Holy Innocents
HEROD, who was reigning in Judea at the time of the birth of Our Savior, having heard that the Wise Men had come from the East to Jerusalem in search of the King of the Jews, was troubled. He called together the chief priests, and learning that Christ was to be born in Bethlehem, he told the Wise Men: "When you have found Him, bring me word again, that I also may come and adore Him." But God having warned them in a dream not to return, they went back to their homes another way. St. Joseph, too, was ordered in his sleep to "take the Child and His Mother and fly into Egypt." When Herod found that the Wise Men did not return, he was furious, and ordered that every male child in Bethlehem and its vicinity of the age of two and under should be slain. These innocent victims were the flowers and the first-fruits of His martyrs, and triumphed over the world, without having ever known it or experienced its dangers.
HEROD, who was reigning in Judea at the time of the birth of Our Savior, having heard that the Wise Men had come from the East to Jerusalem in search of the King of the Jews, was troubled. He called together the chief priests, and learning that Christ was to be born in Bethlehem, he told the Wise Men: "When you have found Him, bring me word again, that I also may come and adore Him." But God having warned them in a dream not to return, they went back to their homes another way. St. Joseph, too, was ordered in his sleep to "take the Child and His Mother and fly into Egypt." When Herod found that the Wise Men did not return, he was furious, and ordered that every male child in Bethlehem and its vicinity of the age of two and under should be slain. These innocent victims were the flowers and the first-fruits of His martyrs, and triumphed over the world, without having ever known it or experienced its dangers.
Reflection.—How
few perhaps of these children, if they had lived, would have escaped
the dangers of the world! What snares, what sins, what miseries were
they preserved from! So we often lament as misfortunes many accidents
which in the designs of Heaven are the greatest mercies.
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If you believe a child is being abused, neglected or is dependent, you should call the Child Protection Hot Line number below or the Protection and Permanency office in your county.
Child Protection Hot Line: 1-877-KYSAFE1 or 1-877-597-2331 (Toll Free)
For information regarding reporting standards and investigation protocol, please review the Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect Booklet.
 |
| About the Child Safety Branch |
 |
The Child Protection
Branch provides consultation and state program guidance for child
protective services cases. Central office staff help develop standards
of practice for inclusion in the state's manual, and provide real time
guidance to cases as required by field personnel.
Frequently Asked Questions on Child Abuse
Frequently Asked Questions on Child Abuse
|
| Ombudsman |
|
Call (800) 372-2973 or (800) 627-4702 (TTY)
(From Kentucky's Department for Community Based ServicesProtection and PermanencyChild Safety Branch.)
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Become a Face It Ambassador to Help End Child Abuse
Kentucky Youth Advocates is heavily involved in the Kosair Charities Face It Campaign, which began in 2012 in response to the public outcry against the increasing number of child abuse deaths in the Commonwealth. Kosair Charities, who has stepped up to protect vulnerable children for over 90 years, brought together key partners to plan a campaign to address the problem child abuse deaths in Jefferson County and the surrounding areas. This group spent 2012 planning an effective campaign that includes best practices in child abuse prevention, community engagement and promoting effective policies to improve the child welfare system. The Face It Campaign, officially launched on April 9, 2013, is a 10 year initiative led by Kosair Charities with the vision that by 2023, all children in Jefferson County will be free from abuse and neglect.
Take Action
Face It Ambassadors are a group of concerned individuals who are dedicated to working with professional experts to end child abuse and neglect in Kentucky and Southern Indiana. Ambassadors are charged with advocating on behalf of children, supporting community education initiatives, fundraising events, and providing philanthropic support for non-profit agencies dedicated to preventing child abuse and neglect. Become a Face It Ambassador here.Face It Ambassador duties:
- Learn the warning signs of child abuse and neglect.
- Work to address non-confrontational interventions if witness to a child suffering abuse or neglect in public.
- Commit to reporting suspected abuse or neglect to authorities.
- Speak out as an advocate against child abuse. Inspire conversation with others by wearing the Face It logo.
- Host an annual “Face It Forum” in your home, office or on the Kosair Charities Campus. Invite your friends and family, provide refreshments, welcome a professional to lead a discussion on the problem of child abuse and educate your network.
- Participate in related events and activities geared towards raising awareness of child abuse and/or funding to support the Face It Movement.
- Make an annual donation to the Face It Movement at any level and/or provide other needed resources to benefit families and children served by Face It agency partners.
Learn more at faceitabuse.org.
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Kentucky's Child Abuse Panel Requesting $420,000 To Meet Goals
An
independent Kentucky panel in charge of reviewing child abuse cases is
requesting $420,000 from the state’s budget to perform its duties.
The
Child Fatality and Near Fatality Review Panel was created following
criticism of accountability and transparency in the Cabinet for Health
and Family Services, which deals with child abuse cases.
The panel—which consists of volunteer professionals ranging from law enforcement to child advocates—has reviewed dozens of cases, but the workload is heavy, says panel chair and retired judge Roger Crittenden.
“Right now the challenge is the amount of work, or the amount of review, that’s required from people who are basically giving their time and are busy people with full-time jobs,” he says.
The money—if approved by Gov. Steve Beshear and the General Assembly—would buy staff, Crittenden says.
“There’s some staff members that include legal services and other analysts, to provide people that will take the data, take the files that we’re looking at...take what we’ve suggested and then make some sort of analysis,” he says.
The panel was created by Beshear through executive order and later became permanent through state law, but there has never been funding attached. The panel is under the state’s Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, which provides some help but not enough, Crittenden says.
At a previous panel meeting, Teri Covington, director of the National Center for the Review and Prevention of Child Deaths, told members it’s virtually impossible to keep up the review and do the analysis necessary with volunteers, Crittenden says.
Over the past year, the panel has reviewed around 55 child abuse cases from 2012 and will review around 60 cases from this year, he says. The panel is expected to give its annual report in early December.
“We’re going to be identifying those issues that we’ll be looking for in the next year. We’re going to be giving a history of how the panel got to where it is, and then how the panel intends to proceed for the next year in making the analysis that it makes,” says Crittenden.
In the analysis so far, there have been at least a couple of child abuse cases in which various panel members thought that CHFS follow up was not done in a speedy enough fashion, he says. There were also cases in which panel members praised the response by the CHFS and its employees.
Crittenden says one observation that seems consistent in the files is the lack of organization among the reports, making the children’s stories hard to follow.
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The panel—which consists of volunteer professionals ranging from law enforcement to child advocates—has reviewed dozens of cases, but the workload is heavy, says panel chair and retired judge Roger Crittenden.
“Right now the challenge is the amount of work, or the amount of review, that’s required from people who are basically giving their time and are busy people with full-time jobs,” he says.
The money—if approved by Gov. Steve Beshear and the General Assembly—would buy staff, Crittenden says.
“There’s some staff members that include legal services and other analysts, to provide people that will take the data, take the files that we’re looking at...take what we’ve suggested and then make some sort of analysis,” he says.
The panel was created by Beshear through executive order and later became permanent through state law, but there has never been funding attached. The panel is under the state’s Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, which provides some help but not enough, Crittenden says.
At a previous panel meeting, Teri Covington, director of the National Center for the Review and Prevention of Child Deaths, told members it’s virtually impossible to keep up the review and do the analysis necessary with volunteers, Crittenden says.
Over the past year, the panel has reviewed around 55 child abuse cases from 2012 and will review around 60 cases from this year, he says. The panel is expected to give its annual report in early December.
