On February 5, 2012, Charlie, age 7 and Braden, age 5, were murdered by their father during a home visit. The children excitedly ran up the walk to see their father, Josh Powell, who slammed the door in the social worker, Elizabeth Griffin-Hall's, face. She was to supervise the visit that Sunday afternoon. As she stood beating on the front door, she could smell gasoline and hear the cries of one of the children. We later learned the horrifying truth, that the children had hatchet marks on their heads and necks, but ultimately died of smoke inhalation, as their father burned the house down â€" killing his sons and himself.
This sickening event happened during what was supposed to be a supervised visit between a father and his children. What went wrong? I don't blame the worker and feel for her loss as well. However, to not ask a few basic questions would be a huge oversight. What can we learn from the Joshua Powell tragedy and do differently to protect children in foster care?
Quick Background on the Susan Powell Case
The case of Utah mother and wife, Susan Powell, disappearing has been a focus of the media on and off since December 7, 2009 when the children's babysitter alerted the authorities that neither Susan nor Josh showed to drop off the children that morning.
Her husband Joshua Powell soon became a person of interest in the case when he told authorities that he and the two children, ages 4 and 2 at the time went out camping - not leaving until well past midnight - because, "they enjoyed doing fun things." Other events that seemed weird â€" the two box fans that were found blowing on the living room carpet that morning, Josh's failure to call Susan's parents for two days about her disappearance, and his move from Utah to his father's home in Washington state, just a month after her disappearance.
The stay with Steve Powell, Josh's father, came to an end in September 2011, when Steve was arrested for voyeurism and child pornography. The children were then removed and placed in foster care, until Susan's parents gained temporary custody.
The Susan Cox Powell Case
Case Plans, Reunification, and Family Visits
Those involved with or those with an understanding of the foster care system, know that every foster care case is managed by a case plan and case plans are goal driven. Case plan goals are usually something like reunification with family, adoption, or independent living for older teens. A case plan lists the various tasks that need to be completed by those involved with a case, such as birth parents, social workers, and the children, in order to meet the goal of the case plan. In the case of the Powell children, the case plan goal was reunification with their father, Joshua Powell.
Josh was in court the first week of February 2012, trying to get his children back home with him, but cartoon images depicting incest were found on his home computer and led the court to further delay his regaining custody. The court also ordered a psycho-sexual evaluation. This may have been one of the things that pushed Josh to his breaking point. The point when he decided to kill his children in a tragic murder-suicide.
There is a natural progress with any case plan and I understand the need to treat Joshua Powell as innocent, as he had not yet been charged and tried for anything, however, there seemed to be many clues or "red flags" as Chris Cuomo of 20/20 called them, during his investigation into the case. Clues such as the children, Charles and Braden, ages 7 and 5 at the time of their death, beginning to talk about the night they went camping as a family and "mommy was in the trunk," the images of incest found on Josh's home computer, the court order of a psycho-sexual evaluation before he could ever regain custody of his children. Yet, the visits continued. Why? When Chris Cuomo asked this question of Sharon Gilbert of DSHS Children's Administration, she stated it was because the initial case plan was for reunification of the children with their father.
This is when it's so easy to get extremely frustrated with the system. I get the importance of reunification. I understand the importance of visitation and maintaining birth family bonds. However, isn't this case a bit different than other typical cases?
- Questions We Should Ask Because of the Joshua Powell Case
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When do we start evaluating each situation on a case by case basis and stop worrying about contract outcomes and state mandates?
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We need to also explore the phrase, best interest of the child? What does it really mean?
Making Visitation Safer
The social worker, Elizabeth Griffin-Hall, who Josh locked out of the house before he chopped at his children with a hatchet and then burned the house down, was there to supervise the visit. Yet, there was little she could do once locked out. Visits were once held at a secure facility, but the public nature of the Powell case was disruptive to other families, so the visits were moved to the home. Josh saw his children three times a week.
- Questions We Should Ask About Visits Because of Joshua Powell
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Why the need for three visits a week, this seems excessive in light of the details of this case. Many foster children see their parents once a week.
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Why wasn't a different location secured for the Powell visitation, instead of utilizing Josh Powell's rental home?
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It's common to see children run ahead of a social worker or foster parent when attending visits, maybe it's time to retrain ourselves to have the children walk with or behind us. This would have prevented Josh Powell from locking the social worker out of the home.
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The worker didn’t know the address and had to look in her car for the information to give to the dispatcher when she called 911. Social workers take observation notes on visits, consider having the address and other pertinent information noted at the top of the visitation form in case of an emergency.
My heart goes out to the family and to social worker Elizabeth Griffin-Hall, who feels that she did "everything right" and is left with this heavy burden. I can't help but think that perhaps there could have been a re-evaluation of the number of visits and their location. No change can bring back two sweet little boys, but perhaps change in how we view the important points of a case and the managing of a case plan can help protect other children.
SOURCES:
Timeline: The Powell Family’s Tragic Two Years
Before the Flames: Inside the Marriage of Josh and Susan Powell
Powell tragedy sparks questions about child custody
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