FL - Nubia Barahona, 10, slain, twin injured, West Palm Beach, 11 Feb 2011 *Arrest*

[CHICANA]

LCoastMom

You asked why the news has dropped to zip on this case and I wanted to give you my theory.

They're afraid to report on it.
There have been a couple of cases in my county that received very little coverage. The station that did cover them disclosed that CPS, the GAL and even the judge had made numerous calls threatening to sue the station if the story aired.
If they get sued, the State has an unlimited supply of taxpayer money to 'protect the identities of the children'. We know who they're really protecting .
More of our tax dollars at work.

 

[daisy7]

The details of Nubia Barahona’s death are grisly: Soaked in toxic chemicals, decomposed and stuffed in a garbage bag, she was found rotting on the shoulder of the interstate on Valentines Day. Authorities believe she had been stashed in a septic tank for weeks before her adoptive father dug up her corpse.

Statistically, however, Nubia’s story is rather common: She is one of hundreds of Florida children who died of abuse or neglect during the last decade after child welfare authorities had performed at least one investigation into their welfare. Florida not only leads the United States in the number of such deaths, it dominates the nation.

In the wake of a controversial decision by child welfare administrators to halve the number of children taken into state care — while, at the same time, reducing the number of children receiving protective services with their birth families — the number of deceased children with a child protection investigative history almost doubled, from 35 in 2001 to 69 in 2009. No statistics are available for 2010.

Over the past six years, 41 percent of all children who died of abuse or neglect in Florida had been the subject of at least one prior contact with child protection authorities, the state Department of Health reports. The average for all other states: about 12 percent.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/02/24/2087601/state-steps-in-less-and-more-kids.html#ixzz1FAPe2hKK

 

[LCoastMom]

The DCF's 'very ugly past’ put aunt and uncle second in line to adopt Barahona twins
<<SNIPPED>>

For years, AR and IR tried to tell anyone who would listen that Victor and Nubia Barahona belonged with them.

The Houston couple pointed to their three successful adult children as evidence they could be loving parents to their twin niece and nephew, then toddlers, who had been born in Miami to a drug-addicted mother and a father arrested in 2004 for molesting another child.

They were financially stable, they said. They were patient, God-fearing and kind.

And above all, the Rs repeated in their applications, they were blood.

"I will protect them with my life," AR promised in a questionnaire.

Richard Wexler, executive director of the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform, said the Reyeses' loss to the twins' foster parents was reflective of a "very ugly past" in Florida's child welfare legacy - one he describes as "years of panic" following highly publicized accounts of deaths of children in DCF care.

"You have a system that is vastly overloaded at this time, that doesn't like relatives," Wexler said. "They had the simple option of strangers versus the complicated option of out-of-state relatives. So they opted for what was quick and easy."

George Sheldon, who was DCF secretary from 2008 until last month, said the twins may have never ended up with Jorge and Carmen Barahona had he been in charge.

Sheldon said he always preferred placing children like the Barahona twins with relatives, although his predecessors often gave more weight to the bond a child had established with a foster family.

Perlmutter believes more information on what went wrong in the adoption process will come out with the findings of the investigative panel.

"I'll wait to see what they conclude," Perlmutter said. "But I think what we'll find that in this case there were colossal failures on many levels."


http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/the-dcfs-very-ugly-past-put-aunt-and-1284638.html?page=2&viewAsSinglePage=true

FLAG $$$$$$ FLAG $$$$$$ FLAG​

 

[CHICANA]

The details of Nubia Barahona’s death are grisly: Soaked in toxic chemicals, decomposed and stuffed in a garbage bag, she was found rotting on the shoulder of the interstate on Valentines Day. Authorities believe she had been stashed in a septic tank for weeks before her adoptive father dug up her corpse.

Statistically, however, Nubia’s story is rather common: She is one of hundreds of Florida children who died of abuse or neglect during the last decade after child welfare authorities had performed at least one investigation into their welfare. Florida not only leads the United States in the number of such deaths, it dominates the nation.

In the wake of a controversial decision by child welfare administrators to halve the number of children taken into state care — while, at the same time, reducing the number of children receiving protective services with their birth families — the number of deceased children with a child protection investigative history almost doubled, from 35 in 2001 to 69 in 2009. No statistics are available for 2010.

