By Keith Goldberg
Times Herald-Record
Published: 2:00 AM - 12/31/10
Middletown, NY- Elvin Laracuente of Westtown sits in an upstate prison cell, 16 months into a 13-year sentence after admitting he molested three of his estranged wife's foster children.
Two of those children and their birth mother are suing Orange County and its Department of Social Services, saying Laracuente wasn't authorized to care for the children and the county ignored warning signs of abuse.
"The county is responsible under the law; they stand in the shoes of the parents," said the children's lawyer, Pat Owen. "If you take kids away from their family home, you better make damn sure you take care of them."
Orange County Social Services Commissioner David Jolly declined comment.
Abuse in foster homes is rare, though the numbers in New York state are rising. Nearly 10 percent of children in foster care reported abuse in 2009, according to the state Office of Children of Family Services, compared with 7 percent in 2005. The number of confirmed abuse reports was 2.3 percent; in 2005 it was 1.6 percent. Karen Riley, executive director of the Children's Rights Society in Goshen and a former sex crimes prosecutor in Rockland County, said she's seeing more foster abuse cases in Family Court. FULL STORY
I left a nice comment there-
It appears that the statement "Abuse in foster homes is rare" may be rather minimalist. From our perspective, it is a pandemic. I refer you to a recent article by Orlow, Orlow & Orlow in Flushing, New York-
Sexual Abuse: An Epidemic in Foster Care Settings?
July 17, 2009
As many as 75 percent of all children in foster care, upon leaving the system, will have experienced sexual abuse.
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