Child agency rebuked by judge

Sex by underage teens brings contempt order
July 24, 2003

BY JACK KRESNAK
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER


A Monroe County judge has held the state's child welfare agency in
contempt of court for failing to stop two teens from having sex in a
foster home.

In issuing the contempt order, Family Court Judge Pamela Moskwa also
cited problems within the Family Independence Agency that have the
potential to put other children in danger.

"The problems illuminated by this case suggest systemic issues which
could compromise the safety of other children placed with the FIA,"
Moskwa wrote, adding that the agency must communicate better with
courts and attorneys to ensure that children in the state's custody
are getting the best possible care.

Moskwa took the unusual action of holding the Monroe County FIA in
civil contempt of court after hearing testimony last month on how
the agency reacted when it learned that a 14-year-old girl under FIA
supervision was having consensual sex with an unrelated 15-year-old
boy.

The girl and her three siblings came into FIA foster care in October
after she and her older sister were sexually abused by their father,
according to court records. She and her 15-year-old sister were
placed with Monroe County foster parents who planned to adopt the
girls after the parents' rights were terminated, the judge said.
Those rights were terminated in January. The other two siblings were
placed in a different foster home and are available for adoption.

Moskwa, who has presided over child neglect and abuse cases for 10
years, criticized the agency for not informing the court or lawyers
in the case about what was going on in the foster home and for
failing to protect the teens from their own poor judgment.

In her five-page order, Moskwa cited a series of problems within the
FIA, including:



The agency was not advocating for children.

Caseworkers, supervisors and top managers at the agency are not
communicating with each other.

The agency has a lack of training, and morale is low among
caseworkers.
No state official or public employee is likely to go to jail for
civil contempt of court in this case. But Moskwa expects FIA
officials to present detailed plans on how the agency will correct
such problems at a Sept. 16 hearing. The FIA could be subject to
fines or other sanctions, officials said.

The judge also said in her findings: "The supervisors cited frequent
reprimands and fear of further reprimands as one reason for a
failure of communication." Moskwa said FIA caseworkers were told by
the girls' counselor on May 8 that sexual activity had occurred
between the boy -- a temporary juvenile court ward -- and the girl.

The FIA sent a Child Protective Services investigator to the foster
home on May 14; the investigation cleared the foster parents of any
wrongdoing, Moskwa said.

Even though both children admitted to the sexual activity, the
agency failed to place the boy somewhere else and did not notify the
court or court-assigned attorneys about the sexual activity.
Instead, the FIA developed a "safety plan" that amounted to telling
the foster mother to not let the teens out of her sight, the judge
said.

When the counselor realized on June 11 that the boy was still in the
foster home and that the sexual activity had continued, he faxed a
report directly to the girl's court-assigned attorney, Nancy Feick.

Feick informed Moskwa, who immediately called a hearing in the boy's
case and ordered him placed in a different foster home.

Feick said the FIA's safety plan for the girl, who has psychological
trauma due to being sexually assaulted by her father, was
ridiculous, especially since the foster parents were caring for at
least five other children.

"There is no way that any person can watch another person 24 hours a
day," Feick said.

Although sexual activity is illegal for those under age 16 in
Michigan, neither teenager has been charged with any crime,
according to a spokesperson for the Monroe County Prosecutor's
Office.

The contempt order is the second time in two years that a county
office of the FIA has been held in contempt. Over the past few
years, several individual caseworkers also have been found in
contempt of court across Michigan.

Last year, Iosco County Probate Court Judge John Hamilton found the
FIA office handling Iosco and Alcona counties in contempt of court
for failing to honor a subpoena, said East Tawas attorney Edward
Keller.

Feick, who has handled child welfare cases for more than 10 years in
Monroe County, said that many caseworkers and supervisors have
complained that Monroe County FIA Director Angulette Jenerette and
Deputy Director Angela Flowers have an autocratic management style
and frequently use reprimands in dealing with underlings.

The FIA declined to allow Jenerette or Flowers to be interviewed.
Both women testified under subpoena during the hearing last month.

"I think there are some real management problems," Feick said of the
FIA. "There is a lot of divisiveness on the staff."

In a statement released Tuesday that was cleared by Director
Nannette Bowler, the FIA said it agreed "with many of the concerns
the court identified."

The statement said "top management resources" were devoted to the
case in mid-June. The FIA "took immediate, long-term corrective
action," the statement said.

The contempt order comes only months after criminal charges were
filed in Wayne County against a foster care worker and supervisor
for a private agency under contract with the FIA for allegedly
failing to report suspected child abuse in a case where a 4-year-old
foster child was beaten to death by his foster parent.




Contact JACK KRESNAK at 313-223-4544 or kresnak@....