All six episodes of The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez are available to stream and download on Netflix now. Toggle primary navigation. "We conclude that the petitioners never had the requisite duty to control the abusers and did not have care or custody of Gabriel for purposes of Penal Code section 273a, subdivision (a). The second best result is Stefanie Denise Rodriquez age 40s in Fort Worth, TX. Various defense attorneys argued that the abuse and torture escalated months after a file on the boy had been closed and that there was insufficient evidence to take him away from his mother. Please contact the developer of this form processor to improve this message. She was impressive in many waysdeeply empathetic, very thoroughand had even been a foster child herself. The position title is CHILDREN'S SOCIAL WORKER I. Once, when another student was struggling with a reading assignment, Gabriel jumped in to help her, pushing her to take another look and keeping her well after the other kids finished. Social Work Intern Sarah Vretas, M.A., LPC Clinical Fellow Mariah Willis, B.A., CT Clinical Counseling Intern Counseling and Consultation Service - Office of Student Life CCS Main Office: Younkin Success Center (4th Floor), 1640 Neil Avenue, Columbus, OH 43201 . Clement had filed for bankruptcy. There are no safety or risks [sic] to the childrens welfare at this time. Her recommendation: Close the case.. The documentary looks into the failures of the Los Angeles County DCFS system. Prosecutors opened an investigation into the social workers assigned to Gabriel's case after his mother Pearl Fernandez and stepfather Isauro Aguirre's were found guilty of his murder in 2018. As a general rule, caseworkers worry most about children who arent seen by people outside the home. This time, the students didnt laugh. Executive Business Partner at Lyft . Merritt wasnt blind to Clements shortcomingshe told me hed once written a performance evaluation that scored her work as substandard, only to have his boss remove his criticisms and raise her score to competent. Under an agreement with the caseworkers union, managers were forbidden to fire, suspend, demote, or even write negative comments about any of their workers once certain caseload caps were reachedand the department routinely exceeded those caps. I just dont want to remember it.. Palmdale consistently ranked last on the list of places agency employees wanted to be. Name. Merritt, who is 62, had worked in the department for more than two decades. On the wall behind the jury box, dark oily blotches had formed over the years behind the heads of countless weary jurors. I live Coram Deo, he said. "We need to stand up to fight. You do it like this, he said, holding his nostril as if he were snorting a line. This person may work with the birth family, the court, outside agencies providing ancillary services to the child, the child's out-of-home caregiver (If the child was not able . Social workers Stefanie Rodriguez, Patricia Clement, Kevin Bom and Gregory Merritt were ordered today to stand trial on falsifying records and child abuse charges involving the death of Gabriel Fernandez, an 8-year-old Palmdale boy who died in 2013 after prolonged child abuse. His testimony lasted hours; he was unable to recall many details and had to constantly refer to transcripts of prior testimony. Clement and Merritt then became involved in the case. Rodriguez told her that confidentiality rules prevented her from saying. I could hardly walk. Due to over 60 complaints filed against Pearl Fernandez and Isauro Aguirre between 2003 and 2012, there were 8 investigations of them by the LA County Child Protective Services and the Department of Children and Family Services. Ezequiel, who was now 16, had a faint mustache and a face shaped like Gabriels. On January 29, 2013 Rodriguez made a final visit to Fernandezs home. In 2010, a department study showed that the evidence caseworkers gathered was often insufficient to accurately judge a situation. Gabriel Fernandez: Is Gabriel Fernandezs killer still alive? Rodriguez was able to answer the programs multiple-choice questions based almost entirely on information that had been logged into the agencys files before she began her investigation. Justice Victoria Gerrard Chaney concurred that the four could not be charged with child abuse, but wrote a dissent arguing that they could be prosecuted as public officers under the relevant government code section. Cat feces were forced in his mouth and down his throat. Or was it a systemic one, the result of a department so ill-equipped to safeguard children that tragedies were bound to happen? They just couldnt wrap their heads around it, she told me. Youd see people in the office that made you wonder, Wow, how did they get through the