NC agents probe child welfare agency in Davis case
The Associated Press Published: Monday, December 7, 2009 at 1:18 p.m.
Last Modified: Monday, December 7, 2009 at 1:18 p.m.
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. - Agents with North Carolina's criminal investigative agency are launching a probe into whether child welfare workers turned over complete records of their contacts with the family of a slain 5-year-old.
The State Bureau of Investigation said that agents will look into whether Cumberland County's Department of Social Services gave incomplete records to police investigating the slaying of Shaniya Davis, SBI spokeswoman Noelle Talley said Monday.
Fayetteville Police Chief Tom Bergamine requested the probe and Cumberland County District Attorney Ed Grannis added his weight after police homicide investigators discussed their experiences.
"I share their concern and have requested the assistance of the SBI to assist us," Grannis said in a letter released Monday.
The girl was reported missing by her mother on Nov. 10. Police said she was killed the same day.
Her mother, Antoinette Davis, 25, is charged with filing a false police report, trafficking her daughter and child abuse involving prostitution.
Mario McNeill, 29, an acquaintance of Davis, is charged with the girl's murder, rape and kidnapping.
A search warrant says McNeill picked the girl up in front of her home and drove her more than 30 miles to a hotel in Sanford, where she was last seen alive. Surveillance video captured McNeill carrying the girl in the building.
DSS Director Brenda Jackson has declined to comment on the agency's involvement with the Davis family because of the homicide investigation and confidentiality rules for child protective services cases.
County child welfare workers had previously investigated Antoinette Davis's care of her 7-year-old son, according to her uncle, Michael Davis.
Antoinette Davis is pregnant and was being held at a state women's prison in Raleigh for her protection.
http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20091207/APN/912071862
Isabella Brooke Knightly and Austin Gamez-Knightly
In Memory of my Loving Husband, William F. Knightly Jr. Murdered by ILLEGAL Palliative Care at a Nashua, NH Hospital
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Child Custody GAL - Advice on How to Handle False Allegations of Drug, Alcohol Abuse, Child Neglect
Dec 09 Child Custody GAL - Advice on How to Handle False Allegations of Drug, Alcohol Abuse, Child Neglect
Most any parent in a high conflict child custody battle will likely have felt the sting of false allegations at some point. These types of allegations are deeply disturbing and hurtful not to mention the harm they can do to your custody visitation schedule. In some states a Guardian Ad Litem (GAL) is used as an advocate for the child when allegations have been made against a parent. The GAL’s responsibility is to investigate the allegations and make a recommendation to the court.
I recently had a request from a father to help him sort through the process of dealing with false allegations being investigated by a GAL. Those allegations were, drug abuse, child neglect, and alcohol abuse. Here is the advice I gave him.
You have three excellent things going in your favor.
1: You don’t do drugs.
2: Your ex has repeatedly requested you take the child in the past.
3: Alcohol is legal (and you only drink lightly and occasionally).
Temporary visitation schedules have a way of becoming permanent. I would build my strategy around removing that temporary visitation barrier.
First thing that you can do is ask the GAL f they have come across any information that they would like to ask you about or that they need clarification on. What you are looking for is dialogue that plays to the known allegations or new allegations. You do NOT want to be blindsided later on.
Let’s assume they ask you about drug abuse. Even if they don’t you should bring it up. You can tell them that you are not a drug user, never have been and that this is a tactic by the mother. I would go so far as to flip false the allegations to be concerned for my child. I would suggest they are just like me and if she cannot cope with me, then how will she react to them as they get older? A legitimate concern.
The reason I bring that up is that allegations of abuse, drugs, alcohol, etc are taken seriously by the authorities. And rightly so. Appreciate their point of view. They aren’t trying to be mean to you. They just want to protect the parties from injury. As concerned as they are about getting to the truth, you can flip that and use that concern to your advantage.
You see the point is that you can prove you don’t use drugs, using alcohol is a bit different but then it’s legal, BUT the you have proof she has made allegations. If she uses a tactic to pretend she is concerned about something she knows to be false, then what other lengths will she go to? She has already tried to damage the relationship between you and the child by making false allegations. Now YOU have the legitimate concern that she has handed you. In many states false allegations can result in losing custody.
I went a bit in depth because I want you to get your head around it. You will not likely get to explain it to the GAL, but if you understand the point you want to make and why, I think you’ll be in good shape.
