CPS admits errors after court hearing

November 21, 2010 - By NICHOLAS L. DEAN, OBSERVER Mayville Bureau| 

MAYVILLE - The credibility of the Chautauqua County Department of Social Services has been damaged.

Letters admitting to errors were written by Child Protective Services staff last month, apologizing for events which took place in Family Court in September.

As a closed court, Family Court records are not public. However, after obtaining two of the letters written by CPS staff, the OBSERVER sought and received confirmation of the incident's details.

Calls to Family Court Judge Judith Claire resulted in a call from a spokesperson at the state's Unified Court System in New York City, who confirmed the incident.

In short, CPS workers appeared before Judge Claire in September seeking to have a child removed from the mother's custody. Based on their testimony, the judge signed a removal order for the child. The CPS workers then returned to court the next day to inform the judge that the child had not actually been born yet.

"As the supervisor of the team, I failed in my duties and responsibilities as a supervisor and mistakes were made on an investigation that led to inaccurate testimony in Family Court," wrote the department's Xcel Team Supervisor in her letter to co-workers.

The letter continues on to inform co-workers that their work may be impacted as a result of the situation, "because our credibility is now in question with the judge due to my mistakes during this time."

"Actions that I and my team took and our lack of critical thinking resulted in a series of events leading up to that date, including miscommunication, errors, and lack of judgment," the caseworker wrote in the Oct. 29 letter. "Ultimately, my failure to follow proper policy and procedure resulted in misinformation being testified to in court. Although this was not the intention, it carried with it significant consequences, legal and otherwise."

Questioned about the incident, DSS Commissioner Steven Wickmark explained that, because it involves a Family Court case and staff in his department, he could not comment.

"There's just nothing I can share with you on any level of what this is," Wickmark said.

Similarly, County Executive Greg Edwards called it a difficult issue and in a written statement on Nov. 18 echoed Wickmark's words.

"Due to the restrictions placed on me and every other member of county government by the laws of the state of New York and client confidentiality, I am not permitted to discuss issues relating to cases in our Child Protective Services unit," Edwards wrote.

ALLEGATIONS

OF CARELESSNESS

A DSS worker addressed the County Legislature in May, alleging "carelessness by the commissioner" among other comments relating to the department's relocation as a result of the Feb. 24 fire.

"We DSS workers have all had a catastrophic calamity thrust upon us with carelessness by the commissioner," Jessie Carreras said at the meeting. "His carelessness is highlighted by the problems with just getting an adequate building for the temporary office in Dunkirk. He brushes aside our two principal examiners who have creditable important input into what should happen to our agency. The fire was not the catastrophe. I am talking about the aftershock."

Carreras, who worked for the Department of Social Services for 28 years, was on medical leave when she similarly addressed the Dunkirk Common Council in October. A call Friday to the Dunkirk DSS site confirmed that Carreras is still technically a DSS employee, though on permanent medical leave.

With such an allegation of carelessness leveled against the department, the OBSERVER asked Edwards whether the September incident in Family Court was an isolated issue or indicative of a larger problem.

Additionally, as Wickmark has now led the department for two years, Edwards was questioned about the commissioner's tenure thus far.

COMMISSIONER WICKMARK

An article announcing Wickmark's selection for the position was printed in the Nov. 3, 2008 edition of the OBSERVER. In it, Edwards said that Wickmark would be providing "practical leadership for the entire department, consultative leadership with the other human service directors" and would be "a visible and credible spokesperson throughout the county and at regional, state and federal levels."

In his Nov. 18 statement to the OBSERVER, Edwards said he was fortunate to hire Wickmark, as Wickmark possesses "the specific training and experience required by New York state and much more."

"Steve had recently returned to Chautauqua County from the state of Washington where he was the field operations director for the Children's Administration of Washington State," Edwards wrote. "He was also a practicing attorney, and law guardian working in the New York state court system representing children in court proceedings."

Prior to his former post on the West Coast, Wickmark - a graduate of SUNY Fredonia - worked as executive director for the Rochester-Monroe County Youth Bureau and then as an attorney in Cassadaga, according to biographical information provided by the county. Wickmark also grew up in Chautauqua County.

