DA believes people are taking in foster children 'just for the money' in Conecuh County

CONNIE BAGGETT

EVERGREEN — Conecuh County child welfare workers may have been overzealous in removing children from their families and sometimes placed more than the allowable number of children in foster homes, officials said Friday, a week after foster parents were accused of trying to kill a boy.

Foster parents Joyce and Lonnell Sims were arrested and charged with attempted murder and aggravated battery after a 2-year-old was found dehydrated and with severe head injuries.

The couple had cared for up to eight foster children at a time in their trailer, officials have said, and the Alabama Department of Human Resources began a probe of Conecuh County's child welfare office last week.

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In just a few days, officials said, investigators have discovered that some of the county's 13 homes approved for foster care have hosted more than six children at a time — the limit under DHR rules. Some parents used corporal punishment, discipline contrary to agreements they signed, according to investigators with knowledge of the state probe.

A Press-Register comparison of surrounding counties, meanwhile, shows that Conecuh County, with some 13,000 residents, has 30 children in foster care, while neighboring counties with more than double their population have fewer — one has only three.

Covington County, with a population of 36,856, has three children in foster care, with nine foster homes and four therapeutic foster care homes. Escambia County, with 37,490 in population, has 23 children in foster care, and 15 foster homes and two therapeutic homes.

Conecuh County District Attorney Tommy Chapman, who called for the state investigation after what he called "likely the most horrendous child abuse case I have prosecuted," said he has spoken with state DHR Commissioner Nancy Buckner.

"I told her I believe there has been a rush to judgment in our county over removing children from homes, and a lack of any attempt in some cases to place children with suitable relatives," Chapman said. "I believe there are some people here who are foster parents just for the money, and it has become a cottage industry."

According to DHR pay schedules, foster parents receive $432.50 per month for a child up to 2 years old. For a child 3 to 5, the payment jumps to $445.50 per month. Foster parents get $456.50 for 6- to 12-year-olds, and $468.50 for 13- to 18-year-olds.

Local DHR directors said they are prohibited from speaking with the media about county DHR issues, even statistics. All Press-Register inquiries were directed to Barry Spear, the state DHR spokesman.

Spear said county-to-county foster care comparisons are difficult because "every county in Alabama is unique in many aspects."

"Among several reasons, families have different circumstances, resources available are varied and the community may be more or less likely to report concerns to DHR," Spear said.

According to state guidelines, foster parents must apply and undergo 30 hours of training, pass background checks and meet a stringent list of requirements for a safe home. Bedroom space, adequate heating and cooling, water and sewer service and electricity are required as well as designated play areas, indoors and out.

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The requirements are detailed in several pages of guidelines meant to ensure the safety of some 6,000 children in foster care in Alabama.

The rules are not always hard and fast. Spear said the limit of six children in a home can be raised if there are siblings who are placed together. He said there were four children in the Sims home when the boy, who was there with his two siblings, was injured.

All foster children have been removed from the Sims home and the Simses remained in jail Friday in lieu of $1.5 million bail each.

Police responded to the Simses' home May 11 to find the boy barely breathing with a faint pulse. He arrived at a Pensacola hospital later in cardiac arrest and suffering from a severe head injury that doctors said could not have been a simple accident, Chapman has said. He also was severely dehydrated and likely had not eaten in days, officials said.

On Friday, investigators said the boy was breathing on his own at Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola. He can open his eyes, but is not responsive to sound, touch or other stimuli. He has a feeding tube.

Authorities said the boy's parents were unable to care for their children because of drug abuse. Their father died of a drug overdose weeks after the children were taken. Their mother has been in drug rehab.

Relatives of the injured boy maintain he would still be healthy and safe if he and his siblings had been left in their great-grandparents' home. Leslie Prince of North Carolina identified herself in a telephone interview as the boy's grandmother.

Prince said there were domestic problems between the children's parents, but "they were safe in my ex-husband's mother's home. I put in for the children in February, but they said it would take three months to finalize."

"My cousin also asked to take them, as well as numerous other relatives."

Prince said she never received a response to her request from DHR.

Spear confirmed that out-of-state relatives had been seeking to get the three siblings, with documents in process since April. In-state relatives applied in May, days after the boy was injured.

People interviewed by the Press-Register provided conflicting stories about the Simses.

One mother said her son arrived at the Simses' home as an unruly child, but months later returned with good manners and could read and write. She called Joyce Sims a wonderful person and great foster mother. Another grandmother alleged her 1-year-old granddaughter was not as well cared for, and said she had complained to DHR.