Teens Happy Homes sinking fast.
The second shoe has begun to drop, and it now appears that Teens Happy Homes will soon be closed. You can read about it here.
Garett Therolf continues to do stellar work on this story, and it is nice to see the media take an interest in the subject, and do the good investigative work necessary, to bring about a bit of improvement in the lives of the foster children, attached to this agency. This is important stuff.
However, as usual, at other suspect agencies, malfeasance alone, is not enough to warrant many words on the subject, or action by regulators. Or for that matter, action by law enforcement.
Malfeasance, must be accompanied by child deaths or significant injuries, before any action is taken, to bring some culprits to moderate justice.
An example of this can be seen with United Care, which was closed a few years ago. In one of the below recordings given to the Times, consultant Jorge Gutierrez, when speaking about Craig Woods and United Care, pointed out that it wasn’t the death of Viola Vanclief that caused United Care to be closed.
Rather it was Craig’s “stubbornness” in not paying back the bulk of the money, which the county said, had been illegally siphoned by a former employee. (Almost $250,000).
At United Care, an innocent toddler was murdered, before malfeasance warranted a heavy hand by the county, which shut down the agency.
Similarly, another agency was shut, fairly recently, accompanied by similar financial wreckage, payments to felons, and encompassed a plethora of creepy individuals, enough to turn one’s stomach.
However, in the case of this other agency, there wasn’t a lot of child welfare violations. This circumstance warranted minimal media attention, despite missing funds amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Not sexy enough?
Things are different with Teens, but why did it take so long?
Part of the real story, is that Teens fiscal audit is not yet completed, after 3 years! Much of the information should have been acted upon, much earlier.
Sincere kudos, to Ms. Watanabe, who admitted county auditors dropped the ball with Teens. And yet, officials, and media, were warned, by this author and others, in 2010, regarding many similar allegations.
Malfeasance, as well as child welfare issues, at Teens, were continuously ignored.
But why?
Surely this garbage dump was an open secret. Social workers, current and previous staff members, must have stiff necks from looking the other way all the time.
Obviously at Teens, and quite clearly, one dare says, at other agencies, payment for minimal or nonexistent work, occurs with willful blindness, by staff, and regulaters. In some places, it is blatant.
Ask away! An arrow shall be pointed, (as continues to be done here), to obvious culprits. Yet, under these circumstances, how could child welfare not suffer?
There are good agencies. There are hard working social workers, who do such work with nobel intentions. There are wonderful foster parents, who save children’s lives.
All are tainted, by too many greedy, bad apples.
The warnings, are a broken record. And the guilty, attack the sources, who are afraid for their jobs, and have learned the hard way, that nothing will be done.
There will be no justice. Either for the cheated children, or the crooks. Nobody will face criminal charges, let alone be banned from working with abused and neglected children.
Are things different now? Can they be?
Joshua Allen
Audio Files of Teens Happy Homes board meeting in 2010 with management consultant Jorge Gutierrez
Audio Files of Teens Happy Homes board meeting in 2010 with management consultant Jorge Gutierrez
These audio files make fascinating listening. Anyone interested in the machinations of what goes on at these board meetings, are in for a treat.
The source of the audio, Askari Moyenda, turned over the recording to the LA Times, which put the links up on their site. Special admiration for Times reporter Garett Therolf, who has done excellent reporting on the sordid happenings at Teens Happy Homes.
It is curious though, that the recordings from a 2010 board meeting have surfaced now, three years after the fact, for reasons unknown. (cui bono?)
A lot of things have happened, during the past three years at Teens, much of it quite questionable, according to recent reports.
We are grateful for this opportunity to hear these discussions from three years ago, by some of the individuals, entrusted with the care of our abused and neglected children.
Just one question though: Are there any other recordings? Inquiring minds …
Teens Happy Homes: Contract discussed behind closed doors: Which Agency is Next to Crumble?
Teens Happy Homes: Contract discussed behind closed doors: Which Agency is Next to Crumble?
The Business of Child Abuse:
By Joshua Allen
We have been writing about Teens Happy Homes, and other agencies of concern for over 3 years. For 3 years we warned the county, and anyone else who would listen, that the system of audits in place are inadequate, and so weak, as to encourage malfeasance. Children’s welfare suffers when there is malfeasance. How can it be otherwise?
