TX - Colton Turner, 2, Cedar Park, 11 Sept 2014 #1 *Arrests*

[renarde]

http://kxan.com/2014/09/25/medical-examiner-body-not-referred-to-as-colton-turner/

Medical Examiner’s Office is not releasing a cause of death on the child’s body, saying information is limited.

 

[JeannaT]

The point is, the law hasn't changed. It has not been written into law that all remains have to be DNA identified. It's great to have that, but if you don't, it doesn't mean a case for murder can't be made in court.

 

[JeannaT]

BBM. That's EXACTLY what needs to change. The jurisdictional issue is very real and it isn't just a state issue but a federal one. I totally support a Colton's law not just in every state but on an interstate basis. Parents move from jurisdiction to jurisdiction to keep their children from the other parent and no agency will step in and help. There is no federal law preventing a parent from kidnapping their own child within the United States and there needs to be. In fact, the current federal kidnapping statute explicitly does NOT apply to kidnappings of minor children by parents unless they leave the United States. It's ridiculous.

I can't begin to fathom the pain and frustration felt by Colton's family. Some good needs to come from this tragedy.

JMO

Some small amount of good will come out of Colton's suffering - Meagan and Turner won't be raising that child she's carrying.

 

[MyBelle]

The point is, the law hasn't changed. It has not been written into law that all remains have to be DNA identified. It's great to have that, but if you don't, it doesn't mean a case for murder can't be made in court.

[modsnip]

Officials say they are awaiting scientific identification through DNA analysis. That’s happening at the University of North Texas, where specimens from the body of the unidentified child were sent.

http://kxan.com/2014/09/25/medical-examiner-body-not-referred-to-as-colton-turner/

 

[Knox]

[modsnip].

Officials say they are awaiting scientific identification through DNA analysis. That’s happening at the University of North Texas, where specimens from the body of the unidentified child were sent.

http://kxan.com/2014/09/25/medical-examiner-body-not-referred-to-as-colton-turner/

A defense attorney would shred them if they did not secure a DNA identification, to me that's just SOP.

I think that's also why the hearing was pushed back to October 30th. Plenty of time to get the results back and determine the murder charges.

 

[MyBelle]

A defense attorney would shred them if they did not secure a DNA identification, to me that's just SOP.

I think that's also why the hearing was pushed back to October 30th. Plenty of time to get the results back and determine the murder charges.

ITA and to me it is SOP. Both are in custody so there is no rush. Something similar happened in the Elaina Steinfurth case. Mother was in jail for months. She eventually took an Alford plea. These two cases are eerily similar. Both mothers basically homeless, living in deplorable conditions with their boyfriends.

 

[watergirl62]

A defense attorney would shred them if they did not secure a DNA identification, to me that's just SOP.

I think that's also why the hearing was pushed back to October 30th. Plenty of time to get the results back and determine the murder charges.

That's my take as well.

 

[watergirl62]

Here are a few of the recommendations from the report:

• Implement Sunset recommendation to halt work on 13 non-essential projects, such as regional work groups, to re-focus attention on CPS' core mission of child protection.
• Reduce the current seven day safety assessment process to 24-hours to better assess the risk to a child and intervene more quickly in the most serious cases.
• Make better use of available state databases to more quickly locate families.
• Improve the ability to find permanent homes for foster children who cannot be reunited with families.
• Improve materials and services for Spanish-speaking families.
• Work with the Legislature to eliminate or streamline laws that create unnecessary steps for caseworkers unrelated to child protection.
• Rewrite the CPS policy guide.
• Restructure CPS headquarters staff to sharpen the lines of responsibility and accountability.
• Assign cases based on the needs of children and families, and the capabilities of individual caseworkers, instead of randomly.

CPS manages between 160,000 and 180,000 investigations every year. About one third of these investigations find abuse.

Commissioner Specia says some of the changes can be made within 90 days.

The Health and Human Services Commission hired The Stephen Group to conduct the review.

Go here to review the recommendations and the assessment of CPS.

*bump*

Here is the full (133 page) Sunset Advisory Committee Report on DFPS (May 2014) referenced in bullet 1.

https://www.sunset.texas.gov/public/uploads/files/reports/DFPS Staff Report.pdf

 

[blefuscu]

That's my take as well.

Totally agree. I think LE are not going to rush this case. They have MW and the boyfriend in custody. They will want to ensure a strong case. The abuse photos and testimony from friends and family will certainly help any case against them I believe. But the forensics need to be all there too.

 

[watergirl62]

Data dig...


from page 12 of the Sunset report:

CPS caseworkers investigate allegations of child abuse and neglect perpetrated by a child’s caregiver. In fiscal year 2013, DFPS received 229,334 reports of alleged child abuse or neglect. In fiscal year 2013, CPS completed 160,240 investigations and confirmed that child abuse or neglect occurred in 40,249 cases. CPS determined that child abuse or neglect did not occur in 100,390 completed investigations.

In the remaining 19,601 investigations, the allegation could not be confirmed, either because the family could not be located or because the evidence did not clearly support or disprove the allegation. Throughout the course of the investigation, CPS investigators assess immediate risks to the child’s safety. DFPS may pursue removal through the court system if the investigation determines the child cannot remain safely at home. The agency removed 17,022 children in fiscal year 2013 with court approval.

Sooooo...