Over the past six years, 41 percent of all children who died of abuse or neglect in Florida had been the subject of at least one prior contact with child protection authorities, the state Department of Health reports. The average for all other states: about 12 percent.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/02/24/2087601/state-steps-in-less-and-more-kids.html#ixzz1FAPe2hKK

--- In the wake of a controversial decision by child welfare administrators to halve the number of children taken into state care — while, at the same time, reducing the number of children receiving protective services with their birth families — the number of deceased children with a child protection investigative history almost doubled---

This upsets me. They're trying to make it seem as if they need to remove more kids to keep them safe, without mentioning that this little girl found rotting in the back of a truck WAS removed from her bio family and was killed by a man handpicked and approved by the state. Would her life have been perfect if she hadn't been put in foster care ? No. Would she be dead if she hadn't been put in foster care ? Probably not.
This is more smoke and mirrors. They don't have enough common sense to have this kind of authority.

 

[jjenny]

Exactly. DCF removed this kid, and she ended up dead. DCF did approve this adoption by un-related persons despite the fact that there were bio relatives willing to adopt. So I have no idea why the author picked this particular case to push the idea that DCF needs to remove more children from the bio parents in order to keep them safe.

 

[LCoastMom]

They are blatant liars.
Even though we've known from the get go that they didn't do anything over that fateful weekend, it's still a shock for me to see it in writing. I really thought they'd find a way to cover it up.
These people are the ones entrusted to care for the most vulnerable. I'm not letting them off on the 'heavy caseload' excuse. They can and do take children who are not at risk for petty or made up reasons and they do nothing when a child is in grave danger.

I see this revelation that they were "mistaken" as an attempt to sugar coat the truth.

They had a choice, admit that "we begin to realize that something is amiss and we immediately begin to put out all kinds of alerts to the police," mistakenly never happened or the public would hear from LE that the comment was a blaitent LIE!

Andrea Fleary is going down, while she at least admitted she doesn't work weekends (not a compliment), this is all coming back on her - whether she was following usual and customary procedures vs "the book" or not.

I'm curious, since Fleary was at the B home rather late Friday evening and she doesn't work weekends - was anyone else at DCF even aware of the situation prior to the call from LE on Monday morning? She admitted she didn't follow thru and the judge who seemed very aware, knew she didn't follow thru so where did the reports of attempted contact Sat and Sunday come from?

 

[daisy7]

The small white guestbook in front of St. Paul Lutheran Church on Sunday was sprinkled with words indicating that a little girl was in a better place: &#8220;Angel,&#8221; &#8220;love,&#8221; &#8220;heaven.&#8221;

Friends, classmates and community members gathered to say final goodbyes to Nubia Barahona, a 10-year-old whose body was found doused in chemicals two weeks ago inside a pickup truck, and whose death has reignited a debate about child-protective services.

Inside the sanctuary, about 75 community members celebrated Nubia&#8217;s short life, mourned its gruesome end, and were encouraged to channel their sadness into action.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/02/27/2088831/friends-strangers-say-goodbye.html#ixzz1FGBNri2G

 

[LCoastMom]

Girl found in toxic truck mourned as big sister, classmate
<SNIPPED>

Among those in attendance was Paul Neumann, who for nearly four years served as a volunteer guardian for the twins and in 2007 began to alert supervisors to possible problems in the home.

Dismissed from the case without explanation in late 2008, Neumann has been reappointed guardian for Victor, and for two other children the Barahonas had adopted.

"She was a sweet girl, very bright, very verbal," he said of Nubia. "She always acted like the older sister, often answering for V. She was the leader."

Also present was Y P, the father of Carmen Barahona's 6-year-old granddaughter, who reported to a therapist that the twins were being bound with tape and locked in the bathroom.

YP praised his daughter.

"Thanks to her, at least V will be safe," said YP, who now has custody of the girl. A juvenile court judge barred his ex-wife from contact with their child.

Neumann said that V, who suffered chemical burns over much of his body, is doing well and could be released from the hospital soon. A family court judge has ordered that he be placed in a therapeutic foster home.

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2011-02-27/news/fl-nubia-barahona-memorial-20110227_1_toxic-truck-barahonas-andrea-fleary/2

What absolutely kills me is the description of these children as being non-verbal - following early reports that they were bright and active. Who could watch this happen and not see a problem? It sounds like someone has their reports mixed up. :furious: :furious: :furious:

Snipped from the Link above (from Daisy7)

Joanne Muniz, who was the PTA president when Nubia attended Blue Lakes Elementary School, helped organized the memorial to celebrate the life of a child she and her husband suspected needed help.

