Las Vegas foster family severely abuses child

Length of stay in U.S. foster care (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Las Vegas foster family severely abuses child

A Las Vegas foster family severely abuses child and the child will likely never again be the same.

When parents are unable to appropriately care for their children, authorities first attempt to place the child in the care of suitable family members.  In the event that no suitable family members are available, the child then becomes part of the foster care system.

In recent years the foster care system in many cities has come under fire with allegations that some of the people who foster children simply so so for the stipend they receive and are not all interested in the child’s development and well being.

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Worse, some foster parents can abuse the children they are supposed to protect.

That appears to be what happened to Alexander Laws.

Natalie Nelson, Alexander’s mother, had her son taken away by the state.

It was the second time that she lost custody of her son and it was only supposed to be temporary.

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Her latest arrest stems from not paying for a cab.

Due to the arrest, little Alexander, not yet two, was placed in foster care.

In under 2 weeks, Alexander Laws went from being a healthy child to one that now suffers fro brain injuries, which may be permanent, due to the beating and abuse he suffered while in the care of his foster mother, Kassondra Martinson.

Martinson went to work and left Alexander Law and another foster child in the care of Osbaldo Sanchez.

Next thing you know Sanchez says that Alexender fell and got hurt.

Hurt! His mother says, according to the 8 News I-Team,

He may never walk again, he may never eat again, he has a feeding tube in his stomach. He can’t swallow his own spit.

The police investigation shows that Alexander was abused,

Aren’t potential foster parents subjected to a lengthy investigative process before they can become a foster parent?

The answer supposedly is a yes.

Clark County says that they do indeed conduct background checks and that Martinson violated the babysitting policies.

According to the department’s website, requirements for fostering a child include,

• Completed Department of Family Services foster care and adoption program application
• Approved background check
• Approved fingerprinting
• Complete 30 training hours
• Telephone
• Transportation
• Housing (can be a rental)
• Financial stability (we do not run credit checks)
• Home and car Insurance
• Lifestyle free from drug/alcohol or law enforcement difficulties
• TB Testing
• CPR Training if you have a swimming pool or body of water in your housing development
• First Aid Training
• Five (5) satisfactory references
• A home inspection

In only a ten day period, Kassondra Martinson caused Alexander Laws injuries. It does not matter if she was present or not.  She allowed it to happen by not following the rules.

One would think that when such a young child is being placed in foster care, that there would be a surprise home inspection shortly after placement.

There are so many children that need to be fostered and adopted and it is likely not easy screening all the potential applicants.

Still there is much that needs to be done so that other children do not suffer like Alexander Laws.

Related articles

• I-Team: Family Struggles With Toddler’s Injuries In Foster Care
• I-Team: Family Friend Accused of Beating Foster Child
• DCF seeking quality foster families
• Failed to Death: Colorado needs hundreds more foster families

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