“We’re going to be identifying those issues that we’ll be looking for in the next year. We’re going to be giving a history of how the panel got to where it is, and then how the panel intends to proceed for the next year in making the analysis that it makes,” says Crittenden.
In the analysis so far, there have been at least a couple of child abuse cases in which various panel members thought that CHFS follow up was not done in a speedy enough fashion, he says. There were also cases in which panel members praised the response by the CHFS and its employees.
Crittenden says one observation that seems consistent in the files is the lack of organization among the reports, making the children’s stories hard to follow.
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Prosecutor decries 'alarming' trend of child abuse, deaths
Updated: Jan 18, 2015 8:42 AM EST
Items are seen outside a church where a funeral was held Saturday for a 2-year-old boy who died from abuse.
BOWLING GREEN, Ky (WBKO) A Bowling Green couple pleads guilty to abusing a 9-year-old boy. Updated: Tue 10:49 PM, Jan 13, 2015.
Police say the investigation of Laurie and Dominick Mastrangelo started back in 2012, and involved Laurie's biological son.
Through several interviews with police, the couple either admitted or accused each other of child abuse in the forms of making the child stand in a corner, making the child stand with his arms up, locking the boy in his room for up to 15 hours without food or bathroom breaks, nailing his toy chest shut, and spanking the child with a belt with metal studs.
Police also say Dominick is accused of touching the child's penis on at least two occasions.
They both pleaded guilty to criminal abuse charges.
Dominick also pleaded to sexual abuse and unlawful transaction with a minor.
They are both now in the Warren County Jail.
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Panel calls for changes after reviewing dozens of child-abuse deaths in Kentucky
bestep@herald-leader.comDecember 2, 2014
Education on safe sleeping practices, programs aimed at
stopping abusive head injuries and better access to mental-health
assessments could help prevent child-abuse deaths in Kentucky, according
to a state review panel.
The panel also called for drug tests for caregivers in certain child-death cases.
The recommendations were included in a report this week from the Child Fatality and Near Fatality External Review Panel.
It was the first set of recommendations from the panel, created to review cases in which children died or nearly died because of abuse or neglect, and to suggest ways to improve how social workers, hospitals, police and others handle such cases.
The panel considered more than 40 recommendations, but settled on about a dozen that members considered critical because they deal with a pressing issue, or because there was good data to support them, according to the report.
"These were the ones we felt would have the most impact," said Roger Crittenden, a retired circuit judge from Franklin County who chairs the panel.
The panel has much more work to do, however, the report noted.
The Department of Community Based Services — the state's child-protection agency — substantiated reports of abuse or neglect in more than 12,000 reports involving 19,407 children in the most recent full fiscal year.
The report from the review panel said the state provided 116 cases involving deaths or near deaths for members to review, all but one from the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2013.
Of those, 73 involved deaths and 43 were near-fatalities. Some problems showed up in a number of cases, and that's where the review panel focused its recommendations.
For instance, sharing a bed or other unsafe sleeping arrangements played a role in 41 percent of the deaths of children who were less than a year old, according to the report.
That's why the panel recommended that all hospitals with maternity wards educate parents on safe sleeping arrangements, including not sleeping with their infants, and that primary-care doctors, child-care providers and others continue to stress the information as children grow.
The Cabinet for Health and Family Services also should lead a statewide campaign to educate parents on safe sleeping practices, the review panel recommended.
Head trauma showed up as another key concern. More than half of the cases presented to the panel where physical abuse was alleged involved head injuries, most often inflicted by the child's father or the mother's boyfriend, according to the report.
Kentucky children suffering from abuse or neglect are more likely to suffer from such trauma than any other cause, the report said.
The review panel recommended increased education for parents and other caregivers aimed at preventing physical abuse, covering issues such as the danger of shaking an infant or child and ways to cope with a crying infant.
The review panel said it also supports education for people who work with children, as well as communities at large, on the duty to report suspected child abuse and on recognizing warning signs.
Substance abuse also was a recurring theme in abuse and neglect cases, according to the report. However, drugs and alcohol probably played a role in far more cases than the number confirmed by investigations, the panel said.
That's because authorities did not conduct drug tests in at least 95 of the 116 cases the panel received, according to its report.
Other information from the cabinet indicates that substance abuse is a contributing factor in 55 percent of all maltreatment cases, the report said, while the National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare says substance abuse affects up to two-thirds of families in the child-welfare system.
As a result, the review panel recommended that caregivers be drug-tested when authorities investigate the unexpected death of a child.
Crittenden said members of the panel realized the recommendation on drug-testing would be controversial, but felt it would help in investigations.
The report stressed that any policy on drug-testing should recognize the need to be sensitive to grieving parents, and that the ultimate goal should be to get treatment for a caregiver if needed.
State lawmakers would have to approve a requirement for drug-testing in child-death cases, Crittenden said.
Other recommendations from the panel included:
■ Improved access to mental-health assessments for caregivers, with the goal of identifying and dealing with mental-health and substance-abuse problems before they result in abuse.
■ Better coordination among child protection workers, police and others investigating child deaths and near deaths. In addition, the panel said police should consider including certain information, such as visitation restrictions, in law-enforcement databases. In its review, there were cases in which police placed children with parents that the state had barred from having visitation rights, the report said.
■ Birthing hospitals should connect parents of high-risk infants to resources they'll need after leaving the maternity ward, such as food assistance for infants.
■ The cabinet should develop guidelines for hospitals on handling infants born addicted to drugs, including guidelines on helping parents cope.
Some of the recommendations would need little money, but many would require additional spending — a potential roadblock at a time when state government already is stretched thin and many agencies have seen cutbacks. "I think it's a situation where we can't afford not to make some changes in the system," Crittenden said.
The panel said it supports the idea of opening court hearings on neglect and abuse cases as a way to increase public oversight of the system set up to protect vulnerable children.
Such hearings are now closed. Some people argue that private hearings are essential to protecting the best interests of children, but the review panel "believes closed-door hearings can mask systemic defects," according to its report.
Finally, the panel urged a study of the workload for child-protection employees, focusing on frontline workers who deal directly with children at risk. Crittenden said some have complained that the state does not have enough trained workers.
The review panel's report said it did not document a direct link between the workload of social workers and child deaths, but that the workload does affect the quality of services.
Jill Midkiff, a spokeswoman for the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, said social workers handle an average of 18 to 20 ongoing cases at a time.
Midkiff said in a statement that the cabinet respects the work of the review panel and values its suggestions, but had not yet had a chance as of Tuesday to digest the recommendations.
"In the coming weeks, the cabinet will thoroughly review the recommendations directly related to public health, behavioral health and DCBS and evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of the panel's recommendations," Midkiff said.
Gov. Steve Beshear created the review panel in 2012 in the wake of reports by the Herald-Leader and other newspapers that found problems in how the cabinet had handled some cases involving deaths and injuries, including not conducting required internal reviews. The cabinet said in its most recent annual report that it does all required reviews.
The panel also called for drug tests for caregivers in certain child-death cases.
The recommendations were included in a report this week from the Child Fatality and Near Fatality External Review Panel.
It was the first set of recommendations from the panel, created to review cases in which children died or nearly died because of abuse or neglect, and to suggest ways to improve how social workers, hospitals, police and others handle such cases.
The panel considered more than 40 recommendations, but settled on about a dozen that members considered critical because they deal with a pressing issue, or because there was good data to support them, according to the report.
"These were the ones we felt would have the most impact," said Roger Crittenden, a retired circuit judge from Franklin County who chairs the panel.
The panel has much more work to do, however, the report noted.
