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

[tlcya]

SO is she not employed by DSS or she is employed by DSS cause DSS seems to say no but sheriff still saying she is?????

 

[Deleted member 96356]

Exactly. The reporting mother being discussed in this post was not the mother of the 11 year old but the mother of two children who are also in this family's care. She states she was told that continued reporting about the 11 year old who was not her child could jeopardize future visits with her own children.

So if DSS was not even involved and not monitoring this situation, who mandated visitation and how exactly would continued reporting of the 11 year old's care issues interfere with visitations DSS claims to have nothing to do with overseeing for children they claim also not to oversee???

Whole lotta arse covering going on here which makes me wonder just what else is there to find out about this agency and how it is currently operating. This could just be teh tip of the iceberg IMO.

Thanks for helping to clear that up - I thought I might be having a blonde moment!

I agree this could be the tip of the iceberg, and it makes me shudder to think.

Last night I told DH about this story and he got outraged. I spent the evening thinking about this child, and the other children in the home, and just wishing there was a way to let them know that there is a compassionate world beyond the hell they've been trapped in, and that we care. All I could think of was taking this boy into our calm home with some good meals and a warm bed and the help he needs for his challenges, get his meds assessed, show him patience and positive reinforcement. And HUGS. I bet he's never known even the simple pleasures, like a family outing to a local softball game or riding a bike. I know that makes me sound crazy, but so be it. This one touched my heart. They all touch my heart, but this one's really getting to me.

I hope he's been taken to a place where he feels safe. Just for this child to feel safe will be a godsend to him.

 

[The Cheese]

SO is she not employed by DSS or she is employed by DSS cause DSS seems to say no but sheriff still saying she is?????

She's employed (though currently suspended due to arrest) by Union County DSS. It was Gaston County DSS who said she never worked for them, after they were asked due to people telling the reporters she used to work for Gaston.

My understanding anyway.

 

[tlcya]

She's employed (though currently suspended due to arrest) by Union County DSS. It was Gaston County DSS who said she never worked for them, after they were asked due to people telling the reporters she used to work for Gaston.

My understanding anyway.

thank you, I was confused as all get out. I think I need a spreadsheet at this point!

So mom was (until her arrest) employed by Union County DSS but the children she "used" to foster (according to DSS officials) were placed via Gaston County.

Clear as quicksand.

 

[The Cheese]

thank you, I was confused as all get out. I think I need a spreadsheet at this point!

So mom was (until her arrest) employed by Union County DSS but the children she "used" to foster (according to DSS officials) were placed via Gaston County.

Clear as quicksand.

From article I posted on previous page:

The state health department says Wanda Sue Larson ran a foster home for a dozen years, between 1998 and 2010 along with her partner Dorian Lee Harper. But their license expired in December 2010, and they have not had foster children in their home since 2009.

snipped

The Union County Department of Social Services supervised the foster home between 1998 and 2003. Gaston County's DSS office then started to supervise their foster home in 2003 after Larson started working as a social worker with Union County's DSS office.

 

[The Cheese]

So she fostered with Union from 1998 to 2003, then with Gaston from 2003 to 2009 when they say no more foster kids were in the home.

 

[scmom]

I thought foster homes had to be inspected annually. If that is the case, Union County would have had to be the entity responsible since they were in that jurisdiction.
Here's one link I've found but I'm trying to find others.
http://www.ncdhhs.gov/dhsr/mhlcs/archive/pdf/letter.pdf

 

[The Cheese]

Interesting. This article pops up on Google News search for Wanda Larson, but when you click it to go to the site, it says "access denied".

You can still find it in the google cache though:

What's Hidden In Union County Child Abuse Case
http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...4&sourceid=chrome&espv=210&es_sm=122&ie=UTF-8

 

[tlcya]

very interseting Cheese, thanks.

 

[scmom]

Another little tidbit; it will only take a couple of minutes to listen. The reporter says that once a child has been adopted or is in guardianship DSS no longer is involved. Also talks about the two cousins.
http://wfae.org/term/wanda-larson

 

[tlcya]

So if children are in a guardianship, then they have a Guardian ad Litem, and a court case, correct?

 

[scmom]

Snipped from online pamphlet produced by North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts.
SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS – GUARDIANS FOR MINORS
1. Children under the age of 18 are presumed to be incompetent by law,
so there is no need for an incompetency proceeding before appointing
a guardian. However, a hearing is required. A parent or other person
may be appointed guardian of the estate of the minor.
2. A guardian of the person may be appointed only if the minor has no
living parents, or the rights of the parents have been terminated.
[G.S. 35A-1224(a)]
http://www.nccourts.org/forms/documents/1184.pdf

So from this one would think for a guardianship to be legal procedure would have to be followed.

 

[The Cheese]

Snipped from online pamphlet produced by North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts.
SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS – GUARDIANS FOR MINORS
1. Children under the age of 18 are presumed to be incompetent by law,
so there is no need for an incompetency proceeding before appointing
a guardian. However, a hearing is required. A parent or other person
may be appointed guardian of the estate of the minor.
2. A guardian of the person may be appointed only if the minor has no
living parents, or the rights of the parents have been terminated.
[G.S. 35A-1224(a)]
http://www.nccourts.org/forms/documents/1184.pdf

So from this one would think for a guardianship to be legal procedure would have to be followed.

