1 00:00:00,920 --> 00:00:04,000 Speaker 1: This is Latino USA, the radio journal of News and 2 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:07,480 Speaker 1: Kurtu Latus Latino USA. 3 00:00:07,720 --> 00:00:08,840 Speaker 2: I'm Mariaojosa. 4 00:00:09,240 --> 00:00:12,560 Speaker 1: We bring you stories that are underreported but that mattered 5 00:00:12,600 --> 00:00:14,720 Speaker 1: to you, overlooked by the rest of the media, and 6 00:00:14,760 --> 00:00:16,840 Speaker 1: while the country is struggling to deal with these, we 7 00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:19,960 Speaker 1: listen to the stories of Black and Latino Studios United, 8 00:00:20,079 --> 00:00:24,919 Speaker 1: Latino Front, a cultural renaissance organizing at the forefront of 9 00:00:24,960 --> 00:00:32,239 Speaker 1: the movement. I'm Maria Inojosa. Dear listener. When you have 10 00:00:32,440 --> 00:00:35,040 Speaker 1: a lot of reporting to choose from, because you've been 11 00:00:35,040 --> 00:00:38,120 Speaker 1: on the air for a while, there's always something excellent 12 00:00:38,640 --> 00:00:41,680 Speaker 1: to re air. Here's a show from the archives, and 13 00:00:41,880 --> 00:00:46,680 Speaker 1: just a warning. This story deals with domestic violence. It 14 00:00:46,720 --> 00:00:50,400 Speaker 1: includes details about a death of a child, So you know, 15 00:00:50,880 --> 00:00:51,680 Speaker 1: just take care. 16 00:00:53,840 --> 00:01:02,520 Speaker 3: Thank you, don't throw it, you get it. 17 00:01:04,959 --> 00:01:07,840 Speaker 4: Leah Garcia loved being a mom to little Joseph. 18 00:01:08,560 --> 00:01:10,560 Speaker 5: I thought it was gonna be he was gonna be 19 00:01:10,600 --> 00:01:13,600 Speaker 5: a hard bob, but he wasn't. He was really easy 20 00:01:14,040 --> 00:01:15,760 Speaker 5: from the there I had him. He was sleep throughout 21 00:01:15,760 --> 00:01:18,360 Speaker 5: the whole nia ace half the Week'm up to feed him. 22 00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:20,840 Speaker 5: He was a really easy babe when I had him. 23 00:01:21,319 --> 00:01:25,119 Speaker 4: When she had him, Joseph was five months old when 24 00:01:25,120 --> 00:01:27,880 Speaker 4: he was taken from her by social workers from ELA's 25 00:01:27,959 --> 00:01:31,880 Speaker 4: Child Protective Services. Leah was twenty two at the time, 26 00:01:32,240 --> 00:01:35,520 Speaker 4: and her three year old daughter was also removed, something 27 00:01:35,680 --> 00:01:39,360 Speaker 4: she never thought would happen to her own children. See 28 00:01:39,480 --> 00:01:42,960 Speaker 4: Leah grew up surrounded by foster children. Her grandmother was 29 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:46,120 Speaker 4: a foster mother, and throughout her childhood, Leah played with 30 00:01:46,240 --> 00:01:50,160 Speaker 4: kids she came to feel were like siblings, children abused 31 00:01:50,240 --> 00:01:53,520 Speaker 4: or neglected by their own parents, who her grandmother gave 32 00:01:53,520 --> 00:01:54,080 Speaker 4: a home to. 33 00:01:54,760 --> 00:01:59,560 Speaker 5: And I remember growing up my worst fear was my 34 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:01,360 Speaker 5: worst fears if I ever have kids, they're going to 35 00:02:01,480 --> 00:02:05,160 Speaker 5: end up in the system. And then my worst spirit 36 00:02:05,200 --> 00:02:06,360 Speaker 5: came true. 37 00:02:06,760 --> 00:02:10,400 Speaker 4: What happened after her children were removed by county authorities 38 00:02:10,520 --> 00:02:14,679 Speaker 4: became a mother's worst nightmare. The same system that was 39 00:02:14,720 --> 00:02:17,680 Speaker 4: supposed to keep her children safe proved to be the 40 00:02:17,720 --> 00:02:19,440 Speaker 4: biggest threat to their well being. 41 00:02:24,720 --> 00:02:29,000 Speaker 1: From Fuduromidia and PRX, It's Latino Usa, I'm Maria NHRSA 42 00:02:29,480 --> 00:02:38,720 Speaker 1: Today Unsafe in Faster Care Episode one. When domestic violence 43 00:02:38,919 --> 00:02:41,840 Speaker 1: takes place in a home, how can you protect the 44 00:02:41,960 --> 00:02:45,600 Speaker 1: children who live there? Is it best to take the 45 00:02:45,680 --> 00:02:49,840 Speaker 1: children away from that dangerous environment, or is it better 46 00:02:50,040 --> 00:02:54,240 Speaker 1: for their wellbeing for them to stay with the nonviolent parent. 47 00:02:55,200 --> 00:02:59,400 Speaker 1: These are difficult decisions to make, decisions that the child 48 00:02:59,440 --> 00:03:03,480 Speaker 1: welfare system is making every single day. 49 00:03:05,440 --> 00:03:08,720 Speaker 5: Joseph being taken away from me, he was only months old. 50 00:03:09,639 --> 00:03:13,200 Speaker 5: That was hard because I don't know how somebody is 51 00:03:13,280 --> 00:03:14,079 Speaker 5: treating my baby. 52 00:03:16,280 --> 00:03:20,840 Speaker 1: In some cases, like Lea Garcia's, the removal of children 53 00:03:20,960 --> 00:03:24,200 Speaker 1: is the result of mothers who are experiencing domestic violence 54 00:03:24,800 --> 00:03:30,320 Speaker 1: and call the police looking for safety. There are more 55 00:03:30,360 --> 00:03:34,600 Speaker 1: than six hundred and seventy thousand children in the foster 56 00:03:34,680 --> 00:03:37,560 Speaker 1: care system in the United States. Many of them are 57 00:03:37,600 --> 00:03:42,520 Speaker 1: placed with foster parents, some just temporarily, others for years 58 00:03:42,920 --> 00:03:48,080 Speaker 1: until they become adults. These children are also disproportionately black 59 00:03:48,480 --> 00:03:53,480 Speaker 1: and Latino or Latina. What happens when the system that 60 00:03:53,600 --> 00:03:58,040 Speaker 1: is meant to protect these children falls short and even 61 00:03:58,280 --> 00:04:01,920 Speaker 1: ends up putting their lives at risk? And who's to 62 00:04:01,960 --> 00:04:05,600 Speaker 1: blame when bad things happen to children in the care 63 00:04:06,080 --> 00:04:06,800 Speaker 1: of the government. 64 00:04:08,480 --> 00:04:10,680 Speaker 5: My head's just going out of control, Like will happen 65 00:04:10,760 --> 00:04:12,200 Speaker 5: to my son? Where's my son at? 66 00:04:12,240 --> 00:04:12,320 Speaker 6: Like? 67 00:04:12,480 --> 00:04:16,760 Speaker 5: Why hasn't anybody called me? How can nobody contact me today. 68 00:04:17,080 --> 00:04:21,160 Speaker 1: An investigation that looks into the Los Angeles County Department 69 00:04:21,200 --> 00:04:25,640 Speaker 1: of Children and Family Services, the largest child protective agency 70 00:04:25,960 --> 00:04:29,560 Speaker 1: in the country. Reporter Deepa Fernandez, who you heard from 71 00:04:29,600 --> 00:04:32,120 Speaker 1: at the top of the show, has been investigating the 72 00:04:32,120 --> 00:04:35,760 Speaker 1: foster care system for two years now, and she's going 73 00:04:35,839 --> 00:04:40,760 Speaker 1: to bring us this complex story. 74 00:04:41,720 --> 00:04:50,440 Speaker 3: Thank you, don't throw it, get it. 75 00:04:52,720 --> 00:04:53,400 Speaker 7: Don't throw it. 76 00:04:53,440 --> 00:04:55,360 Speaker 5: If you throw it and you get in trouble. 77 00:04:57,800 --> 00:05:02,040 Speaker 4: This story starts with domestic violence, something Leah Garcia had 78 00:05:02,080 --> 00:05:05,760 Speaker 4: never experienced before she met the father of her baby boy, Joseph. 79 00:05:06,520 --> 00:05:09,479 Speaker 4: By then, Leah already had another daughter who was three 80 00:05:09,520 --> 00:05:12,719 Speaker 4: years old from a different partner. We're not using her 81 00:05:12,800 --> 00:05:15,440 Speaker 4: daughter's name in this story because she's a minor and 82 00:05:15,440 --> 00:05:18,200 Speaker 4: we want to protect her privacy, so you'll hear a 83 00:05:18,240 --> 00:05:22,240 Speaker 4: beep when her name is mentioned. Leah says her relationship 84 00:05:22,240 --> 00:05:26,080 Speaker 4: with Joseph's dad was pretty unstable. Leah didn't want to 85 00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:29,520 Speaker 4: talk about Joseph's dad or the abuse in much detail. 86 00:05:30,080 --> 00:05:31,320 Speaker 4: It's really hard for her. 87 00:05:32,040 --> 00:05:35,760 Speaker 5: I feel like he eased into the way he treated me. 88 00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:40,520 Speaker 5: I feel like when people like slowly ease into treating 89 00:05:40,520 --> 00:05:45,279 Speaker 5: you a certain type of way, they kind of manipulate 90 00:05:46,279 --> 00:05:49,200 Speaker 5: you a lot, and I feel like that's what happened. 