The Department of Community Based Services — the state's child-protection agency — substantiated reports of abuse or neglect in more than 12,000 reports involving 19,407 children in the most recent full fiscal year.
The report from the review panel said the state provided 116 cases involving deaths or near deaths for members to review, all but one from the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2013.
Of those, 73 involved deaths and 43 were near-fatalities. Some problems showed up in a number of cases, and that's where the review panel focused its recommendations.
For instance, sharing a bed or other unsafe sleeping arrangements played a role in 41 percent of the deaths of children who were less than a year old, according to the report.
That's why the panel recommended that all hospitals with maternity wards educate parents on safe sleeping arrangements, including not sleeping with their infants, and that primary-care doctors, child-care providers and others continue to stress the information as children grow.
The Cabinet for Health and Family Services also should lead a statewide campaign to educate parents on safe sleeping practices, the review panel recommended.
Head trauma showed up as another key concern. More than half of the cases presented to the panel where physical abuse was alleged involved head injuries, most often inflicted by the child's father or the mother's boyfriend, according to the report.
Kentucky children suffering from abuse or neglect are more likely to suffer from such trauma than any other cause, the report said.
The review panel recommended increased education for parents and other caregivers aimed at preventing physical abuse, covering issues such as the danger of shaking an infant or child and ways to cope with a crying infant.
The review panel said it also supports education for people who work with children, as well as communities at large, on the duty to report suspected child abuse and on recognizing warning signs.
Substance abuse also was a recurring theme in abuse and neglect cases, according to the report. However, drugs and alcohol probably played a role in far more cases than the number confirmed by investigations, the panel said.
That's because authorities did not conduct drug tests in at least 95 of the 116 cases the panel received, according to its report.
Other information from the cabinet indicates that substance abuse is a contributing factor in 55 percent of all maltreatment cases, the report said, while the National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare says substance abuse affects up to two-thirds of families in the child-welfare system.
As a result, the review panel recommended that caregivers be drug-tested when authorities investigate the unexpected death of a child.
Crittenden said members of the panel realized the recommendation on drug-testing would be controversial, but felt it would help in investigations.
The report stressed that any policy on drug-testing should recognize the need to be sensitive to grieving parents, and that the ultimate goal should be to get treatment for a caregiver if needed.
State lawmakers would have to approve a requirement for drug-testing in child-death cases, Crittenden said.
Other recommendations from the panel included:
■ Improved access to mental-health assessments for caregivers, with the goal of identifying and dealing with mental-health and substance-abuse problems before they result in abuse.
■ Better coordination among child protection workers, police and others investigating child deaths and near deaths. In addition, the panel said police should consider including certain information, such as visitation restrictions, in law-enforcement databases. In its review, there were cases in which police placed children with parents that the state had barred from having visitation rights, the report said.
■ Birthing hospitals should connect parents of high-risk infants to resources they'll need after leaving the maternity ward, such as food assistance for infants.
■ The cabinet should develop guidelines for hospitals on handling infants born addicted to drugs, including guidelines on helping parents cope.
Some of the recommendations would need little money, but many would require additional spending — a potential roadblock at a time when state government already is stretched thin and many agencies have seen cutbacks. "I think it's a situation where we can't afford not to make some changes in the system," Crittenden said.
The panel said it supports the idea of opening court hearings on neglect and abuse cases as a way to increase public oversight of the system set up to protect vulnerable children.
Such hearings are now closed. Some people argue that private hearings are essential to protecting the best interests of children, but the review panel "believes closed-door hearings can mask systemic defects," according to its report.
Finally, the panel urged a study of the workload for child-protection employees, focusing on frontline workers who deal directly with children at risk. Crittenden said some have complained that the state does not have enough trained workers.
The review panel's report said it did not document a direct link between the workload of social workers and child deaths, but that the workload does affect the quality of services.
Jill Midkiff, a spokeswoman for the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, said social workers handle an average of 18 to 20 ongoing cases at a time.
Midkiff said in a statement that the cabinet respects the work of the review panel and values its suggestions, but had not yet had a chance as of Tuesday to digest the recommendations.
"In the coming weeks, the cabinet will thoroughly review the recommendations directly related to public health, behavioral health and DCBS and evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of the panel's recommendations," Midkiff said.
Gov. Steve Beshear created the review panel in 2012 in the wake of reports by the Herald-Leader and other newspapers that found problems in how the cabinet had handled some cases involving deaths and injuries, including not conducting required internal reviews. The cabinet said in its most recent annual report that it does all required reviews.
Bill Estep: (606) 678-4655. Twitter: @billestep1
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FRANKFORT, Ky.
Amid an epidemic of drug use in Kentucky, a state panel on child abuse
is calling for parents to undergo drug tests if a child dies
unexpectedly in their care.
The Child Fatality and Near
Fatality External Review Panel released its annual report Monday with
nine key recommendations to improve protective services for the roughly
19,000 children who fall victim to abuse and neglect each year in
Kentucky.
Panel members reviewed 116 cases, involving 73
child fatalities and 43 near-deaths. Of those, 77 cases had a history
with the state Department of Community Based Services.
Chiefly,
the report recommends developing a standardized protocol for drug
screening parents — and other caregivers — as part of an investigation
into an unexpected child death.
It
also calls on the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services to
develop a statewide public-awareness campaign to promote safe sleeping
practices and educate new parents on the dangers of bed sharing.
Additionally,
the report recommends programs to educate parents about abusive head
trauma, link high-risk families with community services, coordinate
investigations, make court proceedings more transparent and study the
workload for social workers.
The Cabinet for Health and
Family Services said in a statement Monday that officials will review
the report over the coming weeks and evaluate the feasibility and
effectiveness of any proposals.
"While the cabinet values
the panel's suggestions and welcomes its feedback, we have not yet had
an opportunity to digest the panel's recommendations," it said.
But
Rep. Tom Burch, D-Louisville, the chairman of the House Health and
Welfare Committee, warned that the cabinet has failed to follow up on
problems before.
"Unless we put pressure on the cabinet and keep their feet to the fire, they may or may not do anything," he said.
According
to the report, 29 percent of deaths or near-deaths resulted from
physical abuse while 15 percent were related to medical neglect.
Around
10 percent — eight fatalities and seven near-deaths — involved a
caregiver who was under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time.
But tests were not administered in 95 percent of the cases the panel
examined this year.
Panel members concluded that
substance use is likely a much stronger factor in child injuries.
Cabinet data indicate that it plays a role in 55 percent of all
incidents, the report said.
Panel members considered
recommending drug tests last year but stopped short amid concerns that
it would further upset grieving parents.
But Roger
Crittenden, a retired Franklin Circuit judge who chairs the panel, said
making drug tests a standard procedure could help law enforcement and
child-welfare investigators.
"That's
a hard recommendation — hard meaning that one will have a lot of
conflict," he said. "We think that we made it general enough that it
could be adopted."
Burch said he supports the proposal, calling it a "good idea."
Meanwhile,
bed sharing and unsafe sleeping conditions were counted as factors in
nine fatalities and one near-fatality, and five of the deadly cases
involved an impaired parent sleeping with an infant.
A
state official testified this year that co-sleeping with parents,
sleeping in areas outside a crib, use of soft bedding, and placing
infants on their stomach or side were all considered risks.
Still,
surveys from 2009 and 2010 revealed about 12.7 percent of new mothers
report always co-sleeping with a child while 26 percent do it often or
sometimes.
"We felt like that's an area in which by
virtue of education and a lot more emphasis by the social workers, we
might be able to accomplish something," Crittenden said.
