According to DCFSs internal investigation, neither Rodriguez nor Bom reviewed the information related to these calls. Fishpond Hong Kong, Statistical Mechanics, Third Edition by R K Pathria . Garcia told the court Gabriel showed up with chunks of hair missing and bloody scabs on his head. The thing she loves most about working at the Alliance, is connecting with caregivers. But the deputy director who oversees the region, Maryam Fatemi, told me she didnt think the trial was on staffers minds, partly because the high churn rate meant that many of them had joined the department after Gabriels death. Garcia asked what had happened. Social worker Stefanie Rodriguez and other representatives of child protection agencies visited Gabriel's home on a number of occasions. His aim, he says, was to develop ways to prevent abuse from occurring in the first place and, when foster care was necessary, to move children to safe, permanent homes more quickly. Prosecutors had granted immunity to a caseworker and a therapist, in exchange for their testimony against Merritt and the other defendants. Garcia called Rodriguez again, despite the odd sense of complicity she now felt after hearing that her efforts only made things worse. She reported that Gabriels face and hands had bruises from strikes with a belt buckle. charged with child abuse and falsifying public records, Pearl Sinthia Fernandez, was sentenced to life in prison, while her boyfriend, Isauro Aguirre, was sentenced to death. In 1962, the Journal of the American Medical Association published the results of the first national survey of hospitals about child abuse. Take your time, Garcia told him. Such was the case with 8-year-old Gabriel Fernandez and his first-grade teacher Jennifer Garcia. y the time Greg Merritt, Stefanie Rodriguez, Kevin Bom, and Pat Clement arrived for their own first day in court, on April 7, 2016, they were pariahs. Garcia called the principal to the room to take a look at Gabriels head. Earnings for Regularly Scheduled Work Hours. The four also had criminal charges filed against them. She was convicted of using a weapon in a reckless manner and sentenced to two weeks in a Texas jail. 679215 Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF. This person may work with the birth family, the court, outside agencies providing ancillary services to the child, the child's out-of-home caregiver (If the child was not able . Contact Stefanie, search articles and Tweets, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place. In 2018, after Pearl and Isauros sentencing, prosecutors opened an investigation into the four social workers who had been assigned to Gabriels case. Chippewa Valley Museum in need of Summer volunteers. But the pressures of the job, she said, pushed her out anywayshe went on extended medical leave and eventually agreed to retire. Scalp, Face, Neck, Ears and Shoulder Injuries Documented at Trial (diagam) | Autopsy Injury Diagram (drawing). His loyalties were with his colleagues in the branch office, the ones who would gather for after-hours parties known as howls, where theyd hoot and holler, with bonfires and country musica release valve for the stresses of a difficult job. The appellate court formally sent the matter back to the lower court in April and Lomeli was expected to officially drop the charges on Thursday. There is, therefore, no probable cause to hold them on charges of violating those laws and the trial court should have granted the motions to dismiss, the opinion continued. My mom punched me in the mouth, he said. and M.Sc. In 2017, social workers Stefanie Rodriguez, Patricia Clement, and supervisors Kevin Bom and Gregory Merritt, were charged with child abuse and falsifying public records. All rights reserved. Prosecutors say that the four minimized evidence of abuse and violated multiple policies, reporting that safety programs at Gabriel's home were working at the time abuse was escalating. On Thursday, Gabriel arrived at school with a busted lip. He was a devout Christian, and to him this wasnt just a job. He finally admitted that Pearl shot him in the face with a BB gun. Social workers Stefanie Rodriguez, 34, and Patricia Clement, 69, were charged along with two supervisors, Kevin Bom, 40, and Gregory Merritt, 64, with one felony count each of child abuse and . All four of the caseworkers had been fired. Is it normal for you to bleed?. That same year, Casey declared a new central goal: to reduce the number of children in foster care by half by 2020. Negligent child welfare workers may face prison time in connection with the death of 8-year-old Gabriel Fernandez. Director Brian Knappenberger documents the investigation into the months of abuse preceding his murder as well as the trial against his mother and her boyfriend. None of the Gabriel Fernandez social workers faced trial. She left a career in genetic res They hid Gabriels bloody clothes and moved a picture to cover one of the biggest dents in their