Foster Care Agencies have a Board of Directors. This Board is supposed to be supervising, the agencies care of abused and neglected children, and they also monitor an agencies finances. However, since board members are almost always friends and family, they do neither. And therefore, the children suffer, as they always have.
So it comes as no surprise, about today news. LA TIMES STORY
The County Board of Supervisors, is going through the motions, and finally considering closing Teens Happy Homes. This after years of warnings, destroyed financial records (which happened the same week as one of the audits), and the deaths of abused and neglected children.
“The routine audit of Teens in 2003 faced problems from the beginning. Shortly before auditors arrived, a sewage backup destroyed many financial records. The remaining documents painted a picture of financial chaos.”
One would think the above quote, which came from the Previous Times Story, would have caused a large red flag warranting significant attention. But that didn’t happen. And now, apparently, because of county incompetence, children are dead. There is no other way to put it.
One of the new proposals, by Zev Yaroslavsky, would be to hire 6 or 7 additional monitors to track agency finances. This is a good start.
Why has such an obvious partial solution taken so long? It is a question best asked, while pondering the thousand mile stare of sexually abused children.
Older foster kids know when money is being siphoned from its intended purpose. Go ask some of the kids – ask them what gifts they received for Christmas from their agency. One agency had no gifts for 2 out the past 3 years. This, while 3 staff members received almost 10% of the gross. Does that sound right?
Whistle blowers, who risk everything, including violence, feel betrayed, when they come forth and nothing happens. When officials throw up the hands and say, “…there is nothing I can do.”
There must be a cap on top salaries, perhaps in the $125,000 range? Especially when an agency has a gross below 6 or 7 million dollars. If foster care workers want to make more, perhaps the private sector is a more suitable solution, rather than toiling in the trenches.
The Agency Board of Directors must be unconnected to the CEO’s, who is answerable to them. Shouldn’t board members be people who do it only to contribute their time and energy towards helping abuse victims? Instead, we have boards made up of friends and family members, or employees of the agency, who police their own, and often, get little, under the table deals.
When auditors come, especially financial auditors, a practical idea would be to interview lower staff members, and do so in private. Auditors must see such individuals away from the prying eyes of the administration, who may be timing the interview, as they sit outside the door.
Shouldn’t whistle blowers have some form of protection, beyond getting a lawyer they can’t afford, and waiting years for any sort of resolution?
Administrators, directors, treasurers, and other 6 figure staff members must be able to prove they actually work full time, or something close to a 40-hour week. That is, proof, beyond silly time cards, which mean nothing in the scheme of things.
How many days and hours per week, can some of these guys be away from the office? Who holds them accountable? Their cousin Vinny? Dad?
Foster agency salaries, for the most part, are paid for by our taxes. These are not private foundations. This is part of the problem, because heads of these places, consider the non-profit agencies to be their personal businesses. And these agencies are not theirs to do with as they chose. Not when they take tax money to survive. They belong to us, and are accountable.
Finally, and most obvious: Why are foster parents, who hurt foster children, allowed to pop up somewhere else and do it all over again? This last part hurts, because we are big fans of foster parents, and consider it one of life’s toughest and most thankless jobs.
But the good ones don’t do it for “thanks.” And that is why, it is so egregious, when money is siphoned away. Because it is money that could be helping these children, rather than lining pockets.
Thank heavens for good foster parents, and good social workers, and supervisors. Because it is this group of people, beyond everyone else, except for foster children, who know how bad things can really be.
Joshuaallenonline.com
Teens Happy Homes: The Not So Mighty are Falling
Teens Happy Homes: The Not so Mighty are Falling:
By Joshua Allen
Big trouble for Teens Happy Homes. That’s the gist of the article by Times reporter Garett Therolf. You can find the article here Here:
We once again learn what we already knew. Teens, is not the sort of place best suited to helping abused and neglected children.
Sadly, the same cast of characters shows up time, and time again, at these places. Their names are no stranger to these pixels…
Truly, we have been writing, and shouting in the wind, about these and other miscreants for over 3 years. Nobody seemed to care.
And even those high up on the food chain – very high up – would just tell us, “There was nothing they could do.”
