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Committee reviews infant's death
By RYAN DAVIS, Times Staff Writer TAMPA -- A better coordinated child welfare system might have prevented last year's death of a 2-month-old New Port Richey girl, members of a statewide group said Wednesday. "We felt there might have been some sort of falling through the cracks," said Nancy Barshter of the state Attorney General's Office. Barshter is one of 18 members on the Florida Child Abuse Death Review Committee, which held its bimonthly meeting Wednesday in Tampa. The committee reviews child death cases that meet two criteria: the Department of Children and Families had received an abuse complaint prior to the child's death and the department has closed the case and identified who caused the death. The group, coordinated by the state Department of Health, includes members from law enforcement and the DCF, a medical examiner and other health professionals. The state Legislature created the committee in 1999, the year after 6-year-old Kayla McKean was returned to a Lake County home and killed by her father. Its aim is to determine whether the deaths could have been prevented and, if so, how. It drafts a report to the Legislature at the end of the year. The group drew increased attention at its Wednesday meeting in light of the child welfare system's most recent public tragedy -- the disappearance of Miami's Rilya Wilson. DCF caseworkers filed false reports about her, indicating she was in foster care 16 months after she was last seen. On Wednesday, the committee discussed six cases. It reached conclusions about four and found that the child welfare system could have helped prevent the deaths in two, in Daytona Beach. In each case, members avoided using names or other confidential information. But enough facts were disclosed to make it clear which cases were discussed. Among the cases examined was that of Kristy DeRosa of New Port Richey. The group did not reach a conclusion in that case because it needs more information. But, without that information, it questioned the work of Healthy Start, a program run by the county health department. Kristy died March 31, 2001, after her father (then-34-year-old Paul DeRosa) fell asleep in bed with her. His arm covered her mouth and nose, authorities said. The father said he had a couple of drinks before bed, according to state officials. The family was reported to DCF the day Kristy was born. Both she and her mother (then-21-year-old Amanda Lynn Miller) tested positive for marijuana, state officials said. Within a week of Kristy's birth, child protective investigators from the Pasco County Sheriff's Office visited the family and determined that Healthy Start should provide parenting assistance. A month later, a neighbor feuding with the family called to report that the baby's 3-year-old sibling had been given beer. Healthy Start, a state-funded program for pregnant woman and infants, never reached the family. State officials said Wednesday that it was unclear how hard Healthy Start workers tried to reach the family. Officials also weren't sure whether Healthy Start notified the Sheriff's Office that it couldn't reach the family. "We had some concerns about Healthy Start and others," said committee chairman Dr. Michael Bell, the deputy chief medical examiner in Broward County. County health department officials told the St. Petersburg Times Wednesday that they could not release information about the case because it was confidential. Committee members also said they need more information from the Sheriff's Office about the criminal investigation into the case. "If there's anything they don't have, I'd like to know what," sheriff's spokesman Kevin Doll told the Times. He said investigators conferred with the State Attorney's Office, determined there was not enough evidence to press charges and notified DCF of its findings. -- Ryan Davis covers social services in Pasco County. He can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6245 or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6245. His e-mail address is rdavis@sptimes.com.
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From today's Pasco Times Letters |
