Chid killed after returned to mother
ItsJustMe
Charity Bailey and Lawrence Green had not completed all of the steps the
Marion County juvenile court and state Department of Child Services required
for them to get their children back, but on Aug. 30, a magistrate approved
unsupervised trial visits with the children.
It was during one of those visits, less than three months later, that
3-year-old TaJanay Bailey was fatally beaten by her mother and Green,
according to police.
The pair, both 20, face murder and neglect charges in the girl's death
Tuesday.
TaJanay was a ward of the state when she died, but she had been returned to
her mother and Green for a 30-day trial stay Oct. 31. That step occurred
after the couple had several successful, shorter day and overnight visits.
Juvenile court records released Friday shed some light on how the Child In
Need of Services case involving TaJanay was handled by the court and DCS,
but they still leave many unanswered questions.
The biggest: Why did DCS seek approval to begin the unsupervised visits when
Bailey and Green had not completed all of the requirements ordered?
The documents released by the court involve the case initiated in May 2006
after DCS found TaJanay to be a victim of abuse.
They reveal Bailey did not have stable housing or income as of mid-August,
and that Green still needed to complete drug education and participate in
random drug testing.
"Once (Green) completes his parenting class and at least half of his drug
education class, he will be able to participate in home-based counseling
with (Bailey) at which time trial reunification could become in effect,"
case manager Tara C. Hayes wrote in a report prepared for the Aug. 30
hearing. Hayes' supervisor, Karon Donaldson, signed off on the report.
It was at that hearing that Magistrate Scott B. Stowers approved the DCS
request to begin the trial visits "upon positive recommendations" of the
home-based counselor and a guardian appointed by the court to represent the
interests of TaJanay.
The file contained no documents, other than a notice of a hearing scheduled
for Nov. 27 -- the day TaJanay died -- to show if or when such
recommendations were made.
The guardian appointed to represent TaJanay did not know that the 30-day
trial visit with Bailey and Green had begun, said Cynthia Booth, executive
director of Child Advocates Inc., an agency that represents the interests of
children in Marion County cases.
The guardian learned of the move on Nov. 9, when she visited the foster home
where TaJanay had been living, Booth said Friday.
The general practice, Booth said, would be for DCS to inform the guardian
before a 30-day placement begins.
She supported the release of records.
"I think there is no better reason to open this case to the light of day
than what has happened to this child," Booth said during the hearing.
DCS officials declined to comment specifically on TaJanay's case after the
records were released Friday night. The agency's attorneys, however, had
lobbied Marion County juvenile court Judge Marilyn Moores to release the
entire DCS case file -- 20 inches thick -- in tandem with the court file.
Instead, Moores plans to review redactions made to the larger cache of
records to ensure they restrict identifications and other items as required
by state and federal law. Those records, which the judge plans to release
Monday, should have additional details and notes about the final three
months of TaJanay's life.
DCS Director James Payne said he will be prepared to speak more about the
agency's involvement with the family when those records are made public.
The public "will see that lots of work was done," Payne said. "It was done
in the home. It involved a lot of fingers (from DCS). . . . It was being
done in a professional manner."
His staff is working on its own investigation, which Payne said would take
another 10 to 14 days. He then will issue public conclusions about the
handling of the case and a proposed resolution.
Pending that review, Payne has assigned administrative desk duty to Hayes,
the caseworker who has worked for DCS for seven months, and Donaldson, her
supervisor, who joined DCS in 2003.
The two are "devastated," Payne said. "They take it very personally."
The Indianapolis Star also has requested records of an earlier CHINS case in
which TaJanay was removed from the home in 2004.
Moores set a hearing for Wednesday to consider that request, as well as
requests for court records in a CHINS case involving Lawrence Green Jr., the
6-month-old son of Bailey and Green. Moores will also consider releasing
Bailey's juvenile record and any CHINS cases involving Bailey when she was
younger.
During three hours of argument Friday over whether the records should be
released, public defenders Frances Ashton and Ray Casanova vigorously
opposed the release of any CHINS or DCS records, which normally are
confidential. A major concern, they said, was the effect their release would
have on Bailey's right to due process in her criminal trial.
Moores disagreed, noting confidentiality protections mainly are geared
toward the child in a case.
"Government has to be accountable to the people, and government has to be
able to demonstrate its accountability to the people," Moores said. She
added that the public's right to know trumped any harm the public scrutiny
might cause Bailey.
Moores said the court and DCS records will show one of two things: "Whether
the system worked properly, and only God could have prevented this
occurrence -- or not."
Not-guilty pleas
Earlier in the day in another courtroom, a judge entered not-guilty pleas
for Bailey and Green.
"I'm not the one who whipped her," Green said as he was led to an elevator
in the City-County Building's basement.
He did not respond to questions, but other inmates being led to courtrooms
spoke out. "Look who they got me on the chain gang with," one said. "Killing
an innocent child."
Earlier, Bailey hid her face and was silent as deputies led a group of
female inmates down the hall.
Both defendants told Marion Superior Court Judge Tanya Walton Pratt they
have been unemployed, and Bailey said she lived on public assistance. She
answered Pratt's questions with a tearful, "Yes, ma'am."
The judge set the trial for March 10. But because Marion County Prosecutor
Carl Brizzi has said he plans to seek life sentences without parole for both
defendants, the trial likely will be delayed.
Vigil for victim
As the hearing on court documents stretched into Friday evening, more than
100 people gathered in the cold at the Phoenix Apartments complex on
Indianapolis' Northeastside to mourn TaJanay and to encourage one another to
improve their own lives.
Bailey and Green lived in the complex, which has been plagued with poverty
and crime.