gates? Merritt told me. Overall employment of social workers is projected to grow 9 percent from 2021 to 2031, faster than the average for all occupations. Prosecutors are holding four Los Angeles County social workers criminally responsible and have charged them with child abuse. It had expanded because of the funding changes instituted during the Bush administration. Social workers Patricia Clement, left, and Stefanie Rodriguez, third from left, and supervisors Kevin Bom, second from right, and Gregory Merritt, fourth from right, who were charged with. Unlike the couple, the attorney for Department of Children and Family Services supervisor Kevin Bom argues that Bom never saw. That means every day I live before the face of God, and thats what keeps me sane.. Skin was peeling off his forehead. It was stated that there was no probable cause connected to child abuse or falsifying documents in a 2-to-1 opinion. They claimed to have never found strong enough signs of abuse in order to remove Gabriel from the house. Hed been living with his maternal grandparents, with whom he was close, but his mother, Pearl Fernandez, wanted Gabriels welfare benefits, so she brought him to live with her for the first time in his life, over his grandparents strenuous objections. Learn More{{/message}}, {{#message}}{{{message}}}{{/message}}{{^message}}It appears your submission was successful. Find contact's direct phone number, email address, work history, and more. Le Norgant informed social worker Patricia Clement and Palmdales LAC DCFS supervisor Greg Merritt. Aguirre would call him gay, punish him if he played with dolls, and even made Gabriel wear girls clothing to school. ), First published on January 7, 2020 / 5:43 AM. If Merritt and his colleagues had dug deeper, or simply paid closer attention to what they already knew, they might have uncovered the familys secret: that Gabriel spent days and nights with a sock in his mouth, shoelaces knotted around his hands, a bandanna shrouding his face, handcuffs locking his ankles, trapped inside a cabinet in his mothers bedroom. He rarely went outside during recess, and when he did, Garcia sometimes saw him alone on the playground, kicking a wall. "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. We conclude that the petitioners never had the requisite duty to control the abusers and did not have care or custody of Gabriel for purposes of Penal Code section 273a, subdivision (a). Its destroyed a lot of lives. During the final eight months of Gabriel Fernandezs life, numerous concerns had been made to the Los Angeles Department of Child and Family Services [DCFS]. Prosecutors say they failed to take the appropriate steps to protect Gabriel and then falsified documents related to his case. So what? Find 181 people named Stefanie Rodriguez along with free Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok profiles on PeekYou - true people search. Ultimately, the social workers Stefanie Rodriguez, 34, and Patricia Clement, 69, and two supervisors, Kevin Bom, 40, and Gregory Merritt, 64, all faced charges in connection with the death of Gabriel, with prosecutors alleging they minimized evidence of Gabriel's abuse. They recommended the death penalty. They turned to the tools they used regularly on him: a BB gun, pepper spray, coat hangers, and a wooden baseball bat. Please fill in the following form. If the case proceeds to trial and the defendants are convicted, they could face over 10 years in prison. The dismissal was long expected after an appellate panel ruled in January that the social workers should not face charges for failing to prevent the torture and killing of the Palmdale boy. The four also had criminal charges filed against them. But Pearl noticed Martinez studying her son and abruptly grabbed Gabriel and his siblings and left, blocking Martinezs view of Gabriel on the way out. He was on life support until May 24th, 2013. View Stefanie Rodriguez's business profile as Global Manager, Accounting at ALM. Children were interviewed alone in only two-thirds of cases. Name. In a gruesome twist, Logan was placed in the custody of a former caseworker, who disciplined her by gagging her with duct tape and leaving her in the basement, where she died. When Garcia first met the boy, in the schools front office, she noticed that Pearl and Aguirre werent like the other first-grade parents, who hovered over their children, crouching down to guide them through introductions or to explain how to get lunch. Instead, she said the one thing she thought he could count on: One day, youre going to be 18. The educator said the boy appeared anxious about his homework and feared to go home sometimes. Lots of people spank their kids, after all. During a parent-teacher meeting, Pearl said without prompting, I dont hit my kids. Garcia told Pearl that