91 00:05:50,920 --> 00:05:55,800 Speaker 5: So I feel like, if you're new to it, you've 92 00:05:55,839 --> 00:05:58,440 Speaker 5: never dealt with anything like that before, then yeah, you 93 00:05:58,480 --> 00:05:59,520 Speaker 5: don't really know what to do. 94 00:06:00,320 --> 00:06:02,880 Speaker 4: As he became more aggressive, he could not live with 95 00:06:02,920 --> 00:06:06,920 Speaker 4: the family, but he sometimes came back unannounced and one 96 00:06:06,960 --> 00:06:08,320 Speaker 4: time he broke a window. 97 00:06:08,839 --> 00:06:12,400 Speaker 5: For a while, I was calling the cops on Joseph Sad. 98 00:06:12,520 --> 00:06:16,920 Speaker 5: I was calling multiple times. When he would just show 99 00:06:17,040 --> 00:06:19,440 Speaker 5: up and things would happen, I would call. 100 00:06:20,080 --> 00:06:22,880 Speaker 4: Lea believed the police would help her. She was doing 101 00:06:22,960 --> 00:06:26,400 Speaker 4: what she thought was the right thing. She was seeking safety. 102 00:06:26,800 --> 00:06:29,799 Speaker 5: I called the police, and of course nothing happened. 103 00:06:30,480 --> 00:06:33,400 Speaker 4: What did happen was that in October of twenty eighteen, 104 00:06:33,800 --> 00:06:37,600 Speaker 4: the police called in LA's Department of Children and Family Services, 105 00:06:38,080 --> 00:06:42,359 Speaker 4: also known as DCFS. They are required to do so 106 00:06:42,520 --> 00:06:45,240 Speaker 4: by law when children are present during an incident of 107 00:06:45,279 --> 00:06:50,480 Speaker 4: domestic violence. The abuse Leah experienced was serious. He had 108 00:06:50,520 --> 00:06:54,479 Speaker 4: a knife at one point. It seems that led social 109 00:06:54,520 --> 00:06:59,680 Speaker 4: workers to classify the risk to Leah's children as serious. 110 00:06:59,720 --> 00:07:03,239 Speaker 4: Count runs the largest child welfare agency in the United States, 111 00:07:03,640 --> 00:07:07,600 Speaker 4: serving more than thirty five thousand kids. Across four thousand 112 00:07:07,640 --> 00:07:11,840 Speaker 4: square miles. The Department of Children and Family Services is 113 00:07:11,960 --> 00:07:15,200 Speaker 4: charged with ensuring the safety and well being of all 114 00:07:15,280 --> 00:07:20,800 Speaker 4: these children, nothing short of a herculean task. Its budget 115 00:07:20,840 --> 00:07:25,040 Speaker 4: is fairly mighty two two point nine billion dollars annually. 116 00:07:31,800 --> 00:07:35,120 Speaker 4: When DCFS social workers came to meet Lea after she 117 00:07:35,320 --> 00:07:39,320 Speaker 4: called the police, it felt punitive, she says, like she 118 00:07:39,560 --> 00:07:42,480 Speaker 4: was the one under investigation when she'd not done anything 119 00:07:42,520 --> 00:07:46,200 Speaker 4: to hurt her children. For their part, social workers were 120 00:07:46,200 --> 00:07:51,000 Speaker 4: following protocol, asking the questions, investigating whether Leah was able 121 00:07:51,040 --> 00:07:55,200 Speaker 4: to keep her children safe from the violence. Leah says 122 00:07:55,320 --> 00:07:57,720 Speaker 4: she was not offered helped by the social workers to 123 00:07:57,800 --> 00:08:01,440 Speaker 4: take her children and escape the abuse. The police did 124 00:08:01,480 --> 00:08:04,800 Speaker 4: finally give her an emergency restraining order to keep the 125 00:08:04,840 --> 00:08:08,480 Speaker 4: abusive man away. Then it was on her to get 126 00:08:08,480 --> 00:08:10,040 Speaker 4: a permanent order of protection. 127 00:08:11,040 --> 00:08:15,400 Speaker 5: I didn't know how I was able to, like obtain 128 00:08:15,440 --> 00:08:18,600 Speaker 5: a restraining order. What you need to get a restraining order, 129 00:08:19,400 --> 00:08:21,720 Speaker 5: How you can get a restraining order. Nobody ever talks 130 00:08:21,720 --> 00:08:23,800 Speaker 5: to me about how I was able to do those 131 00:08:23,800 --> 00:08:26,320 Speaker 5: things or how I can get it done. 132 00:08:27,520 --> 00:08:30,640 Speaker 8: It's not so easy to get that restraining order that 133 00:08:30,800 --> 00:08:33,080 Speaker 8: DCFS holds up kind of as the gold standard for 134 00:08:33,200 --> 00:08:36,400 Speaker 8: proof that you really do want to keep your children safe. 135 00:08:36,440 --> 00:08:40,559 Speaker 4: Sharon Bamacartahenna is an attorney with Public Counsel in Los Angeles, 136 00:08:41,000 --> 00:08:44,679 Speaker 4: and she's represented many parents who have survived domestic violence 137 00:08:45,120 --> 00:08:48,640 Speaker 4: only to have their children removed by Child Protective Services. 138 00:08:49,080 --> 00:08:52,040 Speaker 8: So it's not simply enough for a survivor to go 139 00:08:52,080 --> 00:08:55,720 Speaker 8: to court and fill out domestic violence paperwork. To request 140 00:08:55,720 --> 00:08:58,240 Speaker 8: a domestic violence restraining order. You know, you have to 141 00:08:58,280 --> 00:09:01,360 Speaker 8: fill out the paperwork, which is quite lengthy. Then you 142 00:09:01,360 --> 00:09:03,240 Speaker 8: have to figure out how to file it. After you 143 00:09:03,280 --> 00:09:05,800 Speaker 8: file it, you have to serve it. It's not so 144 00:09:05,880 --> 00:09:09,040 Speaker 8: easy sometimes to serve paperwork, and it's not just handing 145 00:09:09,080 --> 00:09:11,520 Speaker 8: the paperwork off to the person. And then even if 146 00:09:11,520 --> 00:09:13,000 Speaker 8: you do serve them, you have to file a proof 147 00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:15,280 Speaker 8: of service to prove you've served them. So I've seen 148 00:09:15,320 --> 00:09:17,960 Speaker 8: lots of cases where folks really get tangled up in 149 00:09:17,960 --> 00:09:18,640 Speaker 8: the process. 150 00:09:19,400 --> 00:09:22,120 Speaker 4: That's exactly what happened to Lea Garcia. 151 00:09:22,640 --> 00:09:26,520 Speaker 5: I went to the court the next day and I 152 00:09:26,559 --> 00:09:30,320 Speaker 5: got an actual restraining order, but I had to of 153 00:09:30,360 --> 00:09:32,240 Speaker 5: course serve him, or I had to find somebody to 154 00:09:32,280 --> 00:09:35,640 Speaker 5: serve him. And I don't know where he was or 155 00:09:35,679 --> 00:09:38,240 Speaker 5: anything like that, So it's hard for me to do that. 156 00:09:41,640 --> 00:09:44,680 Speaker 4: There's no denying a knife can be a deadly weapon, 157 00:09:45,240 --> 00:09:47,319 Speaker 4: and this is what social work is a tasked with 158 00:09:47,480 --> 00:09:52,080 Speaker 4: deciding day in day out, which domestic violent scenario could 159 00:09:52,160 --> 00:09:55,240 Speaker 4: turn deadly for the children and what is the non 160 00:09:55,280 --> 00:09:58,360 Speaker 4: offending parent doing to keep her children safe. 161 00:10:00,800 --> 00:10:04,600 Speaker 8: So, unfortunately, there's a perception among DCFS workers, and it's 162 00:10:04,679 --> 00:10:10,720 Speaker 8: related to recent and very unfortunate child fatalities, that cases 163 00:10:10,760 --> 00:10:15,160 Speaker 8: involving domestic violence are more violent, and because of that, 164 00:10:15,280 --> 00:10:18,720 Speaker 8: it's at a much higher risk that children will be 165 00:10:18,920 --> 00:10:24,280 Speaker 8: killed before DCFS gets involved. These cases are very serious 166 00:10:24,320 --> 00:10:28,480 Speaker 8: and there is a risk of violence. However, I would 167 00:10:28,480 --> 00:10:31,040 Speaker 8: say that the best way to address that is to 168 00:10:31,080 --> 00:10:34,400 Speaker 8: do a lethality assessment upfront and then make a safety 169 00:10:34,440 --> 00:10:37,960 Speaker 8: plan with an amusei of parents so that both the 170 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:40,880 Speaker 8: survivor parent and the child are kept together. 171 00:10:42,840 --> 00:10:46,600 Speaker 4: Social workers did ask Leah whether she could move. She 172 00:10:46,679 --> 00:10:49,520 Speaker 4: said she couldn't she still had six months left on 173 00:10:49,559 --> 00:10:54,160 Speaker 4: her lease. DCFS could not share information about this particular 174 00:10:54,240 --> 00:10:58,080 Speaker 4: case because of privacy laws, but Lea says social workers 175 00:10:58,280 --> 00:11:00,840 Speaker 4: did visit and check her apartment to make sure it 176 00:11:00,880 --> 00:11:03,760 Speaker 4: was clean, the fridge was stocked with food, and it 177 00:11:03,840 --> 00:11:04,320 Speaker 4: was safe. 178 00:11:05,040 --> 00:11:07,720 Speaker 5: They said it. You know, the house looked more than fine, 179 00:11:08,200 --> 00:11:13,760 Speaker 5: and they didn't really like make an issue of anything 180 00:11:13,800 --> 00:11:15,800 Speaker 5: that was wrong with the house. They said the house 181 00:11:15,880 --> 00:11:19,400 Speaker 5: was fine and that everything looked fine, that their only 182 00:11:19,440 --> 00:11:22,079 Speaker 5: problem was the police reports, and that I had the 183 00:11:22,120 --> 00:11:24,480 Speaker 5: police reports when I had the kids with me, but 184 00:11:25,679 --> 00:11:28,480 Speaker 5: I had told them I'm calling the police, so you 185 00:11:28,520 --> 00:11:29,880 Speaker 5: know what am I supposed to do. 186 00:11:30,600 --> 00:11:34,280 Speaker 4: The police reports that DCFS social workers told Leah were 187 00:11:34,280 --> 00:11:37,640 Speaker 4: the problem were the instances she'd called the cops when 188 00:11:37,640 --> 00:11:41,320 Speaker 4: the domestic violence was occurring and her children were also there. 