Red Tape Led Slain Toddler Into Foster Care System Abuse

Child's aunt was unable to keep him. Bureaucratic rules are blamed for preventing her from getting medical and financial help

Los Angeles Times

[Robert Brown] died Monday after allegedly being severely beaten and placed in a water-filled tub by his foster mother, 28-year-old Valerie Lacy-Walker.

Authorities said Friday that Lacy-Walker is facing charges of murder and child endangerment in connection with the death.

She is being held without bail at the Sybil Brand Institute for Women.

Gerhard Moland, a regional administrator with the Los Angeles County Department of Children's Services, confirmed that the boy had been removed from [Betty Moore]'s home because the aunt was denied assistance because of technical rules and regulations.

Child welfare authorities initially said they believed the child had drowned when his foster mother put him in the bathtub and left him unattended.

But [Steven Hales] said Friday that police are certain the boy died from being beaten, and that Lacy-Walker told them she had put the boy in water to try to revive him.

[This is an excerpt of the original article]