Child Care Services Philadelphia

3 more to face on trial in Danieal Kelly neglect death

The trial marks what may be the final chapter in the prosecution of more than a dozen people following the death of 14-year-old Danieal Kelly, a handicapped at-risk child who died a gruesome death under the supervision of social service agencies.

When Kelly died, the 14-year-old was spending most of her time in bed, without much schooling, medical care or even sufficient food and water. She weighed just 42 pounds, and had severe, maggot-infested bedsores.

Daniel Kelly, the girl's father, is charged with child endangerment for allegedly abandoning the girl to a mother he knew was neglecting her. Former city social worker Dana Poindexter and contractor Mickal Kamuvaka are also on trial on child endangerment, perjury and other charges, reports CBS station KYW .

Several social workers at the now-defunct MultiEthnic Behavioral Services, a private social services company, were previously convicted for fraud after their failure to ascertain the 14-year-old's dire living situation. The company reportedly billed the city for services it never performed, then tried to cover up the fraud by forging documents.

Company co-founders Mickal Kamuvaka, 60, and Solomon Manamela, 52, and former caseworkers Julius Juma Murray, 52, and Miriam Coulebaly, 41, were already convicted of conspiracy, lying to federal agents and multiple counts of health care fraud and wire fraud.

Andrea Kelly, the girl's mother, is serving already serving a 20- to 40-year term for third-degree murder.

Opening statements and testements are expected next week, reports KYW.

More on Crimesider
February 3, 2010 - Danieal Kelly, 14, Starved to Death with Maggot-Infested Wounds; Pa.

Suburban Guerrilla » Blog Archive » Wake up, Pennsylvania

Corbett got most of what he wanted – deep spending cuts, no new taxes on natural gas or anything else – but only after his administration pushed through a last-minute Senate measure to shift control of billions in welfare funding from the legislature to his administration.

His welfare secretary said budget needs necessitated the change. “We have a savings target to meet, and we can’t wait months and months to do it,” Gary Alexander told The Inquirer Wednesday night.

But the measure set off alarms among advocates for the poor, who portrayed it as a power grab by the executive branch that would shred the safety net for hundreds of thousands of people – most of them women and children – who depend on government assistance.

Richard Weishaupt, a lawyer with Community Legal Services in Philadelphia, said past administrations had been given temporary authority over a narrow range of welfare services, but nothing so sweeping as what the Corbett administration is seeking. “It is unprecedented that a state agency is given this kind of discretion without any checks and balances,” Weishaupt said.

[...] The amendment to the welfare code would let the welfare department change benefit rates, including reducing cash assistance payments, and increase co-payments for child care and health care.

The measure passed by a 35-15 vote, with five Democrats joining the Republican majority , and is expected to receive final approval Thursday. The bill then goes to the House for consideration and could take effect as soon as Friday, the first day of the new fiscal year.

The 2011-12 budget contains no new taxes or Marcellus Shale levies and spends 4 percent less than the current budget, channels $5.3 billion in state instruction subsidies to school districts, provides $2 million through a new funding source for the Commonwealth Medical College in Scranton , cuts public welfare spending by $400 million from what the governor proposed in March and leaves an anticipated $700 million state tax revenue surplus mostly untouched.

The House rejected a parliamentary move to add $34.5 million to the state Department of Environmental Protection’s budget and cut a similar amount from the Commonwealth Financing Authority, an economic development arm.

And just as WI Gov. Scott Walker’s budget did, this includes an increase in funding for state police. (Have to have at least one group of state employees that’s not mad at him, you know!

Social casework

Child welfare

A guide to day care services and early education programs in Philadelphia

Psychological abstracts

Philadelphia's Progressive Orphanage, The Carson Valley School