Post by Milisha on Dec 11, 2008 14:17:30 GMT -5
CHELSEA, Maine (AP) ? The high chair was tipped over in an unfinished part of the basement and smeared with blood when detectives arrived. Strewn about were strips of duct tape with clumps of hair.
The horror chamber described by police is where 5-year-old Logan Marr spent the final hours of her life, taped to her high chair and, evidence suggests, her mouth covered with tape. Cause of death: asphyxiation.
It's not just the grisly nature of the case that's drawn attention since Logan died Jan. 31. The woman charged in the death, the child's foster mother, is a former caseworker for the state agency that monitors foster parents.
Sally Schofield, 39, has been charged with manslaughter. She told investigators that Logan needed a "time out" after waking up from a nap in a rage and allegedly admitted to taping up the child.
The Department of Human Services is doing some soul-searching as it faces pressure from lawmakers, child protection advocates and Logan's biological mother, Christy Mae Baker.
"Mine is just one of many. Logan's case just happened to turn deadly," said Baker, who brought a box containing Logan's ashes to the State House as she unsuccessfully sought permission to sue the state.
Lawmakers say the case has opened the flood gate for claims by parents that DHS is placing their children in inappropriate foster homes. Rep. Julie Ann O'Brien publicly apologized for being part of a system she said lets it happen.
"This is a problem all over the country. Maine is simply worse," said Richard Wexler, executive director of the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform.
Wexler said Maine has one of the nation's five highest rates of children in foster care but places fewer children with relatives than the national average.
"Maine's entire approach to child welfare can be boiled down to a single sentence: Take the child and run," he said.
Human Services Commissioner Kevin Concannon sent a letter of apology to Baker, saying there may be some consolation in knowing there will be "a thorough review" of Maine's foster care system.
Gov. Angus King echoed Concannon's sentiments but insisted that the case, while tragic, does not represent a pattern.
In Maine, DHS caseworkers are responsible for overseeing roughly 3,000 foster children living in more than 1,400 foster homes. They should have no more than 15 homes to monitor, but some say they get nearly twice that load.
According to critics, Logan's case follows a familiar pattern.
In 1990, 4-year-old Ricky LeTourneau died while in the care of his foster mother, Deborah Wolfenden. Ricky suffered a concussion and choked on his vomit after being disciplined for urinating on the floor.
Wolfenden, a former educational consultant for the state, was accused of abusing Ricky. She was sentenced to a year in prison for assault.
The agency has acknowledged lapses in quarterly visits to foster homes, but said it is making improvements.
At the time of Logan's death, visits were being made to 77% of foster homes. The number rose to 89% by late March and 93% by early April, spokesman David Winslow said.
He said state officials have intensified child-protective efforts after the 1984 killing of 4-year-old Angela Palmer, who was stuffed in the kitchen oven of the apartment where she lived with her mother and mother's boyfriend.
But the department acknowledged there is lax oversight of some foster parents who ? like Schofield ? have more expertise or training with children than others.
In Logan's case, Baker said her child was taken away because the state thought she moved too often. Winslow declined to say why Logan was removed from her mother's care.
The state has confirmed that the caseworker missed a quarterly visit to Schofield's home and failed to tell her supervisors that Logan reported being squeezed in the face by Schofield. Officials also say a state policy barring caseworkers as foster parents was also violated.
According to investigators, Schofield, who is to be arraigned on May 2, first said Logan got tangled in duct tape but later admitted restraining the child with the tape.
Schofield has not yet entered a plea. Her lawyer was traveling abroad and his law firm declined to comment on the case.
Since Logan's death, her sibling has been placed in another foster home and Schofield's own children have been living with relatives.