How Could You? Hall of Shame-Riley and Jenetta Smith case-Child Deaths UPDATED

This will be an archive of heinous actions by those involved in child welfare, foster care and adoption. We forewarn you that these are deeply disturbing stories that may involve sex abuse, murder, kidnapping and other horrendous actions

From Austin ,Texas, a  4-year-old unnamed foster boy and his 6-year-old unnamed foster sister drown “in a Georgetown lake Sunday evening. The children’s foster parents were also at the lake, according to the state.”

“Two young children in the Texas foster-care system drowned in a Central Texas lake over the holiday weekend, reigniting concerns about the safety of foster kids after a year with a record number of deaths.

The state Department of Family and Protective Services announced Monday it had temporarily stopped allowing Providence Service Corp. to place foster kids.”

“”This is an unspeakable tragedy,” said Family and Protective Services Commissioner John Specia in a news release, which also announced the closure of the foster home. “We will find out exactly what happened, and whether or not it could have been prevented. Foster children must be kept safe.”

The foster-care system has been under scrutiny for months, including through a special legislative committee, because 10 foster kids died from abuse and neglect last year – up from two in 2012. Through the first six months of this year, officials had said, only one child had died from abuse and neglect.

The drowning is likely to trigger new concerns, especially because of Providence’s involvement.

The Arizona-based company, which currently has 29 foster children it has placed in eight homes in Williamson, Travis, Bell, Lee and Hays counties, is notable because it is also running a closely-watched, 60-county pilot program for a massive overhaul of the foster-care system.

The Houston Chronicle reported in May that Providence was $2 million over budget just nine months into the pilot. Advocates have raised questions about the company and unsuccessfully urged the state to slow down on the overhaul.

Providence spokesman Mike Fidgeon said Monday the company is “doing everything within our power and means to make sure the families and communities impacted are being supported through what is just a terrible tragedy.”

The drownings also come just days after the new state House Select Committee on Child Protection held its first meeting.

The special committee is charged with exploring how to reduce deaths of children, especially in foster care.”

2 foster children drown, reigniting safety concerns[Houston Chronicle 7/7/14 by Brian M. Rosenthal]

“Two foster children who drowned near Austin over the July 4th weekend were placed in their home by the same Arizona-based company hired by the state to redesign the foster care system in Texas.

Authorities said Monday that no criminal charges are expected against the foster parents of a 4-year-old boy and his 6-year-old sister. They were playing a game at Lake Georgetown on Sunday to see who could hold their breath under water the longest, Georgetown police Capt. Roland Waits said.

The children were put in their foster home by Providence Kids, the child-placing agency of Providence Services Corp., which in December won a state contract to operate a pilot program to overhaul the foster care system in Texas. A phone message to the company was not immediately returned Monday.

Scrutiny on the child welfare system in Texas has intensified after foster care deaths tied to abuse and neglect rose sharply last year. There has been one so far this year, and the Texas Department of Family Protective Services is investigating this weekend’s deaths.

Providence Kids currently has 29 children in eight homes. Placement of other children by Providence Kids is suspended while the state investigates, agency spokesman Patrick Crimmins said.

Child advocates said the deaths underscore the need for more screening and training of foster parents regardless of the outcome of the investigation.

“Certainly the state shouldn’t push further privatization under Foster Care Redesign until better safety standards are in place,” said Ashley Harris, a former state caseworker who now oversees child welfare policy for the group Texans Care for Children.

The siblings who drowned had been with their foster parents since last year. Crimmins said there had been no prior serious concerns with the home.

Providences has worked with the state since 1998. The redesign contract calls for Providence to subcontract with child-placement agencies with the intent of keeping foster children closer to home, siblings together and improve quality.

An outside review released last month found that child protective caseworkers in Texas only spend 26 percent of their job actually meeting with children and families.”

Siblings who drowned in lake were in foster care[The Eagle 7/7/14 by Associated Press]

“State officials say they have suspended an Austin-based foster child placing agency pending the investigation into the drowning deaths of two children at Lake Georgetown on Sunday.

It happened at around 5 p.m. at Russell Park at Lake Georgetown as the children were with their foster parents. Witnesses had pulled a six-year-old girl and four-year-old boy from the water and performed CPR.

The girl reportedly had been under water for about five minutes and the boy was under for about 15 minutes.

They were taken to Dell Children’s Medical Center where they died Sunday evening. Georgetown Police are investigating the incident. The Department of Family and Protective Services says placements of foster children into the Austin-based Providence Kids child-placing agency have been suspended pending the outcome of the DFPS investigation of the incident.

Providence Kids has 29 foster children in eight homes in Williamson, Travis, Bell, Lee and Hays counties, officials say. Child Protective Services will visit each child in the foster homes individually, according to DFPS.

“This is an unspeakable tragedy,” said Judge John Specia, DFPS Commissioner. “We will find out exactly what happened, and whether or not it could have been prevented. Foster children must be kept safe.”

Both children who were from Waco were placed in the Cedar Park foster home on Aug. 2, 2013. Two siblings of the deceased children, a one-year-old girl and a 22-month-old boy, were also placed in the foster home earlier this year but have been moved.

The foster home is closed pending the outcome of the investigation, officials say. Providence Kids was licensed by DFPS on Sept. 14, 2012, according to DFPS officials.”

Foster Child Placement agency under investigation[Keye Tv.com 7/7/14]

REFORM Puzzle Piece

Update: “Two Waco siblings in foster care who drowned at Lake Georgetown will be buried at Oakwood Cemetery after local business and cemetery leaders donated services.

John Hubble, general manager of Oakwood Cemetery, said the cemetery is providing a plot for the children under a tree where the caskets can fit together.

