CullmanTimes.com - Cullman, Alabama

National News

December 6, 2012

Ohio rebukes agency's intern use

CINCINNATI — Ohio investigators found improper use of college interns, among other violations of procedures, by a private adoption agency that helped place children with an adoptive father accused of raping three boys in his care.

State files obtained by The Associated Press through public records requests show that the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services investigated the private agency in the aftermath of the February arrests of the 40-year-old Troy man. The state findings listed 12 problems; in most cases they involved incomplete records and lack of documentation. They also found that college interns improperly conducted some home assessments and post-placement visits alone.

Dayton-based ACTION Inc. submitted a detailed corrective action plan in response that included ending its college internship program. The Ohio department accepted the plan and has continued its state license.

The private agency's executive director, Patricia Hill, said no wrongdoing was found in its handling of the Troy adoptions. She referred questions to the agency's attorney, who didn't immediately return a telephone message Thursday. Her agency's website says she is a licensed social worker with a master's degree in social work, and is the mother of 22 children through adoption and one through long-term foster care. Hill earned her master's in social work from UC in 1997.

The Troy man last month pleaded guilty to six counts of child rape in Miami County in a plea agreement. The Associated Press isn't identifying the adoptive father to protect the children's identities.

A Dec. 20 hearing is scheduled in Montgomery County on plea negotiations on seven rape-related counts he faces there. Two other men are charged in separate cases with raping one of the boys the man had adopted.

The state investigation was a review of all agency operations, not just the Troy case, department spokesman Benjamin Johnson said. The state found that college interns conducted some home study assessments by themselves, as well as some post-placement visits. It doesn't say whether they were at the Troy man's home.

However, the man told The Associated Press during an interview at the Miami County Jail this week that a college student had come to his home once for a regular visit with an ACTION caseworker, then returned alone for other visits. He said she appeared to follow the same visit procedures as regular caseworkers did, such as separating the children from him for interviews about how they were doing in their new home.

Ohio regulations stipulate that "an agency shall not use volunteers or college interns as a replacement for paid staff."

In responses to the state, Hill included a June letter to the University of Cincinnati School of Social Work stating that ACTION would no longer provide student internships.

University of Cincinnati spokesman Richard Puff told the AP that top officials at the school didn't receive the letter, which was addressed "To Whom It May Concern." Puff also said the school had ended its relationship with ACTION long before the letter because of concerns about how student evaluations were done. He said three UC graduate students in spring of 2011 were the last to intern with ACTION. He didn't know whether any had been involved with the Troy man's case.

The state file doesn't indicate whether any other schools placed interns with ACTION.

The man had been a foster parent dating to 2006. About two years ago, three children from Texas were placed with him through ACTION, part of an interstate compact to help match children with adoptive parents. They included a biological brother and sister. All were under age 13.

The man had adopted all three and was in the process of adopting a fourth child, a 9-year-old boy, who came from Texas last year, when he was arrested.

Texas Department of Family and Protective Services spokesman Patrick Crimmins said the department decided after reviewing the cases to continue contracting with ACTION on adoption placements. It had placed 28 children through ACTION since 2004 and has placed one through ACTION since the Troy arrest.

He said the last boy placed in Troy has been returned to Texas and is in foster care, with efforts being made to find "a suitable adoptive family."

The three other children were in the care of Miami County children's services, and Ohio judges will rule on their permanent custody.

A judge ruled recently that one of the boys can testify via closed circuit TV in the upcoming trial of a man his adoptive father allegedly arranged with to rape him in their Troy home.

Contact the Dan Sewell on Twitter.

 

Text Only
National News
  • Did you just win $590M? Get a good team in place

    So you have a lottery ticket worth $590.5 million. Now what?

    May 20, 2013

  • Questions linger in shooting of NY college student

    As a grieving family prepared for the funeral of a Hofstra University junior killed by a police officer's bullet during a standoff with an armed intruder, some on Monday questioned whether police should have waited for help, including a hostage negotiating team.

    May 20, 2013

  • White House says more farm subsidy cuts needed

    The Obama administration said Monday it wants to see more cuts to agriculture subsidies in a massive farm bill moving through the Senate this week.

    May 20, 2013

  • Senators require fingerprinting at 30 airports

    Senate supporters of far-reaching immigration legislation accepted minor changes in public while negotiating over more sweeping alterations in private Monday as they drove toward expected Judiciary Committee approval by mid-week.

    May 20, 2013

  • IG: ex-US Attorney retaliated in Fast and Furious

    The U.S. Attorney in Arizona violated Justice Department policy by providing Fox News with information apparently aimed at undercutting the credibility of a federal agent who helped reveal the botched arms-trafficking probe called Operation Fast and Furious, the Justice Department's inspector general said Monday.

    May 20, 2013

  • Panel: Apple uses firms outside US to avoid taxes

    Apple Inc. employs a group of affiliate companies located outside the United States to avoid paying billions of dollars in U.S. income taxes, a Senate investigation has found.

    May 20, 2013

  • House passes bill on lying about military medals

    People who falsely claim they have received a military medal in order to obtain money or government benefits could face up to a year in jail under legislation that easily passed the House Monday.

    May 20, 2013

  • More Obama aides knew of IRS audit; Obama not told

    White House chief of staff Denis McDonough and other senior advisers knew in late April that an impending report was likely to say the IRS had inappropriately targeted conservative groups, President Barack Obama's spokesman disclosed Monday, expanding the circle of top officials who knew of the audit beyond those named earlier.

    May 20, 2013

  • APTOPIX Severe Twister season starts late, but starts nonetheless

    Deadly tornadoes that have raked communities in Middle America over the past week, including Monday's massive twister that carved a path of destruction through the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore, belie what had been a relatively quiet start of the 2013 tornado season.

    May 20, 2013 1 Photo

  • Education Department gives 3 more states waivers

    Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced on Monday that three more states would join the ranks of those given permission to ignore parts of the federal No Child Left Behind law in favor of their own school improvement plans.

    May 20, 2013

Facebook
AP Video
Voters Could Elect LA's First Female Mayor Huge Tornado Kills Dozens Near Oklahoma City Raw: Rescuers Pull Tornado Survivors to Safety Oklahoma Gov: 'Hearts Are Broken' After Tornado Raw: Walking in a Flattened Okla. Neighborhood Raw: Rescue Workers Search Oklahoma School Raw: Witness Describes Scene After Okla. Tornado Raw: Aftermath of Massive Tornado in Oklahoma Raw: House Burns After Massive Oklahoma Tornado Raw: Tornado on the Ground in Oklahoma Split-second Choice Ended With NY Student Dead White House Backs 'Shield Law' for Media Wave of Attacks Kills Scores in Iraq Pug Life on Display at Wisconsin Festival Company Promises to Make All Snail Mail Digital Analyst: Tumblr Fills Void in Yahoo's Offerings Commuters Face Delays After Conn. Train Accident Raw: Swarm of Tornadoes Slams Plains Raw: Fierce Bombing in Qusair, Syria RAW: TV Staff Take Cover From Tornado
Community Calendar
Loading…
Events by eviesays.com