How Could You? Hall of Shame-Omarion “Mars” Humphrey case-Child Death and LawsuitUPDATED
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 Pontiac,Michigan, “the foster mother of a missing 9-year-old boy”, Omarion “Mars” Humphrey “with autism who vanished from a Davison Township park Saturday, July 4, was warned that same day to keep a closer eye on him, a caseworker testified in Oakland County Probate Court today, July 7.
Geneva Harvey, a representative of Alternatives for Children and Families, which placed Omarion “Mars” Humphrey, a severely autistic boy who doesn’t speak, in the foster home, said she learned of the warning after talking to police after the boy’s disappearance.
Mother of missing boy believes someone has taken her son Khisha Humphrey says she believes her son was taken from the Davison Township area after he was reported missing by his foster family at Lake Callis Recreation Complex.
Harvey testified at an emergency probate hearing today, and an attorney for Humphrey’s father questioned her about the boy’s disappearance, asking if the foster mother had been warned by park workers to keep a closer watch on him. The foster mother was not named in testimony at the hearing.
“Yes,” said Harvey, who also said there had been another, unrelated complaint about the same foster home that was lodged with the agency because of another accusation of improper supervision of another child in the past.
“He should have been watched … every second of the day,” said H. Elliot Parnes, an attorney for Humphrey’s father said. “I’m troubled by many of the answers we received today.”
Davison Township police and hundreds of volunteers have been looking for Omarion Humphrey since his disappearance.
Khisha Humphrey, the biological mother of the missing boy, said 11 of her children were placed with relatives and in foster care in February because she had inadequate housing for them.
Khisha Humphrey said she was shocked by what she heard in court today and believes more accountability is needed in the foster system.
“If I would have did that, I would be in jail,” she said of the situation in which her son disappeared.
Probate Judge Lisa Langton ordered today that Omarion Humphrey be placed on the state’s missing and AWOL docket, and ordered Alternatives of Children and Families to submit a report on its investigation of the incident, including whether the foster home had any training in dealing with autistic children.
Khisha Humphrey said she was surprised to discover today that the foster home where her missing son was placed had been the subject of another complaint regarding supervision of another child in their care.
“That was a shock to me … I was just like, ‘What?'” she said.
Khisha Humphrey, who is fighting to regain her children, said she believes her son was taken from the park.
“I think he’s been taken … I want my son back,” she said.”
Foster mom warned to keep closer watch on missing autistic boy, 9, says caseworker[MLive 7/8/15 by Ron Fonger]
“While teams of professionals and community members search for missing 9-year-old Pontiac boy Omarion Humphrey, more details have been uncovered about the day the child went missing.
In Oakland County Circuit Judge Lisa Langton’s courtroom Tuesday, July 7, attorneys for the Omarion’s biological parents questioned those involved in the ongoing foster case involving Omarion, an autistic boy.
Omarion was reported missing Saturday, July 4, at the Lake Callis Recreation Complex in Davison. Since, Michigan State Police have issued an Amber Alert for the boy, and Davison Township police — along with agencies from all over the state — are scouring a five-mile radius around the park in hopes of finding him.
The Oakland County Sheriff’s Aviation Unit has also volunteered its infrared and thermal technologies on its helicopters for search efforts.
Omarion, who doesn’t speak, is black with brown eyes, stands 4 feet tall and weighs 65 pounds. He was last seen at the park with his foster family, who lives in Genesee County. He was wearing only a pair of black shorts with a red stripe on the bottom and no shoes or shirt.
DETAILS ABOUT CASE, DAY OF DISAPPEARANCE
In court Tuesday, the time frame the boy’s disappearance was questioned — along with what training the boy’s foster parents had to take care of an autistic child — were both main points discussed.
Omarion is one of 15 children born to Khisha Humphrey. As many as 11 of them are currently in foster care. The hearing was one in case that stretches back several years involving Humphrey’s children.
Clarkston attorney H. Elliot Parnes, representing Omarion’s father, said he learned that the young boy had wandered off during the July 4 outing with his foster family, who he joined in February due to his autism.
Flint-based Alternatives for Children and Families placed Omarion in the home. There is one other child placed with the foster family.
Parnes added that he was the person who initially alerted one of Omarion’s case workers to the boy’s disappearance. “I’m troubled that I’m the source of that information.”
Parnes asked Alternatives case worker Geneva Harvey how soon she found out about Omarion’s being missing after it was reported. Harvey replied that she heard on news channels that the disappearance happened at around 5:30 p.m., but she had not heard from the foster parents until around 7:30 p.m. Harvey also testified that the foster parents had one prior complaint of improper supervision of Omarion.