All
but one of the cases reviewed for the report occurred in fiscal year
2013 — a year when the cabinet substantiated that 22 fatalities and 46
near-fatalities resulted from abuse or neglect, according to an internal
report.
Cabinet spokeswoman Jill Midkiff said part of
the difference is due to investigations that were still pending during
the cabinet's reporting period.
Gov. Steve Beshear
created the Child Fatality and Near Fatality Review Panel in 2012
following several high-profile deaths of children from abuse and
neglect. The General Assembly later codified it in state law.
The
group is made up of child welfare, medical, law enforcement and social
work experts who look for systematic problems in Kentucky's
child-protective services.
Monday's report marks the first time the panel has made recommendations since its creation.
Reporter Mike Wynn can be reached at (502) 875-5136. Follow him on Twitter at @MikeWynn_CJ.
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November 14, 2014.
Easton,
a three-year-old boy from Bowling Green, Kentucky, will be spending the
next few weeks in a hospital in Nashville, Tennessee, after hovering
near death from injuries allegedly sustained from his mother and her
boyfriend, according to a Nov. 13 report from the Daily News.
The toddler was taken to the hospital on Nov. 1 where hospital
personnel discovered that he was suffering from a perforated bowel and
internal bleeding.
The little boy’s mother, Cori Cherie Tobitt, 23, and her boyfriend, Christopher Glen Kirby, 26, both of Bowling Green, told the hospital staff that little Easton got hurt falling from the monkey bars at a nearby playground. The couple then said that they took the child to the hospital after they noticed he wasn’t looking well, according to WKBO. According to court papers and police testimony, the little boy “had complained of stomach pain and was having trouble breathing.”
A nurse at the hospital - suspicious that the child’s injuries were inconsistent with the couple’s story - suspected child abuse and contacted police. Tobitt and Kirby were arrested and each charged with first-degree assault, domestic violence, first-degree criminal abuse and were also accused of delaying medical treatment for the child until they got their stories straight.
An earlier report from The Daily News shared excerpts from Bowling Green Police Detective Melissa Bailey’s arrest report which was entered into the court records.
The little boy’s mother and her boyfriend eventually confessed to police that Easton wasn’t hurt at the playground. But they both told police that the other was responsible for the child’s injuries, although neither suspect confessed to the exact cause of Easton’s injuries.
Following Wednesday’s hearing, the judge – having been informed that Tobitt and Kirby were the only adults responsible for the child’s care during the time of his injuries - sent the case against the two to the grand jury. If found guilty of their assault, domestic violence and criminal abuse charges, both Kirby and Tobitt are looking at up to 30 years behind bars.
Also on Nov. 12, according to a fundraiser page established on gofundme, Easton’s aunt wrote that the toddler had to have additional surgery “to correct a leakage from the life-saving surgery but he is expected to recover completely.” Easton’s aunt established the fundraiser on gofundme to “help defray the cost of attorneys’ fees for Easton’s father to gain custody” after the toddler gets out of the hospital.
The little boy’s mother, Cori Cherie Tobitt, 23, and her boyfriend, Christopher Glen Kirby, 26, both of Bowling Green, told the hospital staff that little Easton got hurt falling from the monkey bars at a nearby playground. The couple then said that they took the child to the hospital after they noticed he wasn’t looking well, according to WKBO. According to court papers and police testimony, the little boy “had complained of stomach pain and was having trouble breathing.”
A nurse at the hospital - suspicious that the child’s injuries were inconsistent with the couple’s story - suspected child abuse and contacted police. Tobitt and Kirby were arrested and each charged with first-degree assault, domestic violence, first-degree criminal abuse and were also accused of delaying medical treatment for the child until they got their stories straight.
An earlier report from The Daily News shared excerpts from Bowling Green Police Detective Melissa Bailey’s arrest report which was entered into the court records.
"The child was covered in bruises from head to toe," Bailey wrote.At a preliminary hearing held on Nov 12, Bowling Green Police Department Detective Wade Hughes testified that little Easton “was in pretty bad shape” when he arrived at the hospital. During a full body scan of the child, Hughes said that Easton’s condition took a turn for the worse and that he nearly died. The toddler required “a four-hour surgery, where 16 centimeters of his intestines were removed because they had been punctured as the result of a severe blow to that area of his body, according to court records and Hughes’ testimony.”
"Both subjects initially advised the child fell at the playground," according to their arrest citations. "They later admitted that they made the story up due to fear of being arrested."
The little boy’s mother and her boyfriend eventually confessed to police that Easton wasn’t hurt at the playground. But they both told police that the other was responsible for the child’s injuries, although neither suspect confessed to the exact cause of Easton’s injuries.
Following Wednesday’s hearing, the judge – having been informed that Tobitt and Kirby were the only adults responsible for the child’s care during the time of his injuries - sent the case against the two to the grand jury. If found guilty of their assault, domestic violence and criminal abuse charges, both Kirby and Tobitt are looking at up to 30 years behind bars.
Also on Nov. 12, according to a fundraiser page established on gofundme, Easton’s aunt wrote that the toddler had to have additional surgery “to correct a leakage from the life-saving surgery but he is expected to recover completely.” Easton’s aunt established the fundraiser on gofundme to “help defray the cost of attorneys’ fees for Easton’s father to gain custody” after the toddler gets out of the hospital.
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Harrison County man accused of abusing children he was babysitting
UPDATED 11:37 PM EDT Aug 29, 2013
Police said Shane Smith is intimidating and physically hurting the children in his care.
In this Mauckport, Ind., trailer, police said two kids, ages 7 and 8, were harassed to the point of mental and physical trauma by someone they were supposed to trust.
"Honestly, a sick (expletive). That's the only thing I can say about it because kids don't deserve stuff like that. They're kids," said neighbor Samantha Deaton.
Deaton and neighbor Chris Morgan said they were re shocked by the charges stacked against Smith.
Police said he shot the children with a BB gun multiple times, and the alleged abuse continued in the bathroom.
"These children, while in the shower, firecrackers were bring thrown at them," said Harrison County prosecutor Otto Schalk.
Schalk said he hasn't seen anything like this before. Not only are the facts bizarre, he's not clear on a motive.
"That seems to be the puzzling thing, is why. It's tough to justify or explain these events," said Schalk.
Something the neighbors found disturbing was that they even let their own kids spend the night there, in Smith's care.
"If I knew then what I know now, my kids definitely probably would not have stayed no nights up there," said Morgan.
After hearing about the allegations, Morgan said he saw behavior from the alleged victims that may have been a warning sign..
"The kids are back here more than they are at home," said Morgan. "It's like they go to school, go home, do their homework and stuff and the kids want to come back and play. It's like they don't want to be at home."
The Harrison County Sheriff's Office found out about the alleged abuse when the kids told someone at school.
Police said the kids' mother had no idea the abuse was going on.
Smith faces multiple charges for battery, neglect and criminal recklessness.
He's in jail in Harrison County on a $25,000 bond.
- Copyright 2013 by WLKY.com All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
AMERICA/COSTA RICA - Violence against children: an "epidemic" that continues to spread
San José (Agenzia Fides) – Since the beginning of 2013, 1,115 children who suffered physical assaults have been assisted at the National Pediatric Hospital (HNN) in Costa Rica. According to data released by the health center, the situation is alarming because the annual average of cases of violence against minors correspond to 1,500. Concern is also growing because the attacks are becoming more violent, physical, sexual and psychological. However, the actual figures reported by the Patronato Nacional de la Infancia (Pani) exceed those of the HNN. Every year this organization receives more than 13,000 complaints. In 2010, the same HNN defined the phenomenon of violence against children as an "epidemic" and reported that 74.2% of Costa Rican adults verbally abused their children and 65.3% physically assaulted them. In addition, 32% of women and 13% of adult men admitted to having been sexually abused during childhood.
