PLOEHN REMOVED AS HEAD OF L.A. COUNTY DCFS

Antonia Jimenez, who wrote a critical report of the troubled department, is expected to be named interim chief.
Antonia Jimenez, who wrote a critical report of the troubled department, is expected to be named interim chief.

December 14, 2010|By Garrett Therolf, Times Staff WriterTrish Ploehn, the embattled director of Los Angeles County's Department of Children and Family Services, was removed Monday and is expected to be replaced for now by a top county official who wrote a recent report which found the agency to be in "crisis."

Antonia Jimenez, a top aide to county Chief Executive William T Fujioka, called for focused attention on reducing a backlog of child abuse investigations in the report, which was released last month. She also found numerous management deficiencies in the department, saying that the agency needed to improve its system for employee discipline and simplify directions given to workers.

UPDATE: Trish Ploehn, the recently departed director of Los Angeles County's Department of Children and Family Services, has been appointed assistant county executive.

In her new position assisting county Chief Executive William T Fujioka, she will be responsible for education initiatives at the county and will retain her current $260,000 salary indefinitely....

CRIMINAL COURT vs. DEPENDENCY COURT TRIAL

You would have more rights in criminal court than you do in dependency. Some examples:

1.If you are charged in a criminal case and you request a lawyer you are immediately provided with one.
a) In dependency the Social Workers interview parents without any right to an attorney and if you request one, they will remove your children (if they haven’t done that already).

1.Once charges are filed in a criminal case you know what you are facing and if they can’t prove the charge as it is written, then you are acquitted.
a) In dependency, if they don’t prove the allegation as written, the judge can ‘…conform it to the proof’ offered at trial and rewrite the allegation.

1.At a criminal trial, hearsay is for the most part not going to be admitted as evidence.
a) In dependency there is an exception in Welfare and Institutions Code that allows for almost all hearsay to be admitted, at least that generated by DCFS.

1.In criminal court the prosecution must turn over all evidence in a timely fashion.
a) In dependency, you can be presented with evidence on the day of trial and you have to deal with it, even if you object.

1.In criminal court the prosecution must notify you of all witnesses being called, and do so well in advance of the trial.
a) In dependency, you can be presented with the County’s witness list on the day of trial and you have to deal with it, even if you object.

1.In a criminal trial you have the right to a trial by jury of your peers.
a) In dependency you only get the judge or commissioner or referee.

1.In criminal court there is the prosecution and the defense.
a) In dependency there is County Counsel (prosecution), minor’ counsel, and counsel for the other parent. You can find yourself in trial with ALL of them against you.

1.Finally, the burden of proof in a criminal matter is beyond a reasonable doubt.
a) In dependency the burden of proof is a preponderance of the evidence, or ‘more likely than not.’ Not really much of a burden for the County Counsel.

The lesson here is be prepared for the fact that the system is HEAVILY weighted against a parent in dependency court. Although you may be appointed an attorney by the court, consider whether or not that attorney will provide you with the best representation possible, because you’re going to need it!

FRAUD, LIES AND CORRUPTION AT DCFS RUNS RIFE

Videotapes may change child sex abuse convictions
The Associated Press
Posted: 12/07/2008 03:32:12 PM PST

SAN JOSE, Calif.—The discovery of thousands of videotaped medical examinations recorded during child sex-abuse investigations in Santa Clara County could effect the outcome of a number of criminal convictions dating back to 1991.

The Santa Clara County district attorney's office says the tapes were found by medical experts hired by two convicted defendants. Those experts determined that the tapes contradicted medical findings that sex abuse had ever occurred.

One of the two convictions, that of Agustin Uribe, has already been overturned by a state appeals court because of the tape. The second conviction is now in question.

Prosecutors will review some 3,000 tapes recorded in cases dating back to 1991 and determine which cases ended in convictions. Defense attorneys will be notified by prosecutors in any cases where new evidence appears.