189 00:11:42,160 --> 00:11:45,080 Speaker 4: Leah thought calling the police was to keep her and 190 00:11:45,120 --> 00:11:48,840 Speaker 4: the children safe, but it turns out that's likely where 191 00:11:48,840 --> 00:11:53,640 Speaker 4: her problems with DCFS began. Social workers concluded Leah was 192 00:11:53,720 --> 00:11:56,559 Speaker 4: not doing enough to cut off access of the abusive 193 00:11:56,679 --> 00:11:59,839 Speaker 4: parent to the home. Leah says she tried her hard, 194 00:12:00,679 --> 00:12:03,360 Speaker 4: and then as she was attempting to serve a restraining 195 00:12:03,480 --> 00:12:06,960 Speaker 4: order on her abusive boyfriend by herself, she got a 196 00:12:06,960 --> 00:12:08,440 Speaker 4: call from the social worker. 197 00:12:08,800 --> 00:12:11,320 Speaker 5: Though social workers asked me, oh, are you busy tomorrow? 198 00:12:11,320 --> 00:12:15,280 Speaker 5: And I said no, why And they told me, oh, 199 00:12:15,400 --> 00:12:17,240 Speaker 5: we would like to come over and just talk with you, 200 00:12:17,320 --> 00:12:20,480 Speaker 5: and I said, okay. And I already had a feeling 201 00:12:20,559 --> 00:12:22,200 Speaker 5: inside that they were going to take the kids away 202 00:12:22,200 --> 00:12:26,679 Speaker 5: when they said that. But in my head I was thinking, well, 203 00:12:26,679 --> 00:12:28,120 Speaker 5: if they were going to take them away, and I 204 00:12:28,240 --> 00:12:30,000 Speaker 5: was like, you know, they thought so much that they 205 00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:33,560 Speaker 5: shouldn't be here, why would they wait until tomorrow? Would 206 00:12:33,600 --> 00:12:36,240 Speaker 5: they Why would they wait a whole next day to 207 00:12:36,320 --> 00:12:42,240 Speaker 5: come and take them for me? And sure enough, the 208 00:12:42,240 --> 00:12:43,880 Speaker 5: next day when they came, they told me they were 209 00:12:43,880 --> 00:12:45,200 Speaker 5: taking Joseph from me. 210 00:12:49,600 --> 00:12:50,839 Speaker 2: And what reason did they give you? 211 00:12:51,480 --> 00:12:56,120 Speaker 5: They gave me the reason that I wasn't protecting them properly, 212 00:12:57,120 --> 00:13:01,600 Speaker 5: that I was like allowing their abuse in the home. 213 00:13:02,480 --> 00:13:05,160 Speaker 4: And did they know you were in the process of 214 00:13:05,200 --> 00:13:06,480 Speaker 4: trying to serve him? 215 00:13:06,880 --> 00:13:08,840 Speaker 5: They knew I got the restraining goder. I sent them 216 00:13:08,840 --> 00:13:09,600 Speaker 5: a picture of it. 217 00:13:13,640 --> 00:13:16,600 Speaker 4: Six days after Leah said she's got the restraining order, 218 00:13:16,880 --> 00:13:20,440 Speaker 4: DCFS took her two children away. Her three year old 219 00:13:20,520 --> 00:13:23,960 Speaker 4: daughter ended up with her own father, but Joseph, who 220 00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:26,280 Speaker 4: was five months old at the time, was placed with 221 00:13:26,320 --> 00:13:32,680 Speaker 4: a foster family. The number of lothen Or children removed 222 00:13:32,760 --> 00:13:36,920 Speaker 4: by DCFS in twenty twenty amounted to almost sixty percent 223 00:13:37,080 --> 00:13:40,200 Speaker 4: of all children removed, similar to the number of loathin 224 00:13:40,280 --> 00:13:44,360 Speaker 4: or children in the county's child population. Yet for African 225 00:13:44,400 --> 00:13:48,120 Speaker 4: American children, who make up only seven point four percent 226 00:13:48,160 --> 00:13:52,040 Speaker 4: of LA County's child population, they are almost one quarter 227 00:13:52,280 --> 00:13:55,960 Speaker 4: of all the children removed. Now consider the numbers for 228 00:13:56,040 --> 00:14:00,760 Speaker 4: white children, they are almost seventeen percent of the county's population. 229 00:14:01,320 --> 00:14:04,720 Speaker 4: And last year, of all the children removed, about twelve 230 00:14:04,760 --> 00:14:08,880 Speaker 4: percent were white, five percentage points lower than their prevalence 231 00:14:08,960 --> 00:14:12,520 Speaker 4: in the population. And these numbers for twenty twenty haven't 232 00:14:12,600 --> 00:14:16,440 Speaker 4: changed much over the previous five years and before that too. 233 00:14:18,280 --> 00:14:20,880 Speaker 4: As acknowledged by many experts and those who work in 234 00:14:20,920 --> 00:14:25,680 Speaker 4: the field, racism exists and it's permeated the child welfare 235 00:14:25,720 --> 00:14:27,280 Speaker 4: system for years. 236 00:14:28,160 --> 00:14:32,040 Speaker 8: What we see in Los Angeles and really nationally, in 237 00:14:32,080 --> 00:14:36,080 Speaker 8: the child welfare system, our black and brown mothers are 238 00:14:36,120 --> 00:14:40,080 Speaker 8: being brought into the system for behaviors that occur across 239 00:14:40,360 --> 00:14:42,440 Speaker 8: racial and income groups. 240 00:14:42,960 --> 00:14:46,600 Speaker 4: Why correct the Hennah, the attorney who works with survivors 241 00:14:46,600 --> 00:14:50,840 Speaker 4: of domestic violence, says the problem doesn't even start with DCFS. 242 00:14:51,240 --> 00:14:54,200 Speaker 4: It all starts when people call in to report what 243 00:14:54,240 --> 00:14:57,440 Speaker 4: they suspect is abuse or neglect of a child. 244 00:14:58,040 --> 00:15:03,840 Speaker 8: Implicit bias really infuses every aspect of a child welfare system. 245 00:15:04,280 --> 00:15:07,840 Speaker 8: You know, you have folks called on for behaviors that 246 00:15:08,480 --> 00:15:11,680 Speaker 8: wouldn't be called on if you know they were as 247 00:15:11,720 --> 00:15:14,320 Speaker 8: a white and upper middle class. You know, I've seen 248 00:15:14,360 --> 00:15:18,240 Speaker 8: cases where folks are called on for co sleeping or 249 00:15:18,320 --> 00:15:22,800 Speaker 8: for falling asleep, will breastfeeding. I've seen cases where folks 250 00:15:22,840 --> 00:15:26,240 Speaker 8: are called on for resource issues. There's a call by 251 00:15:26,280 --> 00:15:29,440 Speaker 8: a teacher to the child abuse hotline because the child 252 00:15:29,480 --> 00:15:30,560 Speaker 8: doesn't have glasses. 253 00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:34,360 Speaker 4: There's another fact to here to poverty. Many of the 254 00:15:34,440 --> 00:15:37,640 Speaker 4: children who are removed in La County a pole and 255 00:15:37,680 --> 00:15:42,160 Speaker 4: in La County impoverished children are overwhelmingly black and Latino. 256 00:15:43,080 --> 00:15:47,480 Speaker 4: Among America's largest cities, LA has the second highest rate 257 00:15:47,560 --> 00:15:51,480 Speaker 4: of child removals when rates of family poverty affected in. 258 00:15:52,320 --> 00:15:55,240 Speaker 4: One of the deepest critiques of the child welfare system 259 00:15:55,400 --> 00:15:59,640 Speaker 4: nationwide is that too often poverty is mistaken for the 260 00:15:59,680 --> 00:16:04,000 Speaker 4: collect and when teachers or welfare workers or police see 261 00:16:04,040 --> 00:16:07,880 Speaker 4: what they believe is neglect, the law requires them to 262 00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:11,400 Speaker 4: call in a report to the DCFS child abuse hotline. 263 00:16:11,920 --> 00:16:14,080 Speaker 4: They're called mandated reporters. 264 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:18,240 Speaker 7: To Protecting Homeline I'm miss Catherine. How might I help you? 265 00:16:20,040 --> 00:16:23,000 Speaker 4: I'm inside the hotline hub in Los Angeles, where social 266 00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:26,080 Speaker 4: workers field hundreds of calls a day from anyone who 267 00:16:26,160 --> 00:16:29,800 Speaker 4: suspects a child as being abused or neglected. Calls can 268 00:16:29,840 --> 00:16:33,120 Speaker 4: be made by anyone. A neighbor might hear or see 269 00:16:33,120 --> 00:16:37,840 Speaker 4: something worrisome. She calls, but the majority of callers, according 270 00:16:37,840 --> 00:16:41,760 Speaker 4: to the director of the hotline, are the mandated reporters, teachers, 271 00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:43,280 Speaker 4: social workers, cops. 272 00:16:43,720 --> 00:16:45,080 Speaker 7: And you said, this is the first time you see 273 00:16:45,120 --> 00:16:45,600 Speaker 7: something like that. 274 00:16:46,080 --> 00:16:48,920 Speaker 4: Calling in is a first grade teacher who noticed during 275 00:16:48,960 --> 00:16:51,520 Speaker 4: her zoom class that one of her little students had 276 00:16:51,520 --> 00:16:52,400 Speaker 4: a black eye. 277 00:16:52,640 --> 00:16:55,280 Speaker 7: Has there ever been concerns in regards to the child 278 00:16:55,560 --> 00:16:57,520 Speaker 7: in physical abuse or any kind of abuse. 