One source of ours used the words “…small potatoes,” when asked why the county officials did nothing to stop, or even discourage such unethical and apparently illegal practices.
We wrote about Beautina Robinson before. Her agency, Teens Happy Homes, is the same agency, where the head of DCFS Browning, is quoted as saying needs to be under a “heightened level of scrutiny.” After another Times story regarding the murder of the Chinese graduate students near USC.
Dr. Milani and Askari Moyenda, oh dear…. The latter recorded a board meeting, and played the recording for the Times reporter. Such intrigue! And why are we hearing these tapes now, three years later?
On tape. Beautina Robinson is heard:
“I’ve taken care of the board that needed it personally, myself, and I would prefer the board, keep it that way.”
Holy Jeepers, is this happening at any other agencies? Yikes!
And then this other stuff. It’s funny how lawsuits tend to air dirty laundry. Well a little funny I suppose, unless you are a foster child, in which case it’s not very funny at all, since everyone is busy fighting over, ”…a dispute over control of the agency.” Which, as a distraction, couldn’t have been good for the abused and neglected children.
According to the Times:
“Under the agreement, Moyenda and Milani were called investors.” They were promised the ability to appoint three members of the seven-person board of directors.”
Yeah, um, okay… We detest this sort of thing.
The consultant mentioned here: Gutierrez? Does anyone remember the agency he ran? Who is his “good friend,” at the auditors office? What was he told? And, when was he told it? Maybe he can send a ‘cease and desist,’ to the LA Times…see how well that works.
There are others. Names joked about with contempt or disgust. They continue to bounce back into the Business of Child Abuse, either here in LA, or with a fresh start and path to riches in another county. As the old saying goes: Old corrupt foster agency people don’t fade away, they just end up in San Bernadino.
A question though, why is San Bernadino so desperate for our droppings?
Mr Browning, the head of DCFS is quoted by the times as saying:
“…that he was startled to learn of the depth of problems at Teens, and that he was enlisting the help of retired homicide detectives to examine allegations of child abuse and financial malfeasance at foster care contractors.”
We believe this, and would be happy to point the way to the more egregious examples, should anyone be interested. Oh wait…we have… “I’m shocked, shocked, that there is gambling in this casino.”
Our major premise here has always been this. Child welfare will always suffer when financial irregularities and unethical practices are overlooked as a matter of policy, because, such investigations are difficult, and too hard to prove.
And therefore, this is what you get. Unfortunately, children had to die, before there was even a chance that officials would take a hard look at the books.
Supervisor Molina’s frustration seems palpable. Holy gee…we can finally, at last, …end the contract with Teens Happy Homes.” Sort of, Maybe, Kind of…We’ll see….
After only 10 years of troubles too. And to think, it only took Wall Street half that long to bring down our economy!
There will now be a mad scramble, an unseemly exhibition actually; where some agencies will solicit, and probably offer some type of compensation, to either social workers or foster parents, in order to garner the revenue stream from the abused and neglected children, who will now be leaving Teens Happy Homes.
We have seen it before, many times.
Who Failed Jacqueline Charlotte Castillo?
Jacqueline Castillo committed suicide over a year ago on March 20, 2012. Jacqueline had lived on and off in foster care for years, and was currently residing in a transitional living facility run by a local Catholic entity.
Transitional Living, helps teens adjust to leaving the foster care system, instead of just throwing them in the street. The latter happens all too often, especially if the foster teen is a bit troublesome and difficult to place because of negative behaviors. In that case, they system often just gives up on them and these teens are quickly emancipated at 18.
However, this was not the case with Jacqueline, who was a young mother, raising her infant child. She was connected to various private non-profit, and public agencies, designed to assist her with young motherhood, and a productive life in the private sector.
To this end, Jacqueline had a job in retail. She continued to receive social services from various entities, all of which provided social workers, and presumably, some type of mental health therapy.
We use the term “Presumably,” because, when contacted, the religious based entity which controlled her living arrangements, refused to answer any questions, despite privacy no longer being an issue, because she is deceased.
Our main question has always been this:
Before her death, did a social worker or therapist, threaten Jacqueline, that her baby was going to be placed into foster care, or the “system,” if she didn’t behave in a way they (the therapist, the social workers, the transitional house, the religious entity), found acceptable?
