The director of the Cumberland County Department of Social Services says the Shaniya Davis case played a role in fostering reform at the department.
Director Brenda Jackson said the department has implemented a protocol with law enforcement and the DSS legal staff for releasing records, participated in joint training with law enforcement and the District Attorney’s Office, and upgraded its technology back-up and audit system.
Through reclassification, seven social worker positions in foster care have been added over the last three years to extend DSS’ reach in the areas of foster care, teen and delinquency services, she said.
The case gained national attention after Shaniya was reported missing from a mobile home park off Murchison Road on Nov. 10, 2009.
Six days later, her body was found dumped in woods off Walker Road in Lee County.
Shaniya’s mother, Antoinette Davis, said she gave her daughter to Mario McNeill for sex to settle a $200 debt.
Jackson and the county DSS fell under scrutiny following Shaniya’s murder. Jackson had taken over the department the year before.
Ed Grannis, who was district attorney at the time, accused Jackson and her staff of hindering Fayetteville police in their investigation. Initially, Grannis said his office became involved when police investigators told him that DSS was not fully cooperating, not providing information and not responding to inquiries in a timely manner.
Grannis pursued an investigation of DSS. The probe came to a close in September 2010, when he decided not to prosecute DSS officials on charges of obstruction of justice.
The following year, the Cumberland County Social Services Board gave its approval of Jackson’s job performance.
“We are proud that we have improved relationships with our community partners through candid open dialogue, resolution-driven discussions and actions, as well as ongoing communication about new issues or concerns,” Jackson said.
Jackson responded by email to questions about the impact the Shaniya case may have made on the way her department operates.
Jackson did not respond when asked if county DSS is better equipped today to help children being abused or sold for sexual purposes. Her staff, she responded, continuously participates in various child abuse training to include child exploitation and trafficking. Fortunately, Jackson said, they have not seen an increase in child trafficking cases.
“We at Cumberland County DSS strive to fulfill our mandate to protect these children,” she said. “We understand the responsibility is monumental and requires a community effort for a successful outcome.”
Jackson said county DSS averages about 600 reports a month of children alleged to be abused or neglected. The department averages about 125 to 150 cases where child protective services are needed.
Earlier this month, Shaniya’s father, Bradley Lockhart, said he believes county DSS was never held accountable for its “shortcomings in this whole thing.”
Lockhart still questions why he wasn’t notified if DSS allegedly knew that Antoinette Davis had drugs in her home a few months before the child’s death. Shaniya had been living with Lockhart, but he allowed the girl to move in with her mother with the hope that they would establish a good relationship.
“They tried to come after it with the approach that their caseworkers were overloaded. I don’t know how true it was,” Lockhart said. “I think a lot of stuff was being hidden.”
Jackson said in an email that “The (Davis) residence on our record in June and July had no indication or report of drugs found in the home.”
There were indications, including comments made by one of Shaniya’s uncles, that Antoinette Davis’ family had been investigated by DSS before the girl’s murder.
At the time, Jackson used state privacy statutes to keep records of the case out of public view.
Eight days after Shaniya’s body was found on Nov. 16, 2009, the N.C. Child Fatality Task Force announced that the state was reviewing what kind of contact the county DSS had with Antoinette Davis and her children.
Last week, Tom Vitaglione – who, at the time, was co-chairman of the task force – called the announcement “a misunderstanding.” The task force did not review the case, he said.
“For the most part, when a homicide case is open, people generally don’t review it,” he said. “Not as an outside group. You would just be mucking around. The D.A. (Grannis) didn’t want anybody to do it.”
Grannis did not return telephone messages.
District Attorney Billy West, who replaced Grannis in January 2011, said his office hasn’t had any problems with DSS since he took over.
West said his office has limited contact with DSS, whose cases are largely confined to juvenile court.
Any child abuse allegations go directly to law enforcement, the intermediary between the District Attorney’s Office and DSS. If it becomes a criminal charge, the DA becomes involved.
“That issue Grannis had with DSS had been resolved prior to me taking office,” West said. “I was involved in the prosecution of the case.”
Shaniya’s case reached a criminal resolution Oct. 18 when Antoinette Davis pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, first-degree sexual offense and other charges. As part of a plea deal, she will spend 17 1/2 years to about 21 years in prison.
McNeill was convicted in May of first-degree murder and sentenced to death.
Vitaglione, who is now a senior fellow with the Raleigh-based Action For Children (formerly the N.C. Child Advocacy Institute), said Shaniya’s case stands as a reminder that “we have to be ever vigilant to offer ways to protect children from their caregivers.”
“I think that everyone considers child abuse homicide perhaps the most gruesome of human events,” Vitaglione said. “Sometimes it begins to slip from our minds the kind of risks that children have to face and the kind of pressures some families are under. There has been a lot of work in this area.”
Over the last five years, Jackson said, an improved DSS partnership with the community has “enhanced the quality of our services and operations.” The department reformed its Children’s Services section by hiring, developing and retaining “quality staff.”
The department has based part of its approach to child welfare on a state model called the multiple response system. That effort requires a coming together of investigation, case management, foster care and adoption services into a team effort.
“The system felt it needed to rearrange itself. From our perspective, it appears to be working,” Vitaglione said. “We think the numbers of child abuse homicides have gone down because of vigilance locally. So many children are not part of the system and something really bad happens.”
Statewide, statistics point out that the number of child homicide deaths (classified as under 18 years of age) have declined since 2005, when 78 were reported. Last year, there were 47 child homicide deaths, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
As for Cumberland County, there have been 21 since 2005, with three reported a year ago.