posted on October 26, 2003 02:40:51 PM new
ct. 26, 2003, 12:27AM
Pair jailed on charges of starving four boys
Associated Press
CAMDEN, N.J. -- A couple whose adopted teenage sons weighed less than 50 pounds have been arrested on charges of starving four boys they adopted through the state Division of Youth and Family Services, New Jersey's troubled child welfare agency.
Vanessa Jackson, 48, and Raymond Jackson, 50, were arrested Friday and charged with four counts each of aggravated assault and 14 counts of child endangerment, Camden County Prosecutor Vincent Sarubbi said.
Each was jailed Saturday on $100,000 bail.
An investigation into the family began Oct. 10 after neighbors in the Philadelphia suburb of Collingswood called police to report someone rummaging through their trash. Officers then found the oldest adopted child, now 19.
The young man, who was adopted in 1995, measured 4 feet and weighed 45 pounds when he was discovered. He is now in the hospital receiving care for apparent heart irregularities.
The three other boys, ages 14, 10, and 9, also were removed from the home and hospitalized. They were treated and released into other foster placements, authorities said.
The 14-year-old weighed 40 pounds and stood 4 feet tall. The other boys also were dramatically underweight.
posted on October 26, 2003 06:07:44 PM new
N.J. couple accused of starving four sons
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CAMDEN, N.J. -- A couple whose adopted teenage sons weighed less than 50 pounds have been arrested on charges of starving four boys they adopted through the state Division of Youth and Family Services, New Jersey's troubled child welfare agency.
Vanessa Jackson, 48, and Raymond Jackson, 50, were arrested Friday and charged with four counts each of aggravated assault and 14 counts of child endangerment, Camden County Prosecutor Vincent P. Sarubbi said.
Each was jailed Saturday on $100,000 bail.
An investigation into the family began Oct. 10 after neighbors in the Philadelphia suburb of Collingswood called police to report someone rummaging through their trash. Officers then found the oldest adopted child, now 19.
The young man, who was adopted in 1995, measured 4 feet and weighed 45 pounds when he was discovered. He is now in the hospital receiving specialized care for apparent heart irregularities.
The three other boys, ages 14, 10, and 9, also were removed from the home and hospitalized. They were treated and released into other foster placements, authorities said.
The 14-year-old weighed 40 pounds and stood 4 feet tall. The other boys also were dramatically underweight, according to the prosecutor's office.
Two adopted girls, ages 5 and 12, also were living in the Jacksons' home. They were placed in foster care, along with a 10-year-old girl who was in the Jacksons' home pending adoption.
The girls' physical condition "appeared to be within normal range," the prosecutor said.
The state Department of Human Services suspended five employees, including caseworkers, a manager, and supervisors, pending the outcome of the investigation, said Micah Rasmussen, a spokesman for Gov. James E. McGreevey.
Rasmussen said McGreevey was "angered and shocked" by another discovery of neglected children under DYFS oversight. The governor called on Kevin Ryan, his newly appointed state child advocate, to assess the case.
"There appears to be no explanation other than negligence, indifference, incompetence, or a combination of all three," Colleen Maguire, deputy commissioner for the Human Services Department and the person charged with spearheading reform at DYFS, said in a statement Saturday.
Maguire said a caseworker assigned to the girl living with the Jacksons while awaiting adoption by the couple apparently failed to note the boys' condition, despite conducting a safety assessment of the home.
The Jacksons adopted the boys through DYFS and were receiving a stipend from the state, which peaked at about $28,000 a year before the oldest child turned 18 last year, according to Camden County Prosecutor's Office.
Sarubbi said locks apparently were used to keep the boys from the kitchen and that the children were fed uncooked pancake batter, cereals and peanut butter and jelly.
The parents apparently explained the boys' condition by saying they had an eating disorder, said Bill Shralow, a spokesman for the prosecutor.
The discovery of the children follows several high-profile abuse cases that revealed lapses in state oversight, including a 7-year-old who died after his case was closed by the child welfare agency.
"I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide and then questions the manner in which I provide it." - A Few Good Men
posted on October 26, 2003 06:10:45 PM new
Surely the boys went to school - why was their condition overlooked until now?
You are right, bear - they do need to be shot; and I hope when the hammer goes down, so do a lot of people who stood back and did nothing to help.
"I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide and then questions the manner in which I provide it." - A Few Good Men
posted on October 26, 2003 07:36:55 PM new
Yeah, still a lot of unanswered questions.
Were they in school? (maybe not, if a 14 year old only weighed 40 pounds? man, someone had to have noticed! )
And if they were actually adopted, when did the state start paying adoptive parents? Like dadofstickboy said, adoptive parents are the ones that usually pay out big money to adopt.
Yeah, either way, these two deserve to be shot. There is absolutley no excuse, even if one could prove some eating disorder, they should have been getting them help long ago.
There is some wicked people out there
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posted on October 26, 2003 07:53:35 PM new
Bear's original post says - "... charges of starving four boys they adopted through the state Division of Youth and Family Services, New Jersey's troubled child welfare agency."
Sounds like a program where you can adopt a troubled teen and the state will pay towards their upkeep, perhaps. (??)
posted on October 26, 2003 08:08:14 PM new
Krafty - they were refeerring to the system as being troubled (understatement), not the children themselves. Google New Jersey Child Welfare - you'll understand.
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If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
