But when our reporters started to check the stories, we were surprised and shocked to find that: 

• Children are being bruised and cut so terribly that even police, paramedics and hospitals are concerned – but the officials won’t talk about it on the record. 

• Whether or not a child is removed from his parents is often a matter of whether DSS will obtain more money from the federal government. 

• DSS has hired private consulting firms to help the department receive $90 million extra each year.  

• There really isn’t any due process for parents, says the Chair of the Legislative Committee on Foster Care, State Rep. Marie Parente. 

• Although parents have the right to a court hearing in 72 hours if a child is taken from them, it always takes much longer before a hearing is held, usually many months. The child featured on this page had over 50 continuances before a hearing was held.  

We printed many of these stories on the Internet in early November and have already heard from many people and organizations across the country. These stories were all written by Edward G. Oliver. 

Massachusetts News 
By Edward G. Oliver 

December 1--In a crowded and tense meeting, 13 hospital staff and 2 DSS staff at the Walker Home and School in Needham faced the outraged parents of nine-year-old, foster child Tara Gavigan, who was placed there on September 2, 1999.  

The parents, Heidi and Paul Gavigan, claimed that Tara, who is diagnosed as having Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, has been bruised, drugged and subjected to physical restraints since DSS took her in September, 1997. 

 On a recording that was made by the parents and given to Massachusetts News, Tara’s father wanted to know about the child’s "oppositional" behavior, which doctors claim is the reason for their use of restraints. "Does Tara say I don’t want to do this task because, ‘I don’t want to do it,’ or is it based on ‘I want to go home, I want to go home, I want to go home?’"  

A doctor responded, "Some of the time I think she’s impulsive. She says, ‘No, I don’t want to do that.’ But some of the time I think she’s trying to get home the best way she can."  

"So in other words, she’s being impulsive, which all children are, and she wants to go home," Heidi interjected. "So let’s find a way to cure her of that, let’s drug her a little bit more, let’s hold her down a little bit more; and if that doesn’t work, we’ll put her in a mental institution." 

The doctor would only concede they have a responsibility to communicate with the child’s parents for the foreseeable future about whatever happens to the girl and they would do so. "We share your concern in spades about restraints," he said. 

Heidi answered, "But you’re not willing to stop it."  

The doctor replied, "We cannot keep her safe without restraining her." 

"Then send her home where we can," Heidi demanded. 

"That is not an option."  

"Here’s the thing, doctor. We’re going to see her today. I have a camera; if I see a bruise, I’m taking pictures of all the bruises. I am my daughter’s mother, I have to protect her. I have to keep her safe. If I see my child injured and bruised, I have to report that to the police just like you would report that if you saw my child injured and bruised." 

The doctor asked her, "Then what will happen? They’ll come and there will be a big fuss, and then…" 

"Don’t you understand if something happens to my daughter, I have to have something on record about the abuse?" asked Heidi.  

On the tape, Heidi repeatedly demanded to know if the reason that the Walker staff was restraining Tara was because overmedication was causing her to wake up at night with behavioral problems. She expressed her fear that Tara’s medication combined with difficulty breathing from restraints might kill her. 

"I’m going to bury you people legally if you keep bruising her," she told him, continuing: 

"Before Tara was put on any medication at all and before she was put into state custody, she slept from 8 o’clock at night until 6 o’clock in the morning without interruption every night of her life."  

Turning to the DSS supervisor, Heidi asked, "What if she went to school, Miss Parker, and she had the bruises on her that we’re going to see today? What would happen then, Miss Parker?" 

"I’m not sure." 

"Don’t tell me you’re not sure. Would we have the option to say to you, ‘Well, we had to restrain her?’ I don’t think so." 

A ‘Power Thing’ 

Heidi tells Massachusetts News, "It’s a power thing. These restraints aren’t used for protecting children as they claim. They’re used as punishment when children defy caregivers, for infractions like stepping out of bed even. From what I’ve seen, kids don’t struggle until they get restrained. Tara was not an out-of-control monster. We never had to restrain her." 

The meeting resulted after the pair’s sparse visiting privileges were totally stopped by Walker Home when the couple reported the institution to the police Sept.12th for allegedly bruising their daughter. Needham Police confirmed they sent three cruisers to the facility on that date at 2:39 p.m. They said any more information is not a public record on that type of call.  

Reports of abuse that are generated by calls against foster caregivers are handled internally by DSS. Critics charge such reports about DSS vendors are routinely screened out. 

A Walker Home official told Masachusetts News he was not at liberty to discuss the case but did acknowledge knowing the people in question adding, Heidi is "an interesting woman who cares a lot about her child."  