"When he was hired, I stated then and I can now confirm that he has provided practical leadership to the largest department in county operations," Edwards continued in the statement "He has also provided consultative leadership with other human service directors and has been a visible and credible spokesperson throughout the county."

As commissioner, the person in the position is responsible for overseeing the county's temporary assistance, medical assistance and children and family services programs. The person in the position is also responsible for the county's largest department, legal services for DSS, operations in Family and state Supreme courts, fraud detection and recovery, child support collections, adult protective services and community outreach.

Prior to Wickmark, the county's DSS commissioner was Kirk Maurer, who left the county after accepting a promotion to work for the state. Betsy Steger then served as the interim commissioner prior to the selection and hire of Wickmark.

In his Nov. 18 statement, Edwards lists evidence of Wickmark's practical leadership from throughout the commissioner's two years running the department, citing the introduction of new initiatives despite an increase in case loads in children and family services; consolidation despite significant regulatory changes in Medicaid; the merging of Youth Bureau into DSS and his department's coming in under budget for two years.

"Difficult decisions will not always be popular with remaining staff, particularly mergers and downsizing of operations," Edwards wrote. "Continuous improvement in our process and performance is part of the work in the department of Social Services and every other department in county operations. We also do our best to handle the challenges we receive on a daily basis throughout our operations."

LAWSUIT COMING

Jamestown resident Bonnie Weber gave birth to her sixth child, John Griffin III, on Aug. 3. She is currently in the process of filing a lawsuit against the county, alleging the Department of Social Services wrongfully took her newborn on Aug. 5 and kept him for close to 30 days.

"Department of Social Services only deemed me a threat to my newborn child," Weber wrote in an e-mail to the newspaper. "How can I be a threat to one child, but not all my children? ... My five other children remained in my care during their whole investigation."

Among the many papers which Weber provided to the newspaper are documents which Weber says refute the reasons DSS gave for taking and holding her son.

Also among the papers is a 12-page narrative in which Weber details the more than 45 days she dealt with CPS and DSS, much of which makes allegations against specific individuals in the department.

"Children need one place to call home," Weber wrote in the narrative. "My son was shuffled three times in a period of 29 days. This is not a healthy start for my son."

As with the incident which happened in Family Court in September, Edwards explained that he could not comment on the department's actions or Weber's lawsuit. He was, however, able to speak generally about the department.

"We take our responsibilities for all of our clients extremely serious, and do our best to analyze every situation accurately," Edwards wrote in his Nov. 18 statement. "If we are mandated to decide between two equally valid courses of action when dealing with the safety of a child in our care, we will take the more cautious approach that further insures the safety of a child. This does not always meet with the approval of others involved in the case but our duty has been and will continue to be that we must take all reasonable precautions to protect the welfare of the children of our county."

In the letter of apology to co-workers, the CPS supervisor points out that "caseworkers have the authority to remove children from their parents, which is ultimately one of the most powerful and formidable authorities to have over families."

Similarly, in an e-mail sent to the newspaper on Friday, Pat Cantiello, of the state's Office of Children and Family Services, summed up the system as a balance - a balance which CPS workers find themselves working within daily.

"The child protective system represents a balance between, one, the legitimate interest of parents in raising their children free from outside interference and, two, the government's legitimate interest in protecting children from abuse and maltreatment," Cantiello wrote. "Neither of those interests is absolute, and the child protective system represents the balance established by law between those competing interests. CPS workers work within that balance on a daily basis. Their task is to try to protect children from abuse and maltreatment while at the same time respecting the rights of parents."

In filing her lawsuit, Weber wants, in part, to point out what she believes was an injustice committed by the Department of Social Services. Her son John is back with her and the rest of her family, but simply having him back is not enough.

"It's the principal behind this," Weber wrote in the narrative. "You cannot treat people like this, take away everything they have and return their child and say, 'Oh, it's OK. Your son is home.' It's not OK."