279 00:16:58,600 --> 00:17:01,560 Speaker 4: This is the first place where a children's social worker 280 00:17:01,680 --> 00:17:04,679 Speaker 4: has to begin making judgments about the veracity of a 281 00:17:04,680 --> 00:17:08,320 Speaker 4: call and the threat level to a child. By asking 282 00:17:08,400 --> 00:17:11,439 Speaker 4: a lot of questions. The social worker must decide whether 283 00:17:11,560 --> 00:17:14,960 Speaker 4: or not to send out another social worker to follow up. 284 00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:16,800 Speaker 7: Due to the information that does not rise to the 285 00:17:16,840 --> 00:17:18,800 Speaker 7: level of abuse or neglecting work. It's not clear in 286 00:17:18,840 --> 00:17:21,040 Speaker 7: regards to what happened, as you said, and there has 287 00:17:21,080 --> 00:17:22,280 Speaker 7: not been any prior com. 288 00:17:22,080 --> 00:17:25,639 Speaker 4: In this case, Catherine, the DCFS social worker, decides that 289 00:17:25,680 --> 00:17:28,440 Speaker 4: the teacher calling in needs to talk to the parents 290 00:17:28,520 --> 00:17:31,880 Speaker 4: first and then call back. Too little information in this 291 00:17:31,960 --> 00:17:34,400 Speaker 4: call to make a judgment that a black eye might 292 00:17:34,440 --> 00:17:38,119 Speaker 4: be due to abuse. Some argue the bias in the 293 00:17:38,160 --> 00:17:42,359 Speaker 4: system starts right here, given the majority of calls suspecting 294 00:17:42,400 --> 00:17:46,439 Speaker 4: abuse are about black and Latino children. But what the 295 00:17:46,520 --> 00:17:50,320 Speaker 4: numbers show is that from this point onwards, if you're 296 00:17:50,400 --> 00:17:54,680 Speaker 4: Latino or Black or Native American in LA, you are 297 00:17:54,840 --> 00:17:58,159 Speaker 4: much more likely to have your children removed than white 298 00:17:58,359 --> 00:17:59,400 Speaker 4: or Asian parents. 299 00:18:01,680 --> 00:18:05,520 Speaker 1: Coming up on Latino, USA, Leah struggles to stay in 300 00:18:05,560 --> 00:18:09,520 Speaker 1: touch with her son Joseph, and she starts worrying about 301 00:18:09,520 --> 00:19:02,840 Speaker 1: his well being. Stay with us, not there, Yes, hey, 302 00:19:03,160 --> 00:19:08,199 Speaker 1: we're back. And before the break, LA's Department of Children 303 00:19:08,200 --> 00:19:12,240 Speaker 1: and Family Services had decided to remove Leah's children from 304 00:19:12,240 --> 00:19:16,280 Speaker 1: her home after she called the police looking for safety 305 00:19:16,520 --> 00:19:20,560 Speaker 1: from her abusive partner. Her three year old daughter was 306 00:19:20,640 --> 00:19:25,080 Speaker 1: placed with her father, but her five month old baby, Joseph, 307 00:19:25,600 --> 00:19:29,719 Speaker 1: was assigned to a foster care. Family reporter Dipa Fernandez 308 00:19:29,840 --> 00:19:30,760 Speaker 1: picks it up from here. 309 00:19:35,080 --> 00:19:38,840 Speaker 4: Leah Garcia is not wealthy. She didn't have the resources 310 00:19:38,880 --> 00:19:41,640 Speaker 4: to simply leave her apartment and find a new one 311 00:19:41,680 --> 00:19:45,040 Speaker 4: that her boyfriend wouldn't know about. She was focused on 312 00:19:45,200 --> 00:19:48,439 Speaker 4: raising her baby and toddler as best she could until 313 00:19:48,440 --> 00:19:51,560 Speaker 4: that day in November twenty eighteen when they were taken 314 00:19:51,600 --> 00:19:51,960 Speaker 4: from her. 315 00:19:52,840 --> 00:19:56,320 Speaker 5: I was breastfeeding him when he was taken. I breastfed 316 00:19:56,400 --> 00:19:58,119 Speaker 5: my daughter for two years, so I was planning on 317 00:19:58,200 --> 00:20:01,119 Speaker 5: doing the same thing with Joseph. And that was my 318 00:20:01,280 --> 00:20:05,959 Speaker 5: first question when they had taken him away, was how 319 00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:08,000 Speaker 5: am I supposed to you know, like, how was I 320 00:20:08,040 --> 00:20:11,880 Speaker 5: gonna go? Like she had told me, Well, there's there's 321 00:20:11,880 --> 00:20:15,000 Speaker 5: not much we can do about that. We're gonna have 322 00:20:15,080 --> 00:20:16,720 Speaker 5: to go to court, and then you know, if you 323 00:20:16,720 --> 00:20:19,400 Speaker 5: get him back after court, then you know, then you're 324 00:20:19,440 --> 00:20:24,439 Speaker 5: more than welcome to breastfeeding again. And I was just thinking, like, 325 00:20:24,880 --> 00:20:29,600 Speaker 5: breastfeeding and formula feeding are two different things. But I mean, 326 00:20:29,960 --> 00:20:32,520 Speaker 5: what position am I interiorly do anything about that? 327 00:20:33,320 --> 00:20:35,919 Speaker 4: I wanted to know how a baby or toddler is 328 00:20:35,960 --> 00:20:39,600 Speaker 4: impacted when removed suddenly from his or her mother, so 329 00:20:39,880 --> 00:20:40,840 Speaker 4: sort out an expert. 330 00:20:41,240 --> 00:20:45,600 Speaker 6: There is nothing worse than watching an infant being ripped 331 00:20:45,640 --> 00:20:47,680 Speaker 6: out of a mother's arms. 332 00:20:48,359 --> 00:20:51,800 Speaker 4: Chanta Travedi represented women in Brooklyn, New York, who had 333 00:20:51,840 --> 00:20:56,320 Speaker 4: their children removed. She saw many inconsolable babies after being 334 00:20:56,359 --> 00:20:57,760 Speaker 4: taken from their mother's. 335 00:20:58,080 --> 00:21:01,840 Speaker 6: I can't imagine what that feels like, first of all 336 00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:05,280 Speaker 6: for a mother, but also just for a little baby 337 00:21:05,480 --> 00:21:11,080 Speaker 6: who has basically, you know, never experienced the world, to 338 00:21:11,119 --> 00:21:13,960 Speaker 6: be taken from the only comfortable place that they know, 339 00:21:15,200 --> 00:21:19,560 Speaker 6: their mother's arms, you know. And there's very clear data 340 00:21:19,600 --> 00:21:23,160 Speaker 6: that when you break an attachment like that, there are 341 00:21:23,240 --> 00:21:24,280 Speaker 6: negative impacts. 342 00:21:25,240 --> 00:21:27,639 Speaker 4: After feeling like the system was not set up to 343 00:21:27,680 --> 00:21:31,760 Speaker 4: help children or mothers of color, Treverti began to clone 344 00:21:31,800 --> 00:21:35,000 Speaker 4: the academic literature looking to see if there was evidence 345 00:21:35,040 --> 00:21:38,600 Speaker 4: that children are harmed when in an instant they're taken 346 00:21:38,640 --> 00:21:39,359 Speaker 4: from their mothers. 347 00:21:39,840 --> 00:21:43,280 Speaker 9: We're talking about a crucial period of infant parent attachment 348 00:21:43,600 --> 00:21:48,160 Speaker 9: where besides breastfeeding, they're not going to have that contact 349 00:21:48,200 --> 00:21:51,879 Speaker 9: with their mother. There is that attachment that's formed, and 350 00:21:51,880 --> 00:21:55,520 Speaker 9: disrupting that suddenly, based on the literature, does seem to 351 00:21:55,560 --> 00:21:58,080 Speaker 9: have really adverse consequences on the children. 352 00:22:01,640 --> 00:22:06,520 Speaker 4: Babies and toddlers can't talk through their feelings of confusion, worry, 353 00:22:06,640 --> 00:22:10,920 Speaker 4: or fear due to sudden separation from their parent. Young 354 00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:14,560 Speaker 4: children might blame themselves. They may cry a lot, or 355 00:22:14,560 --> 00:22:18,240 Speaker 4: refuse to eat or be unable to sleep. It's trauma, 356 00:22:18,400 --> 00:22:19,240 Speaker 4: Truviti says. 357 00:22:20,440 --> 00:22:24,400 Speaker 6: But how do they explain to a child that your 358 00:22:24,400 --> 00:22:28,040 Speaker 6: mom didn't do enough to protect you when your dad 359 00:22:28,880 --> 00:22:31,520 Speaker 6: was beating her up, and so you have to leave 360 00:22:31,560 --> 00:22:35,280 Speaker 6: your mom too. I just don't understand how a child 361 00:22:35,359 --> 00:22:41,040 Speaker 6: can process that information in a way that's healthy. Toddlers 362 00:22:41,080 --> 00:22:45,560 Speaker 6: throwing tantrums or you know, teenagers talking back again. These 363 00:22:45,600 --> 00:22:48,520 Speaker 6: are children who have been removed from their parents, which 364 00:22:48,560 --> 00:22:52,360 Speaker 6: is traumatic, and then expected to be like these perfect 365 00:22:52,760 --> 00:22:56,200 Speaker 6: kids that really don't exist in any family right. They're 366 00:22:56,240 --> 00:23:00,400 Speaker 6: also halted this higher standard despite the trauma that they've 367 00:23:00,400 --> 00:23:00,960 Speaker 6: been through. 