Image: TN DCS Commissioner Margie Quin Image Credit: TN Department Of Children’s Services / Facebook
The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –
A six-year-old autistic boy with substantial support needs was the victim of a stunning failure by Tennessee Department of Children’s Services (DCS) according to a juvenile judge in Cannon County.
Upon removing Matthew Floyd from his family, and taking the child into state custody, the agency moved him twenty-two times in a hundred days.
According to the boy’s parents who adopted Matthew at three weeks old, he also has ADHD and chromosomal abnormalities. The Floyds also have two teenage daughters who were adopted when they were two and three years old.
DCS became involved with the family over concerns with the two teenagers, removing both girls and Matthew and placing all three in foster care.
Matthew’s mother said that he was terrified at being taken from his home.
The juvenile judge that oversaw the case said that while there may have been good reason to remove the Floyd children from the home to begin with, that what followed was “unacceptable” on the part of DCS.
The agency has a continuing duty to make reasonable efforts to return children to their homes, but the agency did not make any such effort in Matthew’s case said the judge.
To make matters worse, Matthew did not receive any therapies while in DCS custody including physical and occupational therapy, nor was he taken to ENT or neurological appointments.
Autistic children with similar support needs as Matthew need therapies to help them with challenges in social communication and social interaction. Sometimes described as “Level 2” autism, these children can experience difficulties with both verbal and nonverbal communication and some may be nonspeaking.
While autistic children commonly struggle with changes in routine, a child with substantial support needs is likely to experience great distress in a situation where they are being moved around every five days, on average, like Matthew was while in DCS custody.
While he was eventually returned to his mother and father and has been home for a year, DCS has classified his return as a trial reunification and the case remains open.
Matthew’s former case worker, Jessica Llana, claims she was fired by DCS partner StepStone for raising concerns about the child’s lack of therapies while in state custody and that Matthew was not the only child that was “out of sight, out of mind” once removed from their homes.
Llana was backed up by Mathew’s guardian ad litem, a former case worker, and the family who all stated that Matthew was failed by a system meant to protect him, not harm him.
DCS has declined to comment on the case publicly citing state law that prevents them from discussing certain child welfare cases but the judge’s opinion is that the case is “indicative of a comprehensive failure of the system as a whole.”
Last year we reported that children with extra support needs were being placed in DCS offices instead of with families.
When knowledge of the practice was made known over four years ago, it was met with outrage from the public and legislators, but despite promises to put an end to children having to sleep in offices instead of homes, and extra funding from the state, the practice persisted.
About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
