How Could You? Hall of Shame-Elizabeth Henson case-Child Death 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 Fortney, Texas, the “Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a five-month-old foster child’s death at a Forney-area home on Saturday.

Early Saturday morning, the Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to a home in the … Chisholm Trail in the Windmill Farms neighborhood for an unresponsive five-month-old child.

Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Jolie Stewart tells inForney.com the child was pronounced deceased and the circumstances of the child’s death remain under investigation.

The deceased child and three others in the household were foster children, a law enforcement source tells inForney.com. The source says the other foster children have been removed from the home pending investigation.

Investigators remained at the home, which was cordoned off with crime scene tape, for a majority of the day.

The Texas Rangers and Child Protective Services are assisting in the investigation.”

Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office investigating 5-month-old foster child’s death at Forney-area home

[In Forney 12/29/18]

REFORM Puzzle Piece

Update: “A 19-year-old who lives in the same house where a young foster child died has been arrested.

The Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office said Christian Richmond was taken into custody Thursday morning for possession of child pornography. No other details were released.

Richmond’s biological mother cared for several foster children at their home in the Windhill Farms neighborhood of Forney.

The Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office and Texas Rangers arrested Natalie Parker, 37, of Forney Monday after Parker surrendered herself at the sheriff’s office in connection with the December death of a 5-month-old in her foster care.

According to the Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office, Parker was charged with Tampering with Witness, Injury to Child (both second degree felonies) and Abandoning or Endangering a Child (a state jail felony).

by girl, died in the home on Dec. 29. The sheriff’s office is still investigating her death, along with the Texas Rangers and Child Protective Services.

CPS has since moved four other foster children to a new home.

Richmond is being held in the Kaufman County jail.”

19-year-old in Kaufman County foster home arrested for child porn
[Fox News 4 1/4/19]

Update 2: “The Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office and Texas Rangers arrested Natalie Parker, 37, of Forney Monday after Parker surrendered herself at the sheriff’s office in connection with the December death of a 5-month-old in her foster care.

According to the Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office, Parker was charged with Tampering with Witness, Injury to Child (both second degree felonies) and Abandoning or Endangering a Child (a state jail felony).

On Dec. 29, 2018, Kaufman County deputies received a 911 call from Parker’s house in the …Chisholm Trail in Forney reporting an unresponsive infant. When the deputies and EMS arrived, they found that the 5-month-old girl was already dead.

Deputies determined Parker was the baby’s foster parent, and was also the foster parent to five other children, one of which is the dead girl’s brother. The remaining foster children have been placed in other homes.

Parker’s 19-year-old son Christian Richmond also lived at the house with them. Richmond was arrested on child pornography charges on Jan. 3 and posted a $15,000 bond on Jan. 4. Officials say they don’t believe the child pornography charges are related to the baby’s death.

An autopsy on the baby is pending.”

Arrest made in death of 5-month-old Forney foster child

[WFAA 1/7/19 by Jake Harris]

Update 3:“A Dallas-area foster mother has been charged with child endangerment in the death of an infant in her care, a case that raises questions as to whether state officials have done enough to improve the safety of foster children.

It comes three months after federal judges blasted Texas officials for being “deliberately indifferent” to systemic threats to the safety of foster children.

The infant, 5-month-old Elizabeth Henson, was found unresponsive and turning purple the morning of Dec. 29. Natalie Parker — a verified foster parent since March 2017 — is charged with abandoning or endangering a child, injury to a child and witness tampering.

Parker is accused of leaving five foster children in her home in Forney with her 19-year-old son the night before the infant’s death, though she’s the only authorized caregiver, according to arrest warrant affidavits filed by the Texas Rangers. During the investigation, child pornography was found on the son’s cellphone, according to the Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office.

A year ago, state officials cited Parker after finding foster children had been left at the home without adult supervision, according to the state health commission. It’s unclear what steps, if any, were taken to fix the issue then.

