Supes want probe of foster abuse case

Los Angeles County officials have launched an investigation into the case of a Norwalk woman charged with abusing her two foster children.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a motion for the Office of Child Protection to investigate the circumstances that left a 4-year-old boy in a coma. Supervisor Janice Hahn, whose Fourth District encompasses Norwalk, called for the probe after the child’s extended family went public with his story.

Gabriela Casarez, 26, pleaded not guilty earlier this month to one count of assault on a child resulting in the child becoming comatose due to brain injury and suffering paralysis, as well as two counts of child abuse under circumstances or conditions likely to cause great bodily injury or death, officials with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office had said.

The three charges are felonies. The criminal complaint said the assault occurred on or about Oct. 28 while the abuse occurred between June 4 and Oct. 28.

The boy had sustained “grave injuries” and was admitted to an intensive care unit, according to the Board of Supervisors. An update on his status was not available Tuesday.

Maria Jacinto, the boy’s aunt, spoke during a press conference last week seeking information, saying her family has been barred from speaking to her young relatives.

“They don’t deserve this at all,” Jacinto said. “No kid deserves this, in any care, under anybody’s care. We’re just asking for justice … and information.”

Jacinto appeared to be referencing the 4-year-old, and his 2-year-old brother, who is also reportedly in foster care and has been named as a second victim of abuse likely to cause great bodily injury or death.

Michael Adler, Jacinto’s lawyer, said the 4-year-old was in the care of his foster family when he was severely beaten.

“We have no evidence that … he was with anyone other than this foster family, and there’s clear evidence that he was tortured and beaten into a coma,” Adler said during the press conference.

It wasn’t clear how the pair ended up with Casarez, how long they have been with her, or if there have been any allegations made against her before.

“If these allegations are true, we put him in the care of an abusive foster mother who hurt him so severely he had to be hospitalized,” Hahn said during the board meeting. “We not only need to know how this was possible … but we also need to question why he was removed from his mother in the first place.”

Hahn and Supervisor Hilda Solis suggested that language or cultural barriers may have played a role in social workers’ decision to remove the boy from his family.

“It’s really tragic what happened to this little boy and probably could have been avoided had we done a better job of assessing the young child and really understanding his cultural and linguistic abilities,” Solis said.

The Department of Children and Family Services also has been directed to assess the experience and tenure of the social workers involved and to review the department’s policies and training on forensic evaluation and referrals to medical care.

The records for children and families who may have come to the attention of child protective services are confidential and state law prohibits the DCFS from confirming or commenting on whether a child or family has been involved with the department, according to a statement from DCFS.

“Licensure of resource families involves rigorously examining the suitability of potential families to identify safe, nurturing and supportive homes for children in foster care,” the statement said. “DCFS thoroughly investigates allegations of caretaker abuse and neglect and, when appropriate, works closely with law enforcement to ensure children remain safe and that substantiated allegations are swiftly addressed in a court of law.”

Chris Martin, a co-leader of the Reimagine Child Safety Coalition and a lawyer who has represented parents seeking to maintain custody of their children, said DCFS policies target and harm Black, brown and Indigenous families. The coalition estimates that 40% of foster children are Black, far out of proportion to the 9% of county residents who are Black.

“I’ve personally seen DCFS unnecessarily ruin the lives of countless families,” Martin said. “Some of these parents have gotten their kids taken away because they smoke marijuana. Others because they are victims of domestic violence [who contacted police].”

Martin also said children should not be separated from their parents simply because the parents use or have used drugs.

“A drug test is not a parenting test,” Martin said. “The sad thing here is that a number of these kids are going to go into homes where they are even more traumatized by foster parents.”

Martin urged the board to review the coalition’s demands, which include a call to end the “partnership” between the DCFS and law enforcement. The group says about 25% of DCFS calls originate with law enforcement, and social workers work together with police or sheriff’s deputies to enter homes and remove children, a practice they say further traumatizes kids.

Both Hahn and Solis expressed interest in the coalition’s ideas.

“We do have to re-imagine what the services look like, because it is dysfunctional,” Solis said.

Casarez is being held at the Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood in lieu of $1.2 million bail. Her next court date is Dec. 6 at Norwalk Superior Court for a hearing.

A report on the investigation is expected back in 45 days, according to the board.