DEL.ICIO.USCaseworker urged boy, now dead, not be put in home
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Friday, July 03, 2009
A month after a boy was allegedly killed by his grandfather during an argument over a watermelon, the State Child Advocate has questioned whether the boy should have been placed in the home.
According to child welfare records obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, in July 2005, about two months before Michael Levigne, 6, moved into the grandparents’ home, Larry Willis, a caseworker with the state Division of Family and Children Services, informed his colleagues that the home of Linda and Robert Clark was not safe.
Michael Levigne had a long history with DFCS. His parents had drug and emotional problems, along with issues of housing, unemployment, poverty and raising their children, according to Michael’s 1,200-page DFCS file.
That led to a request for a home assessment, according to DFCS records. There is no evidence that assessment ever took place, said State Child Advocate Tom Rawlings.
“I’m concerned that those children were placed in a home that (a child welfare) office said was not appropriate,” Rawlings said.
DFCS officials acknowledged there is no 2005 home assessment in the agency’s records, but said they believed one occurred. One year earlier, in March 2004, DFCS workers did evaluate the home in connection with the possible placement of children other than Michael. DFCS found “too many red flags” to place them there, Rawlings said.
The March 2004 home evaluation indicated Linda Clark had been arrested in Florida on the charge of child abuse in 1993. The charge was dropped, Rawlings said.
Another home evaluation, eight months later in November 2004, determined that the home was acceptable for children, Rawlings said.
About a year later, Michael and his brother William moved into the Clark home, around September 2005.
On June 7 of this year, Michael allegedly was shot dead by his grandfather at their home in Commerce, police said. An argument over who cut into a watermelon escalated to the point where Robert Clark shot Michael, then shot his wife, and then engaged in a standoff with police that ended with his being shot, police said.
Linda Clark remains in the intensive care unit at Grady Memorial Hospital, and Robert Clark is in the medical wing of the Hall County jail, charged with murder and aggravated assault. Michael’s brother was taken into DFCS care.
Michael Levigne had a long history with DFCS. His parents had drug and emotional problems, along with issues of housing, unemployment, poverty and raising their children, according to Michael’s 1,200-page DFCS file.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution obtained the file through the state open records law.
Rawlings, the state child advocate, said he is concerned that the agency did not thoroughly review the grandparents’ home before allowing Michael and his brother William to live there.
“The record tells us up front that (a) county DFCS office was very concerned about placing children in that home,” Rawlings said. “It is incumbent on the state to make sure that the placement is going to be a safe one.”
This week, DFCS Director Mark Washington said he did not find that requested home assessment in the boy’s file. But he did point to a case file entry on Aug. 8, 2005, that indicated a caseworker “told Mrs. Clark her home has been approved for short term stay by Jackson County DFCS.”
Rawlings said that is not acceptable proof that a home assessment was done. Rawlings noted that there can be a difference between a home evaluation and a home assessment. An assessment can be a quicker review. If the child is staying for months or more, the assessment should be followed by a fuller home evaluation, which can include interviews with the caregivers, relatives and neighbors as well as criminal background checks. Either way, the documents should be included in the record, he said.
The child abuse charge against Linda Clark, noted in the March 2004 evaluation, pertained to a 1993 incident in which Clark’s teenage son came home drunk, started “trouble” with his mother, and she hit him on a the head with a broomstick, said DFCS spokeswoman Dena Smith. The charge was later dropped.
DFCS officials have stressed that there has never been a substantiated case of child abuse or neglect regarding the Clarks and their care of Michael and his brother, and that the agency did not have an open case on the family at the time of Michael’s death.
“Did we ask the right questions? Did we make the right evaluations?” said DFCS Director Washington. “I can see evidence of those.”
Linda Clark was a thoughtful caregiver to Michael and his brother, Washington said. During a August 2007 meeting with a caseworker, Robert Clark said the two boys were a “blessing,” according to DFCS documents. The child welfare agency did on a few occasions help the Clarks obtain assistance services, and agency officials say there were no signs of trouble with the boys’ care. Rawlings said the state child’s advocate office is continuing to explore the case.
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