Did Jacqueline believe she was going to lose her baby, after a conversation with someone associated with one of the above, like a social worker or therapist?
Who Failed Jacqueline Charlotte Castillo?
There Are Children who Play to be Invisible
Powerful Video
Disturbing of course. The scary parent. We get the message.
However, in Los Angeles County, there are a few different messages:
In Los Angeles County; Child Abuse does cut across all class and economic stratus. But, the children placed in Foster Care, do not.
In Los Angeles County; Victims of Child Abuse, do come from all races and religions. But, those children whom are placed in Foster Care, do not.
The vast, vast – majority of children living in foster care, in Los Angeles County, are Hispanic, and African American.
One can argue about the reasons for this, but what is not up for discussion, are the demographics of foster care. The statistics one this are quite clear, and easily available.
In Los Angeles County, the Business of Child Abuse, begins, and ends, with the Politics of Poverty, and Color. And while this debate isn’t forgotten, it is ignored.
As if Big Government Foster Care was colorblind.
Joshua Allen Online
If I Wanted Foster Care To Fail:
Big Government Foster Care: If I Wanted Foster Care to Fail.
The Politics of Child Abuse
By Joshua Allen
I saw a viral video awhile back. The video has several million hits by now. You can see the video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZ-4gnNz0vc
We were inspired a bit, and borrowed the format to our focus on Child Abuse and Foster Care issues. So with credit and due appropriately proffered, here is our take.
If I Wanted Foster Care to Fail:
I would create an “Academy,” where new County Social Worker (CSW) applicants train, before working with abused and neglected children. In this academy, not one applicant would ever flunk out. Never. Every applicant would pass, and become a CSW, despite idiocy, incompetence and mental illness.
Strange, angry, ignorant, or slow social workers would be mixed in with the competent, stellar, and dedicated. Thus the entire department would be tainted, and appear foolish, because of a few (too many) individuals.
If I Wanted Foster Care to Fail:
I would make it almost impossible to fire http://articles.latimes.com/2010/oct/29/local/la-me-child-abuse-20101029 any county social worker. Incompetent, or mentally challenged workers, would be transferred to departments and locations where they did minimal harm – for a while.
If I Wanted Foster Care to Fail:
I would provide as few educational benefits as possible for abused and neglected children. Then foster teens could return home, or age out of the system, with minimal tools and skills. Numerous foster teens would be homeless or incarcerated. http://blogcritics.org/culture/article/children-aging-out-of-the-foster/
Donations would be solicited from the community , with minimal financial oversight. Monies set aside for educational purposes would be misspent by unscrupulous executives. Executives who, with minimal work and even less education, want to be rich overnight.
At rubber chicken affairs, I would trumpet educational achievements of a few hand-picked foster teens that did well, despite horrific adversity. http://www.nyc.gov/html/acs/html/pr_archives/pr26_07_12.shtml
However, at the same time, I would ignore thousands of foster teens who fail to graduate, can barely read, and are almost 4 times more likely to need Special Education. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1v2t5_QanRAIhCX97XIK1tUfRbE5cRrYCLxaGtlw_Hww/edit
If I Wanted Foster Care to Fail:
There would be no accountability for foster agency executives to account for their working day. Auditors would examine time cards as if they were recorded by Mother Teresa. Underlings, or coworkers, would never be questioned to determine if executives actually did anything .
Executives from agencies would be Board Members of their own agency. Board of Directors would include friends and family, who would evaluate their own job performances. Executives would set their own salary, authorize their own bonuses, and dole out contract caseloads to friends and family. Conflicts of interest would be ignored by county politicians, who with a shrug would say, “There was nothing they could do.”
Gross mismanagement would never be grounds for an executive being removed, or board members being held to account. Never. Taxpayer money would be considered grains of sand.
Not one board member would ever suffer consequences when they knowingly allow a director to mismanage, steal from, or damage foster children.
If I Wanted Foster Care to Fail:
Social workers would spend the majority of their time on paperwork, documenting the 10% of their time they actually spent helping abused and neglected children.
