THINK IT IS NOT ABOUT MONEY-THE CASE OF JACK AND KATHY STRATTON

Think It is Not About Money-The Case of Jack and Kathy Stratton

http://defeatdcs.blogspot.com/2009/11/think-it-is-not-about-money-case-of.html

The following was taken from the excellent www.couldyoubenext.com website.


Jack and Kathy Stratton’s nine children have proved to be a veritable cash cow for the Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services. The Stratton children have been in foster care for nearly two years, ever since the DSS removed them from their home on charges of neglect. The Strattons have steadfastly denied the charges, and have been fighting to regain custody.During that time, the DSS, through federal funding, has been receiving $9,971.73 per month for the Stratton children, while paying out only $3,600. Net profit: $6,372 per month.

The rest of this story can be read at:

Defeat Children's Services http://defeatdcs.blogspot.com/2009/11/think-it-is-not-about-money-case-of.html

EMMA SUSPECT NOW ACCUSED OF RAPING HER

Emma suspect now accused of raping her

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/hotstories/6703970.html

By TERRI LANGFORD

Lucas Coe, the 27-year-old Magnolia man accused of injury to a child in the death of 4-year-old Emma Thompson, now faces a new charge: that he also raped the young girl before her death in June.

Coe and Emma's mother, registered nurse Abigail Young, were arrested and charged with serious bodily injury to a child after the girl's June 27 death. At the time, Emma had a skull fracture, vaginal tearing and more than 80 bruises covering her body. She died two weeks after Texas Child Protective Services discovered the girl had tested positive for genital herpes.

On Oct. 29, Harris County grand jurors returned an indictment against Coe, accusing him of Emma's sexual assault. If convicted, he would face a minimum of 25 years in prison because the victim was under the age of 6.

The indictment comes about a month after the Harris County District Attorney's Office secured a sample of Coe's blood. It is not known if DNA from the blood ties Coe to the girl or whether prosecutors are using other evidence to support the indictment.

Emma was one of 91 children who died of abuse in Texas this year whose families had been previously investigated by CPS, according to a Houston Chronicle review. Roughly half of those children also were living with families known to CPS as having potential problems.

Coe's attorney says there is no evidence that connects his client to the sexual assault.

“I saw nothing in the file that would indicate how he could have perpetuated the crime he was indicted for,” said Bert Steinmann, Coe's attorney. “I am clueless as to how they are connecting him with committing the sexual assault.”

Donna Hawkins, a spokeswoman for the prosecutors, declined to comment on the case.

Young, Coe's girlfriend, also has genital herpes, according to the 33-year-old's attorney, Colin Amann.

“She does not know where she got it,” he said. “She may have gotten it from Emma.”

Neither Amann nor Coe's attorney would say whether Coe also has genital herpes, though Steinmann said “medical records from previous doctors” don't indicate that he does.

Coe is in the Harris County Jail in lieu of $300,000 bail. No trial date in this case has been set.

Steinmann has asked that state District Judge Mary Lou Keel remove herself from the trial because the defense team believes there is a perception of bias in the case. A hearing on that motion is tentatively set for Nov. 12.

On Wednesday, state District Judge Suzanne Stovall in Montgomery County set a Feb. 1 trial date for Coe in an unrelated 2007 case involving a child related to a previous relationship.

In that matter, Coe is charged with injuring another child.

Young, free on $50,000 bail, has said that before she left her three girls with Coe so she could go shopping at a supermarket, Emma was fine. Young said when she returned, Coe met her at the door with Emma in his arms. He said that Emma was sick, Young said.

She has said she took the girl, put her in the car and began driving to the hospital. When Emma became unresponsive, Young said she called 911 and an ambulance met her car, down the street from her house.

As soon as Young and Emma left for the hospital, Coe took Young's other two children and his daughter to the next-door neighbor, where he left them and then left the family's Spring home.

terri.langford@chron.com

CALIFORNIA FALLS SHORT IN EXAMINING DEATHS OF CHILDREN

California falls short in examining deaths of children

A law designed to allow public scrutiny of fatal abuse and neglect is unevenly enforced and leaves many unaccounted for.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-child-deaths5-2009nov05,0,6734205.story

By Kim Christensen and Garrett Therolf

November 4, 2009 | 6:45 p.m.

