HAITIAN KIDS' HOME NOT SAFE, OFFICIALS SAY

News-Sentinel, The (Fort Wayne, IN)

Author: ASSOCIATED PRESS

Dateline: SHELBYVILLE

Dan Blackburn says public agencies haven't given him any real help caring for the 19 adopted Haitian children he's raising.

``They just want to be in control,'' he says.

Now the county welfare office says Blackburn is failing to provide a clean, safe home for the children. An adopted teen-age daughter of Blackburn's is pregnant, welfare workers say.

The Shelby County Office of Family and Children says in a court document that Dan Blackburn's house was filthy and unsafe on at least three occasions when inspectors came to visit.

The Indianapolis Star and The Indianapolis News obtained a copy of the neglect petition, which is not a public document.

Despite the allegations, the welfare office isn't seeking the removal of the 19 children still living with Blackburn.

Blackburn was granted custody of the children following an acrimonious divorce from his former wife, Kathy. Last month, Shelby Circuit Judge Charles O'Connor ordered Blackburn to quit his two jobs and go on welfare.

A report attached to the petition says inspectors have found allegedly filthy and unsanitary conditions and various safety violations at the Blackburn home.

The Blackburns adopted the children, many of whom were very ill, while spending more than a decade as missionaries in Haiti.