Kristen, Abused, Chemically Restrained, and Maimed

"Angela's" Story (PDF)
Carole Strayhorn, Texas State Comptroller's Report

When Kristen was nine years old, Chambers County School District refused to give her the Special Ed services she required; a closed classroom with a shadow teacher. Instead, the school nurse began to call CPS. Kristen's mother thought she was dealing with professionals and became convinced that CPS could give Kristen the specialized care that she could not afford. At age 9, Kristen had recently ended Second Grade as an Honor Roll student. Eight years later, Kristen returned home at a third grade level.

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While in one of the first five placements, Kristen was repeatedly chemically restrained (i.e.: Drugged into submission). One of Kristen's therapists said, "Ms. 'Sadine' hated that child and I never could understand why."

Advocacy Inc. became involved and moved Kristen from an abusive facility to Jamie's House. Jamie's House RTC was closed by Child Care Licensing and Kristen moved again. In eight years, Kristen was moved over 27 times.

	According to 14 year-old Kristen, in a recorded interview with Hope4KidZ Director, Kristen was knocked down the stairs by a worker who was angry at her for being too slow while coming inside. She was living at Child & Adolescent Development Inc., (CADI), 2505 Southmore, Houston, Texas, when her femur was broken on the growth plate, at her hip joint. Two weeks later, Kristen was dropped off at the Emergency Room of Texas Children's Hospital. Osteomyelitis, a severe bone infection, prevented surgery at Texas Children's for an extended period.
	CADI fired the three-time, convicted felon from the Florida Dept. of Corrections whose criminal background had not been checked. Black was "Unavailable" when Residential Child Care Licensing's (RCCL) investigated. Hope4KidZ reported the fired employee's immediate place of residence to HPD, CPS, and RCCL. Charges were not filed against the "fired worker," the owner of CADI, or anyone else for permanently crippling an innocent child while in foster care.

Ms. Beryl Shorter-Grady, Administrator of CADI, owned by husband Ulyesses Grady, of Grady Construction, received over $2,100,000.00, yearly, from the State of Texas in Contract Grants. There appear to be no provisions for the return of the money CADI received to care for children in state foster care. According to Polly Ross Hughes, Houston Chronicle, children at CADI were subjected to beatings, rats, locked in the attic, and cooking the books!

News Articles

Numerous news articles have been written and stories presented on television, concerning Kristen. The video of Kristen in a wheel chair was recorded by Hope4KidZ to give voice to Kristen's statement concerning how her hip was broken. Kristen's mother has been a very concerned and involved parent, advocating for her child's safe return home.

The first News Article by Margaret Downing of The HoustonPress on October 16, 2003, Attention Deficit (PDF), prompted CPS to move Kristen seven times over the next ten days; each move, further away from her family.

Margaret Downing's ends the article, Attention Deficit

"It's going to be harder to make all the other fixes that need to be made for Kristen. The doctors and nurses at Texas Children's were vigilant, always bringing up questions about the girl, her past and present, Philpott says.

They paid attention.

Now she's back at another CPS-ordered facility.

Will Kristen just become invisible again? Bounce around a few more places, go through another handful of overworked caseworkers?

Out of sight and out of mind -- her continued problems certainly beyond our collective attentionspan."

The last H4K knew, was an interview with Kristen's mother, by Shelley Koffler, WFAA, of Dallas Texas, on June 22, 2004.