Pontiac attorney Richard Taylor, who was in court on behalf of Omarion’s biological mother, said he was troubled by the fact that Omarion’s foster parents were told at least one time by others at the park that Omarion was not being supervised properly. This was after Omarion had wandered away from his foster parents, attorneys learned during the court proceeding.
“One time is one too many, particularly when dealing with an autistic child of Omarion’s demeanor and nature,” Taylor said.
“It just baffles me that this family did not take more heed to watch him, given his special needs and his mindset.”
Langton ordered that when the missing child is found, his case would be reviewed monthly, and that the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services consider counseling for Omarion’s brothers and sisters who know about his disappearance.
Langton also ordered that Alternatives for Children and Families investigate and report back on what training the foster parents had to take care of autistic children and on the details of the day of Omarion’s being reported missing.
The case will be reviewed again in Langton’s court at 9:30 a.m. on July 24.
Hunt still on
It is unknown whether he ran away or was taken, and Davison police have not ruled anything out, said Police Chief Rick Freeman at a press conference Wednesday morning. Around 7 a.m. Tuesday, close to “60 or 80 canine teams” were dispatched throughout the park area and five miles in any direction, searching in grid patterns for the young boy, Freeman said.
The chief added that different strategies “that some may think are silly” have been employed as the search for Omarion continues. Lights have been kept on at Lake Callis Recreation area parks, music was left playing overnight and the splash park was left running, said Freeman — all tactics to potentially attract Omarion to those areas.
Freeman added that the FBI, Homeland Security, Michigan State Police and agencies across Michigan have been brought in to find Omarion. Omarion’s sister, Ashanti Rollinson, said Omarion went into foster care about four months ago due to his autism. He has hidden, but never ran away before, she said.
Rollinson described Humphrey as outgoing and very excitable. She said he answers to the nickname, “Mars.” He can say the word, “No,” she said, and makes an “Eeeee” sound.
“He can’t tell anybody what’s going on. He can’t scream. He cries really loud when he’s scared,” said Rollinson. “Bring my brother home.
“My brother doesn’t do things like this. We would have found him by now.”
Meanwhile, Omarion’s biological mother on Tuesday was in Oakland County court in a matter against the her son’s foster parents.
Khisha Humphrey on Tuesday told WNEM.com that she thinks there should be criminal charges against the foster family.
“You lost a whole child, a whole person,” she said.”
Details uncovered about missing boy’s foster care case as new search efforts underway[The Oakland Press 7/8/15 By John Turk]
Why don’t they name the foster parents?
REFORM Puzzle Piece
Update:“Khisha Humphrey, the biological mother of Omarion Humphrey, has confirmed that the search for her son is over and that her son was found, like a staggering number of autistic children, drowned in a lake not far from where he went missing. Unlike many of these autism-related tragedies though, nine-year-old Omarion Humphrey had fled to the body of water from the care of his foster parent. On the Fourth of July, Omarion had been at the Lake Callis Recreation Complex with his foster family, playing in a fenced-in splash pad which was located only about 50 feet away from the picnic table where his foster parents were sitting. Omarion was almost non-verbal.
Omarion reportedly had 10 siblings. Khisha and her husband lost custody of all of their children over being unable to provide them with adequate housing. Jamell Humphrey, Omarion’s father, expressed his gratitude to those who helped search for his son, but said that he has “no words right now,” when a reporter asked him to comment about his son’s tragedy, according to the Detroit Free Press.
The incredibly tragic story of Omarion’s life cut short is even more unbearable, because Omarion’s foster mother was warned that same day to keep a better eye on the child, because he had special care needs due to his autism. The child vanished from the Davison Township park on the Fourth of July. A caseworker testified in Oakland County Probate Court on July 7 that the foster mother was given the warning earlier on the same day he went missing. Geneva Harvey, a representative of Alternatives for Children and Families, the agency that placed Omarion, said she only learned of the warning issued to the foster mother after the boy had already disappeared, according to NBC.
Lake Callis Recreation Area had been closed and evacuated in order to search for the boy. The large scale search that involved around 500 people ended on July 8. Not long after reopening Friday, Omarion Humphrey’s body was discovered along the shore’s edge in knee-deep water.
Harvey even added to her testimony about the foster home that there had also been another complaint lodged in the past, with the agency accusing the foster home of improper supervision of a different child, according to MLIVE. At that emergency hearing, after Omarion went missing, but before his body was discovered in the lake, his mother said she was shocked by what she considered a lack of accountability in the foster system.