Gabriel was smart and a good writer, but she didnt think Pearl believed her. For other inquiries, Contact Us. Justice Francis Rothschild wrote: We conclude that the petitioners never had the requisite duty to control the abusers and did not have care or custody of Gabriel for purposes of Penal Code section 273a, subdivision (a). Some of Merritts colleagues were so ashamed of the departments reputation that they avoided telling people what they did for a living. As we sat in her living room, she told me that working for Merritt had made the job tolerable; he always had her back, and would encourage her to take a lunch break or work from home when he sensed that the pressures of the job were getting to her. It is this [workers] assessment that mother is overwhelmed with her own emotional pain, she is unwilling to continue counseling at this time, Clement wrote. The District Attorney may appeal this decision. Near the end of January, Garcia was reading to a group of students when the door opened. According to the next worker assigned to Gabriels case, Patricia Clement claimed that new abuse allegations were already being dealt with and that she was going to close the case because there were no concerns at the moment. They have also lived in Springtown, TX and Bridgeport, TX. {{#message}}{{{message}}}{{/message}}{{^message}}Your submission failed. In a 2-1 opinion, the panel concluded that there was no probable cause to hold the four on charges of child abuse and falsifying documents. Again, information traveled in one direction: Rodriguez wouldnt tell Garcia what she was doing to protect Gabriel, or whether she planned to remove him from his home. Due to confidentiality rules, Rodriguez could say nothing. His mom? they asked, their faces filled with the deepest horror shed ever seen in children so young. View Stefanie Rodriguez's business profile as Collection Manager at GBMC HealthCare. Fernandez pleaded guilty to avoid the death penalty and received a sentence of life in prison without parole. He was 8 years old, and the signs of abuse were obvious. Stefanie is related to Victor Rodriquez and Sylvia Rodriguez as well as 1 additional person. No one could protect them alland he felt frustrated that both administrators and the public expected him to do the impossible. Negligent child welfare workers may face prison time in connection with the death of 8-year-old Gabriel Fernandez. In California, the downturn in foster care began even before Logans death, and was steeper than the national one. That would be reportable. She also told Reid that during Red Ribbon Week, when teachers talked about staying away from narcotics, Gabriel had announced that cocaine was a drug. Stefanie Rodriguez. Dice Stefanie. Stephanie Rodriguez Social worker Greater Sacramento 7 followers 7 connections Join to view profile Department of Child, Family, and Adult Services Sonoma State University Experience Human. He was hungry for Garcias attention and praise and would stay behind at recess to help her collate and staple papers. The provider is registered as an individual and her NPI . She had abandoned her youngest child, a daughter named Destiny, and lost custody of a son named Arnold Jr., who was a year older than Gabriel. Some of his teeth had been knocked out. Sign in to create your job alert for Licensed Clinical Social Worker jobs in Chevy Chase, MD. That same year, Casey declared a new central goal: to reduce the number of children in foster care by half by 2020. About 74,700 openings for social workers are projected each year, on average, over the decade. The mother and her boyfriend were convicted of the torture murder. Despite the softwares assessment, Merritt had recently signed off on a request to close the case, satisfied that Gabriel was safe. There is, therefore, no probable cause to hold them on charges of violating those laws and the trial court should have granted the motions to dismiss.. Breaking news for Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties. Lomeli called the pair nothing short of evil and worse than animalistic because even animals know how to take care of their young.. Gabriel was either tardy or absent a lot. Social worker Gregory Merritt appears in The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez. Villar also stated that the defendants should have documented Gabriel Fernandezs injuries and that their actions were incompatible with the proper regard for human life.. Stephanie Rodrigues is a member of the caregiver training team. Silver Spring, MD. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. With his mother nearby, Gabriel told Rodriguez that hed made up the story about her hitting him with a belt buckle. Baghdad Central: How does the series differ from the original book? 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