That poor girl!  Such ignorance and abuse are appalling.  I've read of such
cases before, and I particularly remember reading of a CP child locked away
for years who was found after 12 or so years.  That was in the early 1970s
when I was at college.  She was in Texas, if I remember correctly.

We have a case here in the Triad area in NC in which a 18-month old child
was admitted to a local ER with a broken leg with a spiral break, which
indicates a break by twisting a limb. Before the authorities could question
the mother and stepfather, they took the kid back out without any treatment
and ran off with him.  The stepfather had been charged with child abuse
before.

Kat
----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael Jeffries" <[log in to unmask]>
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.c-palsy
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, July 13, 2002 10:43 PM
Subject: Girl Dies After Agency Closes Case-News Report


> Girl Dies After Agency Closes Case
>
> .c The Associated Press
>
> HARVEY, Ill. (AP) - The body of a girl who had cerebral palsy was found
> decomposing in her bed weeks after a state agency stopped visits to the
> family because it considered her safe from harm and neglect.
>
> An initial investigation indicates Shanecia McClellan, 9, died of natural
> causes, the medical examiner's office said. Her body was found Thursday,
two
> or three days after she died.
>
> The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services said it will
> investigate its handing of the family's case. Shanecia's three siblings
have
> been placed in foster care.
>
> Katina McClellan, 26, told police she could not wake Shanecia on Wednesday
> but she could not explain why she did not call authorities, Detective Sam
> Ward said.
>
> ``She didn't know how to handle it,'' he said.
>
> The child services agency started a case in 1999 after finding that
Shanecia
> was medically neglected, said John Goad, deputy director for child
> protection. The girl had severe cerebral palsy, with no muscle or speech
> control, and had a history of seizures.
>
> The agency helped transfer her medical records to a hospital closer to the
> McClellans' neighborhood and helped install a phone in their home so
> emergency medical help could be summoned if needed.
>
> In April 2001, McClellan gave birth to twins who tested positive for
cocaine,
> Goad said. The agency visited her home 33 times, and McClellan passed each
of
> eight random drug tests, he said.
>
> The agency closed the case in June after determining there was no risk of
> harm to the children, he said.
>
> ``We have some very serious concerns about our handling of the case,''
Goad
> said. ``It's just terribly disturbing to us to see a child die after our
> having been as intensely involved with her as recently as we were.''
>
> The case has similarities to cases in Florida, whose child protection
agency
> has faced months of criticism and calls for sweeping reform.
>
> A case worker in Polk County, Fla., was fired Friday and charged with
> falsifying records after allegedly lying about a home visit to check out
an
> abuse complaint. Alfredo Montez, 2, was killed July 1, the day the case
> worker wrote that she visited his family.
>
> In April, the Florida agency reported 5-year-old Rilya Wilson missing and
> acknowledged that it lost track of her for 15 months. She is still
missing.
>
>
>
> 07/13/02 18:11 EDT
>
>
> "Long ago and far away, We had a voice, you know that we had a say, We
won't
> live for yesterday, Ready or not, we're gonna have our way"
>
> Twisted Sister  Wake Up (the sleeping giant)
> http://www.deesnider.com/twisted/albums/lyrics/zwake.html
>
> Michael Jeffries
> AIM and Yahoo! ID  MJeff25916
> ICQ# 53522767