“If I would have did that, I would be in jail,” Omarion’s mother stated of the lack of required supervision of her son before his body was discovered in the lake. Khisha and her husband reportedly had been fighting to regain custody of her children ranging in age from 3 months to 17 years old.
While in his mother and father’s custody, Omarion was living “in squalor” with only his siblings in a small apartment just five months ago, according to court records. Meanwhile, his parents lived in a separate, tidy apartment. The children were removed by Child Protective Services, according to Oakland County Probate Court records. Omarion, while in his parents’ custody, had been sleeping on the floor without adult supervision. His clothes did not fit and were said to be unclean.
“Omarion wears adult clothes held up by a belt and wears shoes with no soles. Omarion’s teacher provides Omarion clothing that he changes into before class starts in the morning. Omarion is frequently bullied by his peers due to poor hygiene and for body odor. In the past, school personnel have had to give Omarion sponge baths due to his overwhelming body odor and hygiene.”
While in his parents’ care, Omarion didn’t have a bed, the stairs were cluttered with dirty diapers, hangars, empty food containers and dirty dishes. A window in the apartment was broken and covered with plastic. The bathrooms were infested with flies and gnats. The court records paint a picture showing the conditions Omarion and his siblings lived in before foster care.
“Mr. and Mrs. Humphrey have an extensive CPS history for physical and medical neglect, improper supervision and threatened harm. Mr. and Mrs. Humphrey abandon their children in deplorable conditions and rent a separate apartment where they stay.”
Documents did not explain exactly how far away the children’s apartment was from the adults’ apartment, just that the children had no supervision in their apartment. After losing their children, the Humphreys were described as “extremely cooperative with the department” as recently as May. The couple attended every scheduled appointment, trying to get their children back. On May 5, the parents’ new residence was finished and approved for the children to return home, according to MLIVE. Sadly, Omarion Humphrey, better known as “Mars,” will never live in the home his parents made for their family while he and his siblings were in foster care.””
Omarion Humphrey, Autistic Foster Child Failed By Almost Everyone, Found Dead In Lake
[Inquisitr.com 7/10/15]
Update 2:”The state is investigating the Burton agency that oversaw the foster home where Omarion Humphrey was placed, trying to determine if the 9-year-old autistic boy was properly cared for and supervised before his disappearance at Lake Callis Recreation Complex in Davison Township.
Omarion’s body was found in the lake Friday, July 10, after having been brought to the park by his foster mother, who lost track of the boy during the outing.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services wants to know whether Burton-based Alternatives for Children & Families did its job investigating the foster home where Omarion had been placed before he vanished Saturday, July 4, from Lake Callis.
Investigators are also checking whether Alternatives followed licensing rules, including the development of training plans to help Omarion’s foster family deal with Omarion’s special needs, DHHS spokesman Bob Wheaton said.
“We are conducting an investigation right now, and we can’t comment on any ongoing investigation,” Wheaton said of the case. “(When there is) an incident as serious as a child being missing, we would look into the licensing agency.”
The Flint Journal-MLive could not reach Alternatives for Children & Families Chief Executive Officer Yvwania Richardson for comment Thursday, July 9, or Friday, July 10, but state records show her agency has been no stranger to special investigations.
Since 2008, the state has carried out 10 investigations of Alternatives, records show, including a 2014 case in which the agency was found to have placed a child with relatives for more than six months without completing a home study or documenting that the home was safe and an appropriate placement for the child.
The agency’s license as a child welfare agency is in good standing despite the investigations and a license renewal report in January that required a corrective action plan because of multiple violations, including no documentation that Alternatives made required unscheduled visits of foster parents or caregivers in three of 14 cases that were reviewed.
Foster care workers must make an unannounced home visit to licensed homes every quarter, according to MDHH rules.
Alternatives, which state records show was incorporated in 1988, has been under some scrutiny since Humphrey was reported missing on Independence Day as thousands of police, volunteers and tracking groups have searched for the boy, last seen barefoot and wearing only swim trunks.
Geneva Harvey, who represented Alternatives at an emergency court hearing last week, told an Oakland County Probate Court judge Tuesday, July 7, that police told her Humphrey’s foster mother had been warned by park employees to keep a closer eye on him just hours before he vanished.
Harvey also said the foster family where Humphrey was placed had been the subject of another complaint of improper supervision of another child in the past.
Probate Judge Lisa Langton has ordered Alternatives to submit a report detailing what type of training members of the foster home where Humphrey was placed had for supervising autistic children by July 24.
