VIOLA VANCLIEF - 2 yo (2010) - Los Angeles CA

A South Los Angeles foster mother and her boyfriend are under investigation in
the death of a 2-year-old girl who was struck with a hammer, according to
authorities.

Kiana Barker, 30, and James Julian, 38, were arrested last
week on suspicion of murder in connection with the March 4 death of Viola
Vanclief, according to Los Angeles police records.

They were released two
days later with no charges filed, however, they remain under investigation.

Barker told investigators that Vanclief became trapped in
a bed frame and she accidentally struck the girl with a hammer while trying to
free her from the contraption. But coroner's records show the child had several
bruises. The death was deemed a homicide.

Barker worked for the nonprofit
foster care agency United Care Inc., which contracts with Los Angeles County to
provide shelter for abused and neglected children.

She has two biological children, ages 6 months and 9 years old,
and two foster children, including Vanclief.

State regulators decertified Barker as a foster parent last week.

United Care Inc. has been repeatedly cited in recent years after
caregivers choked, hit and whipped their charges with a belt, The Los Angeles
Times is reporting.

In 2007, a foster child drowned while swimming
unsupervised in a pool. The foster mother was distracted during a family
reunion, according to records.

The agency is not receiving new placements
and all county social workers involved in Vanclief's case have been placed on
desk duty while the investigation continues.

Los Angeles police have arrested a foster mother and her boyfriend in
connection with the March death of 2-year-old foster child Viola Vanclief.
Kiana Barker, 30, was arrested Thursday and authorities have charged
her with dissuading a witness, child abuse and murder, according to Los
Angeles police. Barker's bail was set at $1.1 million.
James Julian, 38, surrendered to police on Saturday and faces charges
of dissuading a witness and accessory to murder. He is being held in
lieu of $1.6 million bail.
Both had been under suspicion since Viola's death on March 4. Barker
told authorities that Viola had been caught in a bed frame and was
accidentally hit with a hammer while she tried to free the toddler,
according to coroner's records. No immediate medical care was sought for
her, according to the coroner's initial information.
Barker and Julian initially were arrested March 9
in connection with Viola's death and were released two days later, with
no charges filed. At the time, police said they were continuing to
investigate.
Prior to Viola's death, Barker had been the subject of five previous
child-abuse complaints, including one substantiated allegation that she
had severely neglected her own biological child in 2002, confidential
records show.
Julian, who is known as "Big Bird," was convicted in 1992 of armed
robbery, according to court records.
The couple's troubled history raised questions about how
Barker could have been approved last year as a foster parent by
child-welfare authorities. Under state rules, both adults should have
been disqualified from caring for or living with foster children.
The foster-family agency that certified Barker, United Care, has seen
its contract with Los Angeles County terminated.
Since January 2007, at least 57 children whose families had
previously come to the attention of L.A. County's Department of
Children and Family Services have been killed, according to records. Those deaths include cases of abuse and neglect,
as well as gang-related shootings.

The South Los Angeles foster mother under investigation in the fatal beating of a 2-year-old child had been the subject of five previous child-abuse complaints, including one substantiated allegation that she had severely neglected her own biological child in 2002, confidential records show.

Kiana Barker's troubled history, coming in the wake of disclosures about her live-in boyfriend's criminal record, has raised questions about how she could have been approved last year as a foster parent by child-welfare authorities. Under state rules, both adults should have been disqualified from caring for or living with foster children.
[...]

Hiratsuka said it was unclear whether Barker's history had not been reported to the state database by county workers, or if it had been reported and overlooked by his staff.
[...]

The records show, however, that county Children and Family Services investigators substantiated the severe neglect charge in 2002 -- a finding that should have placed Barker on the California attorney general’s database consulted by employers and regulators to vet foster parents and other child-care providers.

Details of the 2002 case and others were not contained in the records reviewed by The Times.

Over subsequent years, callers continued to report abuse or neglect by Barker but social workers were unable to substantiate the complaints, the records show. In 2005, someone accused Barker of emotionally abusing a child and investigators deemed the allegation unfounded. In July 2008, a caller alleged neglect of two foster children -- a charge deemed inconclusive. One month later, Barker was accused of general neglect and sexual abuse of foster children. Investigators determined the neglect charge to be inconclusive and the sexual-abuse charge unfounded. Three months later, investigators concluded another complaint of sexual abuse of a foster child was unfounded.

Under state rules, the inconclusive cases should have be entered into the state database and might have precluded a state license.

In addition, the records show, Barker's boyfriend went undetected in Barker's home over the course of the couple's three-year relationship. Julian, who is known as "Big Bird," is also under investigation in Viola's death, and was convicted in 1992 of armed robbery -- a fact that should have disqualified him from living in a home certified for foster care.

When Barker applied to become a foster parent, state regulators apparently did not discover his presence -- despite the three 2008 child-abuse investigations that should have documented everyone living in the home, the records show.
[...]
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-child-death18-2010mar18,0,5455606.story

Info in that article on Viola:
Viola first came to the attention of Ploehn's department shortly after her birth when child-welfare investigators determined that her schizophrenic mother was not taking her medication, according to the records. Viola was briefly removed from the biological mother's care and then, as is common practice, reunified with her as the county tried to help the woman care for her infant.

But seven months later, the investigators determined that the mother was still not taking her medication, was using cocaine and had violently attacked another person. The county initiated court proceedings to terminate the mother's parental rights, the records show.

The infant was later placed with Barker, 30, who has two children of her own. It is unclear whether county social workers at that time were aware of the five previous complaints against Barker.