Federal Regulations on Restraints  

New federal regulations regarding restraints were put into effect this summer in response to a 1998 Hartford Courant series which exposed a "regulatory black hole" leading to at least 146 known deaths nationally in the past decade from improper restraints, including many children. The Courant reported on June 26th this year the measures "will, for the first time, give mental patients protections against being restrained for punishment or for the convenience of often poorly trained staff." 

Already, evidence that such violations occur in Massachusetts has surfaced. Two hospitals, Pembroke Hospital and Westwood Lodge, had their federal funding cut off Sept.14th because of restraint violations at an affiliated third psychiatric facility, Lowell Youth Treatment Center. The owner of these facilities, Charter Behavioral Health Systems, is banned from continuing to treat Medicaid and Medicare patients after violating regulations concerning the use of physical restraints on children, one as young as 9 years old. Coincidentally, Tara stayed at Pembroke and Westwood although her problems were at other facilities. 

According to the Boston Herald, the restraint violations by Charter involved "restraining children without written doctor’s orders, failing to properly monitor patients while they were restrained and continuing to use a potentially dangerous ‘take down’ maneuver in which patients are held face-down on the floor for 15 minutes." 

After Tara’s parents called the police about the bruises at Walker Home and their visits were cut off, a visitation order was issued by the Barnstable Juvenile Court. It revealed that DSS had complained, "Parents’ conduct when visiting Tara at residential programs has upset the program’s routines, or upset patients and staff."  

The court then ruled, "For all visits, and whenever in Tara’s presence, parents shall refrain from openly disparaging the Department of Social Services, any of its agents or employees, any facility or program providing services to Tara and its employees, and the parties to the pending care and protection case. Similarly, there will be no threats to bring lawsuits or claims of alleged violations of constitutional rights, in Tara’s presence." 

Heidi told Massachusetts News that since the October showdown, things have improved and Tara is able to come home on weekends. But it was a long battle that still isn’t over, she says, until Tara is home safe from DSS. "She takes naps in the afternoon, her eyes are glazed and she is out of it, that’s not my daughter." She says she is forced to give Tara the medication for now as a condition of weekend visits. 

"They took a perfectly healthy girl who was never sick a day in her life and they put her on four different drugs without our permission including Dexadrine, which was found to affect her liver function. Presently she is on Ritaline, Klonidine and Trazodone. She’s been hospitalized in lockdown wards four times in a one-year period." 

Heidi says Tara’s odyssey gave her a glimpse of what children sometimes endure behind the walls of DSS custody. In late February of this year while Tara was at Arbour Hospital in Jamaica Plain, Tara told her she was left unattended in a straitjacket on her bed for an hour where it was difficult to breathe. Heidi said a nurse, Kim Sartelle, told her Tara was held down repeatedly and given shots of Benadryl to knock her out.  

Reached for comment, Sartelle, who no longer works for Arbour, was reluctant to provide details except to acknowledge Heidi was angry at her and other staff but would not disclose why. She did say she believes that in most cases children are better off at home. 

Arbour’s Psychiatric chief, Dr Anthony Reines, told Masachusetts News he is not allowed to comment on specific cases. He did however acknowledge Benadryl is used as a depressant and can be administered by injection. He also admitted a restraint known as a "Papoose" is used on children but only in extreme cases. He explained the "Papoose" fastens around the neck but allows the limbs to move. "It’s basically so they can’t walk." 

Heidi told Massachusetts News she witnessed a horrible restraint at Arbour against a five year old named Joshua. "I walked onto the unit one day to see Josh being dragged into the ‘Quiet Room,’ a bare room with a thin mattress on the floor. Two staff members had this tiny, clearly undernourished boy, one on each arm dragging him kicking and screaming towards the Quiet Room. 

"He had said that he did not want to go to his room, which prompted the punishing restraint. He was not violent, nor was he a danger to himself or threatening to others. He was just a little boy who wanted to play with some toy cars, which is what he had been doing quietly and alone until he was told for no reason to go to his room.  

"Josh was literally dragged to the ‘quiet room’, placed face down on the mattress and had both arms twisted up behind his back. Another large man sat on his arms which, remember, are behind his back, and another sat on his legs. Josh did not start to kick and scream until they grabbed him and started dragging him toward the room. Then he panicked. He knew he was going to be hurt. 

"Tara told me at this time about the straitjacket incidents. I went out and demanded that this abhorrent treatment of the children stop. I spoke with, or rather shouted at Kim Sartelle, who was in charge of the nursing station at the time." 

Massachusetts News relayed the account of Josh’s treatment by Heidi to Dr. Reines who expressed no shock, anger or desire to investigate the accusations. He described the procedures they use, which appear to mirror the new federal regulations. 

Moved to Jamaica Plain 

Tara was moved next to the Italian Home and School in Jamaica Plain. Heidi recalls, "About the third time we went there, we noticed cuts and bruises to Tara’s arm, bruises in the shape of a hand-and-fingers were very clear. A scratch on her arm was obviously a gouge caused by long fingernails. I reported this abuse to police; nothing happened except our visits were stopped. It took several weeks to be able to see her again, and only under close supervision. It was made clear we were no longer welcome.  

