House speaker calls on DHS to make top priority out of internal review; 5-year-old killed after father given custody (Shawnee, Oklahoma)

The fathers rights people have generated tremendous pressure on child welfare organizations to "include" fathers. This is the fruit of that policy. Despite the fact that this girl came back from her daddy visits with bruises, child welfare workers STILL recommended that she be placed in her father's permanent "care."  Less than one month later, she is beaten to death and her father, SEAN DEVON BROOKS, is arrested on 1st-degree murder charges.

http://newsok.com/oklahoma-house-speaker-calls-on-dhs-to-make-a-top-priority-out-of-its-internal-review-into-the-death-of-a-child/article/3589131

Oklahoma House speaker calls on DHS to make a top priority out of its internal review into the death of a child

Pottawatomie County's district attorney says he's opened an investigation into a child welfare case involving Serenity Deal, 5, but is having trouble getting documentation from the Oklahoma DHS.

BY ANN KELLEY akelley@opubco.com Oklahoman
Published: July 27, 2011

SHAWNEE — A district attorney and the state House speaker on Tuesday criticized child welfare officials' handling of the Serenity Deal case.

The 5-year-old was killed June 4, less than month after Department of Human Services workers recommended she live with her father. The girl's father, Sean Devon Brooks, 31, is charged in Oklahoma County District Court with first-degree murder in connection with her death.

Four DHS workers involved in her case were placed on administrative leave with pay pending the outcome of an internal investigation. What happened next has left even more questions surrounding the case:

• Donald Wheeler, a child welfare specialist with 30 years experience from Lincoln County, killed himself earlier this month.

• Wheeler's supervisor, Wesley Priest, resigned July 1. Priest's wife also resigned from DHS.

• Jennifer Shawn and Randy Lack, assigned to the Pottawatomie County DHS office, remain on leave.

Pottawatomie County District Attorney Richard Smothermon said he has opened an investigation to look for any system failures in the case and to determine whether all the information DHS had in the case was given to the court.

Smothermon said his investigation has been stalled because DHS has ignored his requests for all paperwork and internal correspondence in the case. He made his initial request several weeks ago, and several more since then.

“They keep putting me off,” Smothermon said.

House Speaker Kris Steele, R-Shawnee, said the agency needs to make the report of its internal investigation its top priority and release its findings.

“The agency's duty to explain what happened should not be this complicated and time-consuming,” Steele said. “It's time to give Serenity's family and the public answers. The DHS status quo of excuses and delays is not sufficient.”

DHS report sought

A state medical examiner reported Serenity was beaten to death.

Child welfare workers from Pottawatomie County recommended she be placed in her father's care as part of a trial reunification, despite two reports that she had returned from visits with Brooks with bruises and black eyes, according to a report by the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth, the watchdog agency that monitors DHS.

Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth issued its report 10 days after Serenity died.

The report indicates there were disagreements between child welfare workers in Lincoln County, where the case began, and neighboring Pottawatomie County, where it was moved.

“Based on the information currently available, it seems likely that Serenity died because of a systematic breakdown,” Steele said. “We must find out precisely what happened so we can correct the problem, but we can't do that until DHS produces its report.”

Howard Hendrick, DHS director, said his agency will issue its report when it has all the information necessary to understand what family members and child welfare workers knew, and when they knew it.

“Without knowing what each person involved in the case knew, it would be premature to determine what errors in judgment happened,” Hendrick said.

He said the department is waiting on transcripts of the multiple-court hearing involving Serenity, which would detail the recommendations of everyone involved, including the district attorney and Serenity's court-appointed attorney.

DHS spokeswoman Sheree Powell said they need those court transcripts because they are required by law to include everyone's recommendations in their report.

Powell said their investigator met with Smothermon several weeks ago, and Smothermon agreed to wait until their investigation was done before they turned over agency emails and other items. She said he was updated by telephone two weeks ago about their progress on the internal review.