Attorneys for Humphrey’s biological mother and father each questioned Harvey about the foster home at the same hearing.
The Flint foster home has not been named in court or by police.
Harvey said in response to questions in court that the Humphrey case is not the first time the same foster family has faced an allegation of improper supervision.
Richard Taylor, an attorney for Humphrey’s mother, said someone has to answer for why Omarion wasn’t properly supervised.
“It baffles me that this family did not take more heed to watch him,” Taylor said.
The Journal could not reach Parnes or Taylor for additional comment.””
Spotlight on foster agency linked to missing boy found dead in lake[Mlive 7/13/15 by Ron Fonger]
“Investigators believe Omarion “Mars” Humphrey was in Lake Callis since the day he went missing and that he never left the park, Davison Township police Chief Rick Freeman said in a statement on Tuesday, July 14.
On the Fourth of July holiday, Omarion was visiting Lake Callis Recreation Area with his foster family, and had played in a fenced-in splash pad, about 50 feet away from his foster family’s picnic table.
The splash pad is about 25 yards from the lake.
Police said preliminary cause of Omarion’s death is drowning, with no sign of foul play or trauma, Freeman said.
“Investigators are still working diligently on the circumstances that led up to Omarion being in that water – apparently unsupervised and without any personal floatation devices,” the statement said.
The cause of death may not come for weeks as investigators await test results.
Around 6 p.m. July 4, he was reported missing to police.
The last footage of Omarion captured on surveillance cameras stationed inside the pavilion show him walking toward the splash pad at 5:09 p.m. He walked out of view of cameras, and never appeared on the footage again.
Lake Callis Recreation Area reopened today, July 14, and Freeman said a current in the lake doesn’t exist and if there is one, it “does not appear relevant to the drowning,” the statement said.
Police also said the splash pad pump also didn’t cause the nine-year-old autistic boy’s death.
“The investigative information shows that given the design of the pump system, it had no apparent relevant connection to the drowning,” Freeman said.
The state is investigating the Burton agency that oversaw the foster home where Humphrey was placed and trying to determine if the 9-year-old autistic boy was properly cared for and supervised before his disappearance.
The boy was living in squalor with his eight siblings in February, while his biological parents lived in a separate, tidy apartment, court records say.
Omarion and his siblings were removed from the home by Child Protective Services and placed in foster care nearly five months before he went missing, according to Oakland County Probate Court records. Investigators said he was sleeping on the floor in a trash-ridden home without adult supervision, wore dirty clothes that didn’t fit and had poor hygiene, the court documents say.”
Omarion Humphrey was in lake the entire time he was missing, police say [Mlive 7/13/15 by Dominic Adams]
Update 3:“Pastor Lorenzo Sewell leaned forward and grasped Jamell Humphrey’s hand.
“We are here to celebrate your son’s life. This is going to be an awesome message.”
It was not a funeral but a “home-going celebration” Tuesday, July 21, for 9-year-old Omarion Humphrey who was found dead at Lake Callis Recreation Complex in Davison July 10.
Nearly 200 people, mostly family, attended a private service held for him at Woodside Bible Church in Pontiac where Omarion, his parents and other siblings lived before the family was separated in February.
“Brothers and sisters, all of us share in this loss, but there is a bond that holds us together,” said Diane Humphrey-Beverly, Omarion’s great aunt. “There is a bond of blood that holds us together. He was part of this family. This family will never forget him, because he was part of a bond that will never be broken.”
Omarion, who was autistic, went missing on July 4 during an outing at the complex with his foster family. His body was found in the lake after days of searching.
His parents, Jamell and Khisha Humphrey along with their 14 children were at the service. Arrangements for the children in foster care were made so they could attend the service.
Jamell Humphrey said the children were granted a day pass to attend the service.
“It took us a while to get ready, but everyone is here,” he said. “All of us are here, except for Omarion.”
He had been in foster care since February, when his parents temporarily lost custody of nine of their children. They also lost custody of twins who were born after the state took the nine. Four of their 15 children are adults.
The state is investigating the Burton agency, Alternatives for Children & Families, that placed Omarion in a Flint-area home.
State records show that the state had carried out 10 investigations of the agency since 2008, including placing a child in a home without conducting a home study. Michigan Department of Health and Human Services policy says foster care workers must make unannounced home visits quarterly.
The license for the agency, which was incorporated in 1988, was in good standing despite the investigations.
Thousands of police and volunteers spent six days looking the boy, who was last seen wearing only swim trunks.
According to police, there was no foul play. A preliminary autopsy suggested that Omarion drowned in the lake the day he went missing.”
