Tighten up child protection procedures with greater diligence

In two cases involving child abuse deaths, the final disciplinary verdict has been rendered against a total of nine employees of the Manatee County Sheriff's Office Child Protective Investigative Division. Internal affairs investigations found clear evidence of the mishandling of abuse allegations investigated by MCSO officers in both cases.

But the state bears a significant portion of the blame.

The internal affairs reports into the Janiya Thomas and Knowellan Kelly cases became public last week, exposing systemic failures in the child protection system where common practices, policies and statutes were not followed. The community deserves this accountability and transparency about these abuse investigations.

Our most vulnerable population deserves our unwavering protection as well as rigorous, assertive and thorough investigations when abuse allegations are made. That did not occur in these two cases.

Janiya

The disturbing disappearance and horrific death of 11-year-old Janiya gripped this community for months after her body was found in October locked in a freezer placed by her mother, Keishanna Thomas, at a relative's home on the pretext she was being evicted. Janiya died sometime in January or February 2015.

She disappeared in June 2015 around the time the Florida Department of Children and Families quit supervising her chronically troubled mother, who had been the subject of 10 child abuse hotline calls and a dozen Child Protection Services investigations since 2003 involving her five children.

That June, DCF lawyers insisted the agency quit supervising Keishanna Thomas simply because she became "uncooperative" after declaring caseworkers would no longer be allowed to scrutinize her and her five children.

The county child protection investigators and the Sarasota Family YMCA case managers concurred with DCF. These findings come from a November report by DCF's Critical Incident Response Team.

That raises the question about who controls investigations. Apparently, in this case the child abuser ultimately did. Thomas now stands charged with first-degree murder and other crimes.

In discussing this case, Manatee County Sheriff Brad Steube adamantly rejected the idea that somehow CPS mistakes led to Janiya's death. "We did what we were supposed to do, and I believe that if you take it case by case, as we have done, that you would come to the same conclusion," Steube stated.

Even before the internal affairs investigations into the four most recent probes into abuse allegations against Thomas, the sheriff's department implemented changes in procedures -- a quick and judicious response.

The CPS failures include an investigator's attempts to get information about Janiya's location from her mother and then closing the case without finding her and not reporting her missing; a supervisor approved the case closure and also stumbled in not reporting her missing; another instance of a case wrongfully closed; improper documentation, and neglect of duty among other charges.

Four CPS supervisors and two investigators received discipline ranging from one- or two-day suspensions without pay and/or letters of reprimand. Those are fairly light measures given the egregious nature of the cascade of blunders

The Critical Incident Response Team report also blamed DCF child abuse hotline operators for the initial mistakes. Despite knowing Janiya was a member of the Thomas family, operators failed to enter her name on two of the seven reports logged about allegations of abuse by her mother since 2012 -- breaking protocol. With her name not recorded on the documents, the girl was never an official part of the investigation into her mother.

This shows how one breakdown ripples throughout the system and handicaps local investigations.

Knowellan

At only 15 months old, Knowellan Kelly died in December from traumatic brain and spinal cord likely caused by violent shaking and someone slamming his head onto some sort of padded furniture or bed. His mother's boyfriend faces murder charges.

Two MCSO employees received discipline for mishandling accusations of abuse to Knowellan and his three siblings by failing to finish an investigation and sign the incomplete report.

The investigator conducted an apathetic inquiry into allegations received by an abuse hotline that the mother, Danake Crawford, has been abusing or neglecting her children. The officer made one attempt at conversing with a nurse and guidance counselor at a school but failed to follow up, this among other indifferent examples of misconduct. Her supervisor also admitted various failings.

All these breakdowns in child protection procedures demand immediate attention. We hope Sheriff Steube has solved this dilemma with his department's new approach.

This story was originally published April 5, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Tighten up child protection procedures with greater diligence ."