Speaking to reporters after the service, Muniz expressed disappointment in the administrators of Blue Lakes Elementary, where the Barahona children, she said, &#8220;fell through the cracks.&#8221; She indicated that teachers had been told not to attend the service.

How very sad.

 

[peeples]

A family court judge has ordered that he be placed in a therapeutic foster home.


ANOTHER FLIPPEN FOSTER HOME!

 

[CHICANA]

A family court judge has ordered that he be placed in a therapeutic foster home.


ANOTHER FLIPPEN FOSTER HOME!

Why can't he go with his aunt & uncle. I think they'd be willing to pay for whatever therapy he needs.

Lots of money for therapeutic foster care.

 

[LCoastMom]

A family court judge has ordered that he be placed in a therapeutic foster home.


ANOTHER FLIPPEN FOSTER HOME!

Why can't he go with his aunt & uncle. I think they'd be willing to pay for whatever therapy he needs.

Lots of money for therapeutic foster care.

You're both braver than I. I had to sit on my hands, if I had commented on V's placement I would have gotten a forced vacation. We can only hope and pray that the placement is therapeutic and a short stop on his way to TX.

Sadly I doubt that will be the case for his brother and other sister.

 

[daisy7]

The 6-year-old girl described a bizarre scene to her therapist: Left at her grandparents&#8217; home after school, she would sometimes be forced to share the restroom with 10-year-old twins who were her aunt and uncle. The twins&#8217; arms and legs were bound with tape, and they were being forced to spend most of the day in the bathtub.

The youngster couldn&#8217;t speak to the twins. Her grandmother made sure of that.

The scene is recounted in the transcript of a Feb. 10 call received by Florida&#8217;s child abuse hotline. The call was made by Lisa Reiss, a children&#8217;s therapist who spoke to the girl at the urging of the girl&#8217;s father, Yovani Perez.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/02/28/2090383/therapists-call-to-abuse-hotline.html#ixzz1FLsKpLkm

 

[Wise Old Owl]

I'm having problems with the sunsentinel siie. There is an article there today with the audio of the therapists call and it states that LE went back and took the bathtub out of the house yesterday.

If someone could go grab that - TIA!!!!!

www.sunsentinel.com

 

[Texas Mist]

I'm having problems with the sunsentinel siie. There is an article there today with the audio of the therapists call and it states that LE went back and took the bathtub out of the house yesterday.

If someone could go grab that - TIA!!!!!

www.sunsentinel.com

here ya go, WOO:

Update: Investigators early Tuesday removed a bathtub from the Miami-Dade home at the center of the abuse case involving the 10-year-old twins adopted by Carmen and Jorge Barahona, according to televised reports.

Investigators were at the home throughout Monday evening and remained there early Tuesday, WPLG-Ch. 10 reported. The bathtub was taken out shortly after 12 a.m., the station reported.

Abuse reports have alleged that surviving twin Victor and his late sister Nubia were, at times, bound and forced to stand in a bathtub for hours.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/palm-beach/fl-twins-abuse-911-call-20110228,0,1776295.story

 

[Texas Mist]

<snips>

A teacher and Nubia's principal were concerned about Nubia because she was falling behind in class and kept falling asleep. She reportedly begged them not to call her foster mother.
.............
According to the school Nubia attended, Nubia would carefully save/hoard food but became upset if her mother found out.

According to Lopez-Acevedo, Nubia became hysterical one time when she wet her pants and her teacher said she would be calling her foster mother.

Nubia said that her foster mother would hit her feet with sandals if she found out.

more here

http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/state/more-disturbing-details-emerge-in-toxic-truck-case

 

[LCoastMom]

Nubia Barahona 'petrified' of her adoptive mother, attorney testifies

Members of the independent panel, selected by Department of Children and Families Secretary David Wilkins to look into how the Barahona case was handled, are now questioning why DCF officials, guardian ad litem attorneys and school staff did not exchange information that could have signaled that Carmen and Jorge Barahona were abusing the 10-year-old twins.

