Nassau County Executive Thomas R. Suozzi Releases
“Report to the County Executive Concerning Child Protective Services.”

Click here to view the complete report concerning Child Protective Services

June 13, 2008 - Mineola, N.Y - The Report concerns the Nassau County Department of Child Protective Services (CPS) in connection to the deaths of Jewell Ward, 6, Michael Demesyeux, 5, and Innocent Demesyeux, 1. Their mother Leatrice Brewer was arrested and charged with their murder on February 24, 2008.

Immediately after the murders, Nassau County Executive Thomas R. Suozzi ordered a review of the County’s contacts with the mother and children, to determine what, if anything, went wrong with a system designed to protect children.

The Report has concluded the following:

• The children could not legally have been removed from their home in the past because there was no record of any conduct by the mother that would have risen to the stringent legal standard required by New York State law.
• While an offer of additional services to the mother would have been appropriate, but the County could not have compelled her to participate.
• Finally, the report found that additional steps should have been taken to investigate the most recent allegations about the mother.

This investigation made a number of troubling discoveries:

• The initial caseworker did not take sufficient steps to determine whether the family in fact was at home.
  
• The same caseworker apparently received a phone call from the mother on the afternoon the allegations were received, but did not report it or make any record of it.
  
• The supervisor on duty failed thereafter to ensure that timely efforts were made to locate the family, including by scheduling follow-up visits or directing that contact be made with others who might have information about the safety of the children.
• An e-mail that could confirm that someone was assigned to visit the family over the weekend cannot be found.

The weekend caseworker allegedly assigned to visit the family on Sunday, the day the children died, has refused to speak about his work for the County, asserting his Fifth Amendment right not to answer questions that might tend to incriminate him.

The Report concluded that while it can never be know whether the mother’s actions could have been prevented, additional steps should have been taken to investigate the allegations.

The Report also recommended that disciplinary actions be taken against three of the employees involved. A part-time caseworker should be terminated, a Supervisor should be demoted to a caseworker and a caseworker has been demoted.

The Report also made a number of recommendations concerning additional levels of supervision, increased education and training, upgrading social worker’s technology, more public education and the hiring of additional employees.

STATEMENT FROM COUNTY EXECUTIVE THOMAS R. SUOZZI:

“Sadly, there’s nothing we can do about what happened in the past but there is something we can do about what will happen in the future. The report has identified a number of improvements in the system, some of which has already been made. I have directed the Department heads to do whatever is necessary to make these changes.”

Click here to view the complete report concerning Child Protective Services