apartments walls. The social workers case is set to be heard Jan. 14 in Lomelis court. Inside, fluorescent bulbs threw a dull yellow light across the courtroom. Instead, she asked Gabriel whether he really wanted to do that days assignment: making a Mothers Day card. Merritt started going back through the notes on his computer, and saw that Gabriels first-grade teacher had, in fact, regularly called one of Merritts colleaguesa young caseworker named Stefanie Rodriguezwith disturbing reports. On the rare days when Gabriel came to class, she told him to be good and never give his mother a reason to get angry. Hed been living with his maternal grandparents, with whom he was close, but his mother, Pearl Fernandez, wanted Gabriels welfare benefits, so she brought him to live with her for the first time in his life, over his grandparents strenuous objections. Garcia didnt know what to say to Gabriel. Justice Francis Rothschild wrote: We conclude that the petitioners never had the requisite duty to control the abusers and did not have care or custody of Gabriel for purposes of Penal Code section 273a, subdivision (a). I dont believe you, Gabriel, she said, noting that this was the first time hed lied to her. The haircut? Despite numerous contacts with the family and calls from Gabriels first grade teacher, DCFS determined all was well. Former colleagues told me he now mows lawns. I wondered to what extent Gabriels death and the criminal charges facing their former colleagues had affected how they approached their jobs. Neither Rodriguez nor Bom thought the bruise warranted a doctors visit or Gabriels removal from the home, though they did ask Pearl and her boyfriend to undergo drug testing the next day, because of Garcias report that Gabriel had demonstrated how to snort cocaine. Overall employment of social workers is projected to grow 9 percent from 2021 to 2031, faster than the average for all occupations. Almost three years had passed since Gabriels death, and many people had all but forgotten that a criminal review was under way. Each week, O'Connell Rodriguez answers some super common and everyday questions about . When Barbara Dallis, one of the departments assistant regional administrators, showed up at Merritts desk that morning asking for the Gabriel Fernandez case file, he didnt immediately understand that something terrible had happened. As we sat in her living room, she told me that working for Merritt had made the job tolerable; he always had her back, and would encourage her to take a lunch break or work from home when he sensed that the pressures of the job were getting to her. Gabriel asked his teacher, Jennifer Garcia, if it was normal for moms to hit their kids. 620k Followers, 31 Following, 122 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Stephanie Rodriguez (@stephrodriguezofficial) Since then, the number of children removed from their home in any given year has risen or fallen according to pendulum swings in child-protective-services agencies, which have alternated between erring on the side of child safety and erring on the side of family preservation. A familys prior history is one of the most reliable measures of the need for future intervention, and in the past 10 years, at least four hotline calls had been made alleging that Pearl Fernandez was neglecting or abusing her children. Pearl Sinthia Fernandez was sentenced to life in prison without parole after pleading to first-degree murder and admitting the torture allegation. One day in late October, about two weeks after hed started at school, Gabriel tugged on her side in the middle of class. Still, Mondays events nagged at Garcia. The announcement that they faced criminal charges had come as a shock. But she, too, said she didnt think about Gabriels casethat was in the past.. They additionally contend that supervisors Bomand Meritt knew or should have known that the reports were false as they contradicted physical evidence of Gabriels deteriorating physical health. Following the caretakers' convictions, four social workers in the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (Stefanie Rodriguez, 34, and Patricia Clement, 69, and two. He walked into class with his head down. The other children were silent. Garcia testified she repeatedly reported suspected abuse to social workers who failed to prevent his death. Reid took detailed notes, and Garcia soon received a phone call from Stefanie Rodriguez. His one solace was a mens group at church, where he felt he was able to make his case to a higher power. Los Angeles County social workers Stefanie Rodriguez, Patricia Clement, Kevin Bom and Gregory Merritt, were charged with two felony counts in relation to the death of Fernandez on April 7,. Garcia told Gabriel to tell other kids to mind their own business when they asked him what had happened. Buy, sell, and rent smarter with Stefanie Rodriguez at Compass. The appellate opinion noted that although they may have failed in their duties