Girl left Alone In Gwinnett Child Aid Office

Atlanta Journal & Constitution ^ | 05/02/03 | Beth Warren

[kcordell]

Girl left alone at night in Gwinnett child aid office

By BETH WARREN The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A 13-year-old girl in foster care was left alone at night inside the Lawrenceville headquarters of the Gwinnett Department of Family and Children Services.

A police officer, responding to an alarm at the Northdale Road building, found the frightened child at 2:28 a.m. Thursday.

"It's very alarming," said Reneé Huie, a spokeswoman for the Georgia Department of Human Resources, the agency that oversees DFCS offices across the state. "I do not know of it ever happening before."

Two caseworkers from child protective services have been suspended with pay while the investigation is under way, Huie said.

"This is just what we've done while we gather all of the facts," Huie said. "There are other disciplinary actions that can be taken depending on what has occurred."

Investigators from the Georgia Department of Human Resources state office headed to Gwinnett on Thursday from Atlanta. Gwinnett DFCS director Ken Duke did not respond to a message left at his office.

Police said the child's foster parents complained of ongoing problems with the child and brought her to the agency to meet with her caseworker. That worker wasn't there so another caseworker took the girl to a family room -- a visiting area with a couch and chairs.

The foster parents left the building, Kelsey said. The worker left the room after telling the girl she would find her another home to stay in, the captain said.

"She sat and waited and waited," he said. "Nobody came to get her."

The teen feel asleep on the couch, but awoke in the middle of the night.

"She was in this big building by herself in the dark," Kelsey said.

The girl stumbled around and found a phone in the lobby. She sat down at a desk and called her aunt, who called 911.

The girl's movements set off the security alarm, so police were already on their way.

The officer found an unlocked window and crawled inside to wait with the girl until police could reach DFCS caseworkers, who arrived about 30 minutes later.

[Movemout]

If the case worker has children I think he or she should be investigated by the DFCS for possible negligence. They should remove the children from the home until the investigation is concluded.

[Free the USA]

http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/bump-list

[FreedomPoster]

That would be a fitting way to handle this. I like it.

[OldSmaj]

Two caseworkers from child protective services have been suspended with pay while the investigation is under way, Huie said.

I fail to see the point in this.

What the hell good does it do to suspend someone with pay?

Exactly what is accomplished?

[Lockbox]

Two caseworkers from child protective services have been suspended with pay while the investigation is under way, Huie said.

I fail to see the point in this.

What the hell good does it do to suspend someone with pay?

Exactly what is accomplished?

They are professional embarrassed and it goes in their file.........................................

Snicker, snicker, snicker

[Shannon]

Sounds like vacation to me.

[GovernmentShrinker]

To make sure an innocent person isn't harmed by presumption of their guilt. Two caseworkers were mentioned, though only was mentioned as having had contact with the girl that day. If the one that had contact turned responsibility over to the other one, who accepted it and then dropped the ball, is the first one really guilty? In the end, I think more workers than these two caseworkers ought to be feeling some disciplinary heat. Surely someone is responsible for checking if anyone is still in the building before it's locked up for the night, and it doesn't sound as if the girl was hiding.

[NFOShekky]

The legacy of "It takes a village to raise a child."

[freedomlover]

For non-Atlantans the AJC loves to hate anything from Gwinnett or Cobb county (suburbs of Atlanta)

Just FYI

[JAWs]

"I do not know of it ever happening before."

Well, except on a metaphorical level...