229,334 reports of abuse
160,240 investigations completed

100,390 cases found no abuse or neglect (63% of completed investigations)
40,249 cases with confirmed abuse (25%)
19,601 could not be confirmed (that's 12%)!



from page 18:

Recognizing high caseloads as a contributing factor to caseworker turnover, the Legislature has made significant and continued investments to increase the number of caseworkers to decrease caseloads. Since 2005, the Legislature has added 2,931 CPS direct delivery positions. For fiscal years 2014–2015 alone, the Legislature added 694 new CPS caseworker positions. Although turnover has decreased overall since 2006, it still remains consistently higher than the state agency average, as illustrated by the graph, CPS Caseworker vs. Overall State Employee Turnover.




...caseworker turnover varied greatly from region to region ranging from nearly 40 percent in Region 7 (Austin) and Region 5 (Beaumont) in fiscal year 2013 to less than 10 percent in Regions 2 (Abilene) and 10 (El Paso). In the same fiscal year, turnover was as high as 58 percent for these caseworkers in Travis County; turnover was over 100 percent in some CPS units across the state.

 

[human]

The turnover where I live , in a different state, is the same. Average length on the job is two years.

 

[blefuscu]

It's the same in the UK. In our social services child protection service the case workers are over burdened with too many caseloads. The turnover rate is high. We have several high profile cases where children were known to social services were involved such as Victoria Climbe, Peter Connolly and Alex Sutherland who died despite having social services involvement.

 

[watergirl62]

Txmama I'm not finding the story you linked to. Help? TIA.

NM. Just now catching up. Link works perfect on my PC but not on my phone (it goes to the site but not the story).
Molly and Clayton Daniels... such a bizarre story. :tsktsk:

Yes, DNA matters.

 

[StormyNights]

I am behind in reading, so this may have been answered so I apologize if this has been asked. Have they had Colton's funeral yet? TIA!

 

[watergirl62]

http://m.legacy.com/dignity-memoria...ner+Pelfrey&lc=4993&pid=172513173&mid=6127406

No. Besides DNA testing at UNT, I am guessing that additional forensic testing is likely ongoing.

 

[Knox]

Helfrich said she believes her niece knew CPS was looking for her from a prior open investigation and was constantly on the move so they couldn’t find her. She said she couldn’t file a missing child report since she was not the legal guardian of the two-year-old.

Colton’s great aunt said she feared that he might die, but is now directing her pain to try and change the way the state handles cases. Helfrich said ‘Colton’s Law’ would act as a safety net for kids who can’t be located after or during a CPS investigation.

“What I wanted to do was help push for a law that’s put into place so that if there’s an un traceable child, rather than have everybody refer you to CPS for case workers to look for a missing child, it would automatically push to a state law enforcement agency to locate that child.”

The Department of Family Protective Services states on its website that if there’s not enough information to find a child or their family, it goes unassigned. It’s not yet known if Colton’s case was labeled “unassigned” but in the coming weeks new details will shed light on how the state agency handled the open investigation and what happened the months leading up to the 2-year-olds death.

“There’s no worse day for a commissioner when you find out about a child death in an open case,” said Department of Family Protective Services Commissioner John Specia who admits there were problems with the way the state handled Colton Turner.

“We will look at this case, we will learn from this case we will go forward, we made mistakes and we will be open about the mistakes we made,” said Specia who said they’re coordinating with the Travis County District Attorney’s Office on when to release those documents.

http://kxan.com/2014/09/30/lawmaker...colton-turners-family-say-they-waant-new-law/

 

[watergirl62]

Three Child Protective Services workers have been fired following the mishandling of reports involving Colton Turner, whose mother told police died after hitting his head as the result of being assaulted.

In a report released Thursday, the agency says it failed to protect the boy: Over the course of two years, Child Protective Services (CPS) received six reports and conducted four investigations into allegations that Colton Turner, born September 21, 2011, had been abused or neglected. In all of those investigations, there were failures to follow policy as well as mistakes in judgment by caseworkers and/or supervisory personnel. As a result, CPS failed to protect Colton Turner.

http://kxan.com/2014/10/02/cps-workers-fired-in-colton-turner-case/

 

[blefuscu]

Wow, talks of physical and sexual abuse, plus exposure to drugs! What the heck did this poor baby have to endure in his short life? Failed by his momma, his step-dad and the authorities. Unbelievable!

 

[KateB]

KEYE-TV's FB post of the CPS staff terminations today, with comments:
https://www.facebook.com/KEYETV/posts/10150437879539996

Direct link to their article: http://www.keyetv.com/news/features...ers-fired-over-colton-turner-case-21196.shtml

In May 2014, a fourth investigation was initiated after allegations of abuse. The DFPS report says a CPS employee began an investigation, before going on vacation. During that time, a second allegation was reported, but no other caseworker was assigned to look for Colton.
DFPS says between May 21 and August 28, "no significant effort was made to locate the family, despite multiple sources of information that could have been pursued. The investigation caseworker never saw Colton Turner during this period.
<snip>

" A caseworker, supervisor, and program director who had responsibility for an investigation in May 2014, were terminated.

 

[renarde]

Travis County CPS employee Diana Cortinaz was fired for offenses including failure to actively find the child, to interview people related to the case. Supervisor Liza De Leon failed to supervise the case and ensure that it was being handled properly. De Leon was &#8220;negligent in her duties and has not ensured child safety&#8221; in numerous child abuse cases, the documents state. A third employee, Liza Nash, was fired as well.

http://m.statesman.com/news/news/cps-failed-to-protect-colton-turner-state-report-s/nhZp8/