Bittersweet Justice:New Jersey

Occasionally there is justice for those negatively affected by the child welfare and adoption systems. Unfortunately, it is usually bittersweet and much too late. This will serve as REFORM Talk’s justice files.

“Neomi Escobar says she spent five nerve-wracked weeks trying to get state child welfare workers to make sure her infant grandson was okay only to be rebuked by a supervisor who told her to “stop calling.”

“I’m going crazy about the baby,” Escobar testified today through tears as the trial stemming from her civil lawsuit against the state Division of Youth and Family Services entered its fourth day in Essex County Superior Court. “I knew he was in danger. I had a feeling he wasn’t safe.”

Escobar’s suspicions were confirmed on July 16, 2009 when her 4-month-old grandson, Jadiel Velesquez, was taken to an emergency room bleeding from the mouth after he was beaten by his father.

The boy suffered debilitating brain damage that has left him blind, unable to feed himself and dependent on 24-hour care. He was wheeled into Judge James Rothschild’s Newark courtroom on Wednesday so jurors could get a firsthand look at his current condition.

Escobar is suing DYFS, claiming the missteps of caseworkers and their supervisors left Jadiel in a dangerous Jersey City home with a father who had multiple convictions for assault in Florida.

Joshua Velesquez, 26, is serving a 6-year prison term for aggravated assault. Escobar’s daughter, Vanessa Merchan, remains in New Jersey and sees the boy occasionally but does not have a role in the boy’s upbringing, lawyers for Escobar say.

Escobar’s lawsuit seeks compensation for the tens of millions of dollars in care that Jadiel will need for the rest of his life. An economist on Wednesday pegged the tab at $64 million.

Escobar told jurors her daughter stopped dropping Jadiel off for babysitting after June 3, the day Escobar found a drug pipe in the boy’s diaper bag.

She called DYFS to report the discovery of the used pipe. “It came to my mind that they’re doing drugs and this baby’s not safe with them,” Escobar testified.

Several weeks before on May 28, 2009, Escobar alerted DYFS when she noticed bruises on the boy’s cheeks and blood in his eyes. He was taken to Newark Beth Israel where doctors treated him for the injuries and released him to his parents despite a finding of suspected abuse, Escobar’s lawyers claim.

From the witness stand today, Escobar said her daughter refused to answer her daily phone calls and went into hiding after she reported the discovery of the crack pipe to DYFS.

“She (Merchan) was mad about the investigation,” Escobar said. “She was hiding from me. That’s why I called DYFS. I just wanted to make sure the baby is okay.”

She saw Jadiel on June 12, 2009 when DYFS caseworkers got the family together and had them agree to a care plan that prohibited Joshua Velesquez from being alone with his son, she said.

In the weeks that followed, she said she called DYFS every day, prompting one DYFS supervisor to urged her to stop calling. “She told me everything is going to be taken care of ,” Escobar testified. “It’s going to be investigated.”

The next time she saw Jadiel was on July 17, 2009 when he was in a hospital room hooked up to a ventilator.

“I was trying to prevent this,” she testified, wiping away tears. “I was calling DYFS. I knew he was in danger.”

DYFS’ attorney, John North, has conceded that the child should likely have been removed from his parents’ home. But, North has urged jurors to consider that the boy’s parents were trying to deceive caseworkers.

He said Merchan, for one, denied that Joshua Velesquez had beaten Jadiel.”

 

Grandmother testifies DYFS workers told her to ‘stop calling,’ after she found drug pipe in diaper bag[NJ.com 12/5/13 by Thomas Zambito]

“An Essex County jury awarded a $166 million verdict against the state for failing to remove a young boy from his abusive father.

The award was given Friday to 4-year-old Jadiel Velesquez who sustained severe brain damage after he was beaten by his father, lawyers say.

Jadiel’s grandmother, Noemi Escobar, sued the New Jersey Department of Youth and Family Services, accusing it of failing to remove the boy from his home after he was brought to the hospital with unexplained bruises.

“Jadiel’s grandmother called almost on a daily basis begging DFYS to remove Jadiel from the home,” says attorney David Mazie. “They told her to stop calling.”

Mazie says the DFYS case worker admits he knew Jadiel was in danger, but did not remove him from the home.

Jadiel’s father pleaded guilty to beating his son and is serving a six-year prison term, lawyers said”

4-year-old Jadiel Velesquez awarded record injury verdict after he was left with father who beat him[News 12 12/16/13]