368 00:23:03,880 --> 00:23:06,200 Speaker 4: Joseph was just five months old when he was taken 369 00:23:06,320 --> 00:23:09,520 Speaker 4: from Leah Garcia and placed with a foster family, people 370 00:23:09,560 --> 00:23:12,880 Speaker 4: he'd never before seen in his life. Leah went from 371 00:23:12,920 --> 00:23:15,920 Speaker 4: being with Joseph twenty four to seven to seeing him 372 00:23:15,960 --> 00:23:19,359 Speaker 4: three times a week for an hour each time, and 373 00:23:19,400 --> 00:23:21,520 Speaker 4: the foster mother had to be present at all the 374 00:23:21,600 --> 00:23:24,080 Speaker 4: visits to watch Leah and her baby son. 375 00:23:24,400 --> 00:23:28,280 Speaker 5: There was hard watching somebody else have to watch me 376 00:23:28,320 --> 00:23:32,080 Speaker 5: hold my son. I couldn't even change his zaper without 377 00:23:32,119 --> 00:23:34,960 Speaker 5: her watching me. And another thing that blew my mind 378 00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:39,680 Speaker 5: actually was that he wasn't eating with her. She had 379 00:23:39,720 --> 00:23:41,919 Speaker 5: mentioned that to me, he's not eating at all, and 380 00:23:41,960 --> 00:23:45,359 Speaker 5: I told her, well, he was breastfed, and she's like, oh, 381 00:23:45,400 --> 00:23:46,840 Speaker 5: it's just going to be a hard transition for him. 382 00:23:46,840 --> 00:23:50,280 Speaker 5: And he wasn't sleeping, So he was having a hard 383 00:23:50,320 --> 00:23:52,040 Speaker 5: time eating and sleeping when he was there. 384 00:23:56,240 --> 00:23:59,040 Speaker 4: But stopping breastfeeding turned out to be the least of 385 00:23:59,080 --> 00:24:02,880 Speaker 4: the problems. A few months after Joseph was taken, when 386 00:24:02,960 --> 00:24:05,520 Speaker 4: Leah texted the foster mother to confirm she was on 387 00:24:05,560 --> 00:24:08,040 Speaker 4: her way to visit, she was given the news that 388 00:24:08,160 --> 00:24:11,840 Speaker 4: Joseph was no longer in her care. In fact, he 389 00:24:11,960 --> 00:24:12,920 Speaker 4: was in the hospital. 390 00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:16,399 Speaker 5: She was just texted me and saying, oh, you know, 391 00:24:16,440 --> 00:24:18,960 Speaker 5: I would never do anything to hurt Joseph, and you 392 00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:23,560 Speaker 5: know we all love him very much. And my head's 393 00:24:23,560 --> 00:24:25,880 Speaker 5: just going out of control, like what happened to my son? 394 00:24:25,960 --> 00:24:28,480 Speaker 5: Where's my son at? Like why hasn't anybody called me? 395 00:24:28,520 --> 00:24:30,600 Speaker 5: How comehen nobody contacted me? How come he was in 396 00:24:30,640 --> 00:24:32,680 Speaker 5: the hospital and nobody called me while he was at 397 00:24:32,680 --> 00:24:35,399 Speaker 5: the hospital. So I could be here with him. I 398 00:24:35,520 --> 00:24:39,239 Speaker 5: didn't know what to do. I was, I was, I 399 00:24:39,359 --> 00:24:40,240 Speaker 5: was freaking out. 400 00:24:40,760 --> 00:24:42,960 Speaker 4: Turns out Joseph broke his arm. 401 00:24:43,840 --> 00:24:47,960 Speaker 5: I went to the hospital. I just see my son 402 00:24:48,080 --> 00:24:53,920 Speaker 5: like laying there, like screaming, And nobody has answers for. 403 00:24:53,920 --> 00:24:56,639 Speaker 4: Me even to just be with Joseph while he was 404 00:24:56,640 --> 00:25:00,159 Speaker 4: in hospital. She had to demand it, she says to 405 00:25:00,280 --> 00:25:03,360 Speaker 4: DCFS Social Work. I didn't tell her much about how 406 00:25:03,480 --> 00:25:06,919 Speaker 4: Joseph broke his arm. 407 00:25:07,160 --> 00:25:10,680 Speaker 5: What bothers me with the system is that they don't 408 00:25:10,680 --> 00:25:12,960 Speaker 5: have an answer for you for anything. They don't have 409 00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:15,840 Speaker 5: an answer for you when you have a question, which 410 00:25:15,880 --> 00:25:18,160 Speaker 5: I feel like if you have a question about your children, 411 00:25:18,240 --> 00:25:20,199 Speaker 5: you should they should have an answer. They took your 412 00:25:20,280 --> 00:25:23,360 Speaker 5: kids from you because they don't feel like you can 413 00:25:23,400 --> 00:25:26,600 Speaker 5: do it. If you find out that your kid's arm 414 00:25:26,680 --> 00:25:28,480 Speaker 5: is broken and nobody's ever told you anything about it, 415 00:25:28,520 --> 00:25:30,160 Speaker 5: you're going to freak out. You're going to know how 416 00:25:30,160 --> 00:25:31,960 Speaker 5: it happened, why it happened, why did nobody tell you 417 00:25:32,040 --> 00:25:37,600 Speaker 5: about it? And if you freak out, you're you're not 418 00:25:37,640 --> 00:25:41,000 Speaker 5: a stable person. You shouldn't have your kid. This is 419 00:25:41,040 --> 00:25:47,000 Speaker 5: another thing we're going to write down, which isn't right. 420 00:25:47,240 --> 00:25:50,119 Speaker 5: It's not okay, because how are you supposed to react 421 00:25:50,400 --> 00:25:53,119 Speaker 5: Because you're in the system and your mom and you 422 00:25:53,560 --> 00:25:55,720 Speaker 5: know you were an abusive relationship, They're going to look 423 00:25:55,720 --> 00:25:57,800 Speaker 5: at you a certain way and say, oh, yeah, she's 424 00:25:57,840 --> 00:25:58,360 Speaker 5: not stable. 425 00:26:03,359 --> 00:26:06,760 Speaker 4: After his brief hospital stay for the broken arm, DCFS 426 00:26:06,800 --> 00:26:10,280 Speaker 4: placed Joseph in a new foster home. This new foster 427 00:26:10,359 --> 00:26:14,520 Speaker 4: family lived in the far reaches of LA County, so 428 00:26:14,680 --> 00:26:17,919 Speaker 4: far in fact, that Minnie Angelino's might not even know 429 00:26:18,119 --> 00:26:22,880 Speaker 4: Palmdale and Lancaster a part of LA It would take 430 00:26:22,960 --> 00:26:26,280 Speaker 4: Leah over two hours on the bus one way just 431 00:26:26,320 --> 00:26:29,119 Speaker 4: to get to Joseph's new placement home. She didn't have 432 00:26:29,160 --> 00:26:33,199 Speaker 4: a car. She also took the bus to work, a 433 00:26:33,320 --> 00:26:36,159 Speaker 4: job she was expected to have to show DCFS that 434 00:26:36,240 --> 00:26:40,679 Speaker 4: she could support her children. DCFS also required Leah to 435 00:26:40,720 --> 00:26:44,840 Speaker 4: take parenting and domestic violence classes. In between all this, 436 00:26:45,440 --> 00:26:47,760 Speaker 4: she had to find her way to visit her baby, 437 00:26:48,040 --> 00:26:50,280 Speaker 4: who is now fifty five miles away. 438 00:26:52,400 --> 00:26:54,159 Speaker 5: There was times where I had to think, am I 439 00:26:54,200 --> 00:26:55,439 Speaker 5: going to go to work today or am I going 440 00:26:55,480 --> 00:26:57,399 Speaker 5: to see my son today? They want they want you 441 00:26:57,480 --> 00:27:00,280 Speaker 5: to have your classes done, and they were want you 442 00:27:00,320 --> 00:27:02,040 Speaker 5: to make time for your classes. They want you to 443 00:27:02,080 --> 00:27:04,560 Speaker 5: have a job, a full time job. They want to 444 00:27:04,600 --> 00:27:06,399 Speaker 5: make sure that you're able to provide for your children 445 00:27:06,400 --> 00:27:09,440 Speaker 5: when you get them back, as they want you to 446 00:27:09,480 --> 00:27:11,600 Speaker 5: see your children. If you don't, they counts against you. 447 00:27:12,840 --> 00:27:16,320 Speaker 4: Life was very hard for Leah. She also wondered how 448 00:27:16,359 --> 00:27:19,200 Speaker 4: well Joseph was being treated by his new foster mother. 449 00:27:20,040 --> 00:27:20,600 Speaker 7: And with. 450 00:27:22,080 --> 00:27:25,360 Speaker 5: The first visit I had with her at the park, 451 00:27:26,280 --> 00:27:31,119 Speaker 5: she had not one, not two, I think three? Three children? 452 00:27:31,240 --> 00:27:35,080 Speaker 5: Were they three extra children? Two little boys and a 453 00:27:35,119 --> 00:27:37,919 Speaker 5: little girl that were her other foster children. And they 454 00:27:37,960 --> 00:27:40,800 Speaker 5: were running around there at the park. And I couldn't 455 00:27:40,800 --> 00:27:43,440 Speaker 5: even have my visit because I have to be right 456 00:27:43,480 --> 00:27:46,199 Speaker 5: in front of her. She has to be watching me. 457 00:27:47,040 --> 00:27:50,080 Speaker 4: The record shows Leah did have reason to be concerned. 458 00:27:50,560 --> 00:27:53,040 Speaker 4: At a visit to the dentist in early twenty twenty, 459 00:27:53,280 --> 00:27:56,560 Speaker 4: over a year after he'd been removed from her, Joseph 460 00:27:56,600 --> 00:27:59,960 Speaker 4: had cavities in two of his front teeth, his baby teeth. 