Family, friends say goodbye to 9-year-old boy found dead in Davison Township lake[Mlive 7/21/15 by Jiquanda Johnson]
Update 4: Finally the foster mother is named!
“Lulu Richardson looked at her hands. Her voice grew shaky and her eyes filled with tears.
“When he wanted something, he would always grab the same three fingers. He would grab the same three fingers and point.”
Richardson is remembering Omarion Humphrey, the 9-year-old Pontiac boy who had been placed in her care since February. He drowned in a Davison Township lake July 4 under her supervision.
“I loved him. He was smarter than everyone thought.”
Richardson said she can’t talk about the incident because it would violate company policy at Alternatives for Children & Families, the Burton agency that placed Omarion in her home.
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services currently is investigating Alternatives after the incident.
“The state is conducting a licensing investigation of Alternatives,” said MDHHS spokesman Bob Wheaton in an email to The Flint Journal. “Alternatives, as the foster care agency that was managing Omarion’s case, is responsible for investigating the foster parent.”
State records show that the state had carried out 10 investigations of the agency since 2008, including one for placing a child in a home without conducting a home study. Michigan Department of Health and Human Services policy says foster care workers must make unannounced home visits quarterly.
The license for the agency, which was incorporated in 1988, was in good standing despite the investigations.
The agency issued a statement saying it couldn’t comment on the issue because of state restrictions, and gave its condolences.
“As parents and professionals who have committed themselves to a career aimed at providing a safe, nurturing, and therapeutic environment for children who require out-of-home placement while their parents gain necessary skills to parent effectively they understand the heartache the Humphrey family must be going through.”
After the incident, another foster child that was in Richardson’s care was removed from her home and placed with another foster family.
“I take good care of my children,” said Richardson, who has served as a foster parent for six years. “I love all of them and I miss Mars (Omarion) very much. If there had ever come a time when he was adoptable, I wanted to adopt him.”
She has three adopted children.
Omarion, who was autistic, was placed in her home after his parents, Jamell and Khisha Humphrey, lost temporary custody of their children earlier this year to the state, who said the children were living in squalor.
The Pontiac couple had 15 children. Four of the 15 are adults.
When they lost custody, there were nearly 20 people living in their home, including grandchildren. State records say both Jamell and Khisha Humphrey were living in a separate apartment away from the children.
Khisha Humphrey later gave birth to a set of twins for whom the couple also lost temporary custody.
A judge Friday, July 24, refused to return custody of the children to the couple. In that hearing, a representative of the foster care agency testified about her investigation into Omarion’s care.
The Flint Journal could not reach Richardson for comment Friday after the hearing for comment on the testimony.
Omarion went missing July 4 during an outing at Callis Lake Recreation Complex with his foster family. His body was found in the lake July 10.
Thousands of police and volunteers spent six days looking for the boy, who was last seen wearing only swim trunks.
Another statement issued by the agency’s attorney, Gregory T. Gibbs, said the agency is conducting its own investigation.
“Michigan law imposes an obligation on child placement agencies to investigate such incidents and report the results of its investigation to the State of Michigan,” said a news release issued by Gibbs. “ACF began its investigation the day Omarion disappeared and continues to investigate the facts and circumstances surrounding his disappearance and drowning.”
According to police, there was no foul play. A preliminary autopsy suggested that Omarion drowned in the lake the day he went missing.
Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said an investigation into the incident is ongoing.
Nearly 200 people, mostly family, attended a private service held for him at Woodside Bible Church in Pontiac on July 21.”
Foster mother remembers 9-year-old boy who drowned in Davison Township Lake [MLive 7/24/15 by Jiquanda Johnson]
Update 5: “A state investigation uncovered a pattern of violations by the Flint woman and a failure on partof the agency who placed Omarion with her.
The 9-year-old-boy with severe autism drowned in a Genesee County lake while in the care of his foster mother.
The report does not refer to Omarion Humphrey’s foster mother by name – she’s known as “Foster Parent A.”
After Omarion was found dead in a Davison Township lake in July, the Department of Health and Human Services launched an investigation into Alternatives for Children and Families in Burton.
That’s the agency that placed him with his foster family.
According to that report, Omarion’s foster mother was investigated six times by Alternatives for a variety of violations.
There were several citations for failure to supervise foster children in her care.
Perhaps the most shocking showed she was not trained to care for children with autism, yet Omarion – who’s described as severely autistic – was placed wit[sic] her.
DHHS said that after the third special investigation by Alternatives, “Foster Parent A” should have received disciplinary action. Instead, she kept her license and received more foster children.
