P R E S S R E L E A S E
For Immediate Release
Sunday, April 2, 2006, 4:00 pm
Contact: Attorney David Beauvais at (510) 832-3605
$2.6 MILLION AWARDED FOR ILLEGAL SEIZURE OF CHILD
A federal jury in Sacramento returned a verdict of $2.6 million on Friday against two detectives and the City of Stockton following a four day trial. The jury found that the detectives and the City violated the constitutional rights of a child, then four years old, and her father when they took the child into protective custody without a warrant.
The suit was brought by Crystal Keller and her father, Dennis Keller of Fair Oaks.
After Crystal’s parents separated, a court awarded them joint custody. Crystal spent alternating weeks in each parent’s home. In July, 2002, Stockton police received a complaint that Crystal was being abused in her mother’s home. Officer Ernie Alverson responded to the complaint. Concerned for Crystal’s welfare, he told the father to keep Crystal even though she was due to return to the mother.
Alverson’s report was forwarded to Sergeant Ken Praegitzer who assigned the case to Detective Kathryn Henderson. Two days later, Henderson with Praegitzer’s approval went to Sacramento and removed Crystal from the father, placing her in protective custody just three days before her fifth birthday.
In a report explaining why Crystal was removed, Detective Henderson said that the father was in violation of the custody order by keeping Crystal when the mother was supposed to have her. At trial, the Kellers argued that Henderson was not enforcing the custody order when she took Crystal away from both parents and that Henderson could have gotten an emergency protective order to change custody while the allegations against the mother were investigated.
The jury found that Crystal was not in danger of physical abuse and that the officers violated the Kellers’ rights by not getting a warrant. The jury also ruled against the City of Stockton for not having a policy to protect children from lawless seizures. Sgt. Leslie, a Stockton police officer for more than 21 years, testified that he was unaware of a single instance where police officers sought a warrant to remove a child.
The jury assessed punitive damages of $2 million against the detectives saying they acted with deliberate indifference to the Kellers’ constitutional rights.
Mr. Keller said after the verdict “I hope that this case will set a precedent for the use of warrants to remove children and to train police officers how, why and when they need to be used.” Crystal said after the verdict “it was hard for me to be taken from my dad at such a young age and I will remember it my whole life.”
In 2004, a court awarded Dennis Keller full custody of his daughter.
For further information, you may contact the Kellers’ attorney David Beauvais at (510) 832-3605.
For Immediate Release: Contact: Karl Hoffower (408)-891-5830
Doug Linde (310)-203-9555
SANTA CLARA COUNTY NAMED IN $400 MILLION
FALSE
CLAIMS DAMAGES SUIT OVER DFCS FRAUD
SUIT ALLEGES CPS CHARGED STATE AND FEDERAL PROGRAMS
FOR
NON EXISTENT CHILDREN
After
a Federal False Claims Act suit was unsealed last week, the County of Santa
Clara has been served with a summons to appear on charges of defrauding State
and Federal Social Security funds for Foster Care.
The
suit alleges that the Department of Family and Children’s Services regularly
bills the State and Federal Governments for managing case files of children that
do not exist. The attorney for the case estimated the damages
and fraud at about $400 million dollars in State and Federal funds.
The
Whistleblower in this case reportedly has copies of documents that show DFCS
Management and Supervisors ordered Social Workers to bill for 5 children in one
case rather than for the two children that the mother actually gave birth to.
Dr.
Karl Hoffower, the President of the South Bay Chapter of the Citizens Commission
on Human Rights said, “We have been receiving complaints against DFCS for
several years. Parents have brought evidence of improper
conduct on the part of Social Workers that never made sense until now.
By this suit it appears that DFCS Social Workers have a monetary
motivation behind their actions.”
Dr.
Hoffower went on to say, “This lawsuit could also be the explanation for why
40% of the case files in the County’s 2003 ‘Children of Color Study*’,
that investigated DFCS on charges of racism, were missing. While
it has always seemed odd that 40% of the DFCS files were never found for that
study, this lawsuit might have the best explanation for that blunder…they just
never existed to begin with.”
The
suit further charges that several psychologists have assisted in defrauding the
State and Federal programs by billing for therapy sessions that never took
place. The Whistleblower alleges that DFCS contracts with
psychologists to perform therapy sessions to children in the Foster Care System.
Those sessions were reimbursed via a prepaid contract with the County, yet the
Whistleblower’s claims no refund was made when the sessions did not take
place. In fact the suit claims to have evidence
that DFCS and the psychologists agreed that the money didn’t have to be paid
back.
The
former Ombudsman and current Legal Redress Officer for the Silicon Valley NAACP,
Ms. Nedra Jones said, “I knew there must be some type of fraud going on with
DFCS. This suit validates the complaints we tried to bring to
the attention of the County back in 2004. The deceitful
actions and callous disregard for the truth was a daily fight we experienced
while trying to work with Social Workers and DFCS Management. No
wonder we had a hard time trying to help right the wrongs of DFCS, they didn’t
want us looking too far into their cases for fear of being found out.”
If
you think you have had your rights violated by Social Workers or DFCS, call the
CCHR hotline at 1-800-330-7290.
The children of Color Study’s full title, “An Evaluation of Factors
Related to the Disproportionate Representation of Children of Color in Santa
Clara County’s Child Welfare System” http://www2.sjsu.edu/depts/SocialWork/cwrt/
Dr. Karl Hoffower, D.C.
President, South Bay Chapter
Citizens Commission on Human Rights
"Cleaning up the field of mental health since 1969."
www.cchr.org www.fightforkids.org