Times coverage: Toddler allegedly beaten with hammer [Updated]

March 16, 2010, 11:01 a.m.

Times reporters Garrett Therolf and Anna Gorman have more on the March 4 death of Viola Vanclief, a 2-year-old black girl who was killed in the 100 block of E. Gage Ave. in Florence.

[Updated March 18: More details have emerged about the foster mother in this case, who The Times has learned was the subject of previous abuse inquiries. Therolf has the story: Foster mother had 5 abuse complaints]

A foster mother and her boyfriend are under investigation in the death of a 2-year-old child in their care who was beaten with a hammer, according to authorities and coroner's records.

Viola Vanclief's death March 4 is the latest in a series of troubles linked to United Care Inc., a nonprofit foster-care agency that contracts with Los Angeles County to provide shelter for abused and neglected children.

Records show that United Care, which oversees 88 homes with 216 foster children, has been cited repeatedly in recent years after caregivers choked, hit and whipped their charges with a belt. In 2007, a foster child drowned while swimming unsupervised in a pool.

South Los Angeles residents Kiana Barker, 30, and her boyfriend, James Julian, 38, were arrested last week on suspicion of murder in connection with Viola's death, according to Los Angeles police records. They were released two days later, with no charges filed. Police are continuing to investigate the couple.

Barker was de-certified as a foster parent last week, and state regulators posted a notice near one of the no-trespassing signs outside her house saying that a child-care-center license there had been suspended.

Barker told investigators that Viola was trapped in a bed frame when she accidentally struck the child with a hammer while trying to free her, according to coroner's records. Viola had multiple bruises on her body, the records say. The death was deemed a homicide.

It is unclear how the child came to be in the couple's care. Julian had been convicted in 1998 of felony robbery using a firearm -- a fact that should have barred him from living in a home with foster children, according to state records.

Trish Ploehn, director of the Department of Children and Family Services, declined to comment on details of the case but said: "This child's death is extremely saddening for everyone."
Keep reading: South L.A. foster mother, boyfriend are under investigation in child's death

20 reader comments

As a former foster youth this saddens me to hear that a family could commit such a crime. The problem is the system is saturated with so many children they don't take the time out to fully investigate these parents. It's sad to say but when I was in foster care there was a lot of abuse and mistreatment. Not everyone is going to make it out alive. The system that was designed to protect us also allows the unthinkable to happen. By the grace of GOD I made it. This girl was taken from her family for whatever known reason and put into the arms of someone worst off than the biological parents. I am a Forensic Social Work major because of situations like this. I might can't change the system but I can help change the practice. I will make sure the foster parents in my case file qualify to be a parent. A lot of these situations could be avoid if the Department follow up on the allegations. This foster mother has had 5 complaints of abuse. The children should have been remove immediately until the investigation was close. Due to the man power in the Department this would only be a dream because most Social Workers don't like doing the foot work of finding new placements and filling out paperwork. My heart goes out to the child.

— mrseducatedwoman March 21, 2010 at 1:08 p.m.

The bigger concern here is the lack of caring adults that have the ability to step up and offer to become a true foster parent or adoptive parent. My wife and I have adopted a little girl from LA county and we first needed to be her foster parents for 3 years while we went thru the court system. I have seen first hand how poorly these children are treated by an over burdened system and foster parents that are unqualified or do it for the money. On behalf of the children, I beg you to truely think about what you can do to completely change the opportunities a child can have in life. Please spend one day in the children's court house that is located across the street from Cal State LA. I thought I was a very tough man, the first day I had to go to court on my doughters behalf while she was still a ward of the court, I was devastated to see all that these children have to endure. When my wife and I finally got to our car, all we did was sit there an cry for 20 minutes and could not understand why we as a society would allow this to happen to children.

— Eric March 19, 2010 at 12:38 a.m.

The Homicide Report

Times coverage: Toddler allegedly beaten with hammer [Updated]

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20 reader comments