Report Faults School in Case Of Slain Girl
Report Faults School in Case Of Slain Girl
By JANE PERLEZ
LEAD: Signs of child abuse on Lisa Steinberg, the 6-year-old girl who the authorities say was beaten to death, should have been noticed by personnel at her public school in Greenwich Village, according to a report by the city's Board of Education.
Signs of child abuse on Lisa Steinberg, the 6-year-old girl who the authorities say was beaten to death, should have been noticed by personnel at her public school in Greenwich Village, according to a report by the city's Board of Education.
But the child was not helped because teachers, counselors and other personnel at Public School 41 were not properly trained to recognize signs of child abuse, the board's Inspector General, Michael P. Sofarelli, concluded.
In response, the Acting Schools Chancellor, Charles I. Schonhaut, said yesterday he would order that training for school workers on detecting signs of child abuse be made mandatory and instituted in the fall. Such training is now voluntary. Bruises Were Noticed
The report said, ''Lisa's disheveled appearance (hair, fingernails and clothing) was observed by at least eight people.'' These eight people included teachers and school aides, according to a board official who asked not to be identified.
''Bruises were noted on Lisa's face forearms, and back by at least five people,'' the report said.
The Board of Education has a regulation requiring that all child abuse cases be reported, the Inspector General said. This regulation should have been followed, not only because of Lisa's physical appearance but also, the report said, because of ''her excessive absences and latenesses.'' 'A Definite No'
The report continued, ''Whether Lisa Steinberg's death could have been prevented, if her physical appearance was reported, is a question that has no answer.
''However, the question as to whether school personnel are properly trained in the recognition of child abuse, what to do when child abuse is suspected, and what their legal obligations and responsibilities are, the answer has to be a definite no.''
Joel B. Steinberg, the man who was raising Lisa, was charged with murder and child abuse after the girl - who was never formally adopted by Mr. Steinberg - was found comatose by the police in the family's apartment. She died three days later. Another child living in the apartment, a 17-month-old boy who was found soiled and tethered to a chair, has been returned to his mother. A felony complaint, in connection with the beating of Lisa, is pending against Hedda Nussbaum, the woman who lived with Mr. Steinberg.
The case raised many questions about why teachers, counselors and other school personnel at P.S. 41 had not noticed the signs of child abuse. The principal of the school, Elliot Koreman, said shortly after the child's death that the child seemed normal.
Mr. Koreman said bruises reportedly seen on Lisa's face were not severe. He said school officials had spoken to the girl's parents, who said she had been struck by her brother. Anguish of Principal
''Don't you think we've tortured ourselves asking if she exhibited anything in school?'' Mr. Koreman said after Lisa's death. ''But there were no signs whatsoever.''
Board of Education officials said they could not explain the discrepancy between Mr. Koreman's statement at the time of the child's death last November and the findings of the Inspector General. Efforts to reach Mr. Koreman at the school last night were unsuccessful.
A summary of the Inspector General's report was released yesterday but the identities of the eight people who had seen Lisa's bruises were not released at the request of the Manhattan District Attorney, Robert M. Morgenthau, said a board spokesman, Richard Riley. Mr. Morgenthau's office is handling the case against Mr. Steinberg and Ms. Nussbaum.
In recommending a compulsory course for all school personnel on how to recognize child abuse, the Inspector General said, ''This training program should include, among other things, instruction specifically focusing on eliminating the general perception among school personnel that child abuse cases are isolated and victims of child abuse 'do not attend my school and are never in my class.' ''
The training program should be mandatory at all levels - elementary, junior high and high schools, the report said. ''Recognition and reporting of child abuse must be stressed at regularly scheduled staff meetings,'' the report concluded.
Dr. Schonhaut said an advisory committee of doctors, social workers and school officials would start meeting this spring to devise the training program. It would be introduced in the schools in the fall, he said.