ARTICLE TAG

Gabriel Fernandez

1/28/2020

Appeals Court Refuses to Reconsider Dismissed Charges Against Social Workers in Child Death Case

A California appeals court has denied a request by the Los Angeles County District Attorney to reconsider dismissing charges against the social workers overseeing the case of Gabriel Fernandez, an 8-year-old Antelope Valley boy who was tortured and killed by his mother and her boyfriend in 2013. 

11/13/2019

EXCLUSIVE: New Details Reveal How Two Social Workers Fought, But Failed, to Save 4-Year-Old Noah Cuatro

This summer, a 4-year-old boy named Noah Cuatro was allegedly tortured and killed by his parents in Palmdale, a high desert exurb of Los Angeles County. The tragedy is still sending shockwaves through the county’s $2.9 billion child welfare agency and local government.

10/20/2019

L.A. Police Failed to Investigate 4,000 Serious Child Abuse Reports in 2018 and 2019

The first recorded sign of trouble in the brief life of Noah Cuatro came before he was even born. In August 2014, when his mother was nine months pregnant with Noah, she allegedly threw her baby sister, fracturing the 10-month-old’s skull in two places.

9/19/2019

‘Party’s Over’: Kathryn Barger Wants L.A.’s Child Protection System to Change Now

On Sept. 11, I visited the wood-paneled offices of Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger for a wide-ranging discussion about the state of child welfare in the county and her district.

8/28/2019

After Another Tragic Child Death, Looking for Answers in the Antelope Valley

In 2013, Vicky Bibby was working as a social worker for a home visitation program in Los Angeles County’s Antelope Valley, checking in on pregnant women and young mothers to make sure they were learning healthy habits and how to bond with their children.

8/13/2019

In Aftermath of Latest Child Death, L.A. Contends with Potential Foster Care Panic

In mid-July, Bobby Cagle, the director of Los Angeles County’s $2.8-billion child welfare system, visited the high desert communities of Palmdale and Lancaster, both reeling from the latest child death to strike the county.

    7/24/2019

    L.A. Supervisor Kathryn Barger Vows to Hold a Bureaucracy That’s ‘Killing Kids’ Accountable

    On Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a motion introduced by Sup. Kathryn Barger aimed at recruiting and retaining child welfare workers in the Antelope Valley and its high desert communities of Lancaster and Palmdale.

    7/22/2019

    L.A. Child Welfare Agency Hurriedly Changes Key Policy After 4-Year-Old’s Death

    Less than two weeks after the suspicious death of 4-year-old Palmdale boy Noah Cuatro, Los Angeles County’s child welfare agency changed a key policy at the heart of the mounting controversy.

    7/19/2019

    Hiring More Social Workers is Key to L.A. Supervisor’s Plan to Prevent Child Deaths like 4-Year-Old Noah Cuatro’s

    Moving swiftly in the wake of the third high-profile child death to strike Los Angeles’ high desert in the past six years, L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger intends to boost the area’s beleaguered child welfare workforce.