A new law aimed at exposing child deaths to public scrutiny has given Californians their most complete view yet of the toll of abuse and neglect but falls short of legislators' intent and leaves many fatalities uncounted, according to interviews and The Times' review of previously confidential records.

Known as Senate Bill 39, the 2008 law was largely intended to highlight systemic flaws in hopes of preventing other children's deaths. More than a year after it took effect, however, it has shed limited light on how -- and how many -- children die of abuse and neglect.

"We do not know how many children have died in California," said William L. Grimm, senior attorney for the nonprofit National Center for Youth Law, one of SB 39's backers. "We did not know five years ago, and we don't know today."

The problem, in part, is that counties interpret the law's requirements differently. Their views vary on what constitutes abuse or neglect and on what information is subject to disclosure. And in at least one county, Los Angeles, deaths appear to have been mistakenly overlooked.

The Times early this year filed public records requests with all 58 counties, and they in turn reported a total of 109 child deaths in 2008 caused by abuse or neglect. Some pending cases were later substantiated, bringing the statewide total to 114, according to records obtained from the state Department of Social Services.

Los Angeles County, by far the largest with more than 10 million residents, reported 32 such deaths, but some other large counties noted far fewer. For instance, Alameda County, the state's seventh-largest with a population of 1.5 million, reported one -- an 18-month-old Hayward boy fatally scalded in a bathtub; his mother's boyfriend has been charged.

Twenty-eight other counties -- nearly half -- reported no deaths from abuse or neglect.

One of the law's sponsors, Sen. Elaine Alquist (D-Santa Clara), said it has brought greater transparency to the child-welfare system, but she lamented that there still is a "lack of uniformity" in how the counties have responded. "Counties need to be given a clear and concise directive," she said. "Until we can say we have done everything possible to save every child from injury or tragic death, we have more work to do."

::

Beaten, shaken, shot or simply allowed to starve, scores of California children die each year from abuse and neglect. Until last year, virtually all information about these deaths was kept from public view, ostensibly to protect the privacy of children and their families.

But that secrecy also shielded child welfare officials and their sometimes lethal mistakes from public scrutiny, children's advocates argued. At their urging, state lawmakers mandated the release of previously sealed records, including those detailing dead children's prior contacts with child welfare agencies.

The results have shed some light on the problem -- showing, for instance, that 14 deaths occurred last year among children whose families had been at one time investigated by Los Angeles County's Department of Children and Family Services.

It is impossible to know how many deaths were not counted that should have been. But in its review The Times found some clear instances of underreporting.

The Los Angeles County children's services department, for example, said in August that it had recorded four child deaths this year that resulted from abuse or neglect. Internal records obtained by The Times showed there actually had been nine.

Among those the county had not disclosed as abuse and neglect were the deaths of a 10-year-old boy killed in a June traffic accident when he and two siblings were thrown from a van that had no rear seats and that of a 3-month old boy who died in a motel room where his parents left him alone for 12 hours.

When a reporter raised the discrepancy with the department, Director Trish Ploehn acknowledged the additional deaths and pledged to institute "internal controls" to avoid such oversights.

Grimm, of the Oakland-based youth law center, which has collected death records from the 15 largest counties, said the totals fall short of what he would have expected.

"Our own experience making requests in counties across the state so far suggests that we are not getting a complete picture of the children who have died as the result of abuse or neglect," Grimm said.

Gail Steele, an Alameda County supervisor who has pushed for full disclosure of child deaths, said she thinks many abuse and neglect fatalities are not reported. Her office tracks all children's deaths in that county and reviews coroner's files to make its own assessments.

"My thing is you can't figure out how to prevent deaths or fix things if you don't know what happened," she said.

Often the problem is varying interpretations of what constitutes abuse and neglect.

