Garcia says her interactions with Rodriguez began shortlyafter she suspected Gabriels mother was physically retaliating against him for his in-school misbehavior. Around this time, Gabriel came to class looking even worse than he ever had before. RELATED: DCFS asks for public's help amid sharp drop in possible child abuse reports, Brunt of storm moving out of SoCal on Wednesday; showers will linger, Children jump for joy at seeing snow flurries in Canyon Country, RFK assassin Sirhan Sirhan is denied parole for 16th time. Anchor | Reporter . 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. Usually, promoting a case meant petitioning a judge to mandate services such as rent stipends or anger-management classes for parents, or seeking a judges approval to place the child in foster care. Stefanie Rodriguez Executive Business Partner at Lyft New York, New York, United States 478 followers 476 connections Join to connect Lyft University of San Francisco Activity Career Update! For other inquiries, Contact Us. His hair cut was awful and sloppy, and chunks of his scalp had scabbed over. Garcia cracked a smile as the girls eyes seemed to say, Get me out of here. Almost three years had passed since Gabriels death, and many people had all but forgotten that a criminal review was under way. Executive Business Partner at Lyft . Wellington, Wellington Region, New Zealand, Senior PR and Communications Officer - British Consulate General Sydney, Information Technology Service Management Analyst, Manager, Corporate and Marketing Communications, SSC Malaysia - Finance Team Lead - Bill & Pay, Techtronic Industries Australia & New Zealand, Volt - International (An Innova Solutions Company). Express. During Red Ribbon Week, when teachers talk to children about staying drug-free, Gabriel mimicked snorting cocaine and knew it was a drug. As time went on and new injuries kept appearing, I started to feel like nothing was happening (with the case), Garcia testified. During a parent-teacher meeting, Pearl said without prompting, I dont hit my kids. Garcia told Pearl that Gabriel was smart and a good writer, but she didnt think Pearl believed her. All rights reserved. We have been six years fighting this battle," says the boy's cousin Olivia Rubio. But the program worried Philip Browning, whod become the head of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services in 2011. Gabriel told her he had fallen off his bike and begged her not to send him home early. OPEN GOV US GOV US. If found guilty, they will be among the first caseworkers from a child-welfare agency to go to prison for their lapses on the job. Once again, Rodriguez and Bom decided not to remove him or order a medical exam. According to the case file, Rodriguez met Gabriels family in their second-floor apartment, which looked out on the back of a row of dollar stores, two days after Garcias first call to the hotline. Rodriguez recommended Gabriel for a program called Voluntary Family Maintenance, which was being used with thousands of families. Find Stefanie Rodriguez's articles, email address, contact information, Twitter and more. On March 26th, 2013 therapist intern Barbara Dixon filed a report that Gabriel claimed a relative forced him to perform oral sex on them. View Stefanie Rodriguez results including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. Everyone in the office knew that Palmdale had its share of caseworkers whom no one would choose to look after endangered children. Some of Merritts colleagues were so ashamed of the departments reputation that they avoided telling people what they did for a living. She explained that hearing the name Gabriel Fernandez had sent her into a daze. Lomeli called the pair nothing short of evil and worse than animalistic because even animals know how to take care of their young.. 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. Stefanie is related to Victor Rodriquez and Sylvia Rodriguez as well as 1 additional person. In just a few days, she would be teaching first grade in Room 5 at Summerwind Elementary, four miles away. Back in her classroom, Garcia saw the Mothers Day card on Gabriels desk. But the consequences of needlessly separating children from their parents, while less visible, can be devastating too. That would be reportable. She also told Reid that during Red Ribbon Week, when teachers talked about staying away from narcotics, Gabriel had announced that cocaine was a drug. (During this period, foster care was in such short supply that DCFS routinely used a conference room to house children overnight.) Stephanie Rodrigues is a member of the caregiver training team. When Garcia first questioned Gabriel about his injuries, he lied to her and told her he fell. Suddenly, Pearl wanted custody back in October 2012. I thought Gabriel would benefit. So she agreed to accept his case rather than urging Rodriguez to take it to courta decision that has haunted her ever since. Debates over child-protective services often scramble traditional political divisions, and Casey Family Programs, which has championed a number of progressive causes, had powerful political allies in religious conservatives, who pushed George W. Bushs administration to limit government intrusion on parental authority. Pearl ordered her 11-year-old daughter to help them clean blood off the floor. He said he couldnt work with people who had refused to help Gabriel. Gabriels grandmother told two sheriffs deputies that Pearl had a history of neglecting and abusing her children, but they didnt believe her. Ezequiel, who was now 16, had a faint mustache and a face shaped like Gabriels. They were informed of suicide notes written by Gabriel but they took no additional action. No one could protect them alland he felt frustrated that both administrators and the public expected him to do the impossible. Inside, fluorescent bulbs threw a dull yellow light across the courtroom. I drove around aimlessly for a while and lost track of time.. Gabriel Fernandez: Is Gabriel Fernandezs killer still alive? In an 2-1 opinion, the panel concluded that there was no probable cause to hold the two social workers and their supervisors on charges of child abuse and falsifying documents. Merritt assigned supervision of Gabriels case to a member of his team named Pat Clement, who would become the fourth person from the agency to face criminal charges. When social workers interviewed him about that allegation, Pearl was present, and Gabriel took back each of his stories. In her notes, she reported that shed observed the children to be appropriately dressed, visibly healthy, and did not have any marks or bruises., The following week, Garcia made multiple calls about Gabriels haircut and busted lip. 