NC - Dorian Harper & Wanda Larson for abuse of foster child, Monroe, 2013

[scmom]

Statement from Union County DHHS; snipped from article:
Dorian Harper and Wanda Larson are not currently licensed foster parents in North Carolina. The Harper/Larson foster home license expired in December 2010. There have been no foster children living in the home since May 2009.
http://www.wcnc.com/news/local/Union-Co-DHHS-responds-to-child-abuse-allegations-232587941.html

 

[tlcya]

Whiskey

tango

foxtrot?????

 

[The Cheese]

Statement from Union County DHHS; snipped from article:
Dorian Harper and Wanda Larson are not currently licensed foster parents in North Carolina. The Harper/Larson foster home license expired in December 2010. There have been no foster children living in the home since May 2009.
http://www.wcnc.com/news/local/Union-Co-DHHS-responds-to-child-abuse-allegations-232587941.html

Okay!!

:facepalm:

 

[scmom]

Gaston County is also responding. Records show the last time Larson was a foster parent was in Gaston County. Some thought Larson worked for Gaston County DSS, but officials say they have no record of Larson ever working for the county. Leaders say if the state wants to talk to them about Larson, they will cooperate.
http://www.wbtv.com/story/24011252/...d-by-dss-employee-investigation-far-from-over

Okay, so here's my dumb question; how was the 11 year old placed as a foster child?

 

[tlcya]

mumbo jumbo much?

The DHHS Division of Social Services has authority to license foster homes. The county DSS is the supervising agency that monitors licensed foster care homes. Dorian Harper and Wanda Larson are not currently licensed foster parents in North Carolina. The Harper/Larson foster home license expired in December 2010. There have been no foster children living in the home since May 2009.

Based on state law regarding adoption of foster children, once a decree of adoption is entered, the adoptive parents are not subject to any additional oversight by DSS unless it is requested by the parents. For additional information, see state policy here.

{inserting link from the quoted text here http://info.dhhs.state.nc.us/olm/manuals/dss/csm-50/man/CSs1301-01.htm#P89_5279 }

The state maintains a register of licensed family foster and therapeutic foster homes. The following is the public information from the registry:

NCGS 131D-10.6C. Maintaining a register of licensed foster homes by the Division of Social Services.

http://www.wcnc.com/news/local/Union-Co-DHHS-responds-to-child-abuse-allegations-232587941.html

So if I read the policy linked within the article and the statement issued I am coming up with foster parents who express an interest in adopting a child in their care are given preference but then once that ball is rolling they are no longer monitored???? I have to be misreading this statement in conjunction to the policy?

were any of these kids "elligible" for adoption meaning their parents' rights had been severed?? Doesn't jibe with visitation etc?

And if this kid is such a menace why would they be adopting him?

I am going to have to come back and read this tomorrow because this makes zero sense to me.

When a child becomes legally free for adoption, the agency shall give priority to the child’s placement provider (relative, court approved non-relative, foster family) who is willing and able to adopt the child unless there is documentation that it is not in the child’s best interest. If such a plan is not implemented, the agency shall give priority to other relatives/kin who have been assessed and are determined to be an appropriate resource for the child

a. Placement with Foster Parents

Prior to initiation of a general or specific adoptive home recruitment for a child, the agency should determine if there are placement options that would enable the child to remain in a familiar environment. If interested in adopting the child, foster parents and relatives should be assessed as adoptive resources for the child. All such assessments must focus on the child's needs and on the applicants' capacities to meet the child's needs. If the child is already living in the home of the applicants, strong consideration should be given to placement with these persons, taking into account the length of time the child has been in the home, the depth and degree of bonding that has occurred, and the child’s ability to move from the home and form satisfactory attachments in another home and with another family. Unless it can be clearly documented that placement with the current caretakers is contrary to the child's welfare and best interests, this should be the first consideration for adoption.

 

[tlcya]

So mom does NOT work for any social services agency?

But how can they say she was not a foster mom when there are clearly fosters in the home? Visitations with relatives were apparently happening, WTH?