"To me, dealing with concrete facts presented to me, we have a clash between the concrete information provided by the schools and the failure to pick up on it," said Bobby Martinez, one of the panel members.

more at link:

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/crime/nubia-barahona-petrified-of-her-adoptive-mother-attorney-1290142.html

Is it just me or are we hearing double speak or what I prefer to call blah, blah blah...

To me DCF failing to act on information they were given by the school staff and GAL says it all. Clearly.

 

[CHICANA]

Nubia Barahona 'petrified' of her adoptive mother, attorney testifies

Members of the independent panel, selected by Department of Children and Families Secretary David Wilkins to look into how the Barahona case was handled, are now questioning why DCF officials, guardian ad litem attorneys and school staff did not exchange information that could have signaled that Carmen and Jorge Barahona were abusing the 10-year-old twins.

"To me, dealing with concrete facts presented to me, we have a clash between the concrete information provided by the schools and the failure to pick up on it," said Bobby Martinez, one of the panel members.

more at link:

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/crime/nubia-barahona-petrified-of-her-adoptive-mother-attorney-1290142.html

Is it just me or are we hearing double speak or what I prefer to call blah, blah blah...

To me DCF failing to act on information they were given by the school staff and GAL says it all. Clearly.

No, it's not just you.

 

[CHICANA]

Nubia Barahona 'petrified' of her adoptive mother, attorney testifies

Members of the independent panel, selected by Department of Children and Families Secretary David Wilkins to look into how the Barahona case was handled, are now questioning why DCF officials, guardian ad litem attorneys and school staff did not exchange information that could have signaled that Carmen and Jorge Barahona were abusing the 10-year-old twins.

"To me, dealing with concrete facts presented to me, we have a clash between the concrete information provided by the schools and the failure to pick up on it," said Bobby Martinez, one of the panel members.

more at link:

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/crime/nubia-barahona-petrified-of-her-adoptive-mother-attorney-1290142.html

Is it just me or are we hearing double speak or what I prefer to call blah, blah blah...

To me DCF failing to act on information they were given by the school staff and GAL says it all. Clearly.

From your link...

Instead, experts told a Miami-Dade judge that it would cause "detrimental harm" to remove the twins from their foster home, because "we would destroy their capability to bond with adults if we remove them from this home," attorney Christy Lopez-Acevedo said about the experts' testimony during the hearings in 2007.

Once a home is approved by the State they're not removed from abusive homes so as not to affect their ability to bond with their abusers, oops I meant adults.
What do they think happens when they take kids from their bio families ?

 

[LCoastMom]

From your link...

Instead, experts told a Miami-Dade judge that it would cause "detrimental harm" to remove the twins from their foster home, because "we would destroy their capability to bond with adults if we remove them from this home," attorney Christy Lopez-Acevedo said about the experts' testimony during the hearings in 2007.

Once a home is approved by the State they're not removed from abusive homes so as not to affect their ability to bond with their abusers, oops I meant adults.
What do they think happens when they take kids from their bio families ?

But that's for the good of the children, not their fault, absolves them from blame, etc, etc, etc, when things go wrong...

Just sickening. There's supposed to be a PC on Wednesday.

 

[Wise Old Owl]

I just saw the 10 o'clock news here - www.wsvn.com

OMG - this woman attorney today testified in front of their "blue ribbon panel". She got so choked up, she asked for a moment so she could try to compose herself. It seems the principal of the elementary school had told DCF that Nubia was terrified of this woman. Nubia was scared when they said they (the school) were going to call her mother (Carmen) - Nubia said she (Carmen) would hit her on the feet with sandals (which is a form of torture).

This case is going to get worse before its over. LE has taken the bathtub. I've also read that Nubia was killed a few weeks before all this. She was put in an old abandoned septic tank in the backyard. Jorge must have moved her body into the truck that Sunday.

I also read that the teachers from the school wanted to attend the memorial but the administration told them not to. Isn't that lovely? I wold have gone - I wold have defied these people and paid my respects. But that's the school systems down here for ya. Which is why I'm not teaching here and why I won't teach down here ever again.

Also, they said tonight that V. is out of the hospital. I really don't understand why he's been placed in a theraputic foster home. GMAB!!!!!!! We have 3 Ronald McDonald houses here. I am POSITIVE that they could have found a space for V. and his blood relatives to stay - and that would have been even better as they are on hospital property and very closely monitored.