A 5-year-old boy’s adoptive parents have sued Luzerne County’s child protection agency alleging officials ignored warnings about the danger of letting his birth parents have custody after he was born.
One warning came from a county Children, Youth & Families caseworker, who rated letting birth parents Andrew Carter and Brittany Cooper have the boy highly risky, but the agency allowed it anyway, according to the federal lawsuit filed recently.
A month after his May 2020 birth, the boy was hospitalized with multiple skull fractures, a broken jaw, sepsis, brain hemorrhages and swelling, severe bruising and symptoms including vomiting, a loss of appetite and wheezing, according to the suit.
He arrived at Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center listless and with blood in his stool. The boy suffers from brain damage and developmental delays, according to the suit.
Carter was later charged and pleaded guilty to multiple charges in connection with the boy's beating. He is serving time in state prison.
In their suit, adoptive parents Keith and Danielle Medash seek financial compensation and punitive damages from Luzerne County Children, Youth & Families, caseworker Sherri Hartman and casework supervisor Jessica Timek.
The state Department of Human Services downgraded the agency’s license to operate to provisional for two years earlier this decade for other reasons. State inspection reports over the last five years do not appear to cite the agency based on the Medashes’ claims.
County Manager Romilda Crocamo declined to comment on the claims.
"We are currently in the early stages of litigation and are not in a position to comment on the specific allegations at the time," Crocamo said in a text. "We appreciate your understanding as we navigate this process."
Plaintiffs' contentions
The Medashes’ suit contends agency officials knew the high risk of leaving the boy with his birth parents, Andrew Carter and Brittany Cooper, because the agency:
- Had Hartman’s risk assessment from two days after the boy was born. The assessment determined leaving him with his birth parents was highly risky.
- Dealt with Carter and Cooper before over the way they cared for two earlier children. The couple lost their parental rights to both children. Carter involuntarily lost his rights to parent both children, Cooper lost parental rights to one child involuntarily and voluntarily surrendered her rights to parent the other, according to the suit. That happened between August 2018 and November 2019, not long before the third baby was born.
- Knew Carter had “a history of substance abuse and domestic violence as well as an extensive criminal history.”
- Knew Cooper had been diagnosed with “mental health concerns.”
- Knew the couple failed to comply with prior requirements for drug and alcohol treatment, mental health treatment, parenting classes and random drug screening.
- Was warned by Danielle Medash months earlier that Cooper was pregnant with the boy. Medash “relayed her significant concerns” to Hartman that Carter and Cooper “were incapable of parenting.”
- Failed to take protective custody of the boy and instead filed a standard dependency petition that aimed to allow the agency a role in the child’s care.
A hearing on the petition was scheduled for the day after the boy was hospitalized in June 2020.
By allowing Carter and Cooper to take the boy home from the hospital, the agency violated his constitutional rights to remain free from torture and abuse, the suit says.
Just before his trial was scheduled to begin in September 2022, Carter pleaded guilty to aggravated and simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and endangering the welfare of a child. A judge sentenced him to spend five to 10 years in prison and serve a year on probation after his release. He remains in a state prison in Schuylkill County.
Though apparently never flagged by state inspectors, Danielle Medash’s concerns about the handling of her adoptive son’s case came the year before the agency faced state scrutiny over its failure to investigate child endangerment reports.
In July 2021, state Attorney General Josh Shapiro charged former director Joanne Van Saun with ordering caseworkers to quickly dispose of at least 217 reports of child abuse and neglect because of criticism of a backlog. Van Saun pleaded guilty in October 2021 and was sentenced two months later to nine months of house arrest and 34 months of probation.
The Department of Human Services downgraded the agency’s license to provisional in September 2021, but restored its full license in September 2023 after improved performance.