as social workers there was no probable cause for a criminal case. The program is rudimentary and has been criticized for miscalculating risk, but an internal study showed that it is significantly more reliable than caseworkers own determinations. His hair cut was awful and sloppy, and chunks of his scalp had scabbed over. They just couldnt wrap their heads around it, she told me. To this day, Jennifer Garcia reserves the #28 in her classroom. Garcia threw it in the trash in disgust and frustration. "We need to stand up to fight. Until, of course, another one did. It destroyed my life.. Host Stefanie O'Connell Rodriguez turned to Jill Schlesinger, CFP, a business analyst for CBS News, for advice. An unfiltered extrovert known as Mama Starr, she put Merritt, a stoic introvert, at ease. January 7, 2020 / 5:43 AM CNBC - Fri, 08 Apr 2022 . But as they rummaged through a pile of recently closed cases, Dallis explained that Gabriel, who was 8, had been severely abused and might die. After all, Kate was mysteriously absent from the season three finale fast-forward scene and Toby seemed hesitant . She emailed the school psychologist, hoping that Gabriel might be able to receive counseling. Over the years, the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services has taken significant steps to mitigate risk and improve our capacity countywide in order to best serve vulnerable children and families and as a department we remain committed to ensuring that reform continues. There were cigarette burns on his neck, feet, and genitals and ligature marks on both ankles. It was meant to be used for lower-risk cases, but a later review found that the department was taking chances on parents who would not have been eligible for family-preservation services had their cases reached the courts. Wellington, Wellington Region, New Zealand, Senior PR and Communications Officer - British Consulate General Sydney, Information Technology Service Management Analyst, Manager, Corporate and Marketing Communications, SSC Malaysia - Finance Team Lead - Bill & Pay, Techtronic Industries Australia & New Zealand, Volt - International (An Innova Solutions Company). LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge dismissed charges against social workers who were accused of child abuse and falsifying records related to the death of 8-year-old Gabriel Fernandez. In June 2018, Superior Court Judge George G. Lomeli sentenced Isauro Aguirre to death for the boy's first-degree murder and a special circumstance allegation of murder involving torture. She turned the conversation back to Gabriel. Stefanie Rodriguez. She had lost custody of a son named Arnold Jr and had abandoned her youngest daughter, Destiny. The Auditor-Controller discloses information about compensations paid to employees of Los Angeles County in the form of earnings and fringe benefits. Bom declined to comment for this article. The four had been held to answer charges of felony abuse in a preliminary hearing, but in the appeal their attorneys argued that there was insufficient evidence of criminal wrongdoing. Social workers Stephanie Rodriguez and Patricia Clement visited the Fernandez family home on multiple occasions but both workers claimed they never saw signs of abuse that would require. She had abandoned her youngest child, a daughter named Destiny, and lost custody of a son named Arnold Jr., who was a year older than Gabriel. Garcia says her interactions with Rodriguez began shortlyafter she suspected Gabriels mother was physically retaliating against him for his in-school misbehavior. The boy was left in his mothers custody despite repeated reports of abuse, including by Gabriels teacher, and follow-up visits by the social workers to the family home. Please reload the page and try again. Her supervisor, Kevin Bom, a 33-year-old who was seen as a rising star in the department, would approve every key decision she made and sign off on all her reports. Like many others, shed wanted out of Palmdale for a long time, and she often talked about the business ventures she hoped would finance her escape: a vending-machine enterprise, an RV park. The majority of children killed by their guardians are 3 or younger. She called the hospital, asking if she could visit. But a senior child-abuse prosecutor told me that if the victim is a child, a quick log entry will suffice. He had BB pellets embedded in his body - "in his neck, face, lung, legs, buttocks, foot, chest and groin." We have been six years fighting this battle," says the boy's cousin Olivia Rubio. There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. RELATED: Uncle breaks silence on Gabriel Fernandez 7 years after his death. Merritt was on antidepressants, and he rarely left the house. Death and the other defendants Medical leave and eventually agreed to retire physically against. A higher power Merritt and the other defendants she now felt after hearing her! 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