Lawsuit: TFI Family Services

“The Georgia couple already had four children, but they were open to more.

In early 2012, TFI Family Services, the Kansas company that at the time helped run the state’s privatized foster care system, approached Don and Ellen Adkins about adopting three brothers. The couple expressed interest and made multiple trips to Kansas.

The one thing they couldn’t and wouldn’t do is adopt a child with sexually and physically abusive tendencies.

But the Adkins say that is exactly what happened.

In an ongoing federal lawsuit against TFI, the Adkins charge the nonprofit organization knew about the abusive traits of one of the children, a 7-year-old identified as T.N., but didn’t tell them. In the weeks after they adopted T.N., he acted violently and sexually abusive toward other children, they say.

The lawsuit, discovered by The Topeka Capital-Journal last week during a search of court records, is the third active federal lawsuit against the Emporia-based company. Even after losing its state contract in 2013, TFI continues to operate as a subcontractor for organizations with state contracts and sponsors about 700 foster homes.

 

Adkins’ adoption

In February 2012, the Adkins say TFI came to them. The company had three brothers — ages 5, 7 and 13 — for adoption, potentially as a group.

That June, the Adkins traveled to the TFI offices in Atchison and were taken to an office with several boxes — the files on the children.

“This is everything we have on the children,” they were told, according to the lawsuit.

The married couple spent eight hours reviewing the files. From time to time, staff came in and made phone calls whenever they had questions. There was no indication of any history of physical or sexual abuse among the children, so the Adkins asked to meet the children, who were living separately.

The next day, the Adkins went to Topeka to visit the 13-year-old. T.N.’s foster family couldn’t be reached, TFI told the Adkins.

In a subsequent June 23 visit they met with both the 13- and 5-year-old. But TFI told the Adkins T.N. was off on vacation with his foster family, the lawsuit said.

On June 28, TFI arranged a meeting with the 7-year-old. TFI worker Kelli Ann Hegarty brought T.N. to the hotel where the Adkins were staying.

“Ms. Hegarty handed to Plaintiffs a large bag of medications, including 6 bottles of prescription medications. Plaintiffs asked Ms. Hegarty what conditions the medications were meant to treat and if there were instructions for dispensing the medication. Ms. Hegarty replied, ‘I don’t know. I’ve only just met T.N. for the first time today,’ and then she walked away and left the hotel,” the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit said the medications are believed to have been drugs to treat serious psychological conditions, including depression, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

The next day, in a phone call, TFI employees told the Adkins the medication was for ADHD and generalized anxiety that he had because he was in the foster care system. The Adkins say no mention of any history of sexual abuse or acting out was made.

The Adkins moved forward with the adoption of the three brothers and in July brought them to Georgia. An Adoptive Placement Agreement was signed in August.

The situation soon turned sour, however.

“During the first weeks in his new home, T.N. exhibited concerning and inappropriate behaviors. He constantly lied. He was violent to other children in the home and at school. He created delusional, fantastical stories with no meaning or basis with the intent to deceive others for apparently no reason,” the lawsuit said.

More than once, T.N. took violent, inappropriate and abusive sexual actions toward the Adkins’ other children, the lawsuit alleges. The Adkins sought help from a local pediatrician, who received T.N.’s medical records from TFI.

According to the lawsuit, the records showed that T.N. had been in therapy in mental health facilities during that summer and before, including during the time when TFI told the Adkins the boy was on vacation with his foster family. TFI also took the boy to his therapy sessions.

The records also show T.N. had a history of attempting to molest and have sex with others, including his siblings and nearby children, and that he had a history of violently assaulting his 5-year-old brother. He had at one point been kicked off a school bus for inappropriate actions.

The foster family who previously had been taking care of T.N. gave TFI an ultimatum because the boy was “out of control and abusive to the younger boys,” the lawsuit reads. The lawsuit said the boy’s foster mother was so fed up, she said she would be done with foster care after the end of the school year.

“Additionally, it has been discovered that the same TFI employee who represented to Plaintiffs that she ‘knew nothing about T.N.’ and had only met him that day was the same TFI employee who had previously signed mental health forms for T.N., signed the discharge documents from the mental health institution and took T.N. from the institution to his foster family,” the lawsuit said.

The Adkins eventually removed the boy from their home because of the threat he posed to other children, the lawsuit said. It was “one of the most difficult decisions of their lives.”

In a legal filing in response to the lawsuit, TFI and Hegarty denied all allegations that they misrepresented the boy’s situation to the Adkins. The response maintains that Hagerty hadn’t met T.N. prior to taking him to meet the Adkins.

“Based on information and belief, TFI and Hegarty admit that Hegarty brought T.N. to meet with the plaintiffs and brought T.N.’s medications, as well. TFI and Hegarty further admit that this was the first time that Hegarty had met T.N. and that Hegarty had no information at that time regarding T.N.’s medications or medical condition,” the response reads.

The lawsuit continues to play out. As recently as March 16, the judge in the case issued an order designating what records in the case would be open in the case and which would be closed.

TFI, as it has when approached on other litigation, declined to comment through its attorney in the case, Sean Edwards of Overland Park.

 

Multiple lawsuits pending

Kansas consolidated the number of companies handling foster care in 2013 from four to two. TFI was one of the companies to lose its contract.

The Adkins’ lawsuit, first filed in November 2013, is one of three ongoing federal lawsuits against TFI that have been found by The Capital-Journal stemming from incidents prior to TFI’s contract ending in the summer of 2013. The lawsuits previously received little public attention.

TFI faces a lawsuit stemming from the 2013 death of 4-year-old Hiawatha boy Mekhi Boone. The boy’s biological mother said the foster care company placed Boone with his father in 2012 despite a record of domestic violence and didn’t follow procedures.

A few months after the placement, the father, Lee Davis, killed Boone. He later was found guilty of murder.

Another lawsuit, against TFI and Department for Children and Families workers, filed in 2013 over events that took place in the years preceding, alleges a woman’s children were improperly taken from her.

In addition, although apparently not the subject of ongoing litigation, documents showed TFI retrained its staff on the proper placement of foster children in 2012 after allegations of violations by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.”

TFI failed to disclose child’s mental health history to adopting family, lawsuit alleges[The Topeka Capital Journal 3/22/15 by Jonathon Shorman]

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