“It sounds like she needed additional supports, both in training resources and respite care in handling the kids. Why wasn’t that provided?” said Will Francis, with the Texas chapter of the National Association of Social Workers. Francis also questioned why a single foster mother was looking after five children, including a baby — “a lot for one person to supervise,” he said. The state limit is six per home.

Kingdom Kids Child Placing Agency, paid by the state to license and monitor Parker and 24 other foster families, did not respond to several requests for comment. Over the past three years state officials have cited the agency for nearly 50 violations, including one in 2016 for physical abuse, according to state records. Kingdom Kids removed the other four children — one of whom is the infant’s older brother — Dec. 30, and is no longer placing children in Parker’s care.

Kingdom Kids lost its nonprofit tax exemption in 2017, records show, but is still contracting with the state to care for foster children. The Department of Family and Protective Services works with agencies that are tax exempt and those that are not, said spokesman Patrick Crimmins.

This week, the state suspended new child placements to homes overseen by Kingdom Kids and caseworkers are visiting each home to do safety checks, Crimmins said.

State appealing court-ordered reforms
Parker was arrested as the state continues to fight a 2011 class-action lawsuit that alleges children in foster care in Texas are vulnerable to mistreatment, in part because of too few caseworkers and a lack of state oversight. A federal appeals court in October called state officials “deliberately indifferent” to threats to the welfare of the roughly 11,000 children in long-term foster care.

In its October ruling, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ordered Texas to improve investigations of child abuse in foster care and address its problem with overburdened caseworkers. But the state is challenging the remedies, putting them in limbo.

The state has argued Texas is already taking steps to improve the child welfare system, including boosting pay for caseworkers in an effort to reduce turnover. Financial incentives were increased for relatives who agree to take in children who have been removed from their parents’ care.

Child deaths in foster care due to abuse and neglect are rare. Four children died in Texas foster care due to neglectful supervision over the 2016 and 2017 fiscal years, according to state records.

There have been no abuse or neglect deaths in foster care during the 2018 fiscal year or the first half of 2019, but a dozen investigations are still open, Crimmins said. All child deaths in foster care are investigated.

Kingdom Kids Child Placing Agency is one of many private contractors the state pays to license and monitor roughly 90 percent of the foster homes in Texas. So far this fiscal year, the state has paid Kingdom Kids over $430,000, state Comptroller records show. A portion of those funds are passed onto foster parents.

Details about Kingdom Kids’ financial condition, however, are scarce. The agency advertises itself as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization on its website, where it solicits donations. But Kingdom Kids’ tax exempt status was revoked in 2017 after it failed to file financial reports for three years in a row, according to the IRS website.

“They shouldn’t present themselves as a nonprofit if they’re not,” said William Brown, a professor at the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University who specializes in nonprofit management. “It’s a concern.”

Crimmins said the state conducts regular financial and legal checks on private foster care agencies. The most recent review of Kingdom Kids was in February 2018.

“While the financial stability of any provider is important, we are always most concerned with and focused on the safety of our foster children,” he said in a statement. “On Monday caseworkers began visits to each foster home — what we call ‘safety checks’ — and will conduct individual interviews with each child to ensure they feel safe and well-cared for.”

Baby’s death leads to foster mother’s arrest and more scrutiny for Texas care system

[San Antonio Express News 1/11/19 by Allie Morris]

Update 4:“State officials have suspended Kingdom Kids Child Placing Agency and their services effective immediately, while records show a Forney woman had been cited for not providing adult supervision just months after becoming a foster mom. The details and events surrounding Natalie Parker, the foster mother arrested after an infant child died in her custody on December 29 continue to surface.

Just after inForney.com reported on Kingdom Kids and their involvement with the case of five-month-old Elizabeth Henson being placed into a foster home that ultimately led to her death, and their questionable status with the IRS, officials notified Kingdom Kids that their services had been suspended indefinitely.

