Children have died or nearly died of abuse or neglect five times in Pima County since March, illustrating what a recent state audit determined: Arizona’s child-welfare agency needs better assessment protocols to see when a removal is necessary.
A recent Arizona Auditor General’s report found deficiencies in the Department of Child Safety’s risk assessment processes, with too many caseworkers not adequately documenting cases and therefore leaving children at risk.
“We found that department staff did not consistently document information in the (risk assessment) and did not always meet the department’s documentation requirements,” the report says.
In three of the five cases here, the perpetrators were known to the state’s Department of Child Safety. All of the victims were ages 2 and younger.
DCS is prioritizing how to help caseworkers better determine when a child needs to be removed from a home, said Doug Nick, a spokesman for DCS.
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“A lot of these things are part of our strategic plan,” he said. “We are looking at barriers that might have impacted the outcome of the case.”
In some instances, little can be done because of factors that are out of caseworker control, such as a mother bringing in a boyfriend who is abusive without the caseworker knowing about it, or after an investigation has closed.
The cases here :
• On March 26, DCS received a report that an 8-month-old boy was hospitalized in serious condition. He had several severe injuries including a spinal fracture, bleeding around his brain, head trauma and failure to thrive.
His mother, Abigail Silva, admitted to injuring her child and was charged with child abuse. The baby’s father, Raul Mejia II, was charged with failing to protect the baby.
• In late June, DCS received a report of a 2-year-old boy who had been taken to the hospital with a severe head injury. His mother, Ashley Fry, and her mother’s boyfriend, Kyle McConnell, were charged with child abuse.
In March, someone had reported that the toddler’s mother was seen “slapping the child across the face at least three times within 15 minutes.” The child was crying, the report says, but there were no signs of swelling or bruising.
A month later, in April, a report of child neglect was filed because McConnell was living at the home and had a history of domestic violence with the family. He was also said to be using heroin and leaving paraphernalia around the house.
Both of these reports were under investigation when the near-fatality occurred.
• In late June, 2-year-old Victoria Rivas drowned in the swimming pool where she lived. Detectives with the Pima County Sheriff’s Department found heroin and other drugs inside the house.
The child’s father, Sean Hughes, was responsible for watching his daughter. He was charged with second-degree murder and child abuse after the gate to the pool was found propped open. The child’s mother, Heather Rivas, who was also home at the time Victoria drowned, was also charged with child abuse.
• In mid-July, DCS received a report of a 1-year-old boy who had been brought to the hospital after being found unconscious at home. Tests showed he had bleeding around his brain and retinal hemorrhaging.
The baby’s stepfather, Paul Mendoza, and mother, Brittany Pfister, were both charged with child abuse. Pfister also was charged with failing to protect her child.
There were two previous reports, including one in December 2014 alleging physical abuse to the child, who was found to have a healing rib fracture during a hospitalization for whooping cough. Physicians tending to the child “found the injury suspicious,” records show, but since there was a possibility his rib fractured from coughing, the allegations were unsubstantiated.
In May 2012, DCS received a report that a child had been physically abused by an unknown perpetrator, who was later identified as Paul Mendoza. That allegation was not substantiated.
• On Aug. 28, DCS received a report about a 7-month-old boy whom paramedics found to be unresponsive and without a pulse. It is unknown who called the ambulance. He showed signs of trauma unequal pupils.
The baby’s mother, Elisa Garcia, and her boyfriend, Charlie Stoy, were arrested on child-abuse charges.
Earlier, on Feb. 7, DCS had received a report that the child was a substance-exposed newborn. The family was assessed, the report shows, and was not found to be in need of other services.
In June 2012, Stoy was investigated for allegedly pointing a gun at the head of his then-girlfriend and their child. He was arrested and charged with aggravated assault. The DCS investigation included substantiated allegations of child abuse, and his rights to this child were terminated.
