How Could You? Hall of Shame-Janice Elaine Haye

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 West Palm Beach, Florida, “Deputies arrested a West Palm Beach foster care parent on child abuse charges after finding a 5-year-old Autistic boy bleeding from his ear and covered in dirt and feces.

Witnesses saw Janice Elaine Haye pulled over roadside on 10th Avenue near D Street in Lake Worth beating the 5-year-old Friday, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. Haye, 47, had three children and one teen all with special needs in her white Volkswagen hatchback at the time, although her relationship to the children is not clear.

Haye is a caregiver in the foster care system, Department of Children and Families spokeswoman Paige Patterson-Hughes said. The children in her care have since been removed and placed elsewhere, she said.

A witness contacted police after she saw Haye “slapping, punching and shaking [the 5-year-old’s] face like a sack of potatoes,” the report states.

Haye told police the boy has level one Autism, separation anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and intermittent explosive disorder, characterized by angry outbursts, according to deputies.

The boy had a temper tantrum in the car, which sent the other passengers — two 12-year-olds and a 14-year-old — into tantrums, Haye told police, denying that she ever disciplined them with force. She pulled over the hatchback so the 5-year-old could stand outside and cool off, she told deputies.

Haye said everything happened so fast and she may have accidentally hit the 5-year-old, the report states.

A second witness also contacted police to report the roadside abuse, but declined to be interviewed, the report said.

When Palm Beach County Fire Rescue examined the boy, he was bleeding from his left ear, had red marks and a cut on the left side of his face and bruises on his arm and shoulder, the report states. He also was wearing dirty clothing and had feces on his pants and legs.

Deputies interviewed the child, who told them that he was “being bad at school” so Haye slapped him with her shoe and choked him while in the back of the car, then gave him a popsicle to calm him down.

A DCF investigation into Haye is pending, Patterson-Hughes said. Haye has no prior criminal history in the county.

She was arrested and taken to Palm Beach County Jail, then released Saturday under court supervision.”

PBSO: Foster care parent slapped, choked 5-year-old with autism [Palm Beach Post 9/29/15 by LuLu Ramadan]

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