In a letter released to inForney.com by Texas Department of Family and Protective services (DFPS) on Monday, officials notified Kingdom Kids via email dated January 9 that effective immediately the agency is suspending all new placements of DFPS children into Kingdom Kids Child Placing Agency.

“The decision to suspend placements is due to allegations that impact the health, safety, and well-being of children,” the letter read.

Further, the agency ordered Kingdom Kids to submit copies of all foster home studies, addendums, and supporting documentation for each foster home caring for a DFPS child. The documents were to be submitted by Kingdom Kids to DFPS officials no later than noon Monday. DFPS officials have not confirmed whether Kingdom Kids met their deadline in entirety.

DFPS spokesperson Patrick Crimmins, tells inForney.com that DFPS began thorough safety checks of Kingdom Kids’ 23 active foster homes on Monday, January 7, and will continue until every child has been seen.
Since March 1, 2018, online DFPS records indicate the agency has paid Kingdom Kids Placing Agency $962,246.77 on a contract originally slated to end in August 2021. As inForney.com previously reported, Kingdom Kids lost their non-profit designation by the IRS in 2015; yet still maintain and represent themselves as a 501c3 non-profit organization.

Foster mom previously cited for leaving children without supervision

Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) is responsible for the oversight of foster homes and parents used by DFPS.

HHSC spokesman, John Reynolds, tells inForney.com that Kingdom Kids first accepted Parker as a verified home on March 23, 2017, and closed the home on December 30, 2018. Kingdom Kids is the only child placing agency Parker has been involved with he says.

“We conducted five investigations of possible minimum standards violations at the home. We cited the provider once for supervision,” Reynolds reports to inForney.com in an email Monday. “An August 21, 2017 investigation found children in care were left without adult supervision.”

No fire inspection or health safety checks

One of the state mandated requirements for foster parents looking to care for DFPS children is a fire and health safety inspection of their home prior to being eligible.

City of Forney officials, after an information request submitted by inForney.com, says the city has no records of such inspections at Parker’s address. Kaufman County Fire Marshalls office confirms that there is no report of a fire inspection report for Parker’s home on Chisolm Trail from their office either.

Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) environmental officers, those trained and charged to perform the county’s health and safety inspections, have no records of ever visiting Parker’s home for inspection.

Investigators say that the entry way and main living area of Parker’s home was clean and tidy. The rest of the house was reportedly “filth and squalor” and in some cases dangerous according to officials who responded to the scene.

Investigation Continues

37-year-old Parker surrendered to sheriff’s deputies January 7 on felony charges for tampering with a witness, injury to a child, and abandoning or endangering a child. Parker’s 19-year-old son, Christian Richmond, also known as “Smokey,” was arrested for possession of child pornography in the day’s following the infant’s death and was released on bond. Police say the charges for Richmond are not connected to the death of the child. Parker remains in custody at the Kaufman county jail on bonds totaling $195,000.

A cause of death has still not been released. A KCSO spokesperson says that the investigation remains ongoing.”

State officials suspend child placing agency in CPS infant death investigation
[In Forney 1/15/19 by Bryant Martin]

Update 5:“The autopsy of infant foster child Elizabeth Henson, who was found unresponsive at her foster home on December 29, has been ruled an accident.

Dallas County Medical Examiner’s office has determined the 5-month-old official cause of death as “asphyxia due to wedging.” A term to describe when someone suffocates from either lying face down or being lodged between a sleeping partner or surface. The official autopsy report was released to Kaufman County authorities late last week sources confirmed.

Henson’s foster mother, 37-year-old Natalie Parker surrendered to the Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office on January 7 on felony charges for tampering with a witness, injury to a child, and abandoning or endangering a child in connection with the death.

Parker’s 19-year-old son Christian Richmond also lived in the house. He was arrested on child pornography charges on January 3 and posted a $15,000 bond on January 4. Officials say they don’t believe the child pornography charges are related to Henson’s death.

