Lawsuit: New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department and Familyworks Inc. Now Bittersweet Justice

“The mother of an Otero County teen with a developmental disability alleges in a new lawsuit that her daughter was raped repeatedly by a longtime foster father in an Albuquerque home where the girl was supposed to be receiving therapeutic care.

The man’s wife, the complaint alleges, knew of the abuse and even forced the girl to get birth control injections to ensure she wouldn’t become pregnant.

“She has the functioning of an 8-year-old,” attorney Kate Ferlic said of the young plaintiff. “And so, it’s truly appalling.”

The complaint, filed Tuesday in state District Court in Santa Fe against foster parents Clarence and Debbie Garcia, the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department and Familyworks Inc. — a private Albuquerque-based company that contracts with the child welfare agency — is the latest in a series of allegations of severe abuse of some of state’s most traumatized children in high-treatment foster care homes.

A similar case filed in 2017 in the U.S. District Court in Albuquerque said an Española teenage boy was sexually abused by a Tucumcari man contracted to provide treatment foster care. Manuel Preciado was criminally charged in 2014 after the teen and his mother reported the abuse to police. Preciado was charged again in 2015, when a second boy came forward with allegations.

He pleaded guilty last year in both cases to one count of criminal sexual contact of a minor and six counts of raping a minor.

“Defendant Preciado often plied the child with liquor and/or drugs, the federal suit said, “and then sodomized him.”

The federal suit was settled out of court, said Richard Rosenstock, an attorney for the plaintiff. Rosenstock did not provide the settlement amount.

In the 2017 case, as in the new lawsuit, an organization that licenses and trains treatment foster parents to provide behavioral health care, emotional therapy or medical care was accused of knowingly placing children in a home where there were prior allegations of abuse.

“Familyworks received reports, prior to August 2015, from foster children that Clarence Garcia had sexually abused and/or sexually assaulted them,” says the complaint filed Tuesday. “Despite the reports of sexual abuse, Familyworks continued to place children with the Garcia household.”

The suit says the teen girl had been receiving residential treatment at Desert Hills of New Mexico in Albuquerque before Familyworks put her in the Garcias’ home, where she lived from August 2015 to November 2016.

Clarence Garcia raped the girl every afternoon, the suit alleges, leaving her fearing for her life.

Debbie Garcia is accused of failing to stop the assaults on the girl and actually enabling them, in particular by getting birth control shots for the girl.

After nearly a year of enduring the assaults, the suit says, the girl has suffered distress, intellectual regression, physical pain and other injuries and damages.

“I often represent children who have been abused in foster care or CYFD custody,” Ferlic said. “I do think this is a systemic problem. … CYFD is failing.”

Henry Varela, a spokesman for the Children, Youth and Families Department, said he could not comment on the pending litigation or an “ongoing criminal investigation” centering on the Garcias.

While no criminal charges of child sexual abuse have been filed against the couple, the lawsuit says Clarence Garcia pleaded guilty earlier this year to aggravated indecent exposure to a child.

“We take all allegations of abuse or neglect against any foster parents very seriously,” Varela said.

If the agency finds that a treatment foster care parent has committed abuse or neglect, he added, the agency can lift their foster parent license. If a provider, such as Familyworks, is underperforming, it also can face sanctions, including the loss of a license.

The nonprofit news organization Searchlight New Mexico reported earlier this year that from 2015-17, the Children, Youth and Families Department found at least 28 violations of rules for treatment foster care providers regarding checks for reports of foster family abuse and neglect.

Searchlight also found that the state agency routinely renews foster care licenses without completing required safety checks.”

Mother of disabled New Mexico teen alleges rape by foster father

[Santa Fe New Mexican 10/16/18 by Cynthia Miller]

REFORM Puzzle Piece

Update: “Martinez, Hart, Sanchez & Romero has won a $485-million jury award in a foster child sex abuse lawsuit filed against several corporate defendants in the foster care industry of New Mexico.

Attorneys of Martinez, Hart, Sanchez & Romero in Albuquerque, New Mexico, have won a $485-million jury award in a foster child sex abuse lawsuit against several defendants, including prominent companies within the New Mexico foster care industry. The defendants in the lawsuit were Clarence Garcia, his wife Debbie Garcia, Acadia Healthcare Company Inc., CEO Joey Jacobs, FamilyWorks, Desert Hills, and Youth and Family Centered Services of New Mexico Inc.

After a hard-fought trial, the jury reached a verdict in favor of the plaintiff, resulting in $80 million in compensatory damages and $400 million in punitive damages against the foster care companies, and another $5 million in punitive damages against Clarence Garcia. Acadia Healthcare Company Inc. has not accepted any fault for the company’s negligence and inadequate procedures when reviewing and selecting foster homes. A spokesperson for the company intends to challenge the portions of the verdict that apply to it. Attorney Michael Hart, who acted as the lead attorney for the case handled by Martinez, Hart, Sanchez & Romero, is confident the verdict will stand.

The case involves a long history of child sexual abuse carried out by Clarence Garcia. Despite FamilyWorks and the other foster care companies being aware that Garcia had sexually abused foster children in his care, the companies allowed him to foster the 8-year-old girl, whose identity will remain anonymous here for privacy. While she was in his care, Clarence Garcia repeatedly sexually abused her, and Debbie Garcia did not intervene or report him to the authorities.

Eventually, Clarence was arrested and pleaded guilty to the numerous sexual attacks he enacted against the girl in his foster care. He was sentenced to 20 years of probation. The criminal justice system cannot bring all forms of justice, though, which is why it was important to pursue a civil claim as well.

With the $485-million jury verdict, Attorney Hart is hopeful it will bring the family a sense of closure and justice that had not yet been delivered. Additionally, the New Mexico Children, Youth & Families Department (CYFD) began an investigation into FamilyWorks and Desert Hill in light of the criminal charges and the lawsuit. Both foster care companies are not permitted to conduct business in the state as a result, which could help ensure quality care for foster children throughout New Mexico.

After the verdict award was announced, Attorney Hart said: “Our hope always is that tomorrow and the next day and the day after, the world gets a little bit better for every child in foster care. That every kid knows that they have a right to be heard. They have a right to be believed. They have a right to be protected.””
Martinez, Hart, Sanchez & Romero Wins $485-Million Jury Award in Foster Child Sex Abuse Lawsuit/a>
[Prn Newswire 8/17/23 by Martinez, Hart, Sanchez & Romero]