(AP) (Agenzia Fides 24/08/2013)
http://www.fides.org/en/news/34164-AMERICA_COSTA_RICA_Violence_against_children_an_epidemic_that_continues_to_spread#.UhzaC6zNlP0
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It’s Real, It’s Legal, and It’s Happening: Infanticide in America
Americans are bi-polar when it comes to abortion.
On the one hand, 74% of the states in America have laws defending the unborn, at some stage of gestation, against acts of violence. These states declare it an act of homicide if the child is killed. Twenty-one of these states consider a nonfatal attack on the unborn a criminal offense. Fully half of the states also have passed Born Alive Infant Protection Acts, requiring that physicians treat an infant that is born alive at any stage of development.
These are but a few of the many laws that protect the unborn and treat them as human beings with “inalienable rights.” That is, if they are wanted.
If they are not wanted, they can be killed by lethal injection, dismembered in utero, or put to death after birth. If they are not wanted, abortion at any point in pregnancy is considered an acceptable means of “terminating a pregnancy.”
What could be more schizophrenic than deciding someone’s worth solely on the basis of subjective opinion? If the child is killed when the mother intended to keep it, it is considered homicide. If the child is killed when the mother does not intend to keep it, the abortionist in question can use the most brutal means imaginable, and no one (except us pro-lifers) bats an eye.
Even when the child is born alive after a failed abortion, this murderous sentiment does not change. The child was not meant to live, why help it survive? What is wrong with killing it outside the womb if it was supposed to die in-utero? Even the passage of Born Alive Infant Protection Acts do not always protect babies in this precarious circumstance. Infanticide is common.
How common? Consider the recent examples that have been brought to light in the abortion industry, first in the Gosnell trial, then in the undercover videos from Live Action. Gosnell saw no problem in snipping the spines of the survivors of his late-term abortions. He is being charged with murder in these cases, but he obviously sees no difference between tearing the child apart in the womb, or beheading it a few minutes later after it is born.
In the first of Live Action’s undercover videos, one of the clinic workers very nonchalantly speaks of putting a baby in a toxic solution to ensure its death. The abortionist in the other video reassures the patient that he would not help the child live if it were born alive, comparing the baby to a terminally ill patient in a hospital who is “going to die anyways.”
Those interviewed assure the woman that 911 will not be called if the baby is born alive, and that it assuredly will not be taken to the hospital. Why? Because, as they revealingly say, the hospital is required to try and save the child’s life. The implication is that “We here at the abortion clinic will make sure the child dies.”
The legalization of abortion in America has thus become the legalization of infanticide.
If we want to stop the Gosnells of the world from murdering innocents, we must protect life from conception. Life in the womb is either protected or it is not. There is no middle ground. And if it is not protected, we will continue to have infanticide in America.
image: stained glass window at Cathedral of Amiens (shutterstock.com)
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March 5, 2013
Child abuse on the rise in Kentucky
Violence prevention group looks at statistics
By Magen McCrarey Staff Writer, Sentinel-Echo.comLAUREL COUNTY, Ky. — A drastic increase in Laurel County child abuse in 2012 brought the Violence Prevention Coalition (VPC) together on Thursday, Feb. 28 to discuss how they can put a stop to the abuse and neglect. The 2012 statistics were recently released by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS), the Department for Community Based Services (DCBS) and the Division of Protection and Permanency (DPP).
“DCBS is in the business of keeping families together. Nobody wants to take a child away unless they have to,” said Beth Smith, coordinator of the H.A.N.D.S. program at the Laurel County Health Department.
From 2011 to 2012, there were 75 more cases of child abuse/neglect that were investigated. Altogether in 2012, there were 498 children,, four years of age or younger, who were found to be abused/neglected.
“That’s a high statistic,” said June Rawlings, director of Healthy Community Outreach at Saint Joseph London.
In Kentucky, child maltreatment is legally defined as “any act of commission or omission by a parent or other caregiver resulting in harm, potential harm, or threat of harm to a child, including neglect and failure to provide adequate supervision.”
Statewide, a harrowing 15,699 cases of child abuse/neglected were substantiated, according to the Commonwealth of Kentucky Violence and Injury Prevention. From 2008 to 2012, there were 214 fatalities, while 99 of those cases were a result of physical abuse and 115 cases were the result of neglect.
Of the 99 physical abuse cases in the state, statistics show:
•44 had an inflicted head injury (Pediatric Abusive Head Trauma)
• Multiple injuries accounted for 33 of the physical abuse deaths or near deaths
• 7 of victims were intentionally suffocated
• 6 died from an intentional shooting
In the majority of child abuse cases in Kentucky since 2009, DCBS officials said the caretakers had a substance abuse problem.
“With meth and drugs, we’re already at risk with parents. We have a very high percentage of pregnant teenagers and they are at a high risk for Shaken Baby Syndrome,” Rawlings said.
Smith said the health department’s H.A.N.D.S. pregnancy and parenthood program is free to the public, and many of her participants include teen moms. Although participants usually sign up for the program for incentives, such as gift cards and baby supplies, it doesn’t negate the fact the new parents are receiving critical information.
“Every time we’re in that home we are planting that seed of child development and home safety,” Smith said. “We tell families right from the start, ‘We are here to support you in the decision you want to make for yourselves as a family.’ That is our role,” Smith said.
Didi Hallman, assistant director for the Laurel County Life Center (LCLC), a help center for unplanned pregnancies, said her relationship with court-ordered moms and dads is key to making a positive impact locally.
Often times, the community has focused on “dead-beat dads” but there are “dead-beat moms,” too, she stated. The LCLC has recently expanded their fatherhood programs with a volunteer counselor just for fathers.
“Honestly, we’ve seen more and more men come,” Hallman said. “We need to really make sure to find ways to include the dads, even if they’ve not had a good background, even if they’ve come through the foster care system, or even if they’ve had their own abuse issues in the past. They want to be a good father, and they want to be involved.”
The Violence Prevention Coalition (VPC) will meet again in April to further discuss community outreach programs related to child abuse/neglect for children four years and under.
To report child abuse or neglect call the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office at 606-864-6600 or the London Police Department at 606-878-7004.
For a parent support helpline, call 1-800-CHILDREN.
mmccrarey@sentinel-echo.com
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"(There is a) skull fracture, several ribs that had been broken, the femur was broken, bruising all over the body, and (the baby is) extremely, I mean extremely, malnourished," said Elizabethtown police spokesman Virgil Willoughby. Police found out about the injuries Tuesday when Jessica Capponi and Alex Irwin took their infant to the Ireland Army Community Hospital.
Authorities said the couple told doctors that they accidentally dropped the baby, but police said extensive fractures plus the borderline starvation proved to them that wasn't the case.
"The child weighs 4 ounces less today than what it did when it was born, so if you can imagine that," said Willoughby. Police said the baby hadn't been seen by a physician since a few days after birth.
Police said the couple lived with the baby's grandfather. Police still aren't sure how the alleged abuse went by unnoticed for so long. "There's a lot of concerns all the way around with what's happened here," said Willoughby. The biggest concern is that police said the parents don't seem to know what they did wrong. "They fully don't understand what is the issue here at hand," said Willoughby. "It's just extremely sad that a parent could treat a child this way. People wouldn't treat their dog this way."