The medical examiner’s report supports law enforcement’s narrative of events revealed in the arrest warrant affidavits obtained by inForney.com that report Richmond told investigators he cared for the infant overnight, feeding her and eventually falling asleep with the infant face up on his chest while on the couch. Richmond was caring for the baby because investigators learned that Parker had been gone all night.

When Richmond awoke, he told investigators Henson was not breathing and appeared to be purple. Richmond then says he brought Henson downstairs to Parker who had returned early that morning. She attempted to provide CPR to Henson until EMS arrived the affidavit says.

Further, Parker signed documentation stating she was the only person authorized to care for the foster children, that other personnel inside the residence must maintain minimum standards, and that all foster infants are required to only sleep in his or her crib.

Based on the evidence and interviews, the investigators say Parker knowingly, recklessly, or with criminal negligence placed Henson in imminent danger of death, bodily injury, or physical or mental impairment by leaving her with unauthorized supervision while being the only authorized legal person to have a duty to act on Henson’s behalf.

Kaufman County District Attorney Erleigh Wiley confirmed Tuesday that the charges against Parker will still stand and are not affected by the medical examiner’s findings.

“It is the DA’s office position at this time to pursue the charges against Natalie Parker,” Wiley said in a statement.

Parker remains in custody at the Kaufman county jail on bonds totaling $195,000 where she awaits her first court hearing. The district attorney’s office says they cannot confirm whether any additional charges would be forthcoming.

A KCSO spokesperson says the investigation remains ongoing.”

Foster child death ruled accident, foster mother remains in custody

[In Forney 2/13/19 by Bryant Martin]

“A Kaufman county grand jury has indicted the foster mother who was responsible for the care of Elizabeth Henson, a child that was in CPS custody and was found dead in late December.

Natalie Parker, 37, of Forney was formally indicted on three counts by the grand jury on Friday. Parker faces one count of injury to a child causing serious bodily injury and one count of abandoning or endangering a child with criminal negligence. She has also been charged with one count of tampering with a witness.

Elizabeth Henson was found unresponsive on the morning of December 29 at the Forney home that she had been assigned to with her brother since being taken from her biological parents by Denton County CPS in July 2018. She was only five months old at the time of her death.

As inForney.com had previously reported, the living conditions in the home were described as “filth and squalor” according to law enforcement officials. County records confirmed that the home had never been inspected by any governmental official for fire safety and health inspections, which are both required by law. Investigators determined Parker was not home the night leading to Henson’s death through cell phone downloads and surveillance video, according to affidavits.

Parker’s 19-year-old son, Christian Richmond, also known as “Smokey,” who was arrested for possession of child pornography in the day’s following the infant’s death, told investigators he cared for the infant overnight, feeding her and eventually falling asleep with the infant face up on his chest while on the couch. Investigators say Parker allegedly attempted to coerce Richmond to make false statements about the circumstances of Henson’s death.

Dallas County Medical Examiner’s office determined the official cause of death as “asphyxia due to wedging.” A term to describe when someone suffocates from either lying face down or being lodged between a sleeping partner or surface.

CPS records confirm that baby Henson and her brother were placed into Parker’s car by Kingdom Kids Child Placing Agency, a fraudulent and now defunct nonprofit organization that managed 25 foster homes throughout North Texas. Parker had a previous criminal history that should have exclusively excluded her from being a foster parent; however, her background and other complaints were overlooked officials say. Since Henson’s death the state has terminated their contract with Kingdom Kids Child placing agency and says they have investigated all other children in CPS custody who had been placed by the organization.

Parker has been in custody at the Kaufman county jail since she surrendered herself on January 7 on bonds totaling $190,000. Now she must wait for her first hearing in the 86th District Court. Parker will be represented by the Kaufman county public defender’s office after declaring herself indigent.”

Grand jury indicts Forney foster mom in infant death case

[In Forney 3/11/19 by Bryant Martin]