461 00:28:00,800 --> 00:28:03,840 Speaker 4: Joseph had no teeth when he was taken from Leah, 462 00:28:03,880 --> 00:28:07,240 Speaker 4: and now, at eighteen months old, his teeth was starting 463 00:28:07,240 --> 00:28:12,200 Speaker 4: to rot. I wanted to see what the commute would 464 00:28:12,200 --> 00:28:14,399 Speaker 4: have been like. Three times a week for Lea to 465 00:28:14,480 --> 00:28:17,680 Speaker 4: visit her son. I also wanted to meet Joseph's foster 466 00:28:17,760 --> 00:28:21,639 Speaker 4: mother to hear about her experience raising Joseph. We're not 467 00:28:21,800 --> 00:28:25,040 Speaker 4: using her name as in this investigation, we're looking into 468 00:28:25,080 --> 00:28:28,760 Speaker 4: the child welfare system as a whole. So here I 469 00:28:28,800 --> 00:28:33,080 Speaker 4: am in Monrovia, a little city in La County, where 470 00:28:33,200 --> 00:28:36,080 Speaker 4: Leah Garcia lived at the time when Joseph was in 471 00:28:36,200 --> 00:28:40,400 Speaker 4: foster care in Palmdell. So let's see. GPS says it's 472 00:28:40,640 --> 00:28:44,560 Speaker 4: fifty five miles and it'll take me an hour and 473 00:28:44,760 --> 00:28:51,400 Speaker 4: nineteen minutes. Okay, no traffic, Pretty lucky. The foster mother 474 00:28:51,520 --> 00:28:54,240 Speaker 4: used to work as a sales associate. Prior to fostering 475 00:28:54,320 --> 00:28:57,320 Speaker 4: Joseph and the other children. She was employed by the 476 00:28:57,400 --> 00:29:01,960 Speaker 4: home Depot, Cricket Wireless, and via of supermarkets. I talked 477 00:29:02,000 --> 00:29:04,760 Speaker 4: to one employer, the owner of an aged care home 478 00:29:04,800 --> 00:29:07,800 Speaker 4: where Joseph's foster mother was a kera, and he said 479 00:29:07,920 --> 00:29:11,040 Speaker 4: she was a very good carer. He had no complaints 480 00:29:11,120 --> 00:29:17,360 Speaker 4: with her. Okay, And an hour and twenty three minutes 481 00:29:17,680 --> 00:29:21,600 Speaker 4: after I left Monrovia, I am pulling up here in 482 00:29:21,680 --> 00:29:27,000 Speaker 4: Palmdale and there's a lot of people outside the home. 483 00:29:27,360 --> 00:29:32,880 Speaker 4: There are one, two, three, four kids. There are some 484 00:29:33,360 --> 00:29:38,760 Speaker 4: lounge seats. There appear to be a couple of adults 485 00:29:38,840 --> 00:29:41,400 Speaker 4: hanging out with the kids outside. It's a cul de sac. 486 00:29:41,640 --> 00:29:46,440 Speaker 4: It's a beautiful, warm evening. So I'm going to go 487 00:29:46,520 --> 00:29:48,440 Speaker 4: in and I'm gonna knock on the door, and I'm 488 00:29:48,480 --> 00:29:51,360 Speaker 4: going to see if the foster mother wants to talk 489 00:29:51,400 --> 00:30:00,240 Speaker 4: to me. Joseph's second foster mother didn't want to talk. 490 00:30:00,960 --> 00:30:04,040 Speaker 4: I've been covering child welfare for years now. I've met 491 00:30:04,200 --> 00:30:07,760 Speaker 4: many many parents who've had their children removed, and many 492 00:30:07,760 --> 00:30:11,280 Speaker 4: of them have complaints about the foster parents. But I 493 00:30:11,320 --> 00:30:14,479 Speaker 4: also know many foster parents who are good, loving people. 494 00:30:15,160 --> 00:30:19,440 Speaker 4: I understand that there's an inbuilt predisposition for an upset 495 00:30:19,520 --> 00:30:22,400 Speaker 4: parent whose child has been removed to find fault with 496 00:30:22,440 --> 00:30:25,440 Speaker 4: a foster parent. That's why I wanted to meet Joseph's 497 00:30:25,440 --> 00:30:28,120 Speaker 4: foster mother. But she didn't want to talk to me. 498 00:30:28,880 --> 00:30:31,960 Speaker 4: And when you hear what happened, maybe her silence will 499 00:30:31,960 --> 00:30:32,720 Speaker 4: make more sense. 500 00:30:33,800 --> 00:30:34,560 Speaker 3: Nine. 501 00:30:34,400 --> 00:30:35,360 Speaker 10: What is your emergency? 502 00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:40,960 Speaker 11: Hi, Yes, I have an emergency. My foster baby up 503 00:30:41,000 --> 00:30:43,200 Speaker 11: here a year and a half I was born to 504 00:30:43,280 --> 00:30:46,440 Speaker 11: the store and I heard him making like weezy noises 505 00:30:47,080 --> 00:30:49,920 Speaker 11: and I stopped. I turned around just to make sure 506 00:30:49,920 --> 00:30:52,960 Speaker 11: he was fine, and I came back home. He had 507 00:30:53,040 --> 00:30:55,720 Speaker 11: the cat has removed the thing to the crisiat on 508 00:30:55,800 --> 00:30:58,680 Speaker 11: her on his shoulders and think to shop him. So 509 00:30:58,880 --> 00:31:00,880 Speaker 11: we're trying to give him pretty yes. 510 00:31:01,080 --> 00:31:02,000 Speaker 7: Okay, hold on. 511 00:31:03,600 --> 00:31:05,960 Speaker 1: Coming up and letting you know Usay, we look into 512 00:31:06,000 --> 00:31:09,440 Speaker 1: what happened to Joseph check on the night of January 513 00:31:09,520 --> 00:31:14,560 Speaker 1: twenty fourth, twenty twenty and unexpectedly our investigation takes a 514 00:31:14,640 --> 00:31:16,520 Speaker 1: turn and it's not good. 515 00:31:17,280 --> 00:32:07,600 Speaker 2: Stay with us. Yes, hey, we're back. 516 00:32:10,120 --> 00:32:13,400 Speaker 1: Before the break, Joseph Chekun had been placed with a 517 00:32:13,520 --> 00:32:17,440 Speaker 1: second foster family after he ended up in the hospital 518 00:32:17,600 --> 00:32:21,320 Speaker 1: with a broken arm, but in the second foster home 519 00:32:21,680 --> 00:32:26,560 Speaker 1: he didn't find safety either. Reporter Depa Fernandez continues now 520 00:32:26,600 --> 00:32:27,200 Speaker 1: with the story. 521 00:32:30,320 --> 00:32:34,440 Speaker 4: Early one Saturday morning in late January of twenty twenty, fourteen, 522 00:32:34,480 --> 00:32:38,040 Speaker 4: months after her children were removed, Leah Garcia's phone rang. 523 00:32:38,640 --> 00:32:41,000 Speaker 4: The number was blocked, so she didn't answer. 524 00:32:41,560 --> 00:32:44,120 Speaker 5: I got a second call and something told me to 525 00:32:44,160 --> 00:32:49,040 Speaker 5: answer it, and I answered it and I talked as. 526 00:32:48,960 --> 00:32:49,720 Speaker 7: She was a man. 527 00:32:50,240 --> 00:32:52,840 Speaker 5: He had told me, oh, I need to speak with you, 528 00:32:53,840 --> 00:32:55,960 Speaker 5: and I felt very like, who's this guy? 529 00:32:56,680 --> 00:32:58,000 Speaker 4: Leah didn't trust him. 530 00:32:58,720 --> 00:33:01,120 Speaker 5: He ended up told me that he was detective. He 531 00:33:01,200 --> 00:33:03,720 Speaker 5: told me it works for the homicide bureau. So then 532 00:33:03,840 --> 00:33:07,280 Speaker 5: I started thinking, like homicide bureau, Like that means like 533 00:33:07,320 --> 00:33:07,960 Speaker 5: somebody died. 534 00:33:08,120 --> 00:33:08,640 Speaker 7: What the hell? 535 00:33:09,120 --> 00:33:11,080 Speaker 5: How am I linked up to anything like that? Like, 536 00:33:12,440 --> 00:33:14,680 Speaker 5: there's no way, Like you're calling for the right person. 537 00:33:14,720 --> 00:33:17,600 Speaker 5: He goes, No, I have the right person. There's been 538 00:33:17,640 --> 00:33:19,440 Speaker 5: an accident. I need to talk to you, but. 539 00:33:19,440 --> 00:33:22,840 Speaker 4: He wouldn't say anything more over the phone. Lea was 540 00:33:22,880 --> 00:33:26,200 Speaker 4: freaked out. She never before gotten such a strange call 541 00:33:26,600 --> 00:33:28,240 Speaker 4: from a homicide detective. 542 00:33:29,120 --> 00:33:33,240 Speaker 5: And I remember I called my mom, I called my dad, 543 00:33:34,120 --> 00:33:37,120 Speaker 5: I called my brother. I'm like, are you guys okay? Like, 544 00:33:37,200 --> 00:33:39,280 Speaker 5: you know, there's this weird guy calling me on the phone. 545 00:33:39,960 --> 00:33:42,800 Speaker 5: He's not even giving me his number, and you know, 546 00:33:43,120 --> 00:33:45,000 Speaker 5: fhils real sketchy. He's telling me he's to meet up 547 00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:47,480 Speaker 5: with me in person, that somebody's been in an accident. 548 00:33:48,040 --> 00:33:50,120 Speaker 5: I called my grandma, I called my uncle. I'm calling 549 00:33:50,160 --> 00:33:53,440 Speaker 5: people to make sure that everybody's okay. The last people 550 00:33:53,520 --> 00:33:57,000 Speaker 5: I feel like I need a call is my daughter 551 00:33:57,480 --> 00:33:59,960 Speaker 5: and my son, because those are the two people that 552 00:34:00,000 --> 00:34:01,200 Speaker 5: I should be the safest right now. 553 00:34:03,280 --> 00:34:05,080 Speaker 4: So Lea went to meet the detective. 