Both parents face charges for the criminal abuse of an infant. Irwin also faces an additional charge for assault. The baby was taken to Kosair Children's Hospital for treatment.
(From WLKY-TV. Updated 10:25 AM EST Feb 28, 2013)
Probation granted in infant abuse case
Probation was granted to Johnson during a sentencing hearing Wednesday at U.S. District Court in Paducah. A 26-year-old Army wife has been sentenced to five years probation after earlier pleading guilty to abusing her 2-month-old son.Stephanie Johnson, of Clarksville, Tenn., admitted she intentionally struck her son in the head on several occasions and “forcefully placed the infant on a bed near a wall, resulting in traumatic brain injury and swelling,” according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s office.
The infant suffered bilateral skull fractures, seizures, bleeding into the right retina, multiple rib fractures and fractures to both legs on May 17, 2008. A day after the abuse, Johnson’s 2-month-old son was taken to Blanchfield Army Community Hospital and later transported to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn., where he stayed for two weeks.
According to the release, the infant, who has made a “reasonably good recovery,” has been allowed to return to the family following extensive counseling and evaluations.
(From "Kentucky New Era". By Julia Hunter Thursday, July 16, 2009.)
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Fatalities Due to Child Abuse and Neglect
The tragedy of child abuse- and neglect-related fatalities has been
brought into our homes with increasing frequency by recent media
reports. There was two-month-old Tanner Dowler, who died of physical
abuse at the hands of his young parents despite efforts by his
grandparents to alert and prompt authorities to intervene even before he
was born. And there was 14-month-old Demitri Robledo, who was tortured
and starved by his male babysitter. Equally disturbing was the story of
five-year-old Zachary Bennett who was fatally beaten after being
returned to his father despite the fact that his father had a criminal
record of domestic violence and drug abuse. And there was six-year-old
Elisa Izquierdo who died at the hands of her mother in New York. Born
addicted to crack cocaine, Elisa suffered a lifetime of her mother’s
abuse.
At times it may seem that these tragedies are happening elsewhere and not in our own neighborhoods. However, child abuse- and neglect-related fatalities are not isolated incidents. Individuals across the country have become increasingly aware that children are dying because of abuse and neglect right in their own communities and at the hands of the people responsible for their care.
How big is the problem?
Figures available for 2001 from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS, 2003), which collects data from states on incidents of child maltreatment, indicate that in 2001 alone approximately 903,000 children were confirmed victims of maltreatment and an estimated 1,321 children died as a result of abuse and/or neglect. This figure may be conservative due to the potential for misdiagnosis of death as either a result of sudden infant death syndrome, homicide, or accident. Many states have difficulty acquiring enough information from coroners’ offices and the judicial system about the particular circumstances surrounding children’s deaths to determine whether abuse or neglect could have been a factor.
Fatality statistics
In its 2001 report, NCANDS indicated that in 2001 1.81 children per 100,000 in the population died as a result of abuse or neglect. The report also showed that:
According to sources of NCCAPR, children under five years of age accounted for an average 76% of fatalities reported between 1997 and 1999, with children under one accounting for 40% of the deaths. For each of those Fatalities three years, an average 39% of children who died had previously been involved with or were known to child protective services (CPS) (NCCAPR, 2001).
State resources
States have set up different avenues for responding to child fatalities. The iCAN National Center on Child Fatality Review was established to develop and promote a nationwide system of child fatality review teams in all 50 states. While teams differ from state to state, they typically comprise representatives from law enforcement, the courts, the coroner’s office, child protective services, and public health agencies. These teams provide a coordinated examination and investigation of child fatalities due to abuse and neglect and strive to identify why child protection avenues failed and how future deaths can be prevented.
Searching for answers
Realizing that child maltreatment fatalities are preventable, communities around the country have begun to look for ways to assist families with young children before circumstances become so overwhelming that child maltreatment results.
Many states have searched for links as to the cause of child abuse deaths. Many believe that substance abuse by the parent or caregiver has been a leading contributor to the increase in the number of child fatalities. In fact, 29% of fatalities occurring between 1991 and 1993 involved parental substance abuse (NCPCA, 1994). Other factors that contribute to fatalities are those that are typically associated with child maltreatment, including
If you suspect that a child is a victim of abuse and you are unsure whether the child’s situation has been reported, you should report your suspicions to your local CPS agency. Refer to the Fact Sheet Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect to learn about reporting suspected child abuse or neglect.
Professional information for teams and agencies is available by writing iCAN-NCFR, 4024 N. Durfee Avenue, El Monte, CA 91732, calling (626) 455-4585, or visiting their website at www.ican-ncfr.org.
What is NCANDS?
NCANDS is the primary source of national information on abused and neglected children known to public child protective services agencies. American Humane Association has provided technical assistance to this project since its beginning in 1990. For a copy of this report, contact the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information at (800) 394-3366. The publication is also available at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb.
Resources
National Center on Child Abuse Prevention Research/Prevent Child Abuse America. (2001). Current trends in child abuse prevention, reporting and fatalities: The 1999 fifty state survey. Chicago, IL: Peddle, N. and Wang, C.
National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse. (1994). Current trends in child abuse reporting and fatalities: The results of the 1993 annual fifty state survey. Chicago, IL: Author.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System. (2003). Child maltreatment 2001: Reports from the states to the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect. Washington, DC:U. S. Government Printing Office.
At times it may seem that these tragedies are happening elsewhere and not in our own neighborhoods. However, child abuse- and neglect-related fatalities are not isolated incidents. Individuals across the country have become increasingly aware that children are dying because of abuse and neglect right in their own communities and at the hands of the people responsible for their care.
How big is the problem?
Figures available for 2001 from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS, 2003), which collects data from states on incidents of child maltreatment, indicate that in 2001 alone approximately 903,000 children were confirmed victims of maltreatment and an estimated 1,321 children died as a result of abuse and/or neglect. This figure may be conservative due to the potential for misdiagnosis of death as either a result of sudden infant death syndrome, homicide, or accident. Many states have difficulty acquiring enough information from coroners’ offices and the judicial system about the particular circumstances surrounding children’s deaths to determine whether abuse or neglect could have been a factor.
Fatality statistics
In its 2001 report, NCANDS indicated that in 2001 1.81 children per 100,000 in the population died as a result of abuse or neglect. The report also showed that:
- Children under the age of one were most vulnerable and accounted for 40.9% of all fatalities;
- 84.5% of maltreatment-related fatality victims were age six and under.
- 35.6% of child fatalities resulted from neglect alone, 26.3% from physical abuse alone, and 21.9% from both neglect and physical abuse.
- Most child fatalities (82.8%) were the result of maltreatment by one or both parents
- Mothers acting alone were the perpetrators in 32.4% of child abuse- and neglect-related fatalities.
According to sources of NCCAPR, children under five years of age accounted for an average 76% of fatalities reported between 1997 and 1999, with children under one accounting for 40% of the deaths. For each of those Fatalities three years, an average 39% of children who died had previously been involved with or were known to child protective services (CPS) (NCCAPR, 2001).
State resources
States have set up different avenues for responding to child fatalities. The iCAN National Center on Child Fatality Review was established to develop and promote a nationwide system of child fatality review teams in all 50 states. While teams differ from state to state, they typically comprise representatives from law enforcement, the courts, the coroner’s office, child protective services, and public health agencies. These teams provide a coordinated examination and investigation of child fatalities due to abuse and neglect and strive to identify why child protection avenues failed and how future deaths can be prevented.