Now you should understand that if you go in and say, “I’m concerned about the temporary visitation schedule and I’m willing to help in any way I can. I would be happy to drug test for you today if that would help. “I’m concerned that if she is angry enough to falsely accuse me of using drugs instead of finding a way to cope with me, then I don’t know how she would handle the child when they do things that remind her of me.” the GAL should then make the connection from her allegations and to her.
You see if you go with concern for your child, leave no stone unturned, I want to help, I’m not angry, I’m just concerned about our child. That attitude alone should benefit you.
Now let’s do the list.
#1 Suggest that the GAL present the mother with the idea of court ordered random drug testing twice per month at her expense (unless of course it’s positive). Make sure they tell her that she will be required to pay that expense until the child is 18. Suggest that the mothers reaction will tell them everything they need to know.
#2 Take email, text messages, anything that shows she has asked you to take the child for additional time. (If this is part of a court process you may need to give copies of documentation to her before seeing the GAL - You can always add other stuff to her pack so that she can wonder what you’re going to do with it?). The point here is that if she was really concerned about child neglect, drug use, drinking, these would have been issues years ago and she would not have asked you to spend more time with your child. The things she has accused you of did not pop up overnight. They are long term issues that she would have been well aware of. Also, question why she didn’t call child protective services years ago? Was she really concerned?
#3 I assume you don’t have any DUI’s. That being said, offer to not drink when you have the child. Period. No matter how much you love a beer or two, figure out what’s important to you. I’m guessing time with your child.
What you should have done by this time is convince the GAL that they need to talk to mom and confront her to see her reaction. She will not want to pay $100/month for a test she knows will be negative. Why do that when she can do nothing and leave doubt?
Finally, ask that you be given back the time you lost due to the investigation so that you can rebuild the bonds with your child.
Do you want to learn more about child custody resolution? Receive my brand new series Child Custody Court Processes.
Do you want to learn more about how to win child visitation battles? Download my brand new free series Child Visitation strategies here.
Ed Brooks knows firsthand how painful a High Conflict Child Custody battle can be and has created a site where parents can get advice on how to handle all aspects of a high conflict Child Custody battle.
http://www.drugsandhelp.com/child-custody-gal-advice-on-how-to-handle-false-allegations-of-drug-alcohol-abuse-child-neglect
Most any parent in a high conflict child custody battle will likely have felt the sting of false allegations at some point. These types of allegations are deeply disturbing and hurtful not to mention the harm they can do to your custody visitation schedule. In some states a Guardian Ad Litem (GAL) is used as an advocate for the child when allegations have been made against a parent. The GAL’s responsibility is to investigate the allegations and make a recommendation to the court.
I recently had a request from a father to help him sort through the process of dealing with false allegations being investigated by a GAL. Those allegations were, drug abuse, child neglect, and alcohol abuse. Here is the advice I gave him.
You have three excellent things going in your favor.
1: You don’t do drugs.
2: Your ex has repeatedly requested you take the child in the past.
3: Alcohol is legal (and you only drink lightly and occasionally).
Temporary visitation schedules have a way of becoming permanent. I would build my strategy around removing that temporary visitation barrier.
First thing that you can do is ask the GAL f they have come across any information that they would like to ask you about or that they need clarification on. What you are looking for is dialogue that plays to the known allegations or new allegations. You do NOT want to be blindsided later on.
Let’s assume they ask you about drug abuse. Even if they don’t you should bring it up. You can tell them that you are not a drug user, never have been and that this is a tactic by the mother. I would go so far as to flip false the allegations to be concerned for my child. I would suggest they are just like me and if she cannot cope with me, then how will she react to them as they get older? A legitimate concern.
The reason I bring that up is that allegations of abuse, drugs, alcohol, etc are taken seriously by the authorities. And rightly so. Appreciate their point of view. They aren’t trying to be mean to you. They just want to protect the parties from injury. As concerned as they are about getting to the truth, you can flip that and use that concern to your advantage.
You see the point is that you can prove you don’t use drugs, using alcohol is a bit different but then it’s legal, BUT the you have proof she has made allegations. If she uses a tactic to pretend she is concerned about something she knows to be false, then what other lengths will she go to? She has already tried to damage the relationship between you and the child by making false allegations. Now YOU have the legitimate concern that she has handed you. In many states false allegations can result in losing custody.