554 00:34:06,720 --> 00:34:11,680 Speaker 5: It's in this tiny little shopping center parking lot and 555 00:34:12,200 --> 00:34:16,240 Speaker 5: he walks up to me and he says, hi, Leah. 556 00:34:16,960 --> 00:34:20,759 Speaker 5: He said, you have a son of foster care. And 557 00:34:20,800 --> 00:34:31,000 Speaker 5: I said yes. He goes your son Joseph died and 558 00:34:32,560 --> 00:34:35,920 Speaker 5: I don't remember too much. I remember I was on 559 00:34:35,960 --> 00:34:42,600 Speaker 5: the floor and I was crying, and he tells me 560 00:34:43,520 --> 00:34:49,719 Speaker 5: your son passed away. He died, and he just told 561 00:34:49,840 --> 00:34:54,640 Speaker 5: He starts asking me questions about Joseph, and and I 562 00:34:54,680 --> 00:34:57,600 Speaker 5: had asked him when you know, and like, how did 563 00:34:57,600 --> 00:34:59,600 Speaker 5: it happen. He didn't have answers for me about how 564 00:34:59,640 --> 00:35:00,000 Speaker 5: it happened. 565 00:35:00,080 --> 00:35:12,360 Speaker 4: And Joseph died on Friday, January twenty fourth of twenty twenty. 566 00:35:13,000 --> 00:35:16,640 Speaker 4: Leah was informed the next morning, Saturday, by the detective. 567 00:35:17,320 --> 00:35:20,560 Speaker 4: She desperately wanted more info, but it was the weekend, 568 00:35:20,760 --> 00:35:25,040 Speaker 4: so DCFS's office were closed. So first thing Monday, Leah 569 00:35:25,080 --> 00:35:28,560 Speaker 4: called her DCFS social worker, only she says, she didn't 570 00:35:28,600 --> 00:35:29,560 Speaker 4: answer her calls. 571 00:35:30,560 --> 00:35:35,040 Speaker 5: I waited for that Monday, and I called my social 572 00:35:35,040 --> 00:35:39,440 Speaker 5: worker's phone about fifty times, and there was a bigger 573 00:35:39,520 --> 00:35:42,080 Speaker 5: problem with me calling her phone than there was of 574 00:35:42,120 --> 00:35:44,799 Speaker 5: them not having a nancy for me of how my 575 00:35:44,920 --> 00:35:49,480 Speaker 5: son passed. I called her about fifty times. She ignored 576 00:35:49,520 --> 00:35:54,279 Speaker 5: each car. I got a call later on from her 577 00:35:54,320 --> 00:35:57,200 Speaker 5: super advisor and she told me I cannot call her 578 00:35:57,280 --> 00:36:03,319 Speaker 5: that many times, that it was inappropriate, and that she 579 00:36:03,520 --> 00:36:04,719 Speaker 5: was busy that morning. 580 00:36:05,080 --> 00:36:07,400 Speaker 4: We tried to contact the social workers in charge of 581 00:36:07,480 --> 00:36:10,719 Speaker 4: Lea's case, but DCFS didn't allow us to talk to them. 582 00:36:11,440 --> 00:36:13,759 Speaker 4: Leah felt like in the little exchange she had with 583 00:36:13,800 --> 00:36:17,560 Speaker 4: the detective, they were somehow insinuating that Joseph may have 584 00:36:17,600 --> 00:36:22,279 Speaker 4: contributed to his own death, which baffled and outraged her. 585 00:36:23,080 --> 00:36:25,399 Speaker 5: The day after he passed away, on the twenty fifth 586 00:36:25,400 --> 00:36:29,160 Speaker 5: of January, I was asked was Joseph a difficult child? 587 00:36:29,640 --> 00:36:33,920 Speaker 5: By the detective, And in my head, I'm wondering, why 588 00:36:33,960 --> 00:36:36,760 Speaker 5: would you ask me if my son was a difficult child, 589 00:36:37,760 --> 00:36:40,920 Speaker 5: and for him to tell me. Well, the first faster 590 00:36:41,040 --> 00:36:44,680 Speaker 5: parent and the second faster parent both said that he 591 00:36:44,760 --> 00:36:48,480 Speaker 5: was a very difficult child, which was really hard for 592 00:36:48,560 --> 00:36:52,440 Speaker 5: me to believe because when he was with me, he 593 00:36:53,719 --> 00:36:54,200 Speaker 5: was great. 594 00:36:59,480 --> 00:37:02,040 Speaker 4: I first met Leah in the summer of twenty twenty, 595 00:37:02,320 --> 00:37:05,920 Speaker 4: six months after Joseph's death. As the pandemic raged on, 596 00:37:06,880 --> 00:37:09,480 Speaker 4: she still knew very little about what had happened to 597 00:37:09,520 --> 00:37:12,640 Speaker 4: her baby boy. She felt like her hands were tied. 598 00:37:13,400 --> 00:37:16,560 Speaker 4: DCFS still had her daughter, and she wanted to make 599 00:37:16,640 --> 00:37:20,400 Speaker 4: sure she got her back. Remember how she felt like 600 00:37:20,440 --> 00:37:23,560 Speaker 4: she couldn't freak out when Joseph broke his arm, or 601 00:37:23,600 --> 00:37:26,719 Speaker 4: the social workers would judge her for it. Well, now 602 00:37:26,760 --> 00:37:29,839 Speaker 4: she'd lost one child and was desperate to ensure her 603 00:37:29,880 --> 00:37:36,920 Speaker 4: other child came home to her, But she also wanted answers. 604 00:37:40,000 --> 00:37:43,840 Speaker 4: Leah had very little information on how her son Joseph died, 605 00:37:46,520 --> 00:37:49,200 Speaker 4: so I decided to see if I could find out anything. 606 00:37:58,080 --> 00:38:01,440 Speaker 4: Palmdale is remote. It's the high desert and you have 607 00:38:01,480 --> 00:38:04,840 Speaker 4: to wind through barren mountain terrain on a single freeway 608 00:38:04,920 --> 00:38:09,520 Speaker 4: to get here from downtown La Along with neighbouring city Lancaster, 609 00:38:09,920 --> 00:38:12,919 Speaker 4: there's a very tragic history up here when it comes 610 00:38:12,960 --> 00:38:16,600 Speaker 4: to the child welfare system. In fact, this area has 611 00:38:16,640 --> 00:38:19,919 Speaker 4: the highest maltreatment rates of children aged zero to five 612 00:38:19,960 --> 00:38:24,319 Speaker 4: in La County between twenty thirteen and twenty sixteen. It 613 00:38:24,440 --> 00:38:27,319 Speaker 4: also had the highest number of children dying at the 614 00:38:27,360 --> 00:38:31,759 Speaker 4: hands of caregivers. You might have heard about Little Gabriel Fernandez. 615 00:38:32,560 --> 00:38:36,239 Speaker 12: A new development in the agonizing case of Gabriel Fernandez, 616 00:38:36,280 --> 00:38:38,560 Speaker 12: the eight year old boy tortured to death by his 617 00:38:38,640 --> 00:38:39,880 Speaker 12: mother and her boyfriend. 618 00:38:40,120 --> 00:38:42,560 Speaker 4: This tragic death of a young boy at the hands 619 00:38:42,560 --> 00:38:45,880 Speaker 4: of his mother and her boyfriend in twenty thirteen received 620 00:38:45,920 --> 00:38:49,920 Speaker 4: tons of media coverage. Gabriel Fernandez was killed right here 621 00:38:49,920 --> 00:38:54,480 Speaker 4: in Palmdale. In twenty nineteen, another four year old, Noah Quatro, 622 00:38:54,920 --> 00:38:58,799 Speaker 4: was also tragically killed by his parents in Palmdale. These 623 00:38:58,840 --> 00:39:02,080 Speaker 4: deaths made big news in Los Angeles. The children were 624 00:39:02,120 --> 00:39:05,800 Speaker 4: known to child welfare authorities, so their deaths sparked greater 625 00:39:05,880 --> 00:39:08,480 Speaker 4: outrage as many demanded to know why they had not 626 00:39:08,560 --> 00:39:13,600 Speaker 4: been removed from such dangerous homes. Notably, Gabriel's case didn't 627 00:39:13,800 --> 00:39:17,120 Speaker 4: just examine the responsibility of the caregivers. 628 00:39:17,040 --> 00:39:20,480 Speaker 10: But prosecutors also put the blame on these people. For 629 00:39:20,800 --> 00:39:24,239 Speaker 10: La County Department of Children and Family Services employees that 630 00:39:24,360 --> 00:39:27,960 Speaker 10: handled Gabriel's case, they were charged with child abuse and 631 00:39:28,000 --> 00:39:30,280 Speaker 10: falsifying records related to the case. 632 00:39:30,760 --> 00:39:35,760 Speaker 4: The charges against the DCFS employees were eventually dismissed, yet 633 00:39:35,840 --> 00:39:40,040 Speaker 4: there was an impact. Experts agree that charging the social 634 00:39:40,080 --> 00:39:43,520 Speaker 4: workers led to a more cautious approach, and the numbers 635 00:39:43,520 --> 00:39:47,880 Speaker 4: of children removed in the following years spiked, but still 636 00:39:48,160 --> 00:39:51,799 Speaker 4: children kept dying at the hands of caregivers. In the 637 00:39:51,840 --> 00:39:55,520 Speaker 4: case of Joseph Chucon, there was little news coverage beyond 638 00:39:55,560 --> 00:39:58,919 Speaker 4: a television news report the day he passed away in Palmdale. 639 00:39:59,120 --> 00:40:01,719 Speaker 12: This Palmdell home he turned into a crime scene after 640 00:40:01,760 --> 00:40:05,640 Speaker 12: Sheriff's investigators say a toddler was found not breathing just 641 00:40:05,680 --> 00:40:09,080 Speaker 12: after nine o'clock Friday night, A woman identified by neighbors 642 00:40:09,120 --> 00:40:12,200 Speaker 12: as the mom appearing to re enact for Sheriff's homicide 643 00:40:12,200 --> 00:40:14,759 Speaker 12: detectives where her one year old son was found in 644 00:40:14,840 --> 00:40:17,719 Speaker 12: the family car in a car seat, unresponsive. 