Grimm cited the example of a small child who is killed in an auto accident because the intoxicated parent who was driving had not placed him in a car seat. Although that death would fit most people's definition of neglect, he said, some child welfare officials might deem it an accident, especially if the coroner did.

"The official cause might be accidental, but if you look more closely at it you say, 'My god, that's definitely neglect' and it should be labeled as a neglect death," Grimm said.

Bethany Christman, who oversees children's services in Kern County, said such latitude in interpreting the law could help explain why her county, with a population of about 820,000, reported nine deaths last year while much larger counties reported far fewer.

"If law enforcement or the coroner don't say anything [about abuse or neglect], some counties won't either," she said.

In passing the law in 2007, legislators said they wanted to bring to light not only child deaths but also the details of the young victims' experiences with child welfare officials.

"Without accurate and complete information about the circumstances leading to the child's death, public debate is stymied and the reforms, if adopted at all, may do little to prevent further tragedies," wrote the bill's sponsors.

Even when a death is disclosed as required, California law allows most records to remain closed if prosecutors or families' attorneys object to their release. Those that are made public often are so heavily redacted of names and other identifying information that it's impossible to decipher what happened -- or even who died.

Grimm and others complained in a March 13 letter to the California Department of Social Services that recently issued regulations made it hard for counties to determine what should be released or redacted. They also objected to the department's decision to exclude deaths caused by people who were not in a custodial role, including boyfriends, extended family members and family friends.

"The regulations are a tortured reading to say the least," said Jim Ewert, legal counsel for the California Newspaper Publishers Assn., who also signed the letter. "The law is pretty explicit that all abuse or neglect deaths must be released."

Officials with the California Department of Social Services said in an interview that they were revising the guidelines and would consider the letter writers' criticisms.

Jan Viss, who heads the Child and Family Services Division in Stanislaus County, which reported that five children died from abuse or neglect last year, said the law is plain enough already.

"We are very clear about what we are supposed to report and we take that responsibility very seriously," she said, adding that her county thoroughly reviewed child deaths even before the law took effect.

"Even one death is a tragedy," Viss said. "All we can do is strive to do better for these kids in the future."

kim.christensen@latimes.com

garrett.therolf@latimes.com

SJC SAYS NEWBORN REMOVED TOO FAST

SJC says newborn removed too fast

Seeks to clarify emergency cases involving custody

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/11/05/sjc_says_newborn_removed_too_fast/

By John R. Ellement
Globe Staff / November 5, 2009

In a sharply worded rebuke, the state’s high court yesterday said that a judge and the state Department of Children and Families moved too fast to remove a newborn from a Western Massachusetts mother who had already lost custody of two older children because they were not being properly cared for.

In a unanimous ruling written by Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall, the Supreme Judicial Court said that judges handling emergency custody cases must wipe from their minds any information gleaned from other cases involving the same mother or family.

The baby was identified only as Zita.

“It may be impossible to erase a judge’s memory of the prior case,’’ Marshall wrote. “But each party is entitled to an impartial magistrate and a decision based on the evidence presented in her case . . . Zita’s removal by the Commonwealth from her custodial parent implicates constitutional rights of the highest order.’’

The high court ruled that a new custody hearing that could lead to the mother regaining custody of the girl must be held “forthwith.’’

The SJC said it took on the case because it wanted to clearly spell out the rules that judges must follow.

Marylou Sudders, president of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, said she feared that the decision may lead judges to completely ignore the history of a mother or a family.

“Parental history is a factor in child abuse and neglect cases,’’ Sudders said. “It doesn’t predict the future, but it is obviously an issue.’’

The Department of Children and Families, she said, “first and foremost has to be a child protection agency.’’

She added: “It is concerning, if, over time, courts do not take into account prior history that is properly introduced in court hearings. Without appreciation for the history, I think that will not be in a child’s best interest.’’

The attorney for the mother, whose name was not released, said she could not discuss specifics because she had not been given permission by her client.

Speaking generally, attorney Dorothy Meyer Storrow said the SJC was right to force judges to rule only on evidence presented in individual cases and to require the Department of Children and Families to meet basic legal rules, especially since the agency has the information at its fingertips.

