Nearly 50 foster kids died in 2005

Advocacy group tallies the children who have died under state's care.

By Clea Benson / The Sacramento Bee

(Updated Sunday, September 17, 2006, 6:16 AM)

SACRAMENTO — Almost 50 abused or neglected California children died last year in foster care after the state took them away from their parents for their own protection, according to child advocates who started counting because the state does not keep track.

The tally by the Children's Advocacy Institute is the first measurement of how many of California's most vulnerable children die while under the state's guardianship.

The institute, based at the University of San Diego School of Law, also found that more than 60 children in foster care died in 2004. California has about 75,000 foster children, 25% of the nation's foster-care population.

Some of the children died accidentally or of natural causes. But others were neglected or abused by caregivers. The causes of death were not included in the study.

The death count includes children such as Dylan James George, 2, whose foster parents have been charged with fatally beating him in their Fremont home in 2004. Anthony Cortez, 15, was choked to death by another child in a Stockton group home in 2003. Four-month-old Christopher Battie died of sudden infant death syndrome in a Fresno foster home in 2003.

Data comparing the death rate for children in foster care with the death rate for children overall were not available because the state has not compiled updated mortality statistics for the general population.

The California Department of Social Services collects data on how many children in foster care statewide are injured, but not on how many die.

Advocates said a failure to monitor deaths in foster care could hamper efforts to improve the system. The state failed a federal review three years ago in part because children were not being kept safe enough after being removed from their homes.

"It just makes common sense that the state should be tracking and aware of how and when their children are dying, and if there's anything they can do to stop that," said Christina Riehl, an attorney at the Children's Advocacy Institute.

Riehl said the institute started its count after a state law went into effect requiring counties to release the name and date of death of each child who dies while in foster care.

Mary Ault, California's deputy director of children and family services, said the state reviews individual death reports and has monitored fatality trends through the Child Death Review Council.

"I believe the more facts we have, the more information we have, the better we're able to manage for better outcomes," Ault said.

Movie Review: Hollywoodland

This weekend I was able to break away from my hectic schedule to go to lunch and a movie. Lunch was fair, we went to Yoshino's which for anyone not familiar with Fresno is a Japanese Restauant which does traditional dining, Teppanyaki, and has a Sushi Bar. It is only the second time I can recall having gone to Yoshino's, we typically frequent a crosstown rival by the name of Edo-Ya. After dining at Yoshino's it was easy to see why we have favored its competition, while the salmon and cream cheese sushi was appetizing the main course lacked the taste of Edo-Ya's food.

Enough with the food, let's move on to the entertainment. Being that there are a couple of films either in the theater or opening soon that I want to see Jamie was kind enough to allow me to select the movie we would watch. I feel bad for her when this happens because she usually doesn't enjoy alot of the same movies that I do but she was sweet enough to let me select Hollywoodland. For anyone that doesn't know, Hollywoodland is the film that just opened this weekend in which Ben Affleck (who I can't stand) plays George Reeve's, famous for his role as television's Superman. In 1959 George Reeve's committed suicide, this movie was the story of a private investigator (played by Oscar deserving Adrien Brody) hired by Reeve's mother to look into his suicide to see if possibly it was a murder case. The movie switches back and forth regulary between Adrien Brody's investigation and scenes of Georges Reeves life. Diane Lane also does an excellent job in the film portraying Toni Maddox, a woman married to a hollywood executive which George Reeves has a long-lasting affair with. Although I am far from a fan of Ben Affleck I will say he does a decent job in this role, I almost forgot I was watching him, which is definitely a good thing. Adrien Brody shines throughout. This is definitely a slower moving, more involved viewing and if you are not a fan of films such as LA Confidential and Memento I would strongly recommend staying away from this film, otherwise I highly recommend it.