Child's Death Speeds Review of NYC Cases - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Suzz04 · 01-13-2006, 04:19 PM

Child's Death Speeds Review of NYC Cases

Quote:

Child's Death Speeds Review of NYC Cases By TOM HAYS, Associated Press Writer
Fri Jan 13, 1:24 PM ET

NEW YORK - The outside world knew Nixzmary Brown was a little girl in peril.

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Her school saw the warning signs. So did neighbors. Even child welfare workers had been alerted — twice.

This week, the 7-year-old was beaten to death in a Brooklyn apartment where she had been tethered to a chair with twine. It was the fourth homicide in recent months involving a family monitored by the city's Administration for Children's Services, renewing concerns about the agency's ability to protect abused children.

As details of Nixzmary's torment emerged, child welfare officials admitted the system had failed her. They launched an immediate review of thousands of other cases citywide.

ACS Commissioner John Mattingly said, in Nixzmary's case, the family was uncooperative, ignoring repeated phone calls from caseworkers and turning them away at the door. He said the agency should have obtained a court order to enter the home.

"We were in a position to have kept this from happening, and that did not happen," Mattingly said.

The girl's stepfather, Cesar Rodriguez, accused of binding, beating and molesting her, was arraigned Thursday on charges of second-degree murder, sex abuse and child endangerment. Her mother, Nixzaliz Santiago, was arraigned on second-degree manslaughter and child endangerment charges.

Both were held without bail. Telephone calls to their defense attorneys were not immediately returned.

The girl was "tortured," prosecutor Ama Dwimoh told reporters outside court.

"She was beaten repeatedly," Dwimoh said. "She was bound like an animal."

Nixzmary's death followed that of three other children known to the agency: a 7-year-old died in October after her father allegedly kneed her in the stomach and beat her with a belt over two days; an infant drowned in November in a bathtub while his mother, who pleaded not guilty Friday to manslaughter charges, listened to CDs in another room; and a 1-year-old was allegedly beaten to death in December by his mother.

School employees had sounded the alarm about Nixzmary last year by reporting that she had been absent for weeks. Caseworkers spoke to her stepfather, mother and the child and found no conclusive evidence of abuse, authorities said.

On Dec. 1, there was another report from someone claiming to have seen the girl with a swollen eye. A doctor concluded the injury was consistent with an explanation that she had fallen, but the agency kept the case open and kept trying to contact the parents.

Neighbors said they also noticed unexplained injuries and said the child appeared malnourished and small for her age.

On Wednesday, her mother told authorities she found the girl unconscious around 4 a.m. and called 911. The child was dead at the scene; an autopsy found that she died from a vicious blow to the head.

Investigators said there was evidence the girl had been bound by her ankles to a chair. They suspect the stepfather delivered a fatal blow to the child's head while dunking her in a bathtub as punishment, police said.

Under questioning, the stepfather tried to portray the girl as a problem child, police said.

Five other children living in the apartment, ages 6 months to 9 years, have been placed in the custody of the child welfare agency.

Noticed nobody had posted this link yet. I'm almost appalled at one of the things that are said in the article. The things that really came out at me from the article were this:

Quote:

Nixzmary's death <b>followed that of three other children known to the agency</b>: a 7-year-old died in October after her father allegedly kneed her in the stomach and beat her with a belt over two days; an infant drowned in November in a bathtub while his mother, who pleaded not guilty Friday to manslaughter charges, listened to CDs in another room; and a 1-year-old was allegedly beaten to death in December by his mother.

highthief · 01-13-2006, 04:35 PM

I don't know specifics of the situation, but I do know that the case workers are overburdened. They are keeping tabs on tens of thousands of possible abuse victims with insufficient staff and resources. I'm not giving them a walk here, but let's put it in perspective - the child died because her parents are brutes and savages, not because of the state.

Elphaba · 01-13-2006, 06:28 PM

We have had similar horror stories in Washington State. Overburdened case workers, as highthief noted, is a big part of it. Worse yet, the state can't track an abusive parent if he/she picks up and moves into another county or state.

