ASHLEY COOK
The Lufkin Daily News

Thursday, September 14, 2006

Hours after a Lufkin mother was sentenced to a lengthy prison term in one of the worst child abuse cases in recent memory, Child Protective Services representatives held a town hall meeting to roll out state-mandated improvements for the child welfare system.

Calling it a "renewal," regional director Judy Bowman said CPS was on track to hire more staff, gain more training and improve salaries and technology.

Sheri Pulliam, regional spokeswoman for Children Protective Services, hosted a town hall meeting Thursday at Lufkin City Hall to announce legislative-prompted changes across the agency, which representatives are calling a 'renewal.' The photograph is from the East Texas Heart Gallery, a traveling art show featuring images of regional children available for adoption.

Bowman credited media for exposing stories of child deaths under the CPS umbrella, waking lawmakers to the need for a shake-up in what she called an underfunded system.

"Media attention made legislators look at the issues," she said.

The result was a slew of initiatives, including controversial changes such as having non-profit agencies take over the foster care system and privatization of child placement and services.

Region 8 in the San Antonio area will be the first to try privatization, and is already in the process of taking bids from private contractors. Concerns include quality of care and job security for CPS workers.

The Bennedetha Buckjune case in Lufkin has forced the need for better child abuse reporting to the forefront, according to CPS spokeswoman Sheri Pulliam.

Buckjune abused her daughters and stepdaughters over a period of years in Indiana and Texas, including homes in Lufkin at the Silvercreek apartment complex and Crown Colony subdivision.

The abuse left the girls with large, visible bruising and scarring literally from head to toe. It remains unclear how the girls appeared in public for so long without someone reporting the obvious abuse.

"Where were the teachers in this?" Pulliam asked. "What about truancy officers?"

Pulliam said CPS was not called in on the case until it came to a head in mid-2005, when one of the girls ran to a neighbor for help, eventually leading to Buckjune's arrest by Lufkin police.

As bad as it is, the case is by far not the only one, Pulliam said. Children across Angelina County and East Texas continue to suffer horrible abuse, she said.

"There are other cases just like that. (The public) doesn't want to open their eyes," Pulliam said.

The critical key to stopping abuse from happening or continuing is to report, report and report.

"A lot of times we don't get the real story. It is so important to keep reporting," she said.

It may take multiple visits for CPS workers to figure out what is going on, Pulliam said. If families have advance warning of a visit, they often clean up the house and have a cover story, and children sometimes lie to protect abusive parents. Don't give up on reporting, she said.

It is up to the community to be another piece of the pie, along with child welfare and law enforcement, to work together to save children, one caseworker pointed out at the meeting.

To report a suspicion of child abuse or neglect, call 1-800-252-5400 or use a form on the Web at www.txabusehotline.org. Calls are confidential and callers may remain anonymous.

http://www.lufkindailynews.com/news/content/news/stories/2006/09/15/cps.html