CHRISTIANA GLENN - 8 yo/ Accused: Venette Ovilde (Mother) and Myriam Janvier - Irvington NJ

Plenty of nonsense in the responses. If you read all the news coverage regarding Christiana, it is clear that the events leading to her death began *after* the time period during which previous allegations were investigated. It was after that time period that her mother became involved in the "Walk with Christ" religious sect. If you look at earlier pictures of mom and daughter (2005) you see a fashionable young mother with a great-looking little girl--and the two of them with matching handbags. As for revising the assessment terminology, this makes me uneasy. Keep in mind that the vast majority of alleged abuse/neglect reports do turn out to be unfounded. In this case, the hotline worker did not pull up the history, which would have included prior reports (founded and unfounded). Commonly used assessment methods--which, in fact, are problematic--do routinely assign higher risk to any family which has prior reports, including unfounded reports.

It's not uncommon for tragic events involving abused or neglected children to lead people to assume child protection agencies should intervene even more than they do already. This assumption disregards the negative consequences of over-intervening--including higher mortality among individuals who spend time in foster care.

While eyes are on Casey Anthony, let's remember someone else who duct-taped a little girl to death. That someone was Sally Schofield, a CPS social worker and foster parent who caused the death of Logan Marr, a little girl whose own mother never abused her. Sally did this for disciplinary reasons. She never had to face a murder charge (let alone capital murder).

srm wrote:Plenty of nonsense in the responses. If you read all the news coverage regarding Christiana, it is clear that the events leading to her death began *after* the time period during which previous allegations were investigated. It was after that time period that her mother became involved in the "Walk with Christ" religious sect. If you look at earlier pictures of mom and daughter (2005) you see a fashionable young mother with a great-looking little girl--and the two of them with matching handbags. As for revising the assessment terminology, this makes me uneasy. Keep in mind that the vast majority of alleged abuse/neglect reports do turn out to be unfounded. In this case, the hotline worker did not pull up the history, which would have included prior reports (founded and unfounded). Commonly used assessment methods--which, in fact, are problematic--do routinely assign higher risk to any family which has prior reports, including unfounded reports.

It's not uncommon for tragic events involving abused or neglected children to lead people to assume child protection agencies should intervene even more than they do already. This assumption disregards the negative consequences of over-intervening--including higher mortality among individuals who spend time in foster care.

While eyes are on Casey Anthony, let's remember someone else who duct-taped a little girl to death. That someone was Sally Schofield, a CPS social worker and foster parent who caused the death of Logan Marr, a little girl whose own mother never abused her. Sally did this for disciplinary reasons. She never had to face a murder charge (let alone capital murder).

srm, I don't agree with your argument against changes because 'the vast majority of neglect/abuse reports are unfounded'. Obviously, from this case to thousands of others, abuse and neglect was occurring and the classification of unfounded simply means they found no of proof of neglect or abuse. We see many cases where the 'investigation' into reports of abuse are ridiculously inadequate, often even asking the child/children if they are being abused, while their abuser is present. Unfounded is merely unproven but you imply that in the vast majority of reports received by authorities, the children have not been neglected or abused, so you obviously believe that the vast majority of cases the reporter is lying or exaggerating. I think you're wrong about that. I'm not sure what the relevance of the Logan Marr case is either, but I get from your post in it's entirety, that you want children's protection services to step back, rather than increase their involvement in families lives and you seem to base this on the fact that there have been cases where children have been killed by their foster parents and are therefore better off with their parents anyway. I disagree again. I don't like 'big brother' getting involved with our lives either, and if a child can be safe & happy with their bio parent that's the ideal, but too often they are not and foster parents do a wonderful job. But, children in foster care should be safe if CPS is doing their job properly to check that all's well.

srm wrote:Plenty of nonsense in the responses. If you read all the news coverage regarding Christiana, it is clear that the events leading to her death began *after* the time period during which previous allegations were investigated. It was after that time period that her mother became involved in the "Walk with Christ" religious sect. If you look at earlier pictures of mom and daughter (2005) you see a fashionable young mother with a great-looking little girl--and the two of them with matching handbags. As for revising the assessment terminology, this makes me uneasy. Keep in mind that the vast majority of alleged abuse/neglect reports do turn out to be unfounded. In this case, the hotline worker did not pull up the history, which would have included prior reports (founded and unfounded). Commonly used assessment methods--which, in fact, are problematic--do routinely assign higher risk to any family which has prior reports, including unfounded reports.

It's not uncommon for tragic events involving abused or neglected children to lead people to assume child protection agencies should intervene even more than they do already. This assumption disregards the negative consequences of over-intervening--including higher mortality among individuals who spend time in foster care.

While eyes are on Casey Anthony, let's remember someone else who duct-taped a little girl to death. That someone was Sally Schofield, a CPS social worker and foster parent who caused the death of Logan Marr, a little girl whose own mother never abused her. Sally did this for disciplinary reasons. She never had to face a murder charge (let alone capital murder).

I'm not sure what your point is.

This woman and her roommate (partner?) are IMO both guilty of gross negligence, child abuse, child neglect, child endangerment, child torture, and manslaughter resulting in the death of a precious little child, exacerbated by the fact that it took place over an extended period of time.

Are you defending them?

What does the death or murder of another little girl have to do with what these two women did to this little dead girl and her siblings? Are you advocating letting them off because of the circumstances of another case?

Please clarify your opinion for me. Sorry if you think I am dense. Trust me, I am not.

The abuse leading to her death may have occurred "after" the "investigated" (half ass) complaints. The fact that they misled and fooled the investigators makes it even worse IMO. This doesn't even address the accusations that were not investigated.

Please tell me you are not defending the monsters that tortured and murdered this precious little girl and tortured her siblings who were, thankfully, rescued before they succumbed to the torture and neglect.

Officials have fired the manager of New Jersey's child abuse hotline in the wake of the death of an 8-year-old girl.
Margarita Marriaga earned $110,000 a year overseeing the call center. Children and Families Commissioner Allison Blake told the
Statehouse Bureau of the Star-Ledger of Newark and The Record a call
about the girl on May 13 was mishandled. Blake says the
hotline screener, who had been on the job for less than a year, took
incomplete notes and decided the call didn't merit an investigation. Irvington police found Christiana Glenn dead nine days later. An
autopsy determined the child died from an untreated broken leg and
malnutrition. Her mother, Venette Ovilde, has pleaded not guilty to aggravated manslaughter and child endangerment charges. The screener has been reassigned.

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id=8218364

Protecting innocent children is paramount concern

Published: Saturday, January 07, 2012, 6:05 AM

McCoy Family Photo
Christiana Glenn, pictured on her 4th birthday in 2007. Now 8, she was found dead
from malnutrition in her family's Irvington home. Her mother, Venette
Ovilde (Krisla Rezireksyon Kris) was charged in her death. An Assembly
panel yesterday approved a bill that would expand the definition of
child abuse.


Since I was born, raised and currently reside in Essex County, the Essex County section of the Star-Ledger has always drawn me in, as bleak as it usually reads.

So on Jan. 6, I snap open the paper and scan the headlines. At the top: “Committee expands abuse definition to protect children.” The story mentions two children dead at the hands of their parents.

Shouldn’t any act of abuse on a child by a parent be deemed serious enough to remove that child from the environment to prevent that child from death or becoming violent?.0

Child abuse is wrong. Period. It should not be allowed to occur.

Donna C. Ebert, North Caldwell

Amen Sista.