I went a bit in depth because I want you to get your head around it. You will not likely get to explain it to the GAL, but if you understand the point you want to make and why, I think you’ll be in good shape.
Now you should understand that if you go in and say, “I’m concerned about the temporary visitation schedule and I’m willing to help in any way I can. I would be happy to drug test for you today if that would help. “I’m concerned that if she is angry enough to falsely accuse me of using drugs instead of finding a way to cope with me, then I don’t know how she would handle the child when they do things that remind her of me.” the GAL should then make the connection from her allegations and to her.
You see if you go with concern for your child, leave no stone unturned, I want to help, I’m not angry, I’m just concerned about our child. That attitude alone should benefit you.
Now let’s do the list.
#1 Suggest that the GAL present the mother with the idea of court ordered random drug testing twice per month at her expense (unless of course it’s positive). Make sure they tell her that she will be required to pay that expense until the child is 18. Suggest that the mothers reaction will tell them everything they need to know.
#2 Take email, text messages, anything that shows she has asked you to take the child for additional time. (If this is part of a court process you may need to give copies of documentation to her before seeing the GAL - You can always add other stuff to her pack so that she can wonder what you’re going to do with it?). The point here is that if she was really concerned about child neglect, drug use, drinking, these would have been issues years ago and she would not have asked you to spend more time with your child. The things she has accused you of did not pop up overnight. They are long term issues that she would have been well aware of. Also, question why she didn’t call child protective services years ago? Was she really concerned?
#3 I assume you don’t have any DUI’s. That being said, offer to not drink when you have the child. Period. No matter how much you love a beer or two, figure out what’s important to you. I’m guessing time with your child.
What you should have done by this time is convince the GAL that they need to talk to mom and confront her to see her reaction. She will not want to pay $100/month for a test she knows will be negative. Why do that when she can do nothing and leave doubt?
Finally, ask that you be given back the time you lost due to the investigation so that you can rebuild the bonds with your child.
Do you want to learn more about child custody resolution? Receive my brand new series Child Custody Court Processes.
Do you want to learn more about how to win child visitation battles? Download my brand new free series Child Visitation strategies here.
Ed Brooks knows firsthand how painful a High Conflict Child Custody battle can be and has created a site where parents can get advice on how to handle all aspects of a high conflict Child Custody battle.
http://www.drugsandhelp.com/child-custody-gal-advice-on-how-to-handle-false-allegations-of-drug-alcohol-abuse-child-neglect
Over 28 licenses revoked in crackdown
Wisconsin News and Sports
Over 28 licenses revoked in crackdown
by Andrew Beckett on December 9, 2009
in Politics & Government
Efforts to uncover fraud in the Wisconsin Shares program appear to be paying off.
Department of Children and Families Secretary Reggie Bicha says the agency has been aggressively cracking down in recent months, following the discovery of widespread fraud in the childcare subsidy program.
The Department has drawn criticism after audits and press reports showed multiple cases of providers falsifying attendance records, sex offenders living in home daycare facilities, and widespread corruption in the program.
Bicha says they’ve been holding providers accountable when fraud or other problems are uncovered. So far, the agency has revoked the licenses of 28 providers and suspended 130 after potential fraud was uncovered.
The crackdown appears to be having a deterrent effect for some, according to Bicha. He says many have started to keep better attendance records, which is producing cost savings for the state. In Milwaukee County, the cost per child decreased five to six percent over last year. Statewide, it was down about three percent.
Bicha says DCF will continue efforts to uncover fraud in the program in the coming months.
http://www.wrn.com/2009/12/over-28-licenses-revoked-in-crackdown/
Over 28 licenses revoked in crackdown
by Andrew Beckett on December 9, 2009
in Politics & Government
Efforts to uncover fraud in the Wisconsin Shares program appear to be paying off.
Department of Children and Families Secretary Reggie Bicha says the agency has been aggressively cracking down in recent months, following the discovery of widespread fraud in the childcare subsidy program.
The Department has drawn criticism after audits and press reports showed multiple cases of providers falsifying attendance records, sex offenders living in home daycare facilities, and widespread corruption in the program.
Bicha says they’ve been holding providers accountable when fraud or other problems are uncovered. So far, the agency has revoked the licenses of 28 providers and suspended 130 after potential fraud was uncovered.
