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Daycare Injury Leaves Mother in the Dark
Head Start can’t explain slap to toddler
by S arah B lount
T he P ortland O bserver
Like many new parents, Mandisa
Brown struggled to balance her pro­
tective instincts with placing her
daughter in the care o f licensed
professionals for the first time.
Last O ctober, Brown enrolled
18-month-old A kosha Taylor in an
Early H ead Start Fam ily C enter at
the N orm andale school site on
Northeast 52nd A venue. She said
she had a difficult tim e w atching
her daughter cry and clutch her
each tim e she was taken to the
class, but rem inded herself transi­
tions are tough.
By the end o f her sixth class­
room visit, how ever. Brown says
her ch ild ’s face was not only tear-
stained, but bruised on the left
side from her eyebrow to the bot­
tom o f her cheek.
Brown said she peppered the
classroom teacher Lisa Graves with
questions about the bruise, but
G raves couldn’t explain the welt
across her face and only said “ I
d o n’t know ” repeatedly. Then, she
said, instead o f filing an incident
report, Graves inform ed the mother
she was in a hurry to leave and
would discuss the incident during
their next hom e visit.
From that point Brown tried to
consult w ith the sc h o o l's head
coordinator. Shannon Burroughs
C am pbell. But C am pbell w asn’t
there, so a secretary attem pted to
fill out an incident report but could
not find one.
Oregon state law m andates that
childcare w orkers m ust make re­
ports if they have reasonable cause
to suspect abuse or neglect. The
secretary eventually found an inci­
dent report, photographed B row n’s
daughter and told her she would
leave a m essage for the coordina­
tor.
Brown said wanted to know what
happened that day, and at her insis­
tence the secretary arranged a con­
ference call betw een the school
nurse and Cam pbell. Brown said
she was denied a chance to meet
with the staff present during the
tim e her child was injured, but was
Em anuel Hospital and contacted
O regon D epartm ent o f Health and
H um an S ervices, and o v er the
course o f the next several months
w aited for answers that never came.
Members o f the Oregon Department o f Human Services con­
cluded that a child was Injured at the Normandale Elementary
School Head Start, but the investigation stopped there because
there were no signs o f sexual abuse, the child's mother says.
repeatedly assured by the coordi­
nator that she w ould “get to the
bottom o f this.”
“C am pbell su g g ested I take
A kosha to a physician and asked
me to think o f a discipline m easure
that should be taken against Lisa
(the teacher),” Brown said.
She took her daughter to Legacy
photos io
S arah B i gi n i /T he P ortland O bserver
Mandisa Brown comforts her daughter Akosha Taylor. Last October, Brown picked up the toddler
at an Early Head Start in northeast Portland and found a large bruise across her face that teach­
ers and officials couldn't explain.
Portland Head Start officials d e­
She said her child was severely
traum atized by her experience at clined to com m ent on the incident,
the day care, and in the months but N orm andale site supervisor
afterw ard becam e uncharacteristi­ Michelle Forrette, who w asn’t there
on the day o f the T aylor was in­
cally withdrawn.
“M y child was abused at a state- jured, said the case was closed and
funded program and it seems as if “everyone has done their w ork."
“ It sounds to me like mom has a
no one cares enough to investi­
different view on it,” she said.
gate,” Brown said.
Requests for Head Start polices
concerning injury or abuse were
denied.
Brown said a DHS casew orker
eventually told her the daycare
c e n te r a c k n o w le d g e d that her
daughter had been injured under
their care, but that the investiga­
tion would not continue since no­
-M a n d is a Brown
body knew how it happened.
My child was abused at a
state-funded program and it
seems as if no one cares enough
to investigate.
U na Swanson, m anager of DHS
Brown had left her job with AMB
child protective services, said the Janitorial at the U.S. Bank T ow erto
agency d oesn't investigate unless care for her daughter after the inci­
a family m em ber or som eone living dent, placing her in therapy that
in the household is involved. O th­ included exercises to help her inter­
erw ise they refer cases to law en ­ act better with other individuals.
forcement. T aylor’s case was re­
She said she recently returned to
ferred to Sergeant Pat Kelley, who work since her daughter is feeling
told Brown her daughter’s case was better these days, but finding child
not serious enough to warrant an care is a struggle for this single
investigation.
mom. Even so, she has sought legal
B ro w n 's next sto p w as the representation and said she will not
M u ltn o m a h C o u n ty d is tric t let the case go until that school
atto rn ey 's office. She spoke with a takes responsibility for what they
legal assistant, but because the did to her child.
police Child Abuse Team was not
“ I d o n 't believe police pushed
investigating, the assistant told the the investigation hard enough, and
Portland O bserver there was noth­ they (Head Start) are trying to sweep
it under the rug."
ing they could do.
