Joshua Allen Online

LA Foster Care: Licensing to Kill

The Business of Child Abuse

By Joshua Allen

Sources now report that Community Care Licensing (CCL) has been conducting extensive, hours long, interviews of previous United Care administrators, supervisors and other personnel, some of whom hadn’t worked for United Care several months or longer before the death by hammer of Viola Vanclief.

What is unusual is these interviews are happening many months after the fact, something which for CCL is very rare, even when a child is dead.  That they would interview an employee who hadn’t worked at the agency for more than a half-year is unheard of.

What CCL usually does is talk perfunctorily to those involved in any allegations the first week or so that it is reported, wait several more months, and then write their report that gets duly filed and uselessly buried long after the fact.

No doubt those with an axe to grind -whether legitimate or because they are a disgruntled employee-  will relish the opportunity to lambaste Craig Woods and Tamara Komashko to their hearts content.  And CCL will hang on every word as if they were Homeland Security.  They do have something to prove at after all.

One has little confidence in the ability of CCL to properly interview the dog catcher let alone those who may have something to hide or who obfuscate their own tawdry role in the death of Viola Vanclief. (No offence to Dog Catchers who are a lot better at their job than these guys are at weeding out folks who take advantage of abused children). Speaking with CCL for 2 hours is like spending your birthday at the DMV.

These people aren’t police after all, and we haven’t found anyone in awe of their ability to ferret out truth or to do so in a timely manner.  CCL is notorious for allowing investigations to fester beyond any measure of competence.  And exactly who audits them?

Foster parents who are victims of false and ridiculous allegations have waited months if not years for a seal of approval.  Erring on the side of the children is one of the biggest lies incompetent child care bureaucrats use when excusing themselves from acting in a professional manner.

A private responsible firm would be able to do their job in one tenth the time, do it cheaper, and would not be subject to public union foolishness if somebody doesn’t do their job properly.  A further belief is that murderous foster parents like Barker (allegedly) would be separated out quickly as well as other foster parents who shouldn’t be allowed near their own children let alone those who are abused and neglected.

CCL is in hyper derriere-covering mode since they originally allowed the foster parent to be certified despite being the proud owner of a substantiated allegation of child abuse towards her own child, and a conviction for theft in 2002.

What exactly was CCL thinking when this report came across their desk?  Let me guess, (”5:00, time to go home.  I’ll just throw it in this box.”)

No these retired-in-place champions of abused children are not the FBI.  Undoubtedly the individual who messed up and made their own small contribution towards Viola’s death will be written up with a note placed on their permanent record.  Well, actually we’re not so sure.

CCL should be abolished and their audits assigned to private sector investigators who have an economic incentive to be competent, and are subject to a bit more than a one day suspension if they fail in their job.  Frankly, any private sector firm or individual would have been fired and possibly prosecuted had they allowed some of this stuff to continue.

Remember, these are the same people who in the past called Foster Care Agencies and told them in advance which files they planned to look over the next week when they strolled on by for their audits.  (You see it saves time if the files are already out and waiting).

Not that Woods and Komashko don’t have much to answer for as clever readers can ascertain.  The belief of course (and currently unproven we must admit), is that that Ms. Komashko (and in extension Craig Woods) was warned several times in advance that Viola’s foster home was unacceptable, that foster parent Barker was nuts (to use a clinical term) and that Barker not only lied about living with a convicted felon, but that both Kamoshko and Woods knew about this and hoped a self-serving signed and written promise would be enough if the convicted felon ever acted out or harmed Viola.   The latter stretches credibility to a breaking point.

Komashko is reported to have brought foster parent Barker over to United Care from her previous employment at a now defunct foster agency called Hollygrove and apparently, Barker was never properly vetted or examined before she was certified by her new agency United Care.

Remember, United Care was hurting from the administrative hold and dying on the vine when the warnings from the foster care social worker first passed before their glazed eyes.  Actually, Barker was assigned other FCSW’s before the last one, and one wonders what they have to say.

The point is, and must be asked, how much did they feel they needed the bed space and the money that it provided?

What was reported to this site (Joshuaallenonline.com) is this; and although the numbers aren’t exact they are close.  There is something like 5,700 abused and neglected children under the care of Agencies with Los Angeles County and something like 768 allegations within this group that are yet to be fully investigated or adjudicated.  The county and state has now in its wisdom decided to take a close look at these allegations.

No doubt many-many of these allegations are bogus IE: stuff from angry child abusing birth parents or more understandably, devastated children who just want to go home, and some of the allegations are true.

Why though, does it take 6 months or longer to find out?  What other word besides ‘outrageous’ can we use here? Unprofessional?  Bureaucratic?  And why did it take the death of a toddler to jump kick this belated diligence?

I can think of a few reasons.

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