For Jennifer Garcia, the 201213 school year was off to a disappointing start. Rodriguez, Clement, as well as two of their supervisors, Bom and Merritt were charged with one felony count of child abuse and falsifying public records in April 2016. Stefanie A Rodriguez is an employee working in Children & Family Services. 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. The trials of Gabriel Fernandez also points to the failings of the Los Angeles Child Services and the four social works in charge of the Gabriel case. The seriousness of the charges appeared to concern the panel. Find Stefanie Rodriguez's articles, email address, contact information, Twitter and more. They recommended the death penalty. LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) A California appeals court has thrown out criminal charges against four social workers in the torture and murder of 8-year-old Palmdale boy Gabriel Fernandez. (During this period, foster care was in such short supply that DCFS routinely used a conference room to house children overnight.) HBO 2020 release schedule: Whats new on HBO in March 2020? Le Norgant informed social worker Patricia Clement and Palmdales LAC DCFS supervisor Greg Merritt. They were informed of suicide notes written by Gabriel but they took no additional action. The program said Gabriel was at very high risk. In September 2018, Superior Court Judge George G. Lomeli denied a motion to dismiss the charges, calling the young Palmdale boys death foreseeable.. He occasionally took books off the shelf, copied sentences in his own hand, and took them to Garcia. When Garcia first met the boy, in the schools front office, she noticed that Pearl and Aguirre werent like the other first-grade parents, who hovered over their children, crouching down to guide them through introductions or to explain how to get lunch. The area had seen an influx of poor families, and the number of calls to the child-abuse hotline was rising faster there than anywhere else in Southern California. The pendulum swung, and the United States saw a nearly 25 percent drop in the number of children in foster care from 2002 to 2012. Each employee's information disclosed include the full name, department, position title, annual earnings and benefits, etc. 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. Case dismissed against social workers charged in death of . She decided to call Rodriguez again, and again got voicemail. Social workers Stefanie Rodriguez, 35 and Patricia Clement, 69, and supervisors Kevin Bom, 41, and Gregory Merritt, 64, had each been charged with one felony count of child abuse and one felony . Have a seat. Then he admonished her, We dont investigate. He was supposed to read the entire file first, but he hadnt gotten to it. Pearl admitted to hitting him with the belt. A go-to money expert, Stefanie has appeared on ABC World News, CBSN, Fox & Friends, Fox Business, Bloomberg, Reuters, The Dr Oz Show and various other print and digital media outlets. Pearl and Aguirre eventually called 911. 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. He told me he winced whenever he read in child-death cases that his employees had interviewed a child with the alleged perpetrator nearby, or had halted their inquiry when a child recanted a claim of abuse. It was Gabriel. Your email address will not be published. Le Norgant also called 911, but the officer who visited the home left without even talking to Gabriel. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. They did nothing. He said he couldnt work with people who had refused to help Gabriel. Other teachers told her that Summerwind was one of the districts nicest schools, but when Garcia looked around at the peeling paint and crumbling stucco, she thought, If this is the best weve got, were really in trouble. 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. Doctors took him off life support on May 24, 2013. One, addressed to his mother, said, I love you so much that I will die. Others stated he wanted to kill himself. Gabriel suffered a fractured skull, broken ribs, a broken nose, and many missing teeth. He pressed, and she reluctantly went to ask a supervisors permission. I tried to feel his heart, Aguirre said, and nothing is moving.. Rodriguez was able to answer the programs multiple-choice questions based almost entirely on information that had been logged into the agencys files before she began her investigation. He called 911, but the operator said the situation didnt sound like an emergency and gave him the number for nonemergencies. An autopsy report showed bruises, fractures, and cuts all over his body including his groin as well as BB's embedded in his body. Everyone in the office knew that Palmdale had its share of caseworkers whom no one would choose to look after endangered children. No one could protect them alland he felt frustrated that both administrators and the public expected him to do the impossible. drop in the number of children in foster care, The Still-Harrowing Extent of Child Abuse and Neglect, In a Year, Child-Protective Services Checked Up on 3.2 Million Children, When the State Takes Kids Away From Parents: Three Perspectives. Rodriguez visited the familys apartment, but again Gabriel recanted. Nor did she ever interview Gabriel or his siblings alone, as is required by department policy because many children who fear additional abuse recant their stories if the perpetrator is present. Get notified about new Licensed Clinical Social Worker jobs in Chevy Chase, MD. She later learned that Gabriel had been declared brain-dead by the time shed called. On Monday, November 26, Gabriel arrived late. The appellate court could also dismiss the charges or reduce them to misdemeanors. Fernandez is currently serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole. Again, information traveled in one direction: Rodriguez wouldnt tell Garcia what she was doing to protect Gabriel, or whether she planned to remove him from his home. All six episodes of The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez are available to stream and download on Netflix now. he next day, the principal at Summerwind called Garcia into his office to tell her that Gabriel was dead. He asked her to put an A on the paper in the hope that his mother would be impressed. Username. Browning was also troubled that many of the parenting classes and counseling services the department relied on to prevent abuse had little evidence to support their efficacy. If they were to be found guilty, they faced up to 10 years in prison each. 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 Gabriel to be moved out of the family home. Gabriels eyes were swollen, and squinty like a cats. In late April, Gabriel appeared in class looking worse than Garcia had ever seen him. 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. The trial of the former DCFS workers has been on hold for more than a year. The 2nd District Court of Appeal advised that the lower court dismiss the charges against the social workers. See full bio More at IMDbPro Contact Info: View agent, publicist, legal on IMDbPro Known For Phil the Alien Young Madame Madame 2004 Hide all | | Edit Filmography Hide Actress (1 credit) 2004 Phil the Alien With his mother present, Gabriel told Rodriguez the bruises on his face came from a fall he had playing with his brother and dissenter. Of this total $30,591 was received as a salary, $2,687 was received as overtime pay, $11,113 was received as benefits and $5,272 came from other types of compensation . When the paramedics arrived, Ezequiel guided them wordlessly inside. 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. . Until, of course, another one did. She remembered how hard hed worked on it, even after she told him he didnt have to. The Second District California Appellate Court heard arguments from lawyers representing Kevin Bom, Stefanie Rodriguez, Gregory Merritt and Patricia Clement. The social worker Garcia contacted, Stefanie Rodriguez, 31, another social worker, Patricia Clement, 66, and two of their supervisors, Kevin Bom, 37, and Gregory Merritt, 61, are now facing charges of one felony count each of child abuse and falsifying records in relation to this case. Finances Cost per Session: $80 - $150 . The sheer number of rules caused many workers to consider them just suggestions that no human could ever fully absorb. On May 22, Pearl and Aguirre tortured Gabriel a final time. In his view, caseworkers should get more oversight, not less. Each week, O'Connell Rodriguez answers some super common and everyday questions about . His wrists had ligature marks, as if hed been tied up. 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. The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office had filed the charges of child abuse and falsifying records against social workers Stefanie Rodrigez, 35, and Patricia Clement, 59, as well as . He rarely went outside during recess, and when he did, Garcia sometimes saw him alone on the playground, kicking a wall. His father, Arnold Contreras, was in and out of jail but thought Gabriels maternal grandparents would be watching over him. Garcia testified that she first called the child abuse hotline on Oct. 30, 2012. Chevy Chase, MD, Referrals increase your chances of interviewing at Dice by 2x. When Garcia first questioned Gabriel about his injuries, he lied to her and told her he fell. Following Gabriels death in 2013, Rodriguez, Clement, Bom and Merritt were fired from their positions at DCFS following an international investigation after Gabriels death in 2013. Long Term Disability Premiums, Life Insurance Premiums and Employer Medicare Tax. Whereas in the past, agencies had received an allocation based on the number of children who were in foster care, Los Angeles and certain other jurisdictions now received waivers that allowed them to keep the same level of funding even if foster-care rolls dropped. Gabriel, he later testified, turned around and made eye contact with me and I noticed he had a greenish-bluish eyea black eyeand lumps on the back of his head. That changed in 2001, with the case of Logan Marr, a 5-year-old girl from Maine whod been removed from her home by the states grossly interventionist child-protective-services agency. 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