“There are issues that are specific to one child that aren’t specific to another,’’ said Meyer Storrow, of Greenfield. “If you don’t know what the judge is relying on, she may be relying on something that is inaccurate and you have no way to fix that.’’

She added: “When you are dealing with constitutional rights, we want to make sure that it’s done in a fair way. Sometimes, the fact that a parent can’t meet the needs of one child is actually not relevant to whether she can meet the needs of a different child with different needs.’’

Alison Goodwin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Children and Families, said the SJC ruling does not limit the agency’s efforts to protect children.

“We have an obligation to evaluate each individual situation on its own merits at that time,’’ Goodwin said in an e-mail. “However, there is nothing in this ruling that prevents the department or the courts from considering a past history on fitness nor is the department or the courts required to wait until a child is harmed before custody is granted.’’

In its ruling, the SJC gave an outline of the woman’s history that led the department to decide three months before the child was born that it needed to take emergency action to protect the newborn.

The court said the woman had two children who were removed from her care on May 23, 2008. Two days after the child was born on Dec. 18, 2008, the DCF took emergency custody of the child and prepared to justify its actions at a hearing required by law to be held no more than 72 hours later.

The high court said the most powerful evidence the department provided at the hearing was an unsworn letter from a department social worker that discussed the woman’s prior failures as a mother. The hearing was held before Hampshire-Franklin Juvenile Court Judge Lillian Miranda, who had ordered the older children taken from the home, according to court records.

Miranda granted temporary custody of Zita to the department, a decision the SJC reversed yesterday.

“The judge erred, and therefore violated Zita’s substantive rights, in both respects: her reliance on the petition that was not in evidence, and her reliance on her recollection of the facts of the earlier proceedings involving the other children,’’ Marshall wrote.

DAD: "I WANT MY KIDS BACK"

Dad: 'I Want My Kids Back'

http://www.kpho.com/news/21515980/detail.html

Cara Liu
Reporter, KPHO.com

PHOENIX -- It was a high profile story four years ago -- the death of 4-year-old Haley Gray.

Police said the child was found trapped in a hot van while her mother, Celene Gray, was passed out in her Scottsdale apartment. Investigators said Gray later admitted she’d been drinking.

Haley's father John Gray said he had repeatedly warned Child Protective Services that his ex-wife's drinking problem was putting his children at risk. Earlier this year, he won a lawsuit against CPS. The agency had to pay more than $400,000.

Gray also fought to get Haley's Law passed, requiring CPS workers to check out-of-state records to see if there are allegations of prior abuse or neglect in other states.

"This was part of my healing process -- to try to help others, because I realized this was bigger than us," said Gray.

But the controversy isn't nearly over. The parents are in the midst of an ugly custody battle over their surviving sons, now 9 and 11 years old. Gray said he lost custody of the boys in March after the state questioned whether he was a fit parent. He said right now, it’s his ex-wife’s boyfriend who has temporary custody.

"I want my children back. They're in a dangerous situation right now," he said.

Gray admitted he hasn't been perfect either. He’s been in jail and said he’s had anger issues, but he insists the same system that failed Haley could also be putting others at risk.

"Good thing they didn't bet their (lives) on it. But they bet my daughter Haley's on it, and right now I believe they're betting my two surviving sons' lives as well. I don't want to have a repeat of what happened in the past," said Gray.

CBS 5 News made repeated attempts to reach Celene Gray and her boyfriend for their side of the story, but were unable to reach them by deadline.

Court records for the custody case appear to be sealed.

BABY'S STARVATION DEATH EQUAL TO TORTURE, SHERIFF SAYS

Baby's starvation death equal to torture, sheriff says

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/nov/03/031701/2-arrested-babys-starvation-death-polk-deputies-sa/news-breaking/

TAMPA - One photograph shows a beautiful baby girl with a fat, happy face.

Another shows a dead 5-month-old with sunken eyes. She weighed 6 pounds. Her autopsy showed no body fat.

Without being told it's the same child, you'd never be able to tell.

