DYFS to pay $4.5M to N.J. boy who was sexually abused by foster parent

DYFS to pay $4.5M to N.J. boy who was sexually abused by foster parent
By Jim Lockwood/The Star-Ledger
May 12, 2010, 5:38PM
HUDSON COUNTY -- The state Division of Youth and Family Services has agreed to pay $4.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed by a boy who was sexually abused by a foster parent when he was 6 years old, according to his attorney.
The boy, now 17, was placed by DYFS in the custody of a Hudson County couple in 1995, and was sexually assaulted between 1996-98, according to a lawsuit against DYFS by the boy and his current guardian.
The foster parents were convicted in Hudson County in 1999 on charges involving the boy; one parent was convicted of sexual assault while the other was convicted of child endangerment, according to public court records.
After being removed from the Hudson County couple’s custody, the boy was transferred to a new foster parent who has since become his adoptive parent, and who filed the lawsuit in 2008 in Passaic County on his behalf alleging negligent placement and supervision by DYFS, according to the lawsuit.
The settlement was reached Monday in Superior Court in Paterson during jury selection for a trial of the case, said the boy’s attorney, Jeffrey Advokat of Morristown. There was no admission of wrongdoing by the state under the settlement and the civil lawsuit now will be dismissed, Advokat said.
Lauren Kidd, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Children and Families that includes DYFS, said the agency does not comment on litigation.
Advokat said the settlement was based upon various factors considering liability and longterm affects of the abuse. The boy has continued to undergo mental-health treatment over the years and has made progress through the counseling, he said.
“You can never put a price tag on what happened, but the amount of money is life-changing for him,” Advokat said. “It will make his life better.”
Settlements of such lawsuits are the norm while having one actually go to trial is unheard of, said Cecilia Zalkind, executive director of the Association for Children, a statewide nonprofit child-welfare advocacy group.
“On a broader level, it’s an issue of accountability and holding a system accountable for what happens to kids,” Zalkind said.

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