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The defense lawyers presented a long list of others who could have helped Gabriel, toopolice officers, school staff members, and people in the community. Gabriels teacher Ms Garcia contacted the organisation several times, reporting Gabriels injuries and behaviour. He walked into class with his head down. Various defense attorneys argued that the abuse and torture escalated months after a file on the boy had been closed and that there was insufficient evidence to take him away from his mother. On November 26th, 2012 Gabriel showed up to class late. The 2nd District Court of Appeal advised that the lower court dismiss the charges against the social workers. If they were to be found guilty, they faced up to 10 years in prison each. She knewas so many of the schools staff members knewthat Gabriel was in danger at home. The District Attorney may appeal this decision. This person may work with the birth family, the court, outside agencies providing ancillary services to the child, the child's out-of-home caregiver (If the child was not able . The Pharmacist on Netflix: Whats the shocking true story. Prosecutors had granted immunity to a caseworker and a therapist, in exchange for their testimony against Merritt and the other defendants. ( Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Since then, the number of children removed from their home in any given year has risen or fallen according to pendulum swings in child-protective-services agencies, which have alternated between erring on the side of child safety and erring on the side of family preservation. Arturo Martinez, the security guard, asked to transfer to another office because he could not continue to work with the same people who had refused to help Gabriel. On Monday, November 26, Gabriel arrived late. I could hardly walk. The documentary looks into the failures of the Los Angeles County DCFS system. She said yes because some parents spank their children, but asked him again about it at recess. Garcia threw it in the trash in disgust and frustration. After school, Garcia called the countys child-abuse hotline. Yes, he said. "There is, therefore, no probable cause to hold them on charges of violating those laws and the trial court should have granted the motions to dismiss," the opinion continued. Decider.com reported that a three-justice panel stated there was no probably cause connected to child abuse or falsifying documents in a 2-to-1 opinion.. He died on May 24, 2013, and in 2018, Pearl and Isauro were found guilty of first-degree murder with an additional special circumstance of intentional murder by torture. Merritt couldnt remember much about Gabriel, one of about 180 children whose cases he had been overseeing. But as they rummaged through a pile of recently closed cases, Dallis explained that Gabriel, who was 8, had been severely abused and might die. It was stated that there was no probable cause connected to child abuse or falsifying documents in a 2-to-1 opinion. Earnings for Regularly Scheduled Work Hours. Two social workers, Stefanie Rodriguez and Patricia Clement, as well as two of their supervisors, Kevin Bom and Gregory Merritt, were each charged with one felony count of child abuse and falsifying public records. {{#message}}{{{message}}}{{/message}}{{^message}}Your submission failed. He pressed, and she reluctantly went to ask a supervisors permission. As soon as a call came in from a hospital, caseworkers would be dispatched to interview any surviving siblings and remove them from the home. He was hungry for Garcias attention and praise and would stay behind at recess to help her collate and staple papers. Copyright 2023 KABC Television, LLC. The appellate court formally sent the matter back to the lower court in April and Lomeli was expected to officially drop the charges on Thursday. In DCFSs Palmdale office, people liked to joke: Its not the end of the world, but you can see it from here. High-ranking administrators from headquarters in Los Angeles rarely made the long drive through the hills and canyons up to this community on the edge of the Mojave Desert, where buzzards circle and dust storms penetrate homes with a layer of grit that no amount of vigilance can keep out. Yet, despite the obvious and visible signs of abuse, documentation by both Rodriguez and Clement downplayed the injuries. In 2018, after Pearl and Isauros sentencing, prosecutors opened an investigation into the four social workers who had been assigned to Gabriels case. Browning, the head of the department, had referred the case to the district attorneys office in the immediate aftermath of Gabriels death. Social worker Stefanie Rodriguez and other representatives of child protection agencies visited Gabriel's home on a number of occasions. Money Services Business Registrations; Moter Carriers Yet she also noticed that ideas came easily to Gabriel, and he seemed to gain a small measure of dominion over his surroundings with a pencil in hand. This created a financial incentive to reduce the use of foster care. He said his mother and her boyfriend would threaten him if he didnt join in their beatings. About 74,700 openings for social workers are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Garcia called Rodriguez yet again. efore caseworkers can close an investigation, the agency requires them to use a software program called Structured Decision Making to score a childs risk of being abused or neglected. y the time Greg Merritt, Stefanie Rodriguez, Kevin Bom, and Pat Clement arrived for their own first day in court, on April 7, 2016, they were pariahs. His new address meant a new school, too. 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. But of that 60%, 37% reported losing money and 21% said their relationship with the borrower was harmed. But this didnt strike Merritt as particularly unusual or alarminghe remembered a child even younger who had made actual suicide attempts. Under California law, teachers must report any suspected child abuse, but even those who report are not always heard. First responders noted that every single inch of his body had signs of abuse. 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. She delivered her testimony with plaintive wails and required frequent recesses to gather herself. Its because my mom shot me in the face with a BB gun!, Okay. 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