When Polk County investigators responded to a call Sunday about a baby not breathing at the Lakeland home of Tivasha Logan and Chauncey Gardner, they found more beer than baby food, Sheriff Grady Judd said. There only were about 2 ounces of formula inside the one can they saw.

The child, Chauntasia Gardner, was pronounced dead nine minutes after deputies arrived.
She had been starved to death by her parents, deputies say. She was in the lowest 1 percentile of weight among children her age.

Logan and Gardner were arrested Monday afternoon. They are being held without bail on charges of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse.

The couple was shocked that they had been charged with a crime, Judd said.

"They couldn't see what they would do wrong," he said. "We couldn't see what they did right."

The parents had no excuse, Judd said. The other children in the home were fed, and with food stamps and other income, the couple had the ability to keep Chauntasia healthy.

The child's grandmother had been aware for weeks that the girl was sick. The grandmother told Logan to take the baby to a hospital or doctor, but Logan lied and said she did and that Chauntasia weighed 8 pounds and everything was fine, Judd said.

Logan and Gardner told investigators they didn't realize the baby's infant formula was supposed to be mixed with an equal amount of water. The formula, though, came with explicit instructions, Judd said.

The parents told investigators they were mixing the formula with three times as much water, meaning the child was getting only a third of the recommended amount of formula at each feeding.

Deputies say they aren't sure at what intervals the child was fed. The parents said they fed the child 2 ounces of formula every three or so hours.

Judd said investigators only found five soiled diapers inside the home, a remarkably low number considering the last garbage pickup had been days before.

Since the baby had left the hospital, Logan told investigators, she had tried several times to get an appointment with a doctor but failed because doctors wouldn't accept her form of Medicaid. But Logan gets government benefits and received a $674 check on Oct. 1 for Chauntasia's needs, an arrest report states.

At first, Logan told deputies she noticed Chauntasia had been sick Wednesday or Thursday, and she didn't think anything of it because the girl was always skinny, the report states. She said that Sunday morning, when she found the girl unresponsive, was the first time she noticed the girl's bones sticking out of her face.

"When asked if she thought about taking the victim to the doctor when she noticed she was losing weight, Logan reiterated she didn't think anything of it," the report states.

After the child's grandmother told deputies that Logan had known for weeks about the girl being sick, Logan told investigators that she actually noticed Chauntasia losing weight two weeks before her death.

Logan said she was scared that if she took Chauntasia to a hospital, the hospital would call the Department of Children & Families. She said she had a scheduled doctor's appointment for Monday – a day after her child died – and hoped that doctor wouldn't notify DCF about Chauntasia's condition.

The couple has three other children together – a 4-year-old boy and two girls, ages 2 and 3. Logan has two other children who live at the home, ages 6 and 10.

Those five children are now staying with a relative, and DCF will do its best to make sure they get the help they need and be able to stay together as a family, DCF spokeswoman Carrie Hoeppner said.

DCF investigated Logan in four prior cases and Gardner in two of those cases, none of which involved starving children, Hoeppner said. The cases involved neglect, particularly in the supervision of children. The four investigations between 2000 and 2007 revealed some or no indications of abuse, and the children were allowed to stay with the couple.

Chauntasia was born premature on May 11 at Lakeland Regional Medical Center. She weighed 2 pounds, 11 ounces.

When she was released from the hospital July 29, she weighed 7 pounds, 8 ounces.

When investigators saw her Sunday, Chauntasia weighed nearly 2 pounds less. She hadn't been seen from a doctor since she was discharged.

An autopsy was conducted Monday morning. With most people, there is evidence of fat in the body, Judd said. The baby had none.

"This child was tortured," he said. "This child simply wasn't fed."

A typical five-month-old female in North America on average weighs 15 pounds, said Dr. Richard Frates Jr., a pediatrician at the Watson Clinic in Lakeland.

The five month old on average drinks up to 40 ounces of formula a day, Frates said. The formula has 20 calories per ounce. A baby who is eating well would ingest an estimated 800 calories in a day, he said.

If feedings aren't going well or the baby can't finish a bottle, "that's a sign that something is wrong," Frates said.