 

[scmom]

She was working for Union County, so they had to go through another county for adoption. Apparently they became foster parents in Gaston County but their foster home license expired in 2010. There were four adopted children in the home and the eleven year old was reported to be a foster child. Two of the adopted children were cousins of the eleven year old.
There seems to be no record of them having a foster child in the home since 2009.This is what is not making sense to me. How was the boy in the home as a foster child if they were not licensed foster parents? I can't wait to hear a logical explanation for that.

 

[The Cheese]

How did they adopt and foster through the state while unmarried? I thought you couldn't do either through the state.

 

[ArianeEmory]

Here's the real question: how much monthly government money are they collecting for him? For the other children?

Again see: Erica Parsons. It seems to me that when abusive families "collect" foster or adopted kids and treat them like animals, it's all about the dollar signs.

 

[The Cheese]

Charlotte Observer ‏@theobserver
State to review Union County DSS work http://bit.ly/1jl45Wo

State officials announced Tuesday that they will examine how Union County handles child-welfare cases after a boy living with a county child-protection supervisor and her boyfriend was handcuffed to a porch with a dead chicken tied to his neck.

Wayne Black, director of the Division of Social Services in the state Department of Health and Human Services, said the agency will review the practices of the Union County DSS. It will also study records of all the children placed under the care of Wanda Larson and Dorian Harper of Monroe.

snipped

Union County requested the state probe of the case and how county employees handle adoptions, foster care and child protection.

Union County Sheriff Eddie Cathey said his office’s investigation, though just underway, has “ballooned and gone everywhere. Calls are coming out of the woodwork.”

Asked if that involved Larson and Harper’s treatment of the child, or how Larson and the county DSS did their jobs, Cathey said, “All of the above.” He did not offer specifics.

Meanwhile, Union officials have asked another North Carolina county to “take a micro view of the Larson incident,” County Manager Cindy Coto said. The goal, she said, is “to ensure the quality of our procedures are the highest possible.” It is not a common request for the county to make, Coto said.

When asked if there were warning signs at the Larson-Harper home that the county may have missed, officials declined comment, citing the investigation.

Search warrants and related documents in the Union County case have been sealed at the request of the District Attorney’s office. In court documents, the office said the warrants and affidavits identified the minors and included “details about alleged acts involving” them.



http://www.charlotteobserver.com/20...on-county-dss.html#.UowoOsSsjvY#storylink=cpy

 

[scmom]

Here's another question. Who was the social worker for the foster child?
Oh, he wasn't a foster child and wasn't under DSS oversight. I guess that means too bad for this child. I guess we better put on our waders.

Up to now, authorities described the 11-year-old as a foster child. But Black said no foster children have been in the Larson-Harper home since May 2009. Instead, the boy appears to have been placed under the legal guardianship of the couple, which means he would not be under DSS oversight.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/20...to-review-union-county-dss.html#storylink=cpy

 

[The Cheese]

Larson has adopted six children through DSS in Gaston and Union counties since 2000. According to the state, she and Harper were licensed foster parents in both counties until December 2010.

The Sheriff’s Office removed five children, ages 8-14, from the home on Friday. They include four children adopted by Larson and the 11-year-old found on the porch.

snipped

Up to now, authorities described the 11-year-old as a foster child. But Black said no foster children have been in the Larson-Harper home since May 2009. Instead, the boy appears to have been placed under the legal guardianship of the couple, which means he would not be under DSS oversight.

His biological mother told the Observer this week that he was removed from her care as part of a child-abuse case that involved other children living in their Gaston County home. The mother, who lives in Charlotte, said that while her son has been with Larson and Harper since he was about 3, she has retained her parental rights and hopes to be reunited with the boy at some point in the future.

DSS regularly visits children under foster care. But no home checks occur in cases of adoptions or legal guardianships unless requested by the families or ordered by a judge.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/20...on-county-dss.html#.UowoOsSsjvY#storylink=cpy

My head hurts...