Dumpster Fires, Vandals
No suspects or
motive found
by S arah B lount
T he P ortland O bserv er
Strange things are happening on
Alberta Street.
Portland Fire and Rescue workers
had a busy night last weekend fight­
ing deliberately set fires that erupted
from recycling bins along Northeast
Alberta Street. By the time rescue
workers had responded to an apart­
ment fire early Saturday morning,
another fire had broken out nearby,
then another and another.
A total o f five fires were set within
four hours, said Portland Fire & Res­
cue spokesman Lt. Allen Oswalt.
Flames caused nearly a half million
dollars in damage to the Regency
Park North apartment complex at5026
N.E. 3 1 st Ave., along with $65.(XM)
worth o f residents' personal pos­
sessions. At least 13 people were
forced out o f their homes but there
were no injuries.
The second dumpster fire broke
out at a building at Northeast 28th
Avenue and Alberta. Just minutes
later crews were alerted to a third fire
in a recycling container belonging to
La Sirenita, a Mexican restaurant
across the street on Northeast .31st
Avenue, while a fourth dumpster lit
up in a nearby alley.
The fifth fire was discovered later
that morning when Sandra Galli ar­
rived at her Buffalo Gardens nursery,
at 30th and Alberta, and discovered
(lames had consumed the sheepskin
scat covers of her Volkswagen van
and destroyed the interior.
Oswalt said investigators are cer­
tain arson was the cause o f all o f the
fires, but have no suspects in cus­
tody and no motive. Anyone with
information can cal150.3-823-3791.
“ It appears to be a crim e of oppor­
tunity," he said.
The string o f arson com es on the
heels o f an accidental fire April 9 at
the Vita Cafe at Northeast 30th and
Alberta. The restaurant suffered ex­
tensive smoke damage altera pack of
linens with oily residue spontane­
ously ignited.
Are you the mother of
a child with ADHD?
OHSU is currently enrolling families in PACT, a research study
geared toward learning the best ways to support families
who are living with ADHD.
Who is eligible to participate?
photo by
S arah B i olnt /T hi P ortland O bserver
Red Cross volunteer Marcella Lewis provides food and hot
drinks to occupants of Regency Park North apartments on
Monday. Some residents escaped Saturday’s arson, but weren't
lucky enough to avoid a second fire on Sunday night that was
caused by faulty wiring.
W hile fire officials ruled out foul
play, ow ner Karen Wixxlbury said
the Vita has had a series of break-ins
since she and her husband. Aaron
Woo, took ownership of the cafe a
year ago. She hopes to reopen by
next m onth's Alberta Street Art Hop.
“ I hope the police increase their
patrol of this area, because this isjust
ridiculous," W oodbury said.
Across the street, Portland Fret
W orks ow ner Todd Mylet recently
had to repaint the front o f his guitar
restoration shop after some w eek­
end vandalism.
“We get graffiti two to five times
a year," he said.
Churches are targets, too, as was
evident on March .31 when two men
spray painted graffiti, including
death threats, on the walls o f Victory
Outreach, a mostly African Ameri­
can congregation known for it ’ s anti­
gang outreach programs at the cor­
ner of 30th and Alberta.
Northeast Precinct Cmdr. Bret
Smith saidcrim e has increased in the
past couple years, as businesses
sprout up along the strip.
“ I think the prosperity has pro­
vided an interest to commit burglar­
ies." he said.
Smith said the precinct is working
on a com munication system that
would allow businesses to interact
with each other and the police, either
as a group or in confidence, to help
curb violence and share useful infor­
mation. He said they've contacted a
vendor with a program, but that it’s
difficult to get the numerous shop
owners on the same page.
•
Families with at least one child (age 4-21) with a diagnosis of ADHD
•
Families who live in the Portland metropolitan area
If you are eligible, you will be randomly assigned to one of two groups:
1. A home-based approach where a nurse visits your home at regular
intervals to provide services and support that are unique to you and
your family.
An information-based approach where families will be provided with
literature about ADHD.
There is no cost for participating in the study. Mothers will receive a $50 gift
card every six months for 18 months for participating in the study, no
matter to which group they are assigned. Additional family members will
receive $10 gift cards each tim e they com plete a short survey.
For more information, please call 503 418-3603
or email pact@ohsu.edu
OREGON y y
OHSU is an equal opportunity,
affirmative action institution.
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