Ten former foster care children are filing a civil rights and negligence lawsuit in New York District Court against the City of New York Child Welfare Administration and four other agencies for failure to prevent ongoing, horrific abuse at the hands of a state-licensed foster parent.
Identified in the filing only by their initials, the 10 plaintiffs seek unspecified damages for up to 20 years of abuse and torture. Dating back to the 1980s, these special needs foster children were locked in cages, handcuffed or zip-tied together at night, abused physically, threatened with firearms, secreted from any public interaction, underfed and malnourished, and deprived of regular education, doctor or dental visits. One child's teeth were in such pain that the child banged her face on the garage floor until knocking her teeth out. Now adults, all suffer rickets and behavioral issues, and require costly, long-term educational, medical, psychological and sociological care.
Foster mother Judith Leekin's fraud included assuming four aliases - often using similar dates and documentation - to adopt a total of 22 children. At no point did New York Child Welfare officials verify the foster mother's false documentation, investigate her fitness as a caregiver, or document the children's care. Ultimately, she collected $1.68 million in payments meant for their care.
When she sensed New York officials finally were closing in, Leekin relocated with the 10 plaintiffs to Florida. Today, Leekin is serving a prison sentence for fraud. The plaintiffs, all of whom currently reside in Florida, are seeking a jury trial.
Full Article and Source:
Severely Abused Foster Children Sue New York City Child Welfare Agencies After their Failure to Help Them
Identified in the filing only by their initials, the 10 plaintiffs seek unspecified damages for up to 20 years of abuse and torture. Dating back to the 1980s, these special needs foster children were locked in cages, handcuffed or zip-tied together at night, abused physically, threatened with firearms, secreted from any public interaction, underfed and malnourished, and deprived of regular education, doctor or dental visits. One child's teeth were in such pain that the child banged her face on the garage floor until knocking her teeth out. Now adults, all suffer rickets and behavioral issues, and require costly, long-term educational, medical, psychological and sociological care.
Foster mother Judith Leekin's fraud included assuming four aliases - often using similar dates and documentation - to adopt a total of 22 children. At no point did New York Child Welfare officials verify the foster mother's false documentation, investigate her fitness as a caregiver, or document the children's care. Ultimately, she collected $1.68 million in payments meant for their care.
When she sensed New York officials finally were closing in, Leekin relocated with the 10 plaintiffs to Florida. Today, Leekin is serving a prison sentence for fraud. The plaintiffs, all of whom currently reside in Florida, are seeking a jury trial.
Full Article and Source:
Severely Abused Foster Children Sue New York City Child Welfare Agencies After their Failure to Help Them
The only way to stop these abuses is to bring national attention to them and a class action is a great way to do that.
ReplyDeleteI wish them well; they deserve it.
It's hard enough for foster children just to be foster children without a home and parents, without abuse.
ReplyDeleteI hope they are successful in this suit.
What?
ReplyDeleteThis is shameful and criminal. I wish the plaintiffs much success in their quest for justice.
It is difficult for me to even begin to comprehend how this could go on for
20 years!!!!
How could it be that New York Child Welfare officials never verified
Judith Leekin's false documentation, investigate her fitness as a caregiver, or document the children's care as she continued to collect $1.68 million while she was neglecting abusing and torturing the children who were ENTRUSTED to her care?
How many other Judith Leekin's are there in
New York Child Welfare snake pit and other agencies that need to be exposed?
What are these people in this smoke screen of an agency to protect children doing to deserve having their jobs and a paycheck?
Foster children are among our most vulnerable citizens, along with elderly.
ReplyDeleteCrimes againt them should be receive stricter punishment.
Something has to be done to stop the abuse. I would like to hear that the workers are charged with wrongdoing and criminalized, but too much time has passed. Let it be a warning to the world of foster care abuse.
ReplyDeleteHooray for them!
ReplyDeleteI am glad to see them stand up and shout!
ReplyDeleteI hope this case proceeds to just conclusion.
ReplyDeleteAbusing the young and old is getting old. I hope these children are successful and receive a large settlement - although that would target them for future guardianship.
ReplyDeleteA jury would certainly rule in favor of the children and I hope that's what they'll get.
ReplyDeleteThe people are tired of corrpution and abuse and demand change.