The crackdown appears to be having a deterrent effect for some, according to Bicha. He says many have started to keep better attendance records, which is producing cost savings for the state. In Milwaukee County, the cost per child decreased five to six percent over last year. Statewide, it was down about three percent.
Bicha says DCF will continue efforts to uncover fraud in the program in the coming months.
http://www.wrn.com/2009/12/over-28-licenses-revoked-in-crackdown/
Couple's adoption petition denied
Couple's adoption petition denied
Posted: Tuesday, Dec 08, 2009 - 10:05:43 am PST
By MARLISA KEYES
Staff writer
SANDPOINT —Tuesday Judge Debra Heise denied Anna and Lacey Blackford’s petition to adopt their 2-year-old foster son.
The couple had no legal standing in Idaho law.
“I am just so mad that there isn’t a law that a judge can rule on,” Anna Blackford said via Facebook chat.
“I am sad that I have to make sure a law or a few laws are made and that I won’t get to use it for my own case,” she wrote.
The state is one of 34 without a Foster Parents Bill of Rights.
An Adoption Selection Committee appointed by the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare selected a different couple as his potential adoptive parents in October.
The Blackfords became Joey’s foster parents when he was 8 days old. He was addicted to cocaine when he was born and tested positive for hydrocodone and marijuana.
The toddler’s biological mother has had six children, none of whom live with her. Three children are living with relatives and a four child was adopted. Joey has a younger brother living in Washington, however Blackford is unsure if his mother’s rights have been terminated.
Unfortunately, Judge Heise had to rule against our petition for adoption. Foster parents in Idaho have no rights to “their” children. They have no rights to adopt, no rights to question what is in their best interest and no rights to fight for what is right,” Blackford wrote on the Save Joey Facebook site.
“ I wish that it was about whether the judge had compassion ...”
(Now maybe they'll understand how biological families feel)
http://www.bonnercountydailybee.com/articles/2009/12/08/news/doc4b1df344a5ad8589371447.txt
Posted: Tuesday, Dec 08, 2009 - 10:05:43 am PST
By MARLISA KEYES
Staff writer
SANDPOINT —Tuesday Judge Debra Heise denied Anna and Lacey Blackford’s petition to adopt their 2-year-old foster son.
The couple had no legal standing in Idaho law.
“I am just so mad that there isn’t a law that a judge can rule on,” Anna Blackford said via Facebook chat.
“I am sad that I have to make sure a law or a few laws are made and that I won’t get to use it for my own case,” she wrote.
The state is one of 34 without a Foster Parents Bill of Rights.
An Adoption Selection Committee appointed by the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare selected a different couple as his potential adoptive parents in October.
The Blackfords became Joey’s foster parents when he was 8 days old. He was addicted to cocaine when he was born and tested positive for hydrocodone and marijuana.
The toddler’s biological mother has had six children, none of whom live with her. Three children are living with relatives and a four child was adopted. Joey has a younger brother living in Washington, however Blackford is unsure if his mother’s rights have been terminated.
Unfortunately, Judge Heise had to rule against our petition for adoption. Foster parents in Idaho have no rights to “their” children. They have no rights to adopt, no rights to question what is in their best interest and no rights to fight for what is right,” Blackford wrote on the Save Joey Facebook site.
“ I wish that it was about whether the judge had compassion ...”
(Now maybe they'll understand how biological families feel)
http://www.bonnercountydailybee.com/articles/2009/12/08/news/doc4b1df344a5ad8589371447.txt
9-year-old boy allegedly stabs sister in back
9-year-old boy allegedly stabs sister in back
By Lucas Sullivan | Monday, December 7, 2009, 11:28 AM
DAYTON - Police arrested a 9-year-old boy after he allegedly stabbed his 12-year-old sister in the back with a knife Sunday, Dec. 6.
Officers arrived to the 3400 block of Haberer Avenue about 10 a.m. to find the girl with a “severe” stab wound in her upper back, according to a police report.
The girl was standing in the kitchen crying and had to be taken by medics to Dayton Children’s Medical Center, the report stated.
She was having trouble breathing, but her injuries were described as non-life threatening, the report stated. She is expected to fully recover, police said.
Before leaving she told officers she and her brother were arguing and he returned to the kitchen with a knife and stabbed her, the report stated.
