Statistical mechanics is the theory underlying condensed matter physics. One, addressed to his mother, said, I love you so much that I will die. Others stated he wanted to kill himself. Inside, fluorescent bulbs threw a dull yellow light across the courtroom. [INFO]Gabriel Fernandez: Is Pearl Fernandez still in prison? She knewas so many of the schools staff members knewthat Gabriel was in danger at home. Gabriel at School Just Before Mother's Day. It is this [workers] assessment that mother is overwhelmed with her own emotional pain, she is unwilling to continue counseling at this time, Clement wrote. When Clement visited the Fernandez home for the third time in March, Pearl said she did not want to have further involvement with the agency and Clement accepted her decision. Administrators admit that prioritizing one of these goals over the other is a false choicetheyre supposed to be able to protect children in danger without unnecessarily splitting up families. The Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services sent a statement on Thursday responding to the dismissal of charges, which said: We respect the court's decision. The District Attorney may appeal this decision. Sadly, Gabriel Fernandez was subjected to months of brutal torture at the hands of his mother Pearl and her boyfriend, Isauro Aguirre. Oh, okay, Garcia said finally, not knowing how else to cut the tension. I probably would have lost my kids, she said, because I spanked them good. Stefanie has been found in 13 states including Florida, Georgia, New York, New Jersey, Arizona. The law requires all reports to go through the hotline, the lawyer noted. Track SoCal rain with LIVE Megadoppler 7000 HD, DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES. The boy was left in his mothers custody despite repeated reports of abuse, including by Gabriels teacher, and follow-up visits by the social workers to the family home. The next year, California passed the first state law mandating that doctors report suspected child abuse and neglect. The prevalence of bone fractures, brain bleeds, and other injuries linked to caregivers showed that beatings were a recurring aspect of family life in many homes. WORK WITH STEFANIE. Back in her classroom, Garcia saw the Mothers Day card on Gabriels desk. Copyright 2023 KABC Television, LLC. The call, which was recorded, felt awkward and intimidating: Garcia was still relatively new to teaching and wasnt sure whether this was the kind of thing she was supposed to reportshe didnt know Gabriels family and wondered whether she might be missing important context. Social workers Stefanie Rodriguez, Patricia Clement, Kevin Bom and Gregory Merritt were ordered today to stand trial on falsifying records and child abuse charges involving the death of Gabriel Fernandez, an 8-year-old Palmdale boy who died in 2013 after prolonged child abuse. Youd see people in the office that made you wonder, Wow, how did they get through the gates? Merritt told me. efore caseworkers can close an investigation, the agency requires them to use a software program called Structured Decision Making to score a childs risk of being abused or neglected. I wondered to what extent Gabriels death and the criminal charges facing their former colleagues had affected how they approached their jobs. On the rare days when Gabriel came to class, she told him to be good and never give his mother a reason to get angry. The appellate court formally sent the matter back to the lower court in April and Lomeli was expected to officially drop the charges on Thursday. Social workers Stefanie Rodriguez, 34, and Patricia Clement, 69, were charged along with two supervisors, Kevin Bom, 40, and Gregory Merritt, 64, with one felony count each of child abuse and . He occasionally took books off the shelf, copied sentences in his own hand, and took them to Garcia. In the end, it all added up to very high risk, meaning that the caseworkers had no choice but to promote the case for further attention. Le Norgant informed social worker Patricia Clement and Palmdales LAC DCFS supervisor Greg Merritt. Lomeli also presided over the trial of Fernandez killers, his mother and her boyfriend. Social workers Patricia Clement, left, and Stefanie Rodriguez, third from left, and supervisors Kevin Bom, second from right, and Gregory Merritt, fourth from right, who were charged with. Then the department moved on.. The question today is whether the felony counts against four social workers will be dismissed, reduced or stand. Take your time, Garcia told him. Yet, he remained in the custody of his mother, Pearl Fernandez, 33, and then-boyfriend Isauro Aguirre, 36, until his death on May 24, 2013. All Information about Stefanie Rodriguez The caseworker told me she believes in her training. She was right. Then administrators would go to work producing a confidential report and a set of reformsmeasures that would allow them to claim they had taken steps to ensure that such a tragedy would never happen again. When the charges were announced, Browning made a statement describing Gabriels case as an isolated incident and describing the four defendants as outliers whose actions shouldnt reflect on the department as a whole. It was very clear that this was no accidental fall. She reported that Gabriels face and hands had bruises from strikes with a belt buckle. In an 2-1 opinion, the panel concluded that there was no probable cause to hold the two social workers and their supervisors on charges of child abuse and falsifying documents. Los Angeles County social workers Stefanie Rodriguez, Patricia Clement, Kevin Bom and Gregory Merritt, were charged with two felony counts in relation to the death of Fernandez on April 7,. In just a few days, she would be teaching first grade in Room 5 at Summerwind Elementary, four miles away. Gabriels grandmother objected, telling deputies that Pearl neglected and abused her children. But five years on, he believes he has the distance to see that he performed as well as anyone could have, under the circumstances. Adding that the two should have better documented the escalating violence and lack of cooperation by the family. They each faced up to ten years in prison if found guilty. Speaking to The Atlantic, Rodriguez explained that during the time she supervised Gabriels welfare, other children in her caseload seemed to her to be in equal