Posted on 03/01/2002 6:44:21 AM PST by real saxophonist
Mom sues over daughter's suicide
Story By Sharon Dunn
Valerie Varela was only 13.
But she was in love with Daniel Rodriguez. On Feb. 27, 2001, he killed himself, just a year after his older brother had done the same.
For the next six months, Valerie talked often of suicide.
She couldn't cope with the distress of losing Daniel. She ran away from home eight times.
Valerie also committed suicide, and her mother, Michelle Carrillo, blames the Weld County Department of Social Services and is planning to file a lawsuit.
Carrillo, 32, of Greeley said she repeatedly asked social services to take custody of her daughter and put her in in a lock-down facility where she couldn't duplicate Daniel's fate. She said she was told they could do nothing because her daughter wasn't involved in the criminal system.
In September, when the department finally decided to take temporary custody of Valerie, Carrillo thought her daughter would finally get the help she needed. The day before, however, Valerie was arrested and placed in a detoxification center.
She ran from the center that night, though the worker on staff had documented that Valerie was there, Carrillo said. Family members called Greeley police to report where she was, but they said they could do nothing because social services hadn't made a runaway report, Carrillo said.
Social services reported Valerie as a runaway four days later. Two days later, on Sept. 12, Valerie hanged herself.
Carrillo says social services dropped the ball in keeping her daughter safe. Last week, she informed social services, Weld County commissioners, the Greeley City Council and the Greeley Police Department that she plans to sue. "I don't want them to do this to another kid," Carrillo said. "Who's to say it won't happen again? When there is a cry for help as much as there was with Valerie, they should start paying attention. They need to quit saying there's nothing they can do."
By filing an intent to sue, Carrillo is giving authorities proper notice of an impending complaint under the law.
Governmental entities are typically immune from most lawsuits but can be found liable under the right circumstances.
"The wrongful death of Valerie Varela was due to the deliberate indifference of, the gross negligence of and/or the negligent performance of their duties by representatives of the Weld County Department of Social Services and the Greeley Police Department," the letter of intent states.
Carrillo's attorney, Randall Arp of Golden, said he will decide whether to file the lawsuit when he gets more information. If he does file a lawsuit, it would be for wrongful death and negligence.
"If this suicide happened two weeks earlier, there would be no claim," Arp said. "There's a question in my mind about social services taking custody, putting her in detox and she runs. It seems an unexplainable delay between when she runs and when she is reported. And that delay leads up to the day before her death.
"There's also allegations that social services was aware of her being suicidal and indicated they would implement treatment and safeguards, but none of that happened. If that's the case, it would seem like the process broke down."
Judy Griego, director of social services, declined to comment about the case. In a letter to Carrillo, however, she said her information was that Carrillo resisted help from social services.
Griego added that her department did not have the authority to put Valerie in a lock-down facility as Carrillo said she requested.
Excellent point!
That's scarry. You might have spanked a child in public, you might have allowed a naked child to run out your front door, you might have a neighbor who doesn't like you and complained a couple of times about your kids playing too loud. Just about anything can bring 'them' into your home and it is something that I have fretted about a time or two.
On the other hand, we homeschool and have 'visiting teacher' in our house twice a month. She is wonderful and loves our kids. There are families out there that kill their kids and lock them in closets for years at a time and every other sick thing you can imagine. The bottom line is that the world sucks and without the Lord, it will never even begin to make sense.
There are many times that authorities in the hospital debated turning our niece into custodial care of the juvenial system for her protection. After reviewing the mandatory government services from CPS and professional counseling that we had to endure, I am grateful that we were able to resist the poison that such a system could have caused to this child.
Oh, she's fine now. Of course you are on her planet right now and you better not forget it!
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