I'm not keen about national programs, but I think this is another situation where we might want a data base of missing children.

Cynthetiq · 01-13-2006, 08:23 PM

actually i posted it in the DHS thread that someone posted last year about the perils of Child Services. To me the agency exists for a reason obviously to help prevent situations like this one, but the converse too is that there are people who are fit parents that get called out by family members and abuse the system.

http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthr...&highlight=DHS

Suzz04 · 01-13-2006, 10:20 PM

My apologies Cynthetiq, I didn't see it in there.

Cynthetiq · 01-13-2006, 10:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Suzz04

My apologies Cynthetiq, I didn't see it in there.

no worries.... i posted it there because it's the converse of that particular thread.

This does have it's own merit, I just commented on the fact that I had posted it.

It's been all over the news here in NYC and there's lots of politicos all running about trying to do damage control. Shame that it takes a tragedy to get people moving.

Suzz04 · 01-14-2006, 10:57 AM

I know all the states have overburdened situations when it comes to these types of things. But, it makes me stop and wonder if 3 children already died before this one why wasn't action taken sooner? Surely a judge would have granted a court order to enter the home. At least, I'm hoping that the judge would have seen the risks and problems that would have raised the red flags and blew whistles.

Maybe it's because NY is where my own daughter goes every summer to visit her father. Or maybe it just raises the red flags in my own mind and worries me that maybe things have gotten to the point that we have too many false reports and it's come to the point that when the real reports happen hands are tied on being able to do anything in case it was false and getting sued for whatever reason.

01-13-2006, 04:35 PM	#2 (permalink)
highthief Junkie Location: Ontario, Canada	I don't know specifics of the situation, but I do know that the case workers are overburdened. They are keeping tabs on tens of thousands of possible abuse victims with insufficient staff and resources. I'm not giving them a walk here, but let's put it in perspective - the child died because her parents are brutes and savages, not because of the state. __________________ Si vis pacem parabellum.

01-13-2006, 08:23 PM	#4 (permalink)
Cynthetiq Tilted Cat Head Administrator Location: Manhattan, NY	actually i posted it in the DHS thread that someone posted last year about the perils of Child Services. To me the agency exists for a reason obviously to help prevent situations like this one, but the converse too is that there are people who are fit parents that get called out by family members and abuse the system. http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthr...&highlight=DHS __________________ I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not. What's the best nation in the world? DO-NATION!

01-13-2006, 10:20 PM	#5 (permalink)
Suzz04 Crazy Location: Virginia	My apologies Cynthetiq, I didn't see it in there. __________________ Quantum Cat Theory: Upon hearing the sound of a can being opened, it becomes possible for a cat to travel faster than the speed of light.

01-14-2006, 10:57 AM	#7 (permalink)
Suzz04 Crazy Location: Virginia	I know all the states have overburdened situations when it comes to these types of things. But, it makes me stop and wonder if 3 children already died before this one why wasn't action taken sooner? Surely a judge would have granted a court order to enter the home. At least, I'm hoping that the judge would have seen the risks and problems that would have raised the red flags and blew whistles. Maybe it's because NY is where my own daughter goes every summer to visit her father. Or maybe it just raises the red flags in my own mind and worries me that maybe things have gotten to the point that we have too many false reports and it's come to the point that when the real reports happen hands are tied on being able to do anything in case it was false and getting sued for whatever reason. __________________ Quantum Cat Theory: Upon hearing the sound of a can being opened, it becomes possible for a cat to travel faster than the speed of light.

01-13-2006, 06:28 PM	#3 (permalink)
Elphaba Deja Moo Location: Olympic Peninsula, WA	We have had similar horror stories in Washington State. Overburdened case workers, as highthief noted, is a big part of it. Worse yet, the state can't track an abusive parent if he/she picks up and moves into another county or state. I'm not keen about national programs, but I think this is another situation where we might want a data base of missing children.