DSS reviewing its actions in foster care abuse case

DSS reviewing its actions in foster care abuse case
4-year-old was injured while in Taylors man's care
BY PAUL ALONGI • STAFF WRITER • APRIL 22, 2010

The state Department of Social Services is conducting an internal review into what officials knew when they placed a 4-year-old into the home of a Taylors man who has been accused of abuse.



Jamille Anton Hardy, 41, is charged in a warrant with throwing his foster son on the floor at his home at 804 Center Road. The child suffered bleeding on the brain and bruises from his chest to below his knees, according to a warrant from the Greenville County Sheriff's Office.

Circuit Court Judge James C. Williams set Hardy's bond at $150,000 on Wednesday and ordered that any contact he has with children under 15 years old be supervised. Hardy remained at the Greenville County Detention Center on Wednesday night.

DSS spokeswoman Marilyn Matheus said the child will be placed with caregivers who can meet his needs after his release from the hospital. The agency's internal review includes “what we knew about” Hardy and “our oversight of the child's care,” she said.

DSS Director Kathleen Hayes said in a written statement that a “senseless crime” had been committed against a helpless child and that she and others at the agency were saddened and outraged.

“We are cooperating fully with law enforcement,” she said.

A warrant charging Hardy with inflicting great bodily injury upon a child alleges the abuse happened April 4. A doctor wrote in a letter that the child couldn't have suffered his head injury by falling down, Williams said.

Staff writer Paul Alongi can be reached at 864-298-4746

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