Child & Family Services Agency Employee Who Blew the Whistle on Children Sleeping in the Agency's Office Building Files Federal Lawsuit
For more information contact:
Richard E. Condit, Esq.: 202.265.7337 x.231
Shirley Tabb: 202.289.1923
On Friday, July 14, 2006, the District of Columbia and two individual defendants are scheduled to file their answer to a federal lawsuit filed on April 28 2006 by former veteran Child & Family Services Agency (CFSA) employee Shirley Tabb. Ms. Tabb filed a lawsuit against the District of Columbia, Deputy Mayor Brenda Donald Walker, and Public Affairs Officer Mindy Good charging violations of her constitutional rights as well as violations of the District's Whistleblower Protection Act. Ms. Tabb was summarily terminated in October 2005 less than 2 weeks after she publicly disclosed that some children who were taken into CFSA's custody were left to sleep in the agency's offices and underneath desks and cubicles of child protective services employees because of inadequate emergency/foster care placements. Ms. Tabb stated: "This lawsuit will be a first step to restoring my career and will bring further attention to some of the serious deficiencies that still plague CFSA. I hope that my challenge to CFSA's culture of intimidation will pave the way for others to safely report problems."
Under unique provisions of the District's Whistleblower Protection Act, Ms. Tabb is asking the Court to impose $1,000 civil fines and requesting that disciplinary action be taken against Deputy Mayor Walker and Ms. Good. Ms. Tabb is also seeking reinstatement, back pay, compensatory and punitive damages.
CFSA has been under Court supervision for over a decade because of its substandard foster care and adoption programs. The revelations by Ms. Tabb upset CFSA officials because they have been attempting to convince the Court and Court Monitor that substantial improvements have been completed in the agency's intake and investigations program. However, the problem of children sleeping in the agency's office building, as well as backlogs in intake and investigations, have demonstrated that significant aspects of the agency's program are still substandard.