Tommy Riggs, director of operations at Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey Funeral Home, said Cen-Tex Monuments is donating a headstone for the children, whom legal records identify as Riley Smith, 4, and his 6-year-old sister, Jenetta Smith.

“We’re providing all of our services — our professional staff, preparations, use of the facilities, everything,” Riggs said of the funeral home’s donations.

A private funeral service will be held Friday.

Area foster families and caseworkers are mourning the children’s deaths.

Georgetown police said the two were in the swimming area of Russell Park with a 12-year-old boy, who also was in foster care, trying to see who could hold their breath longer under water when the drownings occurred. The foster parents were at the park but apparently not in the water with the children.[!!!]

“The loss of these two precious children affects everyone at CPS, regardless of whether or not they were a caseworker or supervisor of the children,” said Julie Moody, a Texas Department of Family and Protective Services spokeswoman.

Judge Gary Coley Jr. of Waco’s 74th State District Court said he isn’t surprised by the cemetery and funeral home’s donations for the children’s burials.

“We don’t have enough foster families here in Waco, but the ones that are here feel for these kids,” Coley said

“This is a terrible tragedy,” he said earlier this week. “We absolutely expect all our children placed in foster care to remain safe and secure.”

Coley terminated the parental rights of the two victims’ parents almost two years ago. He said Jenetta and Riley were on track to being adopted by their foster parents.

Affidavits allege the birth parents’ rights were terminated after several caseworker visits and interviews showed the children — then ages 2 and 4 — were physically abused, neglected, exposed to marijuana and synthetic marijuana, and left alone or under the care of other young children.

Records show caseworkers and law enforcement officers found the home’s living conditions unacceptable and “not livable” at various times, including a cockroach infestation that had the mother checking the children’s ears for roaches.

Jenetta and Riley were placed in a Cedar Park foster home on Aug. 2, 2012.

Their two siblings, a 1-year-old girl and a 22-month-old boy, were similarly removed from parental custody and placed in the same foster home earlier this year after their mother tested positive for methamphetamine, documents show. The infants have been moved after the death of their siblings, according to Department of Family and Protective Services officials.

Georgetown Police Capt. Roland Waits said the deaths still are being investigated, but detectives do not expect to file criminal charges.

DFPS has since shut down placements of foster children by the Austin-based Providence Kids agency until further investigation is complete.

The children’s foster home in Cedar Park also has been closed pending the outcome of the investigation, and DFPS officials said Child Protective Services workers will visit each child in the foster homes where Providence Kids placed them.”

Donors provide burial plot, funeral service for drowned Waco siblings[WACO Tribune 7/10/14 by Olivia Messer]

Update 2:“More details are being released about what led to the drowning deaths of two foster children at Lake Georgetown last month. The state agency in charge is now demanding change to prevent any other accidents.

Monday a report was sent out to the foster care agency that placed the kids in a foster home.

It was here on July 6, where two siblings in foster care were playing “hold your breath.” When Georgetown police arrived, they found a four-year-old boy and his six-year-old sister under water.

We spoke to Julie Moody with the Department of Family and Protective Services when it first happened.

“An accidental drowning is horrible. It’s tragic. It’s unacceptable for foster children,” Moody said.

Since then they launched an investigation into providence kids, the child placing agency. After three deficiencies were found among the caregivers, recommendations were given, including that the operation provide additional training to caregivers regarding water safety and to ensure there are at least two caregivers available to supervise four or more children in water. Something that Allison Magrum with Colin’s Hope agrees with.

“If you have multiple kids running in different directions, I mean it’s hard to watch. Those ratios are really important. So when you take two kids, three kids, four kids…you need to have multiple adults watching them,” Magrum said.

Two other children were at Lake Georgetown when the drownings happened. They survived but were not wearing life jackets. They have since been removed from the foster care family.

Colin’s Hope raises water safety awareness to prevent children from drowning. Magrum says there have already been 55 in Texas this year.

“It’s fast and it’s silent. You may not hear it and you may not see the struggle. Especially in open water you may not see where the child or person is when they go under,” Magrum said.

Ofelia Lovano was out swimming at Mansfield Dam when she came across a scary situation. Her reminder to the community is that it’s not only children that need help.

“There was just a young man that was swimming and the current was kind of strong. And he was being taken away and he panicked. He started yelling to us for help so it’s not just the children. You can’t just see somebody and not do anything about it,” Lovano said.

Since being licensed by in 2012, Providence Kids has three deficiencies on file. One for foster parents not providing a barrier to prevent a toddler from going up and down stairs and another for not complying with medical professional recommendations in a timely fashion.

The third, for a caregiver leaving a two-year-old in a golf cart, with the ignition on. The boy pushed the accelerator and according to records, ran the golf cart into a tree, injuring himself and his 3-year-old sibling.

The executive director for Providence Kids says they just received the report Monday so they will be looking it over and then get in touch with us. They have until the end of the month to comply with the recommendations.

Georgetown police says they do not have any active criminal charges pending.[What ?]

Links to the full investigation reports:

http://ftpcontent3.worldnow.com/ktbc/ktbcmisc/report1.pdf

http://ftpcontent3.worldnow.com/ktbc/ktbcmisc/report2.pdf

Deficiencies cited in drowning deaths of 2 foster children[My Fox Austin 8/18/14]

“According to a report released by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, the foster parents of those children failed to meet four out of the six requirements in taking care of the children. 

Investigators say the parents did not know the two children were in the water. Those two children did not know how to swim, even though the water was only 2-3 feet deep.

They also had no life vests on at the time while the parents were 66 yards away. So far, no charges have been filed, but the agency did provide the parents with technical assistance.

The report recommended the parents be told not to leave kids alone in water. Make sure you can always see them, and if they can’t swim, that they are in life vests.”

Report released on Waco foster kids who drowned in Central Texas lake[Kxxv 8/18/14]