The children’s adoptive mother, Donna Patterson, 52, heard screaming and ran into the kitchen, but the girl had already been stabbed, the report stated.
Patterson said she wanted to press charges against the boy and he was fingerprinted at the county jail before placed in the county juvenile detention center on a felony assault charge, the report stated.
Patterson told officers she has asked Montgomery County Children’s Services to “reverse” the boy’s adoption because he is violent, but has received no resolution, the report stated.
Children’s Services spokeswoman Ann Stevens said Patterson adopted the boy in 2002 and his sister in 2005. Patterson recently requested the agency “intervene,” but the parties have yet to set a date to discuss her issues, Stevens said.
http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/daytoncrime/entries/2009/12/07/9yearold_boy_arrested_for_stab.html
By Lucas Sullivan | Monday, December 7, 2009, 11:28 AM
DAYTON - Police arrested a 9-year-old boy after he allegedly stabbed his 12-year-old sister in the back with a knife Sunday, Dec. 6.
Officers arrived to the 3400 block of Haberer Avenue about 10 a.m. to find the girl with a “severe” stab wound in her upper back, according to a police report.
The girl was standing in the kitchen crying and had to be taken by medics to Dayton Children’s Medical Center, the report stated.
She was having trouble breathing, but her injuries were described as non-life threatening, the report stated. She is expected to fully recover, police said.
Before leaving she told officers she and her brother were arguing and he returned to the kitchen with a knife and stabbed her, the report stated.
The children’s adoptive mother, Donna Patterson, 52, heard screaming and ran into the kitchen, but the girl had already been stabbed, the report stated.
Patterson said she wanted to press charges against the boy and he was fingerprinted at the county jail before placed in the county juvenile detention center on a felony assault charge, the report stated.
Patterson told officers she has asked Montgomery County Children’s Services to “reverse” the boy’s adoption because he is violent, but has received no resolution, the report stated.
Children’s Services spokeswoman Ann Stevens said Patterson adopted the boy in 2002 and his sister in 2005. Patterson recently requested the agency “intervene,” but the parties have yet to set a date to discuss her issues, Stevens said.
http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/daytoncrime/entries/2009/12/07/9yearold_boy_arrested_for_stab.html
Lawsuit could hurt state’s foster care
Lawsuit could hurt state’s foster care
POINT OF VIEW Keeping families together is vital
BY RICHARD WEXLER The Oklahoman Published: December 6, 2009
Pity the vulnerable children of Oklahoma, trapped between a state agency that routinely lets them be abused in its care and some lawyers who mean well, but don’t have a clue how to stop it.
MultimediaPhoto
view all photos The horror show that is Oklahoma foster care is aptly symbolized by the foster parent who justified abusing foster children by declaring: "If you don’t beat them down, they will run all over you.” Less well known: The Oklahoma Department of Human Services declared the complaint against this foster parent "unconfirmed.”
The group that calls itself Children’s Rights (CR) deserves credit for bringing this case and many others to light through its lawsuit against DHS. It has helped keep these horrors in the news. That, in itself, may force some change for the better. But the lawsuit itself is likely to accomplish nothing and, if CR’s recent track record is any indication, it may even do harm.
That’s because the lawsuit ignores the issue that drives everything else, something made clear in a comprehensive performance audit of DHS from Hornby Zeller Associates, commissioned by the Oklahoma House of Representatives. Repeatedly, that report warns that "Oklahoma removes too many children from home.”
My organization’s data confirm that Oklahoma tears apart families at one of the highest rates in the nation, more than 50 percent above the national average, and double or triple the rate in states widely regarded as, relatively speaking, models for keeping children safe.
This hurts children in every possible way. Even when foster homes are not abusive — the majority are not — the inherent trauma of needless removal can destroy a child’s psyche for life.
One recent study of foster care "alumni” found they had twice the rate of post-traumatic stress disorder of Gulf War veterans and only 20 percent could be said to be "doing well.” A second study, of 15,000 typical cases, found that even maltreated children left in their own homes with little or no help fared better, on average, than comparably maltreated children placed in foster care.
Wrongful removal also overloads the system, stealing workers’ time from finding children in real danger who really should be taken from their homes.
The Hornby Zeller report insightfully dissects the reasons for Oklahoma’s obscene rate of child removal and offers some smart, specific solutions.