The report lists other problems as well, including sex acts between foster children in her home and improper physical discipline on a foster child.
The 44-page report is the basis the DHHS recommendation to revoke Alternatives’ license.
The attorney for the foster agency said they plan to appeal the decision.
It will probably be months before a decision is made regarding that license. In the meantime, Alternatives is not allowed to place any new foster children.”
State investigation reveals startling details about foster mother caring for Omarion Humphrey[Abc 12 9/10/15 by Jessica Dupnak]
“The state said the report and the severity of the violations are the reason the agency should lose its license.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services claims the agency did not properly train its foster parents. Especially when it came to dealing with children with autism.
Humphrey was severely autistic.
The report said the foster parent should have been trained for Omarion’s needs and how to handle issues due to his communication skills, physical safety and self-care.
The report also said Humphrey was placed in a foster home with a laundry list of previous violations, many for lack of supervision.
Those violations include a 2012 case where a 17-year-old foster child was arrested for having sexual contact with another youth in the home.
In 2013 a 2-year-old died choking on a peanut butter sandwich.
The agency received citations.
Earlier this year a foster mother investigated was found to have lied about a previous criminal charge of retail fraud.
There were also several violations in the report detailing the lack of supervision.
The state department notified Yvwania Richardson, the administrator of Alternatives for Children and Families, in August noting the disciplinary action against her license is recommended.
Six foster homes were reviewed in the process. The report even claimed some foster parents training included watching Hollywood movies.
Alternatives For Children and Families has released the following statement in regards to the report:
While we are exercising our appeal rights and attempting to work cooperatively with the Division of Child Welfare Licensing, we feel that it is not appropriate or useful to air our differences in the public forum that can be created by the press/social media. The State of Michigan procedure does not allow us a full and fair hearing before release of a DHS investigation report. Hopefully, a full and fair hearing at which we are allowed to dispute allegations with actual evidence will provide the truth. Therefore, we will not be commenting publicly on specifics contained in the Investigation Report.
Yvwania H. Richardson
CEO
Alternatives For Children and Families”
State looking to revoke foster agency’s license after investigation
[WNEM 9/9/15 by Brianna Owczarzak]
“In an Oakland County court hearing in July, a representative of Alternatives testified that Omarion’s foster mother was licensed to foster special needs children, but did not have formal training for managing children with autism.
The foster mother used Internet research to educate herself on caring for autistic children, the Alternatives representative said.
Omarion and 10 of his siblings were removed from their biological home and placed in foster care earlier this year. A judge on July 24 ruled the 10 children should remain in foster care for the time being.
Another custody hearing was set for October.”
Agency that placed autistic boy who drowned should lose license, state says [Mlive 9/8/15 by Ron Fonger]
Update 7:”The family of Omarion Humphrey has filed a lawsuit against the foster agency that placed him and the foster parent who was watching him.
Omarion’s estate is suing Alternatives for Children and Family as well as the foster mother, according to a report on NBC25.
Omarion was visiting Lake Callis in Genesee County with his foster family on July 4 when he disappeared. Six days later, following a massive search, he was found in the lake, apparently drowned.
No criminal charges were filed in connection to the case.
The Geoffrey Fieger law firm is representing the family, according to the report.”
Report: Family of Omarion Humphrey files lawsuit against foster agency
[M Live 12/9/15 by Amanda Emery]
Update 8:“Shortly after Gov. Rick Snyder’s child welfare agency argued to a federal judge it had improved enough to escape court oversight, one of the state’s foster children drowned in a lake near Flint.
Omarion Humphrey, 9, was autistic. On July 4, 2015, he wandered away from a foster mother who had no specialized training to care for him.
“We had him for nine years and nothing even close to that happened to him,” his sister, 21-year-old Cyrria Mims, said in a recent interview. “They had him for four months and he ended up dead.”
More Michigan kids are dying from abuse or neglect than a decade ago, when the state settled a federal lawsuit and vowed to improve its child welfare system, a Lansing State Journal investigation found.
Deaths increased despite the hundreds of millions Michigan spent on reforms, including doubling its child welfare budget and nearly doubling the child welfare staff.
In 2008, the year Michigan settled the lawsuit, the state reported 59 deaths from abuse or neglect. In 2016, the most recent year data is available, Michigan reported 85 such deaths and became one of the five worst states in the nation.
Also in 2016, the Michigan Office of the Children’s Ombudsman opened a record number of investigations into the deaths of foster children or kids whose families had recently received child welfare services.
