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Jul. 11, 2007
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

DEPARTMENT OF FAMILY SERVICES: Police find child dead at home

In past, five reports lodged against toddler's family

By DAVID KIHARA
REVIEW-JOURNAL

A toddler whose family has a history of being investigated on suspicion of child abuse or neglect was found dead Tuesday morning in his father's downtown Las Vegas home.

The child was identified by authorities as 33-month-old Zander Martino. He and his two siblings were in protective custody less than two weeks ago while the county investigated an injury to Zander, the Clark County Department of Family Services said.

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    • Family Court Hearing Master David Gibson Sr. placed Zander and his siblings back into their father's custody on June 28, authorities said.

    Why Gibson returned the children to their father was unclear Tuesday. Gibson could not be reached for comment.

    Las Vegas police officers were called to the family's home in the 200 block of Hoover Avenue, near Main Street and Bonneville Avenue, about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday because Zander was not breathing, police said. They found Zander dead inside the house.

    Zander's father, his wife or girlfriend and Zander's two siblings were at the home, said Lisa Teele, supervisor for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department's abuse and neglect unit.

    The boy's mother lives out-of-state, Teele said.

    Authorities said there was some bruising visible on Zander when he was found, but his cause of death was still under investigation Tuesday night.

    Teele said no one had been taken into custody or charged in connection with the death.

    The Department of Family Services first opened a case on Zander in December 2004, when he was about 2 months old, after the county received a report that his mother had abused him, said Christine Skorupski, spokeswoman for the department.

    The county removed Zander and his siblings from the home at that time, Skorupski said.

    She said Zander became a ward of the county in August 2005 and between then and April was at times in foster care and at other times living with his relatives.

    In April, Zander and his siblings were returned to the custody of their father. Family Services workers visited the home at least three times in May and reported no problems, Skorupski said.

    But on June 19, the Family Services Department opened another investigation into the family because Zander had a injury that aroused suspicion, she said.

    At that time, the county removed Zander and two other siblings, about 1 and 4 years old, from the home and placed them into protective custody, Skorupski said.

    On Thursday, a week after Gibson had returned the children to their father, county workers made an unannounced visit to the family's home to check on the children's welfare. The workers did not find any bruises on the children or any signs of abuse or neglect during that visit, Skorupski said.

    The workers watched as one of the adults in the house changed a diaper on one of the children, and the workers did not see any diaper rash on the child. Diaper rashes can be sign that a child is being neglected.

    In all, the family had five previous reports lodged against it regarding possible child abuse or neglect, Skorupski said.

    Donna Coleman, a child welfare critic, questioned whether Clark County Director of Family Services Tom Morton's goal of closing child welfare cases within 45 days might have come into play in Zander's case.

    "Success to me in child welfare does not mean closing a case in 45 days. Where is the risk assessment?" Coleman said.

    Clark County has been focused on child welfare reform since a 2005 state report found that authorities were underreporting and under-investigating suspicious deaths of children. The report found that between 2001 and 2004, 79 suspicious deaths of children in Clark County had never been reviewed to determine whether the abuse or neglect had been factors in the deaths.

    The report was followed by a string of tragedies involving children in protective custody during 2006.

    Everlyse Cabrera, 3, disappeared while in foster care and has never been found. A 7-month-old child to whom authorities referred to as "baby boy Charles" died of head injuries in foster care. Joshua Sharp, 15 months, was a resident of Child Haven, the county's shelter for children, when he went into respiratory distress and died.

    The National Center for Youth Law, an Oakland, Calif.-based nonprofit, filed a lawsuit in federal court in 2006 and alleged that the county's child welfare system is in turmoil and puts children at risk.

    Clark County Department of Family Services Director Tom Morton, brought in to improve the system, is working with the Safe Futures plan, which draws on increased funding from state and local governments to provide more staffing, training and oversight.



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    There is a difference wrote on July 18, 2007 10:08 PM: In regards to this stmt made by Lisa Teele of Metro Abuse and Neglect:

    "When you see a child lose their life, it affects everyone. Not only the parents, it affects the community. I would just urge our community to stay diligent, because we are receiving calls, we do have eyes on our children, so stay diligent,"

    This affects not only the community, but, the nation. The difference is, the community had no control or power over this case, or any others. That power rested with the courts and social workers.

    Copfan-
    "You would then see the critical thinking errors you and people like you i.e., Donna Coleman, suffer from."

    The thing is, our critical thinking did not result in Zander's death. The errors made are on the side of those claiming to protect the children.


    family wrote on July 17, 2007 11:14 AM: when he was abuseive from the begining and throught this ordeal and also to the childrens mother they should have then and in the begining determined that he was the abuseive one not the mother. he continued to abuse because he kept getting away with it. ignorance and neglect is what killed the baby.


    Angry wrote on July 15, 2007 12:22 AM: PS...
    The authorities over Zander used mindless and ignorant judgment EVEN in light of clear and iminent danger. The logical decision was there as were the signs. They were ignored.


    Angry wrote on July 15, 2007 12:10 AM: Copfan---
    Come now!
    The signs were all there!
    If diaper rash IS neglect as you clearly say, then WHY were the children put back into that home!?!
    Not to mention the bruises, etc.
    What more did these workers need!


    Curious wrote on July 12, 2007 02:27 PM: 5 Prior complaints? And thats not enough? Apparently, they dont do anything until the kid dies. The father should be dragged out and shot.


    copfan wrote on July 12, 2007 08:03 AM: Dear Theresa, those who cast stones etc etc. Clearly you have never worked in this capacity or you would see the ignorance of your mindless and silly statement. Spend one day doing CPS' job, and you will see the difficulties of investigating this matter and others like it. Diaper rash is a sign of neglect if it goes untreated you knucklehead. This job is a nightmare and people are leaving in record numbers because of it. They can't retain the staff because staff cannot live with themselves when their difficult decisions result in deadly consequences. I urge you to shadow a CPS investigator for even one day. You would then see the critical thinking errors you and people like you i.e., Donna Coleman, suffer from.


    Concerned Foster Parent and friend of this poor beautiful child wrote on July 11, 2007 09:21 PM: My heart is so very broken knowing that this beautiful child was in a loving home in which he healthy, loved and never abused. This child would still be alive today if he was not taken from the amazing foster parents that loved and cherished him and had wanted to adopt him. How many more children are going to have to die before there will be a change. Zander, baby you are so loved and will be dearly missed! Love you sweet baby boy!


    Teresa wrote on July 11, 2007 06:13 PM: First of all let me say that DIAPER RASH IS NOT AT ALL A SIGN OF NEGLECT! That statement by CPS was a load of crapola.
    Second of all let me say that NV needs to do something because obviously CPS is NOT doing their job! How many babies does your city have to loose? It is painfully obvious that the state/city cares more about $$$ and casinos than they do human life!!!
    And HURRAH to the RJ for printing the negative!! People need to read the negative so that they can be aware of the neglect on the part of the city/government/cps/cops! They don't need to be defended like copfan did. NOTE TO COPFAN: COPS AND CPS LIE MORE!!!


    Qudsia wrote on July 11, 2007 12:59 PM: It's mind boggling to think that any child can be abused like this. It's so sad to read this! The person who returned the child should lose his/her job. And the father should get life!!
    ((This city is just HORRIble when it comes to child welfare!!!))


    Danielle wrote on July 11, 2007 11:46 AM: How a person can abuse a two month old baby is beyond me. I think anyone who abuses any child deserves to die.


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