But Children’s Rights is silent on this. And the group’s recent track record is alarming: Its settlement in Michigan led that state to cut funds for prevention and family preservation in order to hire more workers to take away more children. So unless CR changes its approach, its lawsuit is likely to leave Oklahoma with the same lousy system only bigger.
If CR can’t get past its bureaucratic take-the-child-and-run mind-set and propose a settlement that emphasizes safe, proven programs to keep families together, then it should drop its suit and go away — before it makes things even worse.
Wexler is executive director of the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform, www.nccpr.org.
My organization’s data confirm that Oklahoma tears apart families at one of the highest rates in the nation, more than 50 percent above the national average.
Read more: http://www.newsok.com/article/3422896?searched=Richard%20Wexler#ixzz0ZC0bNrEA
POINT OF VIEW Keeping families together is vital
BY RICHARD WEXLER The Oklahoman Published: December 6, 2009
Pity the vulnerable children of Oklahoma, trapped between a state agency that routinely lets them be abused in its care and some lawyers who mean well, but don’t have a clue how to stop it.
MultimediaPhoto
view all photos The horror show that is Oklahoma foster care is aptly symbolized by the foster parent who justified abusing foster children by declaring: "If you don’t beat them down, they will run all over you.” Less well known: The Oklahoma Department of Human Services declared the complaint against this foster parent "unconfirmed.”
The group that calls itself Children’s Rights (CR) deserves credit for bringing this case and many others to light through its lawsuit against DHS. It has helped keep these horrors in the news. That, in itself, may force some change for the better. But the lawsuit itself is likely to accomplish nothing and, if CR’s recent track record is any indication, it may even do harm.
That’s because the lawsuit ignores the issue that drives everything else, something made clear in a comprehensive performance audit of DHS from Hornby Zeller Associates, commissioned by the Oklahoma House of Representatives. Repeatedly, that report warns that "Oklahoma removes too many children from home.”
My organization’s data confirm that Oklahoma tears apart families at one of the highest rates in the nation, more than 50 percent above the national average, and double or triple the rate in states widely regarded as, relatively speaking, models for keeping children safe.
This hurts children in every possible way. Even when foster homes are not abusive — the majority are not — the inherent trauma of needless removal can destroy a child’s psyche for life.
One recent study of foster care "alumni” found they had twice the rate of post-traumatic stress disorder of Gulf War veterans and only 20 percent could be said to be "doing well.” A second study, of 15,000 typical cases, found that even maltreated children left in their own homes with little or no help fared better, on average, than comparably maltreated children placed in foster care.
Wrongful removal also overloads the system, stealing workers’ time from finding children in real danger who really should be taken from their homes.
The Hornby Zeller report insightfully dissects the reasons for Oklahoma’s obscene rate of child removal and offers some smart, specific solutions.
But Children’s Rights is silent on this. And the group’s recent track record is alarming: Its settlement in Michigan led that state to cut funds for prevention and family preservation in order to hire more workers to take away more children. So unless CR changes its approach, its lawsuit is likely to leave Oklahoma with the same lousy system only bigger.
If CR can’t get past its bureaucratic take-the-child-and-run mind-set and propose a settlement that emphasizes safe, proven programs to keep families together, then it should drop its suit and go away — before it makes things even worse.
Wexler is executive director of the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform, www.nccpr.org.
My organization’s data confirm that Oklahoma tears apart families at one of the highest rates in the nation, more than 50 percent above the national average.
Read more: http://www.newsok.com/article/3422896?searched=Richard%20Wexler#ixzz0ZC0bNrEA
CPS Worker Fatally Shot Outside Her Bronx Home
KAREN ZRAICK and AL BAKER
Published: December 7, 2009
A child protection specialist was fatally shot in the head outside her Bronx home early on Monday as she prepared to take her two young daughters to elementary school, the police and neighbors said.
Michael Appleton for The New York Times
Lakisha Scriven, 30, was shot outside her home on Furman Avenue in the Wakefield section of the Bronx while she was putting her daughters, 5 and 8, in her vehicle to take them to school.
“I was getting ready to leave home and I heard the kids screaming,” said a neighbor, Pearl Rogers, 72. “She was saying, ‘Mommy! Mommy!’ It will never get out of my mind, the way that kid was screaming. It just hurt my heart.”