The ombudsman says the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services did everything right in 6% of the hundreds of cases it reviewed between February 2016 and March 2018. Those reviews included child deaths and other cases involving Children’s Protective Services investigations, foster care and adoption.
Records show state employees and contractors frequently violate the laws and policies meant to protect kids from harm and often fail to intervene when they should. The ombudsman has written more than 500 suggested improvements to the child welfare system over the last decade, including 155 related to child deaths.
While Michigan has made reforms it should be proud of, “we remain deeply concerned about the ability of the state to keep kids safe when they’re in foster care,” said Elizabeth Pitman Gretter, an attorney for Children’s Rights. That’s the New York advocacy group that sued Michigan after several high-profile child deaths, including the 2005 killing of Williamston’s Ricky Holland by his adoptive parents.
Omarion Humphrey’s death 10 years later illustrates the ongoing flaws. DHHS had removed Humphrey and 10 of his siblings from their parents over living conditions officials said were unsafe. But the state placed Humphrey with a foster mother who had a history of complaints and no training on how to handle autistic children.
“I don’t think anyone that had him there that day actually was sorry,” Mims said. “My son will never have met his uncle, ever. My baby brothers don’t even know who he is. And my younger brothers don’t remember who he is.”
DHHS can’t comment on specific cases, but spokesman Bob Wheaton pointed to state policies requiring the department to place kids in the most appropriate home and minimize “the trauma experienced by the child and family.”
The DHHS contractor that placed Humphrey lost its license; Humphrey’s siblings were returned to their parents in December 2016.
Herman McCall, executive director of Michigan’s child welfare programs, refused to be interviewed or answer written questions for this article, citing the ongoing federal lawsuit. Instead, he issued a written statement pointing to numerous new programs launched over the last decade.
“Since coming under federal court oversight in 2008,” the statement says, “MDHHS has taken numerous measures designed to increase safety and well-being … and deliver effective services to achieve positive outcomes for children and families.”
Mistakes like what happened to Humphrey will continue to happen, current and former DHHS employees said, because of excessive turnover that leaves kids’ lives in the hands of inexperienced caseworkers.
State civil service records suggest only about 18% of child welfare employees have at least 10 years on the job. The average worker has about 7 years’ experience.
That can be a serious shortcoming. Child welfare workers need a deep understanding of state and federal law, the court system, and community resources available to families.
“You just don’t get that without time in the trenches,” said David Berns, who ran child welfare agencies in several states, including Michigan in the 1990s.
Turnover is a common problem in the high-stress, high-stakes world of child welfare, especially given that the pay is relatively low. DHHS’ child welfare workers make between $19.41 and $33.32 an hour.
But current and former DHHS employees who spoke with the State Journal said the problem is exacerbated in Michigan. Employees often quit out of frustration with supervisors who they believe are more concerned about escaping court oversight than giving kids what they really need.
Supervisors often tolerate — or even subtly encourage — shortcuts while harassing workers who take too long to close cases, workers said.
“The State of Michigan doesn’t care,” said Adre Brown, a former CPS investigator in Ingham County. “As long as you get your cases done in 30 days, you’re a rock star.”
There’s evidence to support those claims. Last year, DHHS reassigned a regional supervisor in the Upper Peninsula amid allegations that supervisors bullied employees.
The federal court, state lawmakers and the Michigan Auditor General are investigating allegations — first uncovered by the State Journal last year — that supervisors frequently assign cases to employees who are on leave for medical or other reasons. That makes the state appear to be in compliance with court-ordered caseload limits but may delay crucial interventions in kids’ lives.
DHHS knows it has a turnover problem.
The department commissioned a study of its foster care programs in 2015. Researchers found turnover among foster care workers was more than 16%, compared to less than 10% across all state government jobs. DHHS spends $1.5 million a year hiring and training new foster care caseworkers, researchers from the National Council on Crime & Delinquency said in that report.
The report concluded DHHS should hire enough foster care employees so none were responsible for more than 13 cases, to give employees adequate time for kids. Yet, DHHS has repeatedly missed the 15-cases-per-worker requirement spelled out in the federal lawsuit, including in the most recent monitoring report.
The department also exceeded caseload limits for supervisors and CPS workers. The department was within caseload limits for licensing staff and employees who run the statewide hotline where suspected abuse is reported.
McCall, the state’s child welfare chief, told lawmakers in March that DHHS has used the results of employee surveys to make the department a more attractive place to work.
In his written statement to the State Journal, he said officials have focused on hiring qualified staff, providing quality training, and helping employees deal with the secondary trauma they might experience through the horrors they witness in their work.
