VA - Aveion Lewis, 2, Roanoke, 14 January 2010 #1

[VaGal]

http://www2.wsls.com/sls/news/local/article/chip_devastated_by_aveion_lewis_scenario/76378/

Hoping they will eventually add the video interview with Ms. Haldiman

On channel 10 news they did have an interview with her. I think she was at C.H.I.P.

 

[MBLover]

On channel 10 news they did have an interview with her. I think she was at C.H.I.P.

Yes - that is correct. Thank you for identifying Ms. Haldiman as being with CHIP.

 

[MBLover]

Wonder why there's been no news about the "momster"... At the very least she should have already been charged with neglect just as BL has. JMO

 

[amysmom]

I'm watching Prime News on HLN...Michelle Sigona said pretty much what's posted on her site:

Around 3:30 p.m. this afternoon, I spoke with Robin Haldiman, CEO of the Child Health Investment Partnership (CHIPS) of Roanoke Valley. She told me their agency was involved with Aveion and his family from an early age. CHIPS makes monthly visits to families to help teach them parenting skills, coordinate health care, and to make sure the child is developing appropriately for their age. They currently have a waiting list, and are helping about 1,100 children per year. The agency is filled with mandated reporters who are required to report abuse and child neglect to Child Protective Services (CPS) if they see issues in the home. If a report is made, CPS will conduct a separate investigation, and if it is necessary they will remove the child. Sadly, this is exactly what the agency had to do with Aveion. Robin says the child was taken out of his home with his mother and placed with a loving foster family from May 2008 – April 2009. Child Protective Services put Aveion back with his mother and when CHIPS came back to the home to do monthly visits, Robin says they were turned away. This service is voluntary, not mandatory. Robin confirms that when Aveion was 15-months-old he was underweight, and when he was placed with his foster family, he began to become healthy again. Robin and the members of her staff who worked with Aveion from early on are heart broken about the loss of this child, and as you can imagine, they grew close with the toddler since he was born.

http://www.michellesigona.com/2010/01/cops-aveion-lewis-still-missing-step-father-charged/

underlined by me

MS just said on HLN (in the 2nd hr) she just found out it was the COURT that made the decision to send this poor baby back not CPS :waitasec:

 

[Cubby]

underlined by me

MS just said on HLN (in the 2nd hr) she just found out it was the COURT that made the decision to send this poor baby back not CPS :waitasec:

We learned a little bit about that in the last day or two amysmom. Regardless of what CPS DCFS or any of those type of agencies recommend it is the discretion of the court to make the final decision. So apparently the judge chose to disregard the social workers and any specialists working with Aveion recommendation and send him back.

 

[Patty G]

I will post both hours of Prime News videos regarding Aveion within the hour.

 

[MBLover]

I would love to know exactly what idiot Judge deemed it reasonable/necessary/okay for this child to be back in the custody of these people.

As far as I know Judges around here are appointed and not elected. I don't ever remember voting for a Judge. But maybe this would help...get the ones out who are appointed who make such grevious errors and let the people vote for the ones that do their job.

 

[beachlvr0810]

We learned a little bit about that in the last day or two amysmom. Regardless of what CPS DCFS or any of those type of agencies recommend it is the discretion of the court to make the final decision. So apparently the judge chose to disregard the social workers and any specialists working with Aveion recommendation and send him back.

I have had some dealings with judges in Roanoke when I was with an abusive fiance who also became an addict. Long story short it took 4 years through the court system to have him removed from my house and put in jail for the abuse, grand larceny, felony (gun involved), etc. If it had not been for one of the investigators and one of the judges he would still be in the state of VA. One of the other judges was not in the least bit concerned that he was abusive and dangerous, and even ordered me to let him back in my house. So I understand how this could have happened to little Aveion.

 

[amysmom]

We learned a little bit about that in the last day or two amysmom. Regardless of what CPS DCFS or any of those type of agencies recommend it is the discretion of the court to make the final decision. So apparently the judge chose to disregard the social workers and any specialists working with Aveion recommendation and send him back. : (

TY! I haven't been on in a few days..I don't know how this judge can sleep at night now OR any of the many other judges who take the easy way out with these poor kids just to have them end up dead!! :furious::furious:

 

[Patty G]

I will post both hours of Prime News videos regarding Aveion within the hour.

