Foster mom tells tale of death

She came before a state task force to plead for better child protection.

By KEVIN GRAHAM, Times Staff Writer
Published August 17, 2007

TAMPA - Delores Wilson had kept her silence for more than a year, telling only attorneys and case workers about the day a foster child died at the hands of another young girl in her home.

On Thursday, she spoke out.

During an emotional plea to bring change to Florida's foster care system, Wilson, 65, of Tampa, told her story to a state task force on child protection.

"I wasn't planning on being here today, but I felt you were working to make the system better," Wilson said, standing nervously before the 13-member panel, "so that another child doesn't have to die."

Wilson has spent the past six months drafting a Bill of Rights for Florida foster parents she hopes state legislators will adopt.

Authorities knew the young girl she says caused the death of another child had a violent past, Wilson said. She had attacked her previous caregiver. But no one told Wilson.

"We get no prior knowledge of our child," Wilson said. "They're just thrown into our home."

Wilson's comments came in the final minutes of a meeting to investigate Florida's child welfare system. It was the second meeting of the task force formed in July, following the disappearance of 2-year-old Courtney Clark, whose case demonstrated numerous missteps by agencies responsible for her care.

"We're using that case, as everything went wrong in it," said Bob Butterworth, Department of Children and Families secretary, who sat in the back of the meeting room at the Stetson University College of Law in Tampa, listening to the panel's discussions.

The task force, which includes representatives from law enforcement, the courts, social services, DCF and private agencies responsible for foster children, spent five hours discussing ways to improve foster care. The group is supposed to meet every few weeks and come up with a report of its findings by Oct. 1.

As the meeting ended, Wilson detailed the horrific incident that made her speak out.

Wilson, a foster parent for more than a decade, had temporary custody of two grandchildren and an 11-year-old girl in foster care last summer when officials asked her to take in a 14-year-old girl.

"Right away, I noticed this child was very aggressive," she said. The teen had pushed one foster child and bitten Wilson's grandchild. On June 30, 2006, the worst came.

The 14-year-old girl had bitten the 11-year-old girl 13 times, placed a pillow over her head and sat on it, Wilson said. She performed CPR until a sheriff's deputy arrived. The young girl died of a heart attack, according to her death certificate.

Records on the investigation could not be obtained Thursday, and it was unclear what happened to the 14-year-old girl.

[Last modified August 16, 2007, 23:05:57]