sure there certainly is a
measure of accountability."

Read more crime-related news in the "Police Beat" blog at
go.azstarnet.com/policebeat.
Contact reporter Josh Brodesky at 807-7789 or .








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...