Report Faults Foster Care Agency In Marcus Fiesel's Death
By
Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
November 29, 2006
HAMILTON,
OHIO--A state review into the death of Marcus Fiesel has faulted the private
foster care agency that placed the 3-year-old, who had diagnoses of autism and
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, with Liz and David Carroll, Jr. last
April.
In a 34-page report issued Monday, the Ohio Department of Job and Family
Services blamed LifeWay for Youth for improperly licensing the Carroll's in the
first place, and then failing to follow up on the boy's situation once he was
placed with them. The department said, among other things, that LifeWay did not
gather enough information during its home study of the Carrolls; under-reported
the number of training hours the couple received; accepted a reference from a
family member, which is not allowed; and failed to even contact that reference,
as is required.
Last week, an independent review by San Diego Detective Victoria Reden
came up with more than a dozen recommendations to reform Butler County Children
Services, including requiring more in-depth investigations; involving police in
every case; conducting better background checks of foster parents; and tracking
domestic violence cases.
Reden determined that Marcus would probably still be alive if law
enforcement agencies had been required to report domestic violence calls to
Children Services. In this case, she said, caseworkers would have known about a
June 22 incident between the Carrolls that occurred several weeks before
authorities discovered Marcus was dead.
Butler County Social Services took custody of Marcus from his biological
mother, Donna Trevino, after he was found wandering the streets in the middle
of the night. LifeWay was then contracted to place Marcus in a suitable foster
home.
The Carrolls have been charged with murder, involuntary manslaughter,
kidnapping, felonious assault and child endangerment charges. Detectives said
that on August 4, the couple pinned Marcus' arms behind him, wrapped him in a
blanket that they taped around him, and left him inside a locked closet while
they went out of state to a family gathering. When they returned two days
later, the boy was dead, likely from dehydration and heat stroke, investigators
said.
Mr. Carroll has been accused of gross abuse of a corpse and covering up
the crime by taking the boy's body to a remote area in nearby Brown County, and
trying several times to burn it inside the stone chimney of a house that had
collapsed many years ago. Police believe Carroll dumped the rest of the boy's
remains in or near the Ohio River.
Mrs. Carroll is also charged in nearby Hamilton County with two counts
of perjury for allegedly lying under oath to a grand jury. Officials there
claim that on August 15, the couple misled the public by saying Marcus had
unexpectedly wandered away while the family was at a Hamilton County park. That
prompted a massive, weeklong search involving hundreds of volunteers, even
though the Carrolls had known for more than a week that he was dead.
LifeWay, which operates in at least four states, is currently undergoing
a recertification process in Ohio.
Many people have criticized the state agency for delaying the report
several days while deciding what to include and what to keep confidential.
Donna Trevino is suing LifeWay and several other agencies for her son's
"wrongful death". Her attorney said the state's report 'doesn't hurt' her
case.
Related:
"Agency cited in Marcus case" (Cincinnati
Enquirer)
http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/06/red/1129b.htm
"State:
Reform foster system" (Cincinnati Post)
http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/06/red/1129c.htm
"Detective:
Changes would have saved boy's life" (Journal News)
http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/06/red/1129d.htm
"Foster
care reforms advised" (Cincinnati Enquirer)
http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/06/red/1129e.htm
"Editorial:
State report on Marcus is inadequate" (Cincinnati Enquirer)
http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/06/red/1129f.htm
"Lawyer:
State report 'doesn't hurt' wrongful death suit" (Journal News)
http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/06/red/1129g.htm
"Report:
Fiesel Case Review" (Ohio Department of Job and Family Services Office for
Children and Families)
http://jfs.ohio.gov/ocf/Fiesel_review_report_20061127.pdf
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Reproduced here under special arrangement
with Inclusion Daily Express international disability rights news service.
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