County payout OK'd for abused foster children

County payout OK'd for abused foster children

By Troy Anderson, Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: 02/19/2008 09:37:17 PM PST

The Los Angeles County supervisors on Tuesday approved a $420,000 settlement for two sisters whose adoptive mother repeatedly submerged the youngest one in scalding water, causing second- and third-degree burns.

The adoptive mother, Audry Chatmon, also hit the girl with a belt, pulled her hair, hit her in the face and body, scratched her and burned her with fire, according to the lawsuit.

The then 4-year-old girl, "Jada D.", was hospitalized for weeks and was burned over 15 percent of her body. Social workers allowed Chatmon, who has a lengthy criminal record, a history of mental health and substance abuse problems and no means of financial support, to adopt the children according to the lawsuit filed against the Department of Children and Family Services and Penny Lane Centers.

Chatmon was arrested in 2004, convicted of child abuse and sentenced to 15 years in state prison.

Los Angeles attorney Andrew Ritholz said the adoption was placed on a "fast track" and social workers didn't ensure the home was safe. "The report they made to dependency court said this lady had no criminal record when in fact she had quite a substantial criminal record going back many years," Ritholz said.

DCFS officials said the case is an anomaly among more than 21,000 adoptions of foster children since 1997, noting the number of abuse cases in homes in the process of adopting foster children fell from 50 in 2002 to 21 last year.

While DCFS officials

said abuse cases in adoptive homes may be underreported - because the child protective agency no longer monitors children once adoptions are finalized - the number of abuse cases that were reported in those homes also dropped from 44 in 2002 to none last year.

Diane Wagner, chief of the DCFS Adoptions and Permanency Resources Division, said DCFS conducts a thorough screening involving interviews, reference checks, criminal record clearance and a child abuse index check.

She said the child must also be in the home at least six months before an adoption is finalized.

"I know nationally there are kids abused in adoptive homes," Wagner said. "I know in California we have more stringent rules regarding adoptive home studies and who we will approve for adoption."

Richard Wexler, executive director of the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform, said the amount of abuse in adoptive homes is similar to that in the general population.

But Wexler also said child protective agencies have financial incentives to rush adoptions because they receive adoption bonuses from the federal government.

"The problem is there are profound incentives not to be careful," Wexler said.

Tuesday's settlement was the third similar deal in five years. In 2005, the board approved $450,000 for a brother and sister who were abused in the home of their aunt, who had adopted or was in the process of adopting the children and four siblings. The aunt was convicted of child endangerment and sentenced to two years in prison.

In 2003, the board approved $150,000 for a brother and sister after the girl disclosed in 1999 that her adoptive father had sexually abused her.