 

[The Cheese]

In May 2012, the Sheriff’s Office referred a complaint to DSS over the treatment of the 11-year-old after he turned up at a neighbor’s house, asking for food and saying he didn’t want to go home. Cathey said DSS reported back that no signs of abuse or neglect were found. That same month, however, Larson was suspended for disciplinary reasons at DSS. When asked if the two events were connected, county spokesman Brett Vines declined comment.

Larson, 57, joined the county DSS in 2003. Before her arrest, she earned $54,577 a year and supervised five employees. Cathey said she is cooperating with the investigation.

She and Larson bought their home on Austin Road in 1999. County records indicate the buildings and land are valued at $201,440.

Before she came to Union County, Larson was a licensed nurse in Alaska and Iowa. According to records, she surrendered her Alaska license for “unprofessional conduct” reasons in 1990.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/20...on-county-dss.html#.UowoOsSsjvY#storylink=cpy

My head REALLY hurts...

 

[The Cheese]

So, she could have been abusing people/kids all the way to 1990, and across multiple states. Wonderful.

 

[nightwatch]

I'm confused, If this couple did not have a valid license to foster this child and complaints about them were being ignored. There is a heap of missing info in this story.

Were they receiving payments from the county or state for this child's care? How does that happen with a lapsed license? Jtol



Ciao

 

[The Cheese]

I think we're in for a long haul on this one.

 

[ArianeEmory]

If they were not getting checks for some or most of the kids, I will be very surprised.

 

[CHERIE.T]

Couple's older son speaks out on abuse allegations

The adopted son of the Union County couple accused of abusing their children defends their character saying, they are "loving" parents.

The man, did not want to be identified. He says he came to live with Wanda Larson and Dorian Harper when he was 14 years old.

He lived under their roof, under their rules, up until two years ago, when he turned 18.

"I grew up in a caring and loving home," he said.

The "punishment," he received at the home he thought was fair and "fit the crime."

snipped

When asked about why his 11 year old sibling would have a dead chicken tied around his neck, he said, "more than likely, the chicken around the neck, was to shame the child. There has to be something going on, between that child and that chicken. He either, one, didn't feed it and it died, or two, either he was out there harassing the chicken. He may have killed the chicken. This child has been known to be cruel to animals," he said.

To his knowledge, the 11year-old boy has been living with the couple since he was 6.

snipped

"Everyone says this is some sweet innocent kid when in actuality, he is not. He has been to counseling, he is on numerous heavy medications, but nothing has worked," he said.

snipped

The accusations, the boy was underfed, he said are also not true. He blames the boy's small frame on a medical condition that stunted his growth since birth.

"He is the type of child when everybody goes to bed at night, he gets up, sneaks downstairs and steals food," he said.

When asked if that was a sign he was not being properly nourished, he replied, "he would sneak out into the garage take raw meat out of the freezer, let it thaw overnight and next day go out there and eat it raw," he said.

"He has severe psychological issues."

"He was not allowed to carry his own lunch box because would eat what food is in his lunch and then, throw the lunch box away and say he didn't have lunch for the day."

snipped

"Everyone assumed all five children in the home have been abused, that is not accurate. You ask all four of the children, they will say they lived in a loving and caring home."

The 11 year old's relatives say they have tried for years to get DSS to look into the allegations of abuse.

They claim to have pictures to prove the child was physically abused and plan to turn it over as evidence to authorities.

http://www.wcnc.com/news/local/Union-County-couples-son-speaks-out-on-abuse--232472731.html

hum, not fitting the puzzle. IMOO sounds like a little cya/cy families a

 

[scmom]

How was she appointed guardian if parental rights have not been terminated and the parents are still living? I suppose if you are a guardian that means the courts just wipe their hands of the child? Makes no sense whatsoever to me.

 

[The Cheese]

So the 11 year old was placed with her when he was 3, then in 2009/2010 whatever it was, her license to foster expired. So I guess the little boy's bio mom allowed him to continue living there? Not as a foster?

I wonder if she (bio mom) even knew that Larson/Harper were no longer licensed to foster. Because she was going to DSS and complaining. I wonder if those complaints to DSS were after the loss of the foster license, before, or both.