by Brian Shilhavy, Health Impact News:
A tragic story was published this week in Albany, New York, where a 2-year-old child was forcibly removed from his family by the family police force known as “Child Protection Services” (CPS), even though there was no record or claims that the child and his brother, who was also removed, were ever abused.
The 2-year-old child along with his brother were then placed into a State-licensed foster home, where one of the members of that home had formerly been investigated for child abuse.
That member of the licensed foster home was Sarah Carter, the adult daughter of the licensed foster mother, who subsequently left the young toddler, 2-year-old Antonio, in a hot car for 4 hours where he died of hyperthermia, or overheating.
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What makes this story, which happens all too frequently, so tragic, is that Antonio had parents who loved him, and observed how he was being mistreated in the foster home he was placed in during the supervised visitation times with their son, who often showed up with bruises and cuts, and smelled like he had not been bathed for some time.
This was reported to the caseworker, and other family members tried to gain custody of young Antonio, but to no avail.
The Times Union covered the tragic story in Albany.
Family, ex-caseworker of child who died in hot car say CPS ignored red flags
Sarah Carter faces charges in the death of 2-year-old Antonio Suarez-Ware, who was in the foster care of Carter’s mother
Excerpts:
The Monticello woman arrested for allegedly leaving 2-year-old foster child Antonio Suarez-Ware alone inside a hot car last month, leading to his death, was named in a previous report of alleged child abuse in April 2020, according to a police report obtained by the Times Union.
The report adds to questions about how Sullivan County’s Department of Social Services handles foster cases. Earlier this year, a grand jury recommended sweeping changes to the department after an investigation spurred by the 2023 death of another toddler who had been under county Child Protective Services’ supervision at the time.
In the weeks since Antonio’s death, his biological family and a former CPS caseworker assistant assigned to his case have alleged that the county ignored red flags around the foster family, ultimately failing children they were supposed to protect.
Sarah Carter was arrested on Aug. 1 and charged with criminally negligent homicide for allegedly causing Antonio’s death on July 16. The child’s aunt, Chante Ware, said Antonio and his 3-year-old brother were in the care of Carter’s mother.
[There were] prior police reports for noise complaints and neighborly disputes for Sarah Carter and her mother.
Sullivan County Child Protective Services initially removed Antonio and his brother from their parents’ home in May because of ongoing domestic disputes, concerns about their mother’s health, and what the Department of Social Services said were deplorable conditions in the home, according to Chante Ware, who lives in Albany.
Another aunt, who lives in Kansas, had been trying to obtain custody of the children, Ware added.
A caseworker assistant who transported Antonio and his brother back and forth between the foster home and the biological parents for visitation, noticed what was happening to Antonio in the foster home, and reported it to her superiors.
As a result of her trying to step in and advocate for these two children, she was fired.
Martinez, the former caseworker assistant assigned to Antonio and his brother, assisted with overseeing the boys’ visits with their parents and transporting them back to their foster home. She told the Times Union she noticed Antonio and his brother were sometimes sent to their visitations wearing dirty clothes and with cuts and bruises.
In early June, Martinez said Antonio had bruises on his face and chest, which the foster mother attributed to a fall. Martinez said she reported the marks that month.
Martinez also noticed a rash on Antonio’s body, a condition she said a doctor determined was due to his diapers not being changed frequently enough. Martinez said that when she brought it up to the foster mother, she defended herself and claimed that she always changed his diaper.
“Antonio was a little off whenever we did the visits, and the father said that it wasn’t like him because Antonio was always cheerful,” Martinez said.
The foster mother did not respond to multiple attempts by the Times Union to reach her.
Martinez said she sent verbal and written notices of her observations to the caseworker, foster care staff and her supervisor, but she was always brushed off.
Martinez said she was fired in June for poor performance, but claimed DSS retaliated against her because she kept making reports about her supervisor and the boys’ foster mother. She said she is considering a wrongful termination lawsuit.
“If they would have just listened and investigated her, or at least removed them, (Antonio) would still be here,” Martinez said. (Full article.)
This is yet another case that happens all too frequently where the “child protection” police called “social workers” determine that certain parents are not fit to parent their children, NOT because of abuse, but because of what they call “neglect”, which in many states is 70% to 80% of all children who are removed from their homes when they don’t want to be removed, and the parents do not want them removed either.
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