Searching for answers
Realizing that child maltreatment fatalities are preventable, communities around the country have begun to look for ways to assist families with young children before circumstances become so overwhelming that child maltreatment results.
Many states have searched for links as to the cause of child abuse deaths. Many believe that substance abuse by the parent or caregiver has been a leading contributor to the increase in the number of child fatalities. In fact, 29% of fatalities occurring between 1991 and 1993 involved parental substance abuse (NCPCA, 1994). Other factors that contribute to fatalities are those that are typically associated with child maltreatment, including
- a crisis in the home,
- economic stress due to unemployment,
- unrealistic expectations of the child,
- social isolation,
- history of substance abuse, or
- history of the parents having been abused as children.
If you suspect that a child is a victim of abuse and you are unsure whether the child’s situation has been reported, you should report your suspicions to your local CPS agency. Refer to the Fact Sheet Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect to learn about reporting suspected child abuse or neglect.
Professional information for teams and agencies is available by writing iCAN-NCFR, 4024 N. Durfee Avenue, El Monte, CA 91732, calling (626) 455-4585, or visiting their website at www.ican-ncfr.org.
What is NCANDS?
NCANDS is the primary source of national information on abused and neglected children known to public child protective services agencies. American Humane Association has provided technical assistance to this project since its beginning in 1990. For a copy of this report, contact the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information at (800) 394-3366. The publication is also available at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb.
Resources
National Center on Child Abuse Prevention Research/Prevent Child Abuse America. (2001). Current trends in child abuse prevention, reporting and fatalities: The 1999 fifty state survey. Chicago, IL: Peddle, N. and Wang, C.
National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse. (1994). Current trends in child abuse reporting and fatalities: The results of the 1993 annual fifty state survey. Chicago, IL: Author.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System. (2003). Child maltreatment 2001: Reports from the states to the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect. Washington, DC:U. S. Government Printing Office.
http://www.americanhumane.org/children/stop-child-abuse/fact-sheets/fatalities-due-to-child-abuse-neglect.html
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Shepherd will now take written arguments from the parties to consider before issuing a ruling on whether the Cabinet has removed too much information from the files.
Before court concluded Wednesday, he told Cabinet attorneys that he was struggling to understand how they could make some of the redactions to public documents found in its files.
“That could be interpreted as an effort to obstruct public access to information that’s publicly available,” Shepherd said, saying that he did not believe it showed “good faith.”
Shepherd did not give a time table for making his decision in the case.
Attorneys for the newspapers asked James questions all day Wednesday about specific cases, asking about why information was removed.
In one case, the 2010 death of 4-month-old Rafe Calvert, James acknowledged that there were errors made in investigating the case. She also said that just last week, the case was reclassified based on the autopsy, which had never been obtained by the Cabinet until preparation for this hearing.
Rafe, who had been born premature, died while sleeping at home in Jefferson County, and the cause of death was never determined. The Cabinet had substantiated medical neglect by Rafe’s parents, both of whose names were taken out of the file. Rafe had missed several medical appointments, prompting a healthcare worker to report suspected neglect to the Cabinet.
But records show the Cabinet did not respond to the report until several days later and then learned that Rafe had died. And it wasn’t until last week that the Cabinet got the autopsy report and changed the finding in Rafe’s death, saying while there was medical neglect there was no neglect tied to the baby’s death.
Shepherd raised questions about that situation, because now the case would not be considered a death due to neglect and would no longer be considered an open record under Shepherd’s ruling.
“I don’t understand that the Cabinet doesn’t take the position to assume that it’s connected,“" Shepherd said.
Kentucky officials justify withholding details of child-abuse cases
Some of the children were killed, while others were left severely injured — shaken, beaten, neglected at the hands of parents or others charged with their care.
Their
deaths or injuries are reported in detail in files kept by the Cabinet
for Health and Family Services, which investigated the abuse or neglect
they suffered. And for the past three days, officials with the cabinet,
including social workers, testified about why some of the details,
including in some cases the name of the abuser, should be kept from the
public.
The
hearing in Frankfort Circuit Court was the latest in an on-going legal
battle between the Cabinet, which has fought releasing the case files,
and the state’s two largest newspapers. The Courier-Journal and the
Lexington Herald Leader both filed open-records requests seeking the
files of those children killed or severely injured by abuse or neglect.
The
Cabinet denied the records and the case ended up in court. Last year,
the Cabinet began releasing files, but redacted information officials
argue protects the privacy of those involved, including in some cases
people charged criminally or found to have perpetrated abuse.
Since
Monday, Cabinet officials have argued that protecting the children and
families involved in the case should be the primary concern.
“These
aren’t just cases,” said Teresa James, commissioner of the Department
of Community Based Services, which oversees abuse investigations. “These
are little bitty vulnerable people.”
James
explained that the Cabinet developed a protocol on what to take out of
files released to the public and applied it to each of the 140 cases
involved in the lawsuit. Those redactions include the names of all
children mentioned, all adults who were not involved in the abuse, all
unsubstantiated prior reports of abuse and other details.
In
many cases, the files contain documents, such as court records,
newspaper articles, and police reports, that are available to the
public. Attorneys for the newspapers argued that since information is
already out there in the public, they should not be protected by the
Cabinet.Jon Fleischaker, an attorney for The Courier-Journal, said he believes that the newspapers illustrated their point in the three-day hearing and feel confident Judge Phillip Shepherd understands that the files were “severely over-redacted.” Fleischaker said the newspapers want to ensure that “there is enough information made public so that the public can make a determination on what went wrong ... where we could do better” in protecting children.
Throughout the hearing Judge Phillip Shepherd, who had previously ordered the Cabinet to release the records, asked questions of the Cabinet, asking officials how they strike a balance between protecting children and the public’s right to know what a public agency is doing in response to abuse.Shepherd will now take written arguments from the parties to consider before issuing a ruling on whether the Cabinet has removed too much information from the files.
Before court concluded Wednesday, he told Cabinet attorneys that he was struggling to understand how they could make some of the redactions to public documents found in its files.
“That could be interpreted as an effort to obstruct public access to information that’s publicly available,” Shepherd said, saying that he did not believe it showed “good faith.”
Shepherd did not give a time table for making his decision in the case.
Attorneys for the newspapers asked James questions all day Wednesday about specific cases, asking about why information was removed.
In one case, the 2010 death of 4-month-old Rafe Calvert, James acknowledged that there were errors made in investigating the case. She also said that just last week, the case was reclassified based on the autopsy, which had never been obtained by the Cabinet until preparation for this hearing.
Rafe, who had been born premature, died while sleeping at home in Jefferson County, and the cause of death was never determined. The Cabinet had substantiated medical neglect by Rafe’s parents, both of whose names were taken out of the file. Rafe had missed several medical appointments, prompting a healthcare worker to report suspected neglect to the Cabinet.
But records show the Cabinet did not respond to the report until several days later and then learned that Rafe had died. And it wasn’t until last week that the Cabinet got the autopsy report and changed the finding in Rafe’s death, saying while there was medical neglect there was no neglect tied to the baby’s death.
Shepherd raised questions about that situation, because now the case would not be considered a death due to neglect and would no longer be considered an open record under Shepherd’s ruling.
“I don’t understand that the Cabinet doesn’t take the position to assume that it’s connected,“" Shepherd said.