"The last time I was allowed on the actual unit Tara lived on, I witnessed another little girl, Tara’s roommate, about 5 years old and of slight build. She was sitting in a chair by herself not bothering anyone, except every ten minutes or so, she would let out a short, high pitched squeak. After about a half-hour, the staff got annoyed with her and dragged her off the chair into her room. 

"When they came out of her room a couple minutes later, she had been stripped of the clothes she had on and was in a hospital johnny. She was then taken into a tiled hallway, wrapped in a blanket and placed face down on the tiles. Two adult staff members then sat on her back and legs. I went in and knelt down next to her and asked her if she was all right, she was having a hard time breathing. I was told to leave at that point.  

"Every time I saw Tara at the Italian Home she was bruised and cut. I reported two incidents to the Jamaica Plain division of the Boston PD. The first time was May 15th, 1999. I spoke with Detective Robert Gallo. Tara was continually bruised at the Italian Home and was, in fact, assaulted by a staff member named Vince. When I saw horrible bruising of her knees, Tara told me she had been tackled by Vince. With his arm across her throat, he repeatedly slammed her on the ground and yelled, "If you don’t stop struggling, I will strangle you." I reported this to several people, even the state police, but no one would do anything." 

Calls to Detective Gallo were referred to the Boston Police information office who could not reach him in time for comment. 

After several attempts by Massachusetts News to speak to someone at the Italian Home, a Dr. Reynolds called back later as a courtesy but without comment.  

Heidi asked Detective Gallo at the time if the police would press charges. "He said they won’t because those cases don’t go anywhere." When police were again dispatched to the Italian Home after a second incident on July 4th, they brought an ambulance. An EMT named Jaffee of the Boston EMS was concerned enough about Tara’s bruises to take her to Children’s Hospital, the mother says.  

The Boston EMS has confirmed that an ambulance with an EMT named Jaffee was dispatched on July 4th to the Italian Home and from there to Children’s Hospital. 

Why DSS Took Tara 

Heidi explained how they lost Tara to DSS two years ago. "My grandmother dropped my seven-year-old daughter off at my house one afternoon. My husband’s vehicle was in the driveway but he wasn’t home. The child went in the house and, seeing an opportunity to do what she wants, she stuck her head out the door and called out to my grandmother, ‘It’s ok, daddy’s home.’ She watched TV, ate popcorn and went outside. She was alone about an hour-and-a-half before I called my grandmother to check up on Tara. We both realized at that moment she was left alone and raced to the house. There was no trace of her. DSS had taken her. DSS had neglected to call us."  

The family first appeared on the radar screen of DSS from a 51A report about Paul spanking Tara in 1996. While nothing came of that immediately, Tara was seized after being left home alone. Heidi’s ten-year-old daughter, Jamie, an honor student, was taken four days later and placed with Heidi’s mother. 

What followed was a nightmarish sequence of more than fifty continuances of the 72-hour hearing which is supposed to give the parents a right in court to challenge the DSS decision to take a child. Meanwhile, Tara deteriorated away from her family in approximately seventeen foster homes and facilities. 

Heidi and Paul, like a growing number of parents swept up in the wave of child abuse hysteria, decided to fight DSS rather than "play the game." They refused most of the "service plan" imposed on them by DSS and have been reporting abuse and restraints they say they’ve witnessed at foster care facilities.  

According to Heidi, who wants copies of court transcripts, "My daughter Jamie’s DSS-assigned therapist, Jacqueline Kahn, testified in the 72- hour hearing which dragged on for a year, ‘We question the kids until we get what we want.’" Kahn was on vacation and could not be reached for comment. Questioning of the children by DSS, according to Heidi, revealed Paul and herself argue sometimes and Paul drinks beer on the weekend. From those details plus the spanking report, DSS determined Paul may be an alcoholic batterer and Heidi a battered wife requiring "services" from DSS vendors. Heidi said she tore up the "service plan’ in front of the social worker.  

"We were accused of all kinds of things from alcoholism to drug abuse. They wanted me to take drug tests. I have absolutely no record of drug abuse, alcohol, anything. Paul had a DWI in 1988. That certainly doesn’t mean he’s an alcoholic. They wanted Paul to go to AA, me to go to Al-anon and for us all to get separate therapists. They wanted me to go to Independence House for an assessment on whether or not I was a battered woman. I told them ‘absolutely not.’ We pretty much refused to do all of that. They wanted me to go to parenting classes which I agreed to; but it was a joke, basically a roundtable discussion about DSS. I don’t think DSS has even seen one of the classes they send people to.  

"We would have had to quit our jobs to make time for all they wanted us to do," she said.