Prime News
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGHGCtN5iV4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWhdTXkMmxY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azdOrcJAJIA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rojQr16vQw

 

[suzyq211]

Prime News

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGHGCtN5iV4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWhdTXkMmxY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azdOrcJAJIA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rojQr16vQw

Patty G thank you. I love that newscaster, he is so disgusted and has so much feeling for Aveion. God, this makes me sick!!

 

[snoelle1]

So in other words the follow up with CHIPS was voluntary? Where was the mandatory required follow up that was explained to us last night? When mom refused access wasn't anyone concerned?

The follow up with CHIP would have been mandatory while the child was on a trial placement at home but still in the legal custody of DSS. Once the Judge transferred custody back to the mom, continued cooperation with CHIP would need to specifically entered into the court order by the Judge for it to continue to be mandatory. Usually, such orders are routine; I don't know if it was actually done in this case, however. I will add that during the trial placement, the court was notified that the parents were not fulfilling all of the conditions imposed by DSS, yet the Judge still determined that custody should be returned to the mother.

p.s. I didn't see it mentioned here, but there are some beautiful pictures posted on http://www.aveionlewis.org

 

[beachlvr0810]

I just visited http://www.aveionlewis.org and I am sitting here at work sobbing. This hurts so bad and I didn't even know this precious little boy. I don't think I will ever look at Roanoke the same again after this!!!

 

[MBLover]

I feel the same way beachlvr... I saw those pictures and I just sat here and sobbed and sobbed... This was something that didn't have to happen and it did.

I hope this precious child's passing will not be in vain and hope that it will bring about tougher measures in allowing a child to be (or not be) placed back in an abusive home.

 

[Cubby]

The follow up with CHIP would have been mandatory while the child was on a trial placement at home but still in the legal custody of DSS. Once the Judge transferred custody back to the mom, continued cooperation with CHIP would need to specifically entered into the court order by the Judge for it to continue to be mandatory. Usually, such orders are routine; I don't know if it was actually done in this case, however. I will add that during the trial placement, the court was notified that the parents were not fulfilling all of the conditions imposed by DSS, yet the Judge still determined that custody should be returned to the mother.

p.s. I didn't see it mentioned here, but there are some beautiful pictures posted on http://www.aveionlewis.org

BBM. Thank you for this information and the clarification to those here at WS following this story how the JUDGE is the one to make the final determination. When HLN runs a story asking if CPS failed? They need to give their viewers the FULL story. If they can prove it was CPS who failed, back it up with the documents that prove that, if not, then be honest, show the story with the documents that CPS recommended the child NOT be returned and expose the judge who sent the child back to this mother and step monster father despite all the warnings and testimony of the experts.

The only way this is going to stop is for the full true story to be exposed, and that includes exposing judges who send children back despite warnings from the social workers, CPS workers and anyone else involved.

JMVHO

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

I just visited http://www.aveionlewis.org and I am sitting here at work sobbing. This hurts so bad and I didn't even know this precious little boy. I don't think I will ever look at Roanoke the same again after this!!!

Thank you for sharing! I hadn't seen this site yet. What a beautiful little boy.

 

[MBLover]

Respectfully snipped:

The only way this is going to stop is for the full true story to be exposed, and that includes exposing judges who send children back despite warnings from the social workers, CPS workers and anyone else involved.

JMVHO

AMEN!

 

[beachlvr0810]

I think this story is going to get more national publicity than we first thought. Maybe then some reporters with guts will actually dig up the fact as to who the judge was that allowed him to go back into this home.

 

[MBLover]

We can only hope!

 

[Cubby]

http://www2.wsls.com/sls/news/local/article/chip_devastated_by_aveion_lewis_scenario/76378/



“We did find him to be considerably underweight,“ said Robin Haldiman, CEO of Child Health Investment Partnership.
<snip>
Haldiman says the situation Aveion found himself in isn’t that rare. “The staff deals with these awful situations more than we would like to.“
“We have to advocate for tougher laws against child abuse and tougher laws to terminate parental rights.“

a little more at link