DA Accuses Welfare Worker Of Lying

Wednesday, May 9th 2007, 2:28 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- A 3-year-old boy who drowned in a bathtub in his Oklahoma City home was returned to the home because a state child welfare worker lied when she told authorities the house had been cleaned up, District Attorney David Prater said.

"I'm waiting to find out what the Department of Human Services is going to do with that worker," Prater told The Oklahoman.

DHS, which refused to comment on Prater's allegations or identify the worker, has come under criticism since the March 21 drowning death of William Barnard, who had Down syndrome.

Oklahoma City police officers had removed Barnard and two siblings from the home March 16 -- five days before the boy's death -- citing squalid living conditions.

Three days later, the children were returned to the home in accordance with a recommendation that a state child welfare worker made to an Oklahoma County assistant district attorney.

Two days after that, William drowned. His mother, Alzaina Marie Barnard, 25, has been charged with child neglect. An investigator said Alzaina Barnard admitted leaving the 3-year-old boy and his 5-year-old sister in a bathtub for at least 2 hours while she played games on the Internet.

DHS released a report last week that stated one of its child welfare workers had visited the home on the day the children were allowed to return and found the home had been cleaned up.

Prater said the contents of the report are consistent with what the DHS worker told his assistant, Jane Brown, which prompted her to agree to allow the children to return home.

However, the report is inconsistent with the filth police officers once again reported finding when they went to the home after the drowning.

Prater said he doesn't believe the house was cleaned up and made fit for children in three days, only to return to squalid conditions two days later.

"It's obvious that house could not have been cleaned up on Monday and then be in the condition officers found it in on Wednesday," he said. "There is just no way possible. So, yeah, we question the validity of that information that was provided to Jane. We just know it was false. It had to have been."

Prater said he is also concerned about what the child welfare worker didn't tell his assistant prosecutor. The worker didn't reveal that this was the fourth complaint in 16 months Oklahoma DHS workers had received about children in the home living in dirty or unsafe conditions, Prater said.

The worker also didn't reveal that the family had previous encounters with child protective services officials in Texas, which was "apparently why they left Texas," Prater said.

Related Stories:

3/21/2007 3-Year-Old Boy Drowns In Bathtub

3/23/2007 DHS Declines To Release Some Facts In Child's Death

4/13/2007 Mother Of Drowned 3-Year-Old Charged With Neglect

4/14/2007 Police Say Mother Played On Internet As Son Drowned