2nd report blames system in tragic case of 7-year-old's suicide

2nd report blames system in tragic case of 7-year-old's suicide
Foster-care administrators failed to help a 7-year-old child who had been molested -- and failed to act forcefully when his emotional health deteriorated, a child-welfare panel said.
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BY CAROL MARBIN MILLER

CMARBIN@MIAMIHERALD.COM

A task force studying the suicide of a 7-year-old Broward foster child has once again blasted the state's child-welfare system -- this time for failing to adequately treat Gabriel Myers for the sexual abuse he had suffered, and for failing to prevent him from acting out sexually against other children.
The Gabriel Myers Work Group -- appointed by Department of Children & Families Secretary George Sheldon to investigate Gabriel's April 16, 2009 death -- is set to release its second report Friday. A copy of the report obtained by The Miami Herald shows the task force identified scores of shortcomings in the state's care of the boy.
``The child welfare system is not effectively assisting children with sexual behavior problems, or their families,'' the report concludes.
Brought from Ohio to Broward County by his mother, Gabriel was taken into state care after his mom was found surrounded by illegal narcotics and slumped over in her car in a parking lot, Gabriel later told authorities he had been repeatedly molested by an older boy in Ohio.
The 28-page report is the second by the Gabriel Myers Work Group, which in August 2009 released a 26-page report that focused largely on the state's reliance on mental-health drugs to control unruly foster children.
In that report, task-force members admitted what critics had claimed for years: State child-welfare authorities frequently used powerful mind-altering drugs to manage troubled youngsters, rather than treat their anger and sadness.
Gabriel had good reason to be sad, the panel has said. He had been told he was not going to return any time soon to his mother; he had been shipped back and forth to different foster homes after being removed from his uncle's home; and he was being regularly punished as his behavior became more difficult.
Recommendations from a mental-health assessment or from mental-health professionals ``were not effectively communicated or implemented,'' the report says, adding that Gabriel might have benefited from seeing a professional behavioral assistant, though none was ever recruited.
And though child-welfare workers were well-aware that Gabriel had begun to act out against other children -- a common occurence among children who are sexually abused -- it appears administrators at Broward County Schools were never alerted to the possibility he might abuse other children, the report says.
``The case itself was replete with missed opportunities to more effectively serve the needs of this child,'' the new report says. ``Numerous warning signs that Gabriel was in crisis were evident but were not addressed adequately or in a timely manner.''


Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/05/13/1626780/second-report-also-blames-system.html#ixzz0noCccEwH