Reporter Jessie Halladay can be reached at (502) 582-4081 or on Twitter at CJ_JHalladay.
http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20130731/NEWS01/307310143/Kentucky-officials-justify-withholding-details-child-abuse-cases
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Mockery of child-abuse review
An independent panel created by Gov. Steve Beshear to review child abuse deaths is quickly producing insights that could keep Kentucky children safer.
Too bad the panel's work is being impeded by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services' notorious penchant for secrecy.
Beshear should march in and personally confiscate all the black felt-tip markers (or whatever stocks the redact-o-rama) unless he wants to make a mockery of his own panel and review process.
Beshear created the Child Fatality and Near Fatality External Review Panel in July to review cases that result in child deaths or serious injury and recommend improvements in child protection by the end of 2013.
In November when the panel met for the first time, the cabinet had provided no case files for it to review.
By Monday when the panel met for the second time, the 17 members had case files but the records had been so heavily redacted that they were hard to follow.
Among other deletions the names of all adults had been removed. Some of the files didn't include police investigations, school records and mental health and doctor's assessments, which the cabinet does not always have but are needed to gain a full picture.
The cabinet's ostensible motive for withholding and redacting public records is to protect innocent family members and informants, even though the courts have ruled the cabinet must open the records.
No one would protest the reasonable redactions allowed under the state open records law.
What's not acceptable is the cabinet's stubborn determination to control the flow of information, even at the expense of accountability and chances to strengthen child protection.
http://www.kentucky.com/2013/01/31/2497230/mockery-of-child-abuse-review.html
Herald-Leader Editorial
Published: January 31, 2013
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UPDATE 5/24/13 @ Noon
BOYD COUNTY, Ky. (WSAZ) -- A teenager accused of killing his girlfriend's baby pleaded not guilty to the charge Friday.
18-year-old High School student Brett Thompson, of Stanton, Ky., was arraigned Friday in Boyd County Court.
Thompson has been indicted on a murder charge after his girlfriend's two-month-old daughter died earlier this month from a skull fracture.
Thompson will be back in court in August for a pre-trial conference.
Bond has been set at $100,000 for Thompson.
Keep clicking on WSAZ.com for the latest information.
UPDATE 5/14/13 @ 10 a.m.
BOYD COUNTY, Ky. (WSAZ) -- A grand jury has indicted a teen in the murder of his girlfriend’s infant daughter. The Boyd County Grand Jury charged Brett Thompson, 18, of Stanton, Ky., with one count of murder in the death of two-and-a-half-month-old Alivia Worstell earlier this month.
Kentucky State Police say the infant died after being hit in the head by Thompson, who is not the baby's biological father. Investigators say Thompson told them he hit the baby to get her to stop crying.
Kentucky State Police say Boyd County Sheriff's Deputies were called to a home on Caroline Drive in Westwood on May 4 about an unresponsive baby. The infant was then taken to King’s Daughters Medical Center where she died.
Troopers say the autopsy determined the infant had multiple head and brain injuries, which resulted in her death.
Before hearing the autopsy results, Alivia’s mother, 19-year-old Heather Worstell, said she figured the baby had died from sickness because the little girl had been sick all week.
Thompson will be arraigned on the charge May 24.
Keep clicking on WSAZ.com for the latest information.
UPDATE 5/6/13 @ 6:35 p.m.
BOYD COUNTY, Ky. (WSAZ) -- Photos and videos show Alivia Noel Worstell as a happy baby, smiling and laughing. That's making her death even tougher for her mother, grandmother and family members to handle. State Police say the baby, who was 2-and-a-half months old, was beaten to death by her mother's boyfriend, Brett Thompson, 18, of Stanton, Ky. According to a criminal complaint, Thompson, who is not the baby's biological father, told investigators he hit the baby to get her to stop crying.
Heather Worstell, 19, is stunned that her little girl is gone -- and just as stunned that her boyfriend would do this. She said they have been dating for a few months.
"He was there for her, and he was a sweetheart to her," Worstell said. "He treated me like gold. We never suspected anything like this was going to happen."
"He had us both fooled," Angela Porter, Worstell's mother, said.
Police say this all happened around 4 a.m. Saturday. Worstell found her baby unresponsive about 10 a.m. and called 911. The baby was taken to King's Daughters Medical Center and pronounced dead. An autopsy revealed blunt force trauma to the head. Boyd County Deputy Coroner Ralph Beadle said Alivia died of a skull fracture.
At first, before hearing the autopsy results Sunday, Worstell said she figured the baby had died from sickness, since she had been sick all week.
"The day after she died, I was coping, I wasn't OK, but I just thought that she died of sickness, that it was natural," Worstell said.
But when the autopsy showed otherwise, Worstell was shocked.
"They told me that she had been murdered, and of course I'm stunned, not knowing how she was murdered," Worstell said.
Worstell scrolled through photos of Alivia on her smartphone, showing a baby with big blue eyes.
"God, that'd steal anybody's heart," Porter said of her granddaughter's eyes.
Worstell and Porter said baby Alivia had a special, close bond with the man now charged with killing her.
"You could tell she missed him" when he left after weekend visits, Porter said. "That's what I don't understand. She had such a good bond with him in such a short time."
One of the most difficult parts, Worstell said, is knowing she'll never get to see Alivia grow up.
"I'm not going to see her first words or her first steps or her first heartbreak or never going to see her graduate or anything like that," Worstell said.
Thompson was arraigned on murder charges Monday, and Porter said if he is ultimately convicted, she wants him to pay.
"If he gets life in prison, he should have to write Heather and Alivia a letter every day, apologizing for such a monster so every day of his life he'll remember what he's done," Porter said.
Thompson will return to court May 15 for a preliminary hearing to determine if there is enough evidence in the case to send it to a grand jury.
May 15 is also the day baby Alivia would have been three months old.
Thompson is being held at the Boyd County Detention Center on $100,000 bond. Detectives are investigating the case as a homicide.
http://www.wsaz.com/
UPDATE 5/6/13 @ 10 a.m.
BOYD COUNTY, Ky. (WSAZ) -- The teen charged with the death of his girlfriend’s infant daughter has been arraigned on the murder charge filed against him. Brett Thompson, 18, of Stanton, Ky., appeared in Boyd County District Monday morning.
Thompson was arrested and charged with the two-month-old’s murder Sunday evening.
During the brief hearing Monday morning, Thompson's bond was set at $100,000 cash.
Kentucky State Police say Boyd County Sheriff's Deputies were called to a home on Caroline Drive in Westwood Saturday morning about an unresponsive baby. The infant was then taken to King’s Daughter’s Hospital where she died.
Troopers say the autopsy determined the infant had multiple head and brain injuries which resulted in her death.
KSP says during their investigation they determined Thompson had struck the baby in the head.
Thompson remains in the Boyd County Detention Center. A preliminary hearing is set for later this month.
Troopers have not released the infant’s name.
Keep clicking on WSAZ.com for the latest information.
ORIGINAL STORY 5/5/13 @10:50 p.m
BOYD COUNTY, Ky. (WSAZ) -- Troopers say a two-month-old was found beaten to death. Kentucky State Police say that Boyd County Sheriff's Deputies were called to a home on Caroline Drive in Westwood Saturday morning regarding an unresponsive baby.
Investigators say the baby mother's boyfriend, Brett Thompson, hit the child in the head so hard it killed her, according to a press release.
Thompson was arrested and charged with murder and is now in the Boyd County Detention Center.
Keep clicking on WSAZ.com for the latest information.
http://www.wsaz.com/news/headlines/Man-Accused-of-Beating-Girlfriends-Baby-to-Death-206219811.html
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