BBM But the mom is alive AND her rights aren't terminated! So how did they swing guardianship??

 

[nightwatch]

BBM But the mom is alive AND her rights aren't terminated! So how did they swing guardianship??

Every bit of info on this case opens more questions. It also shows how children get lost in and out of the county system.

Ciao

 

[Deleted member 96356]

But those are rules for a court-appointed legal guardian, right? If someone privately names a temporary guardian for their child they don't terminate their own parental rights, do they?

I'm just wondering if this guardianship was done outside of the court system, although the mother may not have realized her rights and believed it was the same as a court-ordered guardianship. IMO this Larson woman would know how to play family court loopholes and fudge things. :twocents:

What a mess.

 

[The Cheese]

This should be good

Tony Burbeck WCNC ‏@TonyWCNC 6m
Union County Sheriff says DSS dismissed their complaint about Wanda Sue Larson. See what the letter says, tonight 6pm #wcnc

 

[The Cheese]

She thought he was in good hands with Larson, but remembers an extremely troubling phone call she had with her son almost a year and a half ago.

“She made him call me … ‘Tell your mother you are never going to speak to her again. You cannot be good. You tell your mother you will never speak to her again,’” Maria said.

Maria said she was on the phone with her son in either June or July of 2012 when she heard Larson yelling at the boy.

She knew Larson had issues with the child’s behavior.

Larson often told her he destroyed things and acted up.

“I’m in tears. My son is in tears saying, ‘I want to go home. I want to see my mom. I want to talk to my mom,’” she said.

The child had been taken away from Maria when he was 3 years old, but the two remained in contact.

“She said, ‘You tell your mother bye.’ And the last thing I heard from my son was, ‘Bye mom,’ in tears, and to this day I’m emotional," she said.

Maria said she trusted Larson in the beginning, even she saw some concerning bruises.

http://www.wsoctv.com/news/news/local/biological-mother-union-co-boy-found-tied-porch-sp/nby63/

 

[The Cheese]

From 2009-2011, Union County Sheriff Eddie Cathey said three 911 hangup calls came from the Larson and Harper home. The first two times, communications called back and the parents said everything was fine it was kids playing on the phone, he said.

In December 2011, the sheriff said they received the third 911 hangup call and an officer responded.

"They interviewed the parents and all the children. None of the children would say they called 911," he said.

The sheriff said the officer noted the kids were a little dirty, they had been playing outside, but no one seemed injured.

He said that from 2009-2013 there was also a medical call to the home, a call for brush on a fire and an assault call for an incident between Harper and an older son in his 20s. The sheriff said the magistrate felt it was a family squabble and no charges were filed.

In December 2012, the sheriff said the same officer was called to a neighbor's home where the 11-year-old had wandered.

"That child was at a neighbor's residence asking for food and on that call, he told her he didn't know where he lived," Cathey said.

He said that officer filed a complaint with the Department of Social Services, noting the incident and what she said were minimal conditions outside the home. He said she received a letter back from DSS saying, "The report has not been accepted for investigation because the problem described, if true, does not meet any statutory definition of abuse, neglect or dependency."

http://www.wsoctv.com/news/news/local/deputies-responded-embroiled-union-co-home-past/nby5t/

 

[scmom]

I don't think another county looking into this will give any answers.

 

[mikeysmommom]

Omg, this poor little boy! According to his ''kind of step brother', the 9 year is mentally sick, on meds AND is punished by being handcuffed outdoors, wearing only underpants with a dead chicken around his neck! wtf IS WRONG with these people? WHY does the 20 year old think this is ok?/....... I need excedrine.

I can almost guaranty that this poor child is down in records that he has mental issues and needs to be medicated.That is how child abusers cover up their abuse of children who dare to speak out to anyone of the abuse inflicted upon them. My grandson spoke out about abuse we involved CPS,her and her boyfriend turned it around on the child.Mother lied to Dr's saying fathers side almost everyone is bi polar which is a lie, but she was believed and he is on adderall twice a day to keep him easy to manipulate and quite.My son has been fighting this for years.Funny when he comes to my son on his weekends his mom sends no pills and he acts fine.Abusers find ways to hide what they do and what better way then under saying mental illness.The only one mentally Ill IMO are the abusers!

ETA My grandson after telling us and us getting CPS(DYFS) involved the mom immediately cut off our whole family.My grandson did act out but because he did not understand why when I told him to tell the truth no one helped him, even though we all tried.My son had to fight like crazy in family court because she refused to let him or anyone see him for months.He was 4 and of course he acted out because he was very confused and also mad at his mom for not believing him ,she also screamed at him why was he making trouble and destroying her life, which he replied I am not lying mommy you are!!!! and being ripped away from those he knows loves him and tried to get help for him and his older sis.