John Livingstone, Hillsborough County Health Department's public health nutrition program director, said that typically the family of a 5-month-old baby or younger who has been approved for the WIC program receives enough formula where a parent doesn't need to buy additional formula. WIC is short for the federal program Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infant and Children.

Parents receive a WIC check or voucher that allows them to purchase two months of formula. If the child isn't well, the family may have to claim the vouchers every month. Program staff usually see the baby at the initial visit.

If the baby isn't well, an exception may be made, Livingstone said. Staff may not see the baby until he is six months old to measure, weigh and assess growth, he said.

A nutritionist usually talks to the family about the use of formula. There is also literature and the formula cans explain the proper way to mix baby formula, he said.

"If you don't follow the instruction exactly right, you are going to hurt your baby," Livingstone said.

Gardner, 27, previously was sentenced to a year and a day in prison for cocaine possession. He spent about six months behind bars and was released in July 2008.

He also spent about seven months behind bars after being convicted of fleeing law enforcement and grand theft. He was released in January 2004.

When Logan, 25, was charged Monday, she already was on weekend work release from jail. She had been arrested for driving with a suspended license, according to the jail Web site.

"This child should be alive and well … and she's dead," Judd said. "And she shouldn't be. And it makes me very, very angry.

KINGSPORT MAN AVOIDS DEATH PENALTY IN 2005 MURDER OF TODDLER

Kingsport man avoids death penalty in 2005 murder of toddler

http://www.timesnews.net/article.php?id=9018085

By Kacie Breeding

BLOUNTVILLE — A Kingsport man who potentially faced the death penalty if found guilty of killing his girlfriend’s toddler son has agreed to a last-minute plea deal.

Shawn Anthony Mullins, 27, was headed to trial Monday morning on charges of first-degree felony murder and aggravated child abuse and neglect stemming from the 2005 death of 2-year-old Christopher David Smith by means of severe physical abuse.

Mullins was 22 on March 30, 2005, when Heather Collins found her 2-year-old son unresponsive at a friend’s home on Robin Lane where the couple had been staying.

At the time, Mullins had been left alone with the boy for about two hours, according to investigators.

Christopher reportedly was suffering from cardiac arrest and was rushed to a local hospital, where he later died.

Prior to Christopher’s death, Mullins and Collins had been scheduled to meet with a Department of Children’s Services worker on April 2, 2005, to discuss allegations of child abuse. Those complaints were filed with the Kingsport Police Department in February and March of that year by family of the boy’s father.

Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office Detective Lt. Bobby Russell told the Times-News in 2005 that the boy had been beaten repeatedly, suffering multiple broken bones and bruises that were in various stages of healing.

On Monday, Sullivan County Assistant District Attorney Barry Staubus advised the judge if the case had gone to trial, the evidence would show the boy suffered injuries to his heart, kidney and brain in addition to a broken arm and leg.

Staubus said testimony would have shown evidence that Mullins was jealous of the boy.

According to court records, when the boy cried Mullins would say he “‘wished the little (expletive) would die” and cover his mouth in an attempt to make him stop.

Mullins was accused of picking Christopher up by his head; throwing him into his crib; striking him with his fist, palm and the back of his hand; kicking him in the back and knocking him to the ground; and placing a bucket over his head and striking the bucket as the boy walked around, according to court documents.

Additionally, Mullins was accused of forcing Christopher to inhale marijuana smoke and consume alcohol, according to court documents.

A report prosecutors received Thursday from one of their own expert witnesses “changed the evidence that would be presented to the jury, and as a result we entered this plea,” said Staubus.

The late pathology report “put some serious questions into the state’s timeline,” said Mullins’ attorney, John Eldridge.

As a result, the state allowed Mullins to enter Alford, or “best interest,” pleas to second-degree murder and aggravated child abuse in exchange for 30 years in prison with 100 percent service.

“We’re pleased with the outcome. And I think our client, Shawn Mullins, is quite resolved and glad that this episode is over,” Eldridge said.

Staubus said he wasn’t particularly pleased with it, but added that he was glad the plea will “hold Mr. Mullins accountable.”