Foster Agency Accused of Forcing Teen to Abort Now Threatens Whistleblowers
By James Tillman
PHILADELPHIA, PA, June 24, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Luz Navarro, a foster-mother who earlier this year had four minors under her care, had all of them removed from her home after she told a newspaper that a Philadelphia Department of Human Services (DHS) caseworker forced one of the children to have an abortion.
Now Concilio, a social-service agency that oversees fostering cases and subcontracts for Philadelphia, has allegedly tried to intimidate and silence other foster parents by falsely stating that Navarro will be going to jail.
After she became pregnant, the 16-year-old foster child in Navarro's care had initially been thrilled to be expecting, and had told her 1-year-old that he would have a little brother.
But according to Navarro, a social worker with the Philadelphia Department of Human services threatened to take away both of the girl's children unless she had an abortion.
"She said that if she decided to have the infant she wasn't going to let her have both babies," Navarro said. "They wouldn't be together."
After Navarro told the Philadelphia Daily News about the social worker's actions, the DHS took away all of the foster children in her care.
City spokesman Douglas Oliver has said that the foster mother violated HIPAA by revealing confidential information about the minor in her charge. Nevertheless, no charges have yet been pursued against Navarro.
But according to the Philadelphia Daily News, Concilio is now attempting to silence other foster parents by alleging that Navarro will be jailed.
"Lawyers for the city and for Concilio will sue ... the person who was a foster [parent]," a Concilio foster-care coordinator told foster parents, according to a foster parent speaking anonymously. "The sentence could be five to 10 years in jail."
The coordinator claimed to be reading a letter from Philadelphia Department of Human Services commissioner Anne Marie Ambrose. But according to a spokeswoman from the DHS, Ambrose never wrote anything like this.
Concilio also said that the city would be suing Marisol Rivera, a former Concilio employee who had been fired because she did not want to cooperate in the abortion.
"They hired me to work in child protection, not to kill children," Rivera told the Daily News.
Rivera had been threatened after she refused to drive the girl to an abortuary. Rivera acquiesced after she discovered that a prior trip to the abortuary had already killed the baby, but was fired after she told Concilio's human-relations director about the threat.
According to the Daily News Concilio has also recently imposed new confidentiality rules, holding small group meetings with foster parents to discuss them and have them sign new contracts.
The new contract states that foster parents are forbidden to tell "the child's history with neighbors, friends, relatives or any other persons(s) not directly involved with the professional care of the child." It is also more than twice as long as the previous contract.
Rivera has said confidentiality was never a priority before the story of the forced abortion came out.
Jheovannie Williams, the same Concilio employee who allegedly threatened the foster parents, also reportedly told parents not to believe the “lies” in the newspaper, or the people who are "united to create chaos."
To contact Concilio:
Phone: (215) 627-3100
705-09 N. Franklin Street
Philadelphia, Pa. 19123
To contact the Philadelphia Department of Human Services:
Anne Marie Ambrose, Commissioner
AnneMarie.Ambrose@phila.gov
215-683-6000
1515 Arch Street
Philadelphia, PA 19102
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/jun/10062415.html
