Boy's Death in Waldorf Prompts Debate on 'Safety Plans' Across Md.

Nearly three months before his son was killed, Dennis T. Wade told authorities that the boy came home from a visit to his mother's house with a suspicious mark on his buttocks. A social worker made Wade and other family members agree to a "safety plan" that would keep the child from the allegedly abusive home.

The plan wasn't followed, and advocates for children's safety and others are questioning the efficacy of Maryland's system of safety plans, which are used in the state's most serious cases, in which the child might be in danger.

Last month, police charged Myron A. Gibson, 25, with first-degree child abuse in connection with the Aug. 19 death of 3-year-old DeSean T. Wade, Dennis Wade's son.

Gibson, who dated DeSean's mother and lived with her in Waldorf, told investigators he was wrestling with the boy and had elbowed him 10 times before he fell unconscious. An autopsy showed DeSean, who occasionally stayed with his mother in her townhouse in the 3000 block of Heathcote Road, had a fractured rib, bleeding on his back and head and swelling in his brain.

The death has riled child-advocacy groups and policymakers across Maryland.

Brenda Donald, Maryland's secretary of human resources, issued a statement in the days after the boy's death saying DeSean's family had not followed the prescribed safety plan. Child-safety advocates say that although that might be true, it leaves key questions unanswered.

Matthew Joseph, executive director of the Maryland-based Advocates for Children and Youth, said the department has not specified whether the social worker "fully and adequately" explained to Dennis Wade what his rights and obligations were under the safety plan. Wade, who was DeSean's primary caregiver, has said he thought the plan was a recommendation without legal force. He did not return a phone message seeking comment for this report.

"The caseworker should be involved in making sure that the parties understood the safety plan," Joseph said. "She needed to feel confident that this safety plan was going to keep the child safe."

Joseph questioned what role the department played in following up with the Wade family in implementing the plan. He said in general, the department does a poor job training caseworkers and providing extensive in-home services. In DeSean's case, Joseph said, it is unclear, what, if any, contact department workers had with the family after the safety plan was issued. The department also did not specify who signed the agreement.

Top officials in the department declined to comment on DeSean's case specifically, citing confidentiality laws governing their work. They said, however, that safety plans are binding agreements, signed by all family members involved in a child's care. If families don't follow the agreements, officials said, the department will sometimes take legal action to remove a child from a home. Workers can follow up with phone calls or in-home visits, officials said.

"It's clear that this is serious business," said Steve Berry, manager of in-home services for the department. "We don't have safety plans in every case."

DeSean's death raises another question: Should children in abusive homes be allowed to stay with their family? Joseph and the department agree that, in general, they should but with extensive monitoring and support.

Joseph said he worries that support is not being provided, as evidenced by the fact that although foster-care placements have declined, the department's "in-home services" have not increased.

"They've been allowing more children to stay in their homes," Joseph said. "The question we ask is: 'What did you do after that?' "

Department officials say that comparing foster-care placements with in-home services is unfair. Carnitra White, executive director of the social services administration, said in-home services have remained consistent with reported signs of abuse and neglect. Abuse and neglect cases, not foster-care placements, is how the department measures the need for in-home services, she said.

Human Resources Department officials said their refusal to discuss specific cases is not an attempt to hide missteps. Nancy Lineman, a department spokesman, said Donald went before the legislature last session to advocate for a bill that would have given the public more information about cases in the wake of children's deaths. The bill died in committee, Lineman said.

"The law really governs a high level of confidentiality because of the sensitive nature of the work the agency carries out," she said.