The victim, Lakisha Scriven, 30, appeared to have been the intended target of the gunman, who fired at close range at about 7:15 a.m., according to a law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation was continuing. She was shot once in the back of the head and pronounced dead at Jacobi Medical Center an hour and a half hour later.
The police had not named any suspects as of Monday night. Detectives were speaking with Ms. Scriven’s companion, Clarence White, the father of the two girls, ages 5 and 8, the law enforcement official said. The couple had been living together in an apartment on Furman Avenue, but Ms. Scriven asked Mr. White to leave after a dispute on Friday, the official added. They had planned to share child care duties, with Ms. Scriven dropping the girls off at school and Mr. White picking them up. Monday was to be the first day of the new arrangement.
Ms. Scriven worked in a Bronx office of New York City’s Administration for Children’s Services. She had been employed there about four years and was promoted to a supervisory position in 2007, the agency said in a statement.
“Her bubbly love of life has been mentioned by all who knew her,” John Mattingly, the agency’s commissioner, wrote in an e-mail message to the staff on Monday afternoon.
Ms. Scriven was “a hard-working advocate on behalf of the children of New York City,” he wrote. “She spent time in all the Bronx sites because staff knew she could go into a new unit and pick up responsibilities with enthusiasm and competence.”
Neighbors said Ms. Scriven had lived on the block with her daughters for about five years.
“She was a good mother,” said Gloria Garrett, 58, whose grandson is a cousin of Ms. Scriven’s. “She was always with her two little girls.”
Another neighbor, Maria Santacruz, 37, said she worried about the long-term effects of such a traumatic event on Ms. Scriven’s daughters.
“They’re very sweet girls,” she said. “This is something they’re never going to forget, to see their mother killed that way.”
Julie Bosman and Mathew R. Warren contributed reporting.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/08/nyregion/08mother.html?_r=2
Published: December 7, 2009
A child protection specialist was fatally shot in the head outside her Bronx home early on Monday as she prepared to take her two young daughters to elementary school, the police and neighbors said.
Michael Appleton for The New York Times
Lakisha Scriven, 30, was shot outside her home on Furman Avenue in the Wakefield section of the Bronx while she was putting her daughters, 5 and 8, in her vehicle to take them to school.
“I was getting ready to leave home and I heard the kids screaming,” said a neighbor, Pearl Rogers, 72. “She was saying, ‘Mommy! Mommy!’ It will never get out of my mind, the way that kid was screaming. It just hurt my heart.”
The victim, Lakisha Scriven, 30, appeared to have been the intended target of the gunman, who fired at close range at about 7:15 a.m., according to a law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation was continuing. She was shot once in the back of the head and pronounced dead at Jacobi Medical Center an hour and a half hour later.
The police had not named any suspects as of Monday night. Detectives were speaking with Ms. Scriven’s companion, Clarence White, the father of the two girls, ages 5 and 8, the law enforcement official said. The couple had been living together in an apartment on Furman Avenue, but Ms. Scriven asked Mr. White to leave after a dispute on Friday, the official added. They had planned to share child care duties, with Ms. Scriven dropping the girls off at school and Mr. White picking them up. Monday was to be the first day of the new arrangement.
Ms. Scriven worked in a Bronx office of New York City’s Administration for Children’s Services. She had been employed there about four years and was promoted to a supervisory position in 2007, the agency said in a statement.
“Her bubbly love of life has been mentioned by all who knew her,” John Mattingly, the agency’s commissioner, wrote in an e-mail message to the staff on Monday afternoon.
Ms. Scriven was “a hard-working advocate on behalf of the children of New York City,” he wrote. “She spent time in all the Bronx sites because staff knew she could go into a new unit and pick up responsibilities with enthusiasm and competence.”
Neighbors said Ms. Scriven had lived on the block with her daughters for about five years.
“She was a good mother,” said Gloria Garrett, 58, whose grandson is a cousin of Ms. Scriven’s. “She was always with her two little girls.”
Another neighbor, Maria Santacruz, 37, said she worried about the long-term effects of such a traumatic event on Ms. Scriven’s daughters.
“They’re very sweet girls,” she said. “This is something they’re never going to forget, to see their mother killed that way.”
Julie Bosman and Mathew R. Warren contributed reporting.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/08/nyregion/08mother.html?_r=2
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