645 00:40:18,160 --> 00:40:21,920 Speaker 4: Why did this child death not spark outrage? Could it 646 00:40:21,960 --> 00:40:25,200 Speaker 4: be because he died in foster care, essentially in the 647 00:40:25,200 --> 00:40:32,759 Speaker 4: care of the county. I wanted to piece together what 648 00:40:32,880 --> 00:40:36,560 Speaker 4: happened the night Joseph died. Over a series of months 649 00:40:36,600 --> 00:40:40,000 Speaker 4: of investigating and filing many public record requests, I was 650 00:40:40,080 --> 00:40:43,600 Speaker 4: able to learn key parts of the story. It started 651 00:40:43,640 --> 00:40:47,359 Speaker 4: on a Friday evening in late January twenty twenty, when 652 00:40:47,400 --> 00:40:50,040 Speaker 4: his foster mother decided to take Joseph with her to 653 00:40:50,160 --> 00:40:54,400 Speaker 4: target Joseph had eaten some soup around five forty pm, 654 00:40:54,560 --> 00:40:57,960 Speaker 4: according to his foster mother, and then he napped. Around 655 00:40:58,000 --> 00:41:02,440 Speaker 4: seven thirty pm, he ate crackers. Then at eight ten pm, 656 00:41:02,600 --> 00:41:05,480 Speaker 4: she says, she puts him in an infant car seat 657 00:41:05,520 --> 00:41:08,640 Speaker 4: capsule and straps him into the car in a rear 658 00:41:08,719 --> 00:41:12,000 Speaker 4: facing position for the one point seven mile drive from 659 00:41:12,040 --> 00:41:15,359 Speaker 4: her home to Target. But as she makes this five 660 00:41:15,440 --> 00:41:18,400 Speaker 4: to six minute drive to the store, she hears noises 661 00:41:18,480 --> 00:41:21,520 Speaker 4: in the back seat. She told authorities that she thought 662 00:41:21,680 --> 00:41:24,520 Speaker 4: Joseph was joking with her, but when she turns to 663 00:41:24,640 --> 00:41:27,239 Speaker 4: look at him, it appears that he's slipping down in 664 00:41:27,280 --> 00:41:30,840 Speaker 4: his car seat, so she turns around and drives home. 665 00:41:32,280 --> 00:41:35,799 Speaker 4: She calls nine one one at nine oh nine pm. 666 00:41:36,040 --> 00:41:37,560 Speaker 10: Nine one, What is your emergency? 667 00:41:38,239 --> 00:41:43,359 Speaker 11: Hi, Yes, I have an emergency. My host baby up here. 668 00:41:43,440 --> 00:41:45,560 Speaker 11: A year and a half. I was going to the 669 00:41:45,680 --> 00:41:49,400 Speaker 11: store and I heard him making like raising noises, and 670 00:41:49,520 --> 00:41:52,200 Speaker 11: I stopped. I turned around just to make sure he 671 00:41:52,360 --> 00:41:55,319 Speaker 11: was fine, and I came back home. He had the 672 00:41:56,000 --> 00:41:57,839 Speaker 11: didn't help. He move the thing to the car seat 673 00:41:57,880 --> 00:42:01,040 Speaker 11: on her on his shoulders. I think he stalk himsel. 674 00:42:01,080 --> 00:42:04,560 Speaker 11: We're trying to give him THREEPR. Okay, hold on what 675 00:42:04,760 --> 00:42:06,239 Speaker 11: you're at, Stay on the line and let me get 676 00:42:06,239 --> 00:42:08,000 Speaker 11: the paramedics. Okay, sure. 677 00:42:08,719 --> 00:42:10,960 Speaker 4: The nine one one operator goes on to ask the 678 00:42:11,000 --> 00:42:13,560 Speaker 4: foster mother if she's taken the child out of the 679 00:42:13,600 --> 00:42:14,240 Speaker 4: car seat. 680 00:42:14,400 --> 00:42:19,000 Speaker 11: Oh, you would choked by this the car street? Yes, okay, 681 00:42:19,160 --> 00:42:21,440 Speaker 11: Do I look him out? So I take him out? 682 00:42:21,520 --> 00:42:28,520 Speaker 11: Or once is he breathing, gets a strap from around 683 00:42:28,560 --> 00:42:31,080 Speaker 11: his nandkififs with shocking him, do it now quickly? 684 00:42:31,440 --> 00:42:32,200 Speaker 3: Is he soon? Really? 685 00:42:32,960 --> 00:42:35,479 Speaker 4: The nine one one dispatch it tells the foster mother 686 00:42:35,640 --> 00:42:38,719 Speaker 4: to take Joseph out of the car seat to start CPR. 687 00:42:39,280 --> 00:42:41,920 Speaker 4: The fire department arrives while the foster mother is still 688 00:42:41,960 --> 00:42:45,000 Speaker 4: on the phone with the nine one one operator performing CPR. 689 00:42:45,920 --> 00:42:50,320 Speaker 4: Soon thereafter, at nine point eighteen, the Emergency Medical Technician 690 00:42:50,440 --> 00:42:54,520 Speaker 4: service arrives, but the timeline of leaving home around eight 691 00:42:54,600 --> 00:42:57,839 Speaker 4: ten PM, as reported by the detective in the autopsy, 692 00:42:58,360 --> 00:43:02,400 Speaker 4: leaves one whole hour before she called for help. I 693 00:43:02,480 --> 00:43:05,120 Speaker 4: did the drive from the foster mother's home in Palmdale 694 00:43:05,400 --> 00:43:09,360 Speaker 4: to the nearest target. It took five minutes, according to 695 00:43:09,440 --> 00:43:12,680 Speaker 4: her own recounting of what happened. If she left for 696 00:43:12,800 --> 00:43:16,160 Speaker 4: target around eight ten pm. She would have heard Joseph 697 00:43:16,200 --> 00:43:19,279 Speaker 4: gasping in the next five minutes. Why did she call 698 00:43:19,360 --> 00:43:22,680 Speaker 4: nine one one a whole hour later at nine oh 699 00:43:22,800 --> 00:43:26,560 Speaker 4: nine pm? There were other questions I had when I 700 00:43:26,600 --> 00:43:30,799 Speaker 4: read the autopsy, and there was something shocking buried in 701 00:43:30,880 --> 00:43:35,920 Speaker 4: Joseph's autopsy report. Another foster baby had died two months 702 00:43:35,920 --> 00:43:37,480 Speaker 4: before in the same home. 703 00:43:38,200 --> 00:43:39,640 Speaker 10: Nay one wonder what is your emergency? 704 00:43:40,719 --> 00:43:40,919 Speaker 8: Hi? 705 00:43:41,160 --> 00:43:43,879 Speaker 11: Yes, calling in because I have a three months old 706 00:43:44,480 --> 00:43:48,760 Speaker 11: baby boy. She is a foster baby. He's not breathing. 707 00:43:50,800 --> 00:43:54,520 Speaker 4: Yet. When Joseph died, the cause of this foster child's 708 00:43:54,520 --> 00:43:59,759 Speaker 4: death was still under investigation. Why hadn't DCFS removed all 709 00:43:59,760 --> 00:44:14,319 Speaker 4: the us to children from this home, including Joseph. 710 00:44:14,400 --> 00:44:19,440 Speaker 1: This story doesn't end here. Next time, we investigate the 711 00:44:19,480 --> 00:44:22,959 Speaker 1: death of the two babies and ask difficult questions about 712 00:44:22,960 --> 00:44:27,600 Speaker 1: the systemic problems affecting La County's foster care system and 713 00:44:28,160 --> 00:44:51,200 Speaker 1: the United States as a whole. This episode was produced 714 00:44:51,200 --> 00:44:54,640 Speaker 1: by Depa Fernandez with help from Victoria Estrada. It was 715 00:44:54,760 --> 00:44:57,680 Speaker 1: edited by Marta Martinez. It was mixed by Julia Caruso 716 00:44:57,719 --> 00:45:01,520 Speaker 1: and Leah Shaw Dameron. During the this investigation, DIPA was 717 00:45:01,560 --> 00:45:05,560 Speaker 1: an early childhood reporting fellow at Pacific Oaks College, which 718 00:45:05,600 --> 00:45:09,120 Speaker 1: is funded in part by First five LA. Fact checking 719 00:45:09,160 --> 00:45:12,919 Speaker 1: for this episode by Ben Klin. Special thanks to Lori 720 00:45:13,120 --> 00:45:16,280 Speaker 1: Turk by Chak Chu and Beth Peruz of the Kid's 721 00:45:16,320 --> 00:45:20,160 Speaker 1: Data Program, Richard Cohen of USC School of Social Work, 722 00:45:20,560 --> 00:45:23,879 Speaker 1: Susan E. Seeger of U C Irvine School of Law, 723 00:45:24,160 --> 00:45:28,600 Speaker 1: Neil Rossini, and Silvie de Toldo. The Latino USA team 724 00:45:28,719 --> 00:45:34,640 Speaker 1: also includes Renaldo Leanos Junior, Andrea Lopez Grussado, LORIMR. Marquez, 725 00:45:34,840 --> 00:45:40,399 Speaker 1: Penilee Ramirez, Mike Sargent, Nour Saudi, and Nancy Trujillo. Our 726 00:45:40,440 --> 00:45:44,680 Speaker 1: director of engineering is Stephanie Lebau. Additional engineering support by 727 00:45:44,760 --> 00:45:49,880 Speaker 1: Gabriel Abiez and JJ Carubin. Our marketing manager is Luis Luna. 728 00:45:50,320 --> 00:45:53,920 Speaker 1: Our theme music was composed by Zee Rubinos. I'm your 729 00:45:53,960 --> 00:45:57,279 Speaker 1: host and executive producer Marienno Josa. Join us again on 730 00:45:57,320 --> 00:45:59,880 Speaker 1: our next episode. In the meantime, look for us on 731 00:46:00,080 --> 00:46:10,880 Speaker 1: your social media, and as always, remember ast that Approxima Joe. 732 00:46:11,760 --> 00:46:16,680 Speaker 13: Latino USA is made possible in part by California Endowment, 733 00:46:17,000 --> 00:46:20,320 Speaker 13: building a strong state by improving the health of all Californians. 734 00:46:20,960 --> 00:46:24,480 Speaker 13: The Annie E. Casey Foundation creates a brighter future for 735 00:46:24,520 --> 00:46:29,359 Speaker 13: the nation's children by strengthening families, building greater economic opportunity, 736 00:46:29,480 --> 00:46:34,880 Speaker 13: and transforming communities and Funding for Latino USA's coverage of 737 00:46:34,920 --> 00:46:37,600 Speaker 13: a culture of Health is made possible, in part by 738 00:46:37,640 --> 00:46:39,960 Speaker 13: a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.