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St. Lawrence County DSS investigated abuse claim of one of its employees, letter shows

Posted 6/19/21

BY JIMMY LAWTON North Country This Week CANTON – A letter obtained by North Country This Week shows the St. Lawrence County Department of Social Services investigated an abuse claim of one of its …

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St. Lawrence County DSS investigated abuse claim of one of its employees, letter shows

Posted

BY JIMMY LAWTON
North Country This Week

CANTON – A letter obtained by North Country This Week shows the St. Lawrence County Department of Social Services investigated an abuse claim of one of its own employees who fosters children.

The Law Offices of Michael Phillips, Clinton County, shared the letter. The same firm recently submitted nearly a dozen letters to St. Lawrence County legislators June 7, which alleged a variety of misconducts occurring at St. Lawrence County DSS.

The letters allude to retaliatory actions taken against those who have spoken out against issues they’ve seen take place and failure to provide help to families reaching out for safety concerns.

One letter alludes to an incident in which a DSS employee allegedly admitted to destroying evidence that a DSS attorney alleged he had reviewed.

One of the major ethical concerns raised by the letters is about children being taken from presumably fit and capable relatives who are seeking custody of their family members only to lose them to DSS employees seeking to foster them instead.

North Country This Week has independently verified at least one DSS employee fostering at least two children at this time, but has heard from multiple sources that other instances exist.

It should be noted that such practice is not necessarily illegal; however, it raises ethical concerns in regard to oversight.

That same employee who has been confirmed as a foster parent is mentioned in the new document related to the abuse claim that was vetted by St. Lawrence County Social Services.

The letter was issued to a birth parent whose child was in the care of a St. Lawrence County Department of Social Services employee.

The letter gave notice that a report of suspected maltreatment or abuse had occurred to the father’s biological child while under the care of a DSS employee.

The Law Offices of Michael Phillips, Clinton County, stated that the case was investigated and closed quickly with a determination that there was no evidence to support the claim.

The incident allegedly occurred in July of 2020 and the letter was issued in August of 2020.

While the attorneys are not disputing the outcome, they have concerns regarding the practice of the Social Services Department investigating someone who works for them, which they believe should have been investigated by an outside agency.

The firm is working with Courtney Fantone, a two-time Clarkson graduate and foster parent, who leads an organization called CHILD. The organization aims to help people dealing with issues related to adoption, foster care and social services.

Fantone founded the LLC following a negative experience with St. Lawrence County DSS in which she says she was accused of abuse for what she believes was retaliation for raising concerns about the department.

Fantone is currently fighting to clear her name and secure custody of a child who was previously in her care and so far has accrued more than $30,000 in legal bills.

“Typically an organization investigating an abuse allegation of their own employees would recuse themselves,” Fantone said. “DSS should not have been the agency charged with this investigation.”

Fantone said the firm and her agency have been inundated with more than 100 emails and 40 phone calls since the story alleging misconduct at the department broke June 12.

Attempts to obtain comment from St. Lawrence County Social Services Director Cynthia Ackerman were unsuccessful. St. Lawrence County Attorney Stephen Button, who oversees the DSS legal department, did not wish to provide comment.

North Country This Week will be continuing to investigate this matter.

Fantone is urging anyone who wishes to share a story or provide further evidence to email childhelp.director@gmail.com with their complaints or call 1-518-572-8169.

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