Friday morning, Brizzi toured the complex with Mayor-elect Greg Ballard and
several area ministers. Brizzi pronounced conditions "unlivable." Police who
responded early Tuesday to the Phoenix Apartments reported that it was
filthy and infested with mice and cockroaches.
Brizzi said that along with the help of Ballard and Phoenix residents, he
thinks the community will be able to put enough pressure on the owners to
clean up the complex.
"The environment does matter," Brizzi said. "Cockroaches, filth, mold --
this is Indianapolis. People ought not to be expected to live this way."
Ballard said he intends to bring back the Front Porch Alliance, a
partnership between government and neighborhood groups that helped raise
money for community improvement programs. That effort, Ballard said, could
help residents at the Phoenix.
"These people deserve a decent place to live," Ballard said.
Chocolic
"ItsJustMe" <ells...@geemail.com> wrote in message
news:EsW4j.75589$YL5....@newssvr29.news.prodigy.net...
>I think there's a lesson in here somewhere...
There usually is sad to say, but nobody listens.
Chocolic
jon...@evms.edu
> "ItsJustMe" <ells9...@geemail.com> wrote in message
>
> - Show quoted text -
God. More cromagnons. I've always believed in mandatory
sterilization by age 10 and then testing to prove parent-worthiness
before sterilization reversal. Some humans aren't fit to procreate.
Chocolic
<jon...@evms.edu> wrote in message
news:82406f7a-45b1-4c19...@b40g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
In this case, the authorities even had a chance to take the child for good,
but returned her. This child had a chance and somebody was more worried
about the parent's right than the child's.
Chocolic
ItsJustMe
"Chocolic" <chatt...@nospam.hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:yy55j.198736$kj1....@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
>
> In this case, the authorities even had a chance to take the child for
> good, but returned her. This child had a chance and somebody was more
> worried about the parent's right than the child's.
>
> Chocolic
>
Someone here not only dropped the ball,but kicked it into oblivion in the
process. I read more articles on this and what that lady(I won't call her
mom)did to that poor baby was merciless. They'd been taken away
before,returned,removed and on and on. What gets me is they were FINE with
the foster mother, but noooooooooo we have to try to keep families together.
This lady wasn't smart enough to know how not to get pregnant,kept producing
and abusing her offspring. These DFS people need to buy a frigging clue.
I am not at all for federal guidelines on everything-but I am beginning to
think this is one area where it may be beneficial. What would be better-- if
a child in your caseload is starved,beaten to death,raped- then YOU go to
jail. It may keep them from just pushing paper... (Yeah, I know thats over
the top,just highly pissed off in general this morning)
Chocolic
You won't call her a mom but you called her a lady? Was that some kind of a
typo? :)
I'm for trying to keep families together. And there are moms and dads that
turn into temporary monsters but can be rehabilitated, love their kids, etc,
etc, blah, blah, blah. Of course that depends on what they did. But when
the crime is severe (burning, beating with objects meant to kill, forced to
eat shit, locked in cages.....), they do NOT deserve a second chance...ever.
How often do we hear of those cases where they are returned over and over
until they are murdered, even though the authorities (judges in particular)
knew what the original offense was.
I don't know how severe the abuse was in this case, but regardless, for a
judge to allow "unsupervised" visitation as a test to see if the kids should
come back. What the hell is that??? "Unsupervised"??????
Chocolic
Cliff and Linda Griffith
> You won't call her a mom but you called her a lady? Was that some kind of
a
> typo? :)
I noticed that, too, but I figured it was "like" a typo: mistyped in a fit
of pissed-offedness. It reminds me of newscasters describing a crime and
calling the male perp a "gentleman". e.g.: "Police have surrounded the
gentleman in his hideout and are trying to coax him out."
> I don't know how severe the abuse was in this case, but regardless, for a
> judge to allow "unsupervised" visitation as a test to see if the kids
should
> come back. What the hell is that??? "Unsupervised"??????
>
> Chocolic
It's almost like, "If the child survives the visit, he/she can stay."
ItsJustMe's suggestion of jailing the inept caseworker doesn't sound like
such a bad idea. Or perhaps do something to the CPS manager who failed to
hire enough caseworkers to handle the caseload effectively in the first
place.
Linda
ItsJustMe
"Cliff and Linda Griffith" <grif...@charter.net> wrote in message
news:9wC5j.29$jQ1...@newsfe06.lga...
> "Chocolic" <chatt...@nospam.hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:0rr5j.18954$MJ6....@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
>> You won't call her a mom but you called her a lady? Was that some kind
>> of
> a
>> typo? :)
>
don't get the same connotations from the word...dunno...lady seemed better
than MOMMY! =P
> I noticed that, too, but I figured it was "like" a typo: mistyped in a
> fit
> of pissed-offedness. It reminds me of newscasters describing a crime and
> calling the male perp a "gentleman". e.g.: "Police have surrounded the
> gentleman in his hideout and are trying to coax him out."
>
>> I don't know how severe the abuse was in this case, but regardless, for a
>> judge to allow "unsupervised" visitation as a test to see if the kids
> should
>> come back. What the hell is that??? "Unsupervised"??????
>>
>> Chocolic
>
> It's almost like, "If the child survives the visit, he/she can stay."
> ItsJustMe's suggestion of jailing the inept caseworker doesn't sound like
> such a bad idea. Or perhaps do something to the CPS manager who failed to
> hire enough caseworkers to handle the caseload effectively in the first
> place.
Something more than sitting around bitching about it anyway. Laws aren't
making changes,diff politicians aren't making a difference...something has
to.
>
> Linda
>
>
>
>