Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 28, 1995 TAG: 9503280045
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LESLIE TAYLOR STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
For months, Carolyn Yopp had disputed a Child Protective Services finding that she abused her 12-year-old son.
A caseworker found enough evidence to support a complaint - initiated by the boy - that in January, she'd grabbed him by the arm, forced him into a counseling session, then cursed at him. The complaint was deemed "founded."
Yopp, of Roanoke, appealed, asking that the case be dismissed. But the complaint stuck. The designation, however, was reduced to "reason to suspect," meaning that there was no clear evidence of abuse but enough reason to believe it may have occurred.
Now, a court ruling, and the Virginia Department of Social Services' decision not to appeal it, not only may grant Yopp's initial request but may wipe her name from the state's list of suspected child abusers altogether.
This weekend, the state Department of Social Services is scheduled to purge the names of 3,278 people suspected of child abuse and 4,108 alleged victims from child-abuse files.
Yopp said she was glad her name might be among those removed.
"I'm not going to let any child ruin my reputation," she said. "And I'm not going to let any caseworker ruin my reputation, either."
The Child Protective Services unit in Roanoke declined to comment on Yopp's case.
The cases will not be reviewed before this weekend's purging, said Rita Katzman, program manager for the department's Child Protective Services program.
"I don't think the law allows us to do that," she said. "They've pretty much said we really don't have the authority to use that finding. We will wipe all those names out."
A Virginia Court of Appeals ruling last month struck down the "reason to suspect" category of child-abuse cases. The category included incidents in which a caseworker suspected that a child had been abused or neglected, lacked strong evidence to prove it, but maintained a record of it.
The state Department of Social Services decided this month not to appeal the ruling, and eliminated the category.
Because of the amount of work required to develop a computer program to wipe the information from files, purging will not be done until this weekend, Katzman said.
The state Board of Social Services appointed a committee last year to study the Child Protective Services program, through which claims of child abuse and neglect are investigated. Since November, the committee has held public hearings across the state to gauge the program's strengths and weaknesses.
The "reason to suspect" designation had been discussed, Phillip Jones, committee chairman, said Monday. Some committee members were concerned about the category's "gray area," he said.
"The purpose of the committee is to protect children and preserve families," Jones said. "We hear both sides of the issues, sometimes from parents who feel that CPS is too intrusive and too quick to intrude on families. We also hear from groups and individuals who feel CPS is too slow to act.
"Without analyzing individual cases, both of those things are true. The challenge is to try to develop regulations and policies to encourage uniformity across the state."
The committee is looking at ways to fill the gap left by the "reason to suspect" elimination, Jones said.
One way is legislatively, by amending the state statute to include a "reason to suspect" category, he said. Another is to lower the standard of proof required for founded cases.
Virginia is one of only two states that have a high burden of proof in child-abuse cases. Virginia - and Georgia - require that founded cases have "clear and convincing" evidence.
"Most states have a standard that is slightly lower than that, called a 'preponderance of evidence,''' Jones said.
Shannon Brabham, executive director of the Child Abuse Prevention Council of Roanoke Valley, said that change would be the only positive outcome of the "reason to suspect" elimination.
"I would see something positive if the prerequisite of evidence needed in founded cases were reduced," she said.
The committee's charge is to review all Child Protective Services policy and recommend any changes to the state Board of Social Services, Jones said. The work involves "a delicate balancing act" - ensuring that the program is not overly intrusive but ensures the safety of children, he said.
"We want to make sure children in need of protection will be able to have that protection," he said. "At the same time, we want to be careful not to intrude unreasonably into family's lives."
Yopp still must contend with a hearing next month on a protective order, a follow-up to a hearing in January, where she was asked to take a psychological test, participate in family counseling and complete parenting classes.
She says she is getting the help authorities may have thought she needed, but without the penalties that accompany placement on the state's central registry - used, in part, by schools and day-care centers to screen people who work with children.
"If parents would all stick together, we could all beat this thing," Yopp said. "Some parents don't do anything to discipline their kids. It makes it hard for parents who do."
by CNB