or greater danger.. They claimed to have never found strong enough signs of abuse in order to remove Gabriel from the house. I dont think theres anything else I could have done, he told me, with the soft voice and slumped shoulders of a man whose fate is now in the hands of others. Learn more about Muck Rack . After all, Kate was mysteriously absent from the season three finale fast-forward scene and Toby seemed hesitant . Is it normal for moms to hit their kids? he asked. Stefanie A Rodriguez is an employee working in Children & Family Services. All he knew was that Gabriel was old enough to be in school, which meant he had teachers who were required by law to report signs of abuse. The other children were silent. It became his mantra. We further conclude that the petitioners were not officers within the meaning of Government Code section 6200. Yet, despite the obvious and visible signs of abuse, documentation by both Rodriguez and Clement downplayed the injuries. Since Gabriels death and the subsequent review, DCFS has hired more than 1,000 caseworkers, provided staff with smartphones, started new methods of training, and changed the standards for the Voluntary Family Maintenance program. Pearl and Aguirre eventually called 911. Martinez approached the window where Pearl had been talking with a clerk, Maricela Corona, to ask whether she was going to report Pearl to the authorities. He died in the hospital days after the brutal attack. She then called Pearl Fernandez to pick Gabriel up. He called the non-emergency line to report. Strictly star bags life-changing EastEnders role as part of new family, Baby's body found after huge search as cops quiz Constance Marten & lover, Bianca Gascoigne reveals very unusual name for her newborn daughter, I took pic of son, 18, before his first night out then the worst thing happened, News Group Newspapers Limited in England No. The Auditor-Controller of Los Angele County provides financial leadership and expert advice on a wide range of fiscal matters and advocates for financial integrity and accountability in all County business practices, and also develops financial policies and guidelines for departmental operations and issues checks to vendors, employees, child support payments, judgments and damages and other claims against the County, as well as other financial responsibilities. Gabriel Fernandez: Is Gabriel Fernandezs killer still alive? They alleged the officials failed to take appropriate steps to protect the boy. He is currently awaiting execution in San Quentin State Prison. At a preliminary hearing to decide whether the case should go before a jury, the defense attorneys hammered at one question: Why were these four workers the only ones being punished? This dataset includes compensation information of about one hundred thousands employees working in Los Angeles County, provided by the Auditor-Controller office of Los Angeles County as required by public disclosure laws. When Le Norgant asked Gabriel whether he was serious, he stared blankly and said Yes. She informed Clement and Merritt, but they took no additional action. We conclude that the petitioners never had the requisite duty to control the abusers and did not have care or custody of Gabriel for purposes of Penal Code section 273a, subdivision (a). 3. 679215 Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF. Hed whisper in Gabriels ear to fall to the ground quickly when he hit him. Murder of Gabriel Fernandez - Wikipedia - wikipedia.org . Evans had no authority to make a diagnosis or mandate further medical attention, but she wrote detailed notes, thinking that child-protective-services caseworkers might inquire about the incident. Prosecutors argued the four minimised evidence of abuse and violated multiple policies. . Please apply today or contact me directly:Dana Laghezza Director, Practice Development LifeStance Health, Inc. (e) Dana.Laghezza @LifeStance.com (p)lt;br> We offer Licensed Therapists (LCPC, LCSW . The Auditor-Controller discloses information about compensations paid to employees of Los Angeles County in the form of earnings and fringe benefits. Social workers Stefanie Rodriguez and Patricia Clement, as well as their supervisors, Kevin Bom and Gregory Merritt, were each charged with one felony count of child abuse and one felony. Shed sometimes find him crying at the end of the day, saying he didnt want to go home. Please contact the developer of this form processor to improve this message. On walks, he lagged at the end of the line, saying that his arms and legs hurt. Payments of Excess and Unused Leave Time at Termination. Whereas in the past, agencies had received an allocation based on the number of children who were in foster care, Los Angeles and certain other jurisdictions now received waivers that allowed them to keep the same level of funding even if foster-care rolls dropped. I dont believe you, Gabriel, she said, noting that this was the first time hed lied to her. The department was using it on parents who werent eligible instead of only low risk cases as intended. He pressed, and she reluctantly went to ask a supervisors permission. Well, yeah, she told him, recalling that she herself had been spanked as a child. He died. The card was shaped like a house and said Open the door to see who loves you. He pasted his picture inside. A public employee's salary relates to a particular person, but it is a matter of public interest and not primarily a matter of the individual's private business. "We have, in effect, encouraged DCFS and its social workers to cover their tracks if they stumble on the cracks in the system.". But of that 60%, 37% reported losing money and 21% said their relationship with the borrower was harmed. Thats why its so crushing to see him treated this way, she said. Arturo Martinez, the security guard, asked to transfer to another office because he could not continue to work with the same people who had refused to help Gabriel. His mom? they asked, their faces filled with the deepest horror shed ever seen in children so young. Gabriels attendance was sporadic. He called 911, but the operator said the situation didnt sound like an emergency and gave him the number for nonemergencies. The law requires all reports to go through the gates he occasionally took books off the shelf, sentences! 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