“Recognizing that a healthy workforce is a significant asset to successful improvement and sustainability of Michigan’s child welfare system, MDHHS continues to develop and implement efforts focused on addressing workforce barriers,” McCall said in the statement.
But it isn’t clear that’s really happening. Last year’s surveys revealed skepticism among employees at the Children’s Services Agency, the umbrella organization McCall runs that covers child welfare programs, juvenile justice and more.
Just more than a quarter of those employees said they’d seen meaningful change come from engagement survey results. Most said DHHS leadership is untrustworthy and that employees cannot share their opinions without fear of retaliation.
So turnover remains a problem. And families feel the effects.
For about two years, White Lake’s Brendan and Erika Bedini have had legal guardianship of their 5-year-old niece, Addisyn Lantto, because the girl’s mother struggled with alcoholism.
The Bedinis say they feared for their niece’s safety because DHHS allowed Addisyn to visit her mother even as the mother had relapse after relapse. The Bedinis said they struggled to get Children’s Protective Services to respond to their concerns.
Wheaton, the DHHS spokesman, pointed to policies that encourage parental visitation plans that are “in the best interest of the child and … develop or enhance attachment with the child’s family.”
Brendan Bedini said the state repeatedly made the wrong decision in Addisyn’s case. He blamed that, in part, on the fact that they dealt with a dozen different caseworkers over less than three years.
“I don’t know what the problem is” at DHHS, he said, “except there’s no leadership. There’s no direction. There’s no one to go to.”
‘Driving … in the blind’
Children’s Rights, the New York group that sued Michigan, has sued 13 other state- and county-based child welfare agencies since 1977. Seven of those cases are ongoing, and the group has pending suits against Florida and Arizona.
Each state’s problems are unique, but “Michigan did seem to get off to a slower start,” said Pitman Gretter, the Children’s Rights attorney. “We are frustrated that we aren’t further down the road.”
Michigan has changed its system in the decade since then-Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed the first settlement with Children’s Rights.
Granholm’s administration in 2009 created a specialized unit to investigate allegations of abuse or neglect in foster care.
In 2012, Snyder’s administration opened a centralized intake hotline where all allegations of child abuse or neglect are reported and assigned for investigation.
In 2015, the administration launched a massive, $61 million computer system meant to improve data collection and analysis — though that program has been glitch-ridden since it went online.
Those and other efforts have helped the state improve upon some key statistics. The state has sharply reduced the number of kids in foster care. At a hearing in the federal lawsuit last summer, U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds praised the state for more quickly finding kids permanent homes.
“It is a happy event, and everyone involved should feel proud of what’s been accomplished,” Edmunds said.
But much remains to be done.
In their latest report, court-appointed consultants tracking Michigan’s progress in the federal lawsuit said DHHS had accomplished less than 25% of the goals laid out for it.
>Among the missed targets: Several abuse investigations took longer than allowed by state law. Nearly a third of the allegations of abuse in foster care that should have been assigned for investigation never were. And the department failed to run background checks on some of the relatives with whom children were placed, meaning some kids were placed in homes with unsecured firearms or where drugs were abused.
And monitors still can’t measure the state’s progress on many metrics. Partly because of the still-glitchy computer system launched in 2015, monitors said in their last report they couldn’t gauge the state’s progress on 28% of the requirements.
“How does management know, day to day, what decisions to make?” Sara Bartosz, another Children’s Rights attorney, told Edmunds at the 2017 hearing. “You’re driving a bus in the blind.”
Meanwhile, Children’s Ombudsman Orlene Hawks said DHHS continues to show “a very concerning pattern of not following those rules and policies” in investigations.
As long as there is poverty, substance abuse, domestic violence and other family strife that puts kids at risk, bad things will happen, Pitman Gretter told the State Journal.
But she said kids shouldn’t get hurt because the government agency meant to protect them messed up.
“You look for a system in place that protects against those human errors,” she said. “Child welfare is a messy world, but it is not a standard-less world.” ”
More Michigan kids die despite 10 years of trying to fix the system meant to protect them
[Lansing State Joutnal 5/3/18 by Jusin A. Hinkley]
*headdesk* Yet another case of taking a child from a natural parent for POVERTY, rather than providing services to the entire family as a unit! And yet again, the child comes to grief in an inadequate foster home.
And by a privatized CPS system, too. Why am I not surprised?
Side note: 15 kids?!? Couldn’t providing services to the family have included free highly-effective birth control and psychological counseling to Ms. Humphrey a long time back? Did they view her as a potential baby farm for Rescue Adoptions?
What is the name of Omarion Humphreys foster parent?