Over a dozen failures by Lifeway agency

Foster child's death leads state to spell out stricter oversight
Sewell, Dan. Columbus Dispatch, Nov. 28, 2006, News pg D5.

Checking out foster parents
The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services report released yesterday recommends broadening background checks for foster-parent applicants to include:
* Local law enforcement (in addition to current checks by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, and in some cases the FBI)
* Drug testing
* Credit checks
* Residence history
* Income verification by its source
* Bureau of Motor Vehicles
* Property-liability insurance
* Car insurance

More thorough investigation and better communication among agencies could have prevented the placement of a 3-year-old developmentally disabled boy with the foster parents accused of killing him, according to a state report released yesterday.

"The death of any child is tragic; to die under circumstances alleged in this case is only more so," according to the report by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. "This case beckons reform of Ohio's system to better serve all foster children."

Liz and David Carroll Jr. are accused of leaving Marcus Fiesel alone in a closet for two days, wrapped in a blanket and packing tape. Authorities say the boy was dead when they returned to their home in Clermont County from a family reunion in Kentucky.

The couple reported the boy missing Aug. 15, triggering a massive search for the child who supposedly had wandered off in a public park. The Carrolls were arrested Aug. 28 and pleaded not guilty to murder charges.

The report, which says the Carrolls were unqualified to care for the boy, details problems in handling his case and with the private agency that recommended the Carrolls. It also makes a broad range of recommendations that include increased training and widened background checks for foster parents.

"We cannot create a fail-safe system, but I believe we can create a better system," said Barbara Riley, director of the state department.

State lawmakers have said the report will help in developing reform legislation.
About 10,000 children are in foster care in Ohio.

The Carrolls were certified to be foster parents through Lifeway for Youth, a private agency that handles placements for a number of counties. Lifeway officials have said the Carrolls misled them about their backgrounds.

The state report alleges more than a dozen failures by the agency, saying its home study and follow-up visits were inadequate, it didn't check references on the Carrolls and it overbilled the state for training reimbursements.

The state department is reviewing Lifeway for Youth operations across the state to decide whether to recertify the agency and also will scrutinize the agency's billing claims, the report states.

A message seeking comment was left yesterday for Michael Berner, executive director of the agency based in Sharonville, Ohio. Lifeway has been certified in Ohio since 1994.

The report recommends increased training of foster-parent applicants and those who assess them; more-thorough background checks; drug testing of applicants; data-sharing among agencies, courts and law enforcement; and increased state staffing for foster-care oversight.

The report found that Butler County Children Services complied with state requirements in its handling of the boy, removed from his birth mother in Middletown in April. The county has appointed an independent task force to investigate the agency.

The state report says Clermont County Children Services didn't make sure Liz Carroll completed training in the time required and didn't check all her references.

Tim McCartney, director of the county's department of Job and Family Services, said yesterday that additional references were checked when two original references couldn't be reached.