In reports, social workers would learn to document fake percentages and goals, to demonstrate statistical success. Measurements, and goals documenting progress, would be obsessed over. A typical observation would read like this:
“Baby Johnny’ will scream and throw objects once per day rather than 3 times daily, Showing a 75% improvement by the end of this quarter.”
Hundreds of regulations, rules, policies and procedures would be created, which only a retired-in-place bureaucrat could understand. And policy makers would believe every new rule and bit of paperwork, actually improved the well being of abused and neglected children.
If I Wanted Foster Care to Fail:
County lawyers would be responsible for a caseload of 200 abused and neglected foster children. Therefore, many attorneys would do a mediocre job protecting abused and neglected children.
At Children’s Court, hearings would last 5 minutes. Birth Parents would meet their lawyers for the first time a few minutes before their hearing. Lawyers for foster children would be paid the lowest hourly rate for any attorney in the county, creating a weak incentive for highly skilled attorneys to engage in child welfare.
If I Wanted Foster Care to Fail:
Caseloads of Contract Social Workers would not be cross checked across county lines. Contract social workers will have many cases beyond what is allowed. Abused and neglected children would then receive minimal contact, or assistance from their social worker. Those entrusted to monitor such things would turn a blind eye.
If I Wanted Foster Care to Fail:
I would move abused and neglected children to 4 or more homes during their time in foster care. The norm would be minimal stability, bonding, or nurturing at this horrible time in their lives.
Foster children would be given minimal information regarding their cases or dispositions. Anxiety and depression, caused by bad policies and apathy, would be typical.
Concepts such as “Fast Tracking,” would be ignored by judges and social workers alike, who give birth parents 3rd, 4th, 5th, even 6th chances over several years. Frequent delays, all in the name of “keeping the family together,” would do exactly the opposite.
If I Wanted Foster Care to Fail:
I would believe politicians when they say we are well on the way to fixing things, even though they said the same thing year after year, while hiring 5 new heads of Children’s Services during the past decade, http://californiaschildren.typepad.com/californias-children/2011/08/trish-ploehn-56-chief-of-the-los-angeles-county-department-of-children-and-family-services-is-expected-to-be-reassigned-to.html while repeating the same old promises we call lies.
I would accept as gospel, policy decisions originating from university and communications think tanks, from ‘scholars’ and ‘experts,’ who live as far away from MLK Blvd, Korea Town and Santa Ana as class and money provide.
A professor or Esteemed Professional who adopted a foster child cared for by nannies, would be a consecrated expert. Yet the foster parent from Santa Ana, who raised 3 children to productive adulthood, would be locked out of any discussion, because of difficulty with English fluency, problems negotiating a prominent universities map, and difficulty arranging child care for 12 hours.
If I Wanted Foster Care to Fail:
In a huge county like Los Angeles I would assign 1 or 2 newspaper reporters, to occasionally cover events regarding foster care, child abuse, and family court.
Foundation publicists, and sideways talking politicos, would control the conversation. Investigative journalism would be minimized as non-news worthy, ‘solution based journalism’ (Foundation Speak), would rule the Huffingtons.
If I wanted Foster Care to Fail:
Not one birth parent would ever be held legally accountable, for making false accusations against the foster parents who care for their child. The damage such false accusations cause to children, would be considered a normal part of the business of child abuse. Lying, and false accusations by a birth parent, would be met by a slight admonishment and lecture, without consequences, or other measures of deterrence.
If I Wanted Foster Care to Fail:
I would teach Foster Children, Foster Parents, and Social Workers to ignore hypocrisy, and accept lies, stupidity, and deceit as a normal part of Children Services, something impossible to change. I would teach that the only way an idealistic worker could survive and continue, is by accepting defeat.
Pathetic money wasting programs such as “Wrap Around,” and poorly run programs like “Family Preservation,” would never be challenged, or improved. An alliance of vested financial interests, along with government monitors, who fear answering for their failures, would continue year after year.
Such programs and agencies would provide owners, a top 1% income, and lifestyle, which the typical foster child, will never know, and only dream of ; “ …from just across the bay.”
So Basically, it’s this.
If I Want Foster Care to Fail:
I Would Do Nothing at All. I Would Do Nothing at All. I Would Do Nothing at All.
Joshua Allen Online
The Business of Child Abuse
