DENICE "Doe" - 4 yo - / Arrested: Mother Danettea "Doe" - Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee County judge called handling of abused girl's case 'dismal failure'

March 11, 2013
A judge who described himself as angry and
saddened "beyond words" sharply criticized Milwaukee child welfare
officials 15 months ago for leaving him little choice but to return a
3-year-old girl to her birth mother - a woman now charged with
physically abusing the child.


Milwaukee County Children's Court Judge Christopher Foley wrote that
it was an "abject and dismal failure" of officials entrusted with her
welfare to allow her to bond with foster parents who loved her and
wanted to adopt her, and then put him in the position of having to
remove her from the only home she had ever known.


"All the components of the child welfare system - parent, legal and
social service - have violated every fundamental tenet . . . in gross
derogation of our responsibilities to her," he wrote to the principal
attorneys involved in the child's case.


The letter, written in December 2011, was obtained by the Journal
Sentinel on Monday - the day after it reported that the birth mother had
been charged with felony child abuse.


Specifically, Foley wrote that child welfare officials missed their
opportunity to terminate the parental rights of the girl's mother - a
necessary step toward proceeding with adoption. As a result, he felt
compelled to return the child to her mother, who had a history of child
abuse allegations involving her older sons.


The judge wrote: "When parents and child welfare authorities do not
adhere to the fundamental tenets of child welfare law and practice,
children get hurt." This child "has been hurt and, unquestionably, now
will be further hurt. She is the 'rope in the tug-of-war,' sadly she
knows she is the rope in the tug-of-war."


By law, child welfare agencies must do all they can to return
children to their birth families - provided it can be done safely. If
not, either parental rights must be terminated and children put up for
adoption or children must be placed with a guardian.


In Wisconsin, more than one out of four children returned to their
birth homes are removed again and placed in foster care. That is one of
the five worst reunification rates in the country.


The child was the subject of a 2010 Journal Sentinel investigation
that found children too often languish, their best interests set aside,
in an overtaxed and disjointed welfare system. To protect the girl's
identity, the Journal Sentinel has consistently used only her middle
name, Denice, and her mother's first name, Danettea.


Denice was born in 2008 with traces of drugs in her system. Two sons
had already been taken from the mother's custody because of abuse
allegations. On the day she was born, child welfare workers began
investigating a new allegation of abuse.


Shortly after birth, Denice was released from the hospital into the care of first-time foster parents.


It is gospel among child welfare advocates that children need to be
placed in permanent homes swiftly. Denice, however, remained with the
foster parents for years, and although they wanted desperately to keep
her, nothing was settled.


Care workers at Integrated Family Service, the agency contracted with
responsibility for Denice's care, came and went, plans changed and
deadlines were missed. As a result, any opportunity to terminate the
parental rights of the girl's mother - a step that must precede adoption
- was lost.


"While two years ago, adoption would have been a likely achievable goal, it is no longer," Foley wrote in 2011.


At the time of the letter, Denice was visiting Danettea's home two
nights and three days a week. Foley wrote that finding Denice a
permanent home was long past due.


"She is 3 years old and can't remain the rope in the tug-of-war between these two families forever," he wrote.


Foley said he was left with no good options.


"Because her mother and the child welfare professionals did not do
what they were legally obligated to do when they were legally obligated
to do it, there is no good answer. It angers and saddens me beyond
words."


Placing the girl with her mother, he wrote, was the girl's best remaining shot at finding a permanent home.


"She needs a permanent home; to know who she is and where she will
live; that she will not permanently remain both the victim of and the
tool in the emotional warfare that swirls around her."


Foley ended his letter with a lament: "The failure of the people in
her life to achieve timely permanence for her has occasioned great harm .
. . (Denice) is now the poster child for timely permanence, and our lip
service to our obligation to achieve timely permanence has victimized
her greatly."


In spring 2012, Foley approved Denice's permanent placement with Danettea.


Last week, less than a year later, Denice was removed from Danettea's
home after showing up at school with a bruised face and telling
teachers her mother hit her.


Teri Zywicki, president and CEO of Integrated Family Services, said
Monday: "Everyone who works within child welfare is saddened when any
child is hurt, or when the decision about permanency is complicated and
takes a long time, as is true in this case."


The agency is now focused on finding new placement for Denice, Zywicki said.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/milwaukee-county-judge-called-handling-of-abused-girls-case-dismal-failure-cr945du-197249871.html