CHILD-SUPPORT CASE MAY BE SETTLED FATHER WOULD GET $225,000 FROM COUNTY.Byline: TROY ANDERSON Staff Writer A decorated Vietnam War Vietnam War, conflict in Southeast Asia, primarily fought in South Vietnam between government forces aided by the United States and guerrilla forces aided by North Vietnam. veteran who spent more than a decade searching for his daughter would be paid $225,000 by the county, which mistakenly allowed him to pay child support for the girl although she was in foster care, under a settlement recommended Monday. The Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County Claims Board recommended the payment to settle a lawsuit filed by Thomas Marion Smith
Marion Smith is a Councillor with North Down Borough Council, having been elected in 1995, 1997, 2001 and 2005. , who was never told that his young daughter had been taken away from his ex-wife and placed in foster care. The Board of Supervisors will vote on the settlement Oct. 16. "This is a landmark case landmark case Law & medicine A civil or, far less commonly, criminal action that has had an impact on a particular area of medicine. having a profound impact on the system," said Smith's attorney, Linda Wallace. "At the point of entry, county departments are now notified to make sure children are not lost in the system." Lisa Garrett, chief deputy director of the Child Support Services support services Psychology Non-health care-related ancillary services–eg, transportation, financial aid, support groups, homemaker services, respite services, and other services Department, said her agency is working to improve communication with the Department of Children and Family Services to avoid a recurrence of the Smith case. Smith's suit claims that county employees were negligent for failing to notify him that his daughter was in foster care. Had he known of the girl's whereabouts, he would have obtained custody of his daughter and eliminated the need for county intervention. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the suit, Smith and his wife separated in 1990. He maintained a close relationship with the girl and paid child support until the mother moved unexpectedly and left no forwarding address forwarding address forward n → adresse f de réexpédition . Smith, a former plumber and contractor who now lives in Pine Valley south of San Diego, hired attorneys and private investigators to find his daughter, but eventually ran out of money. In 1996, the girl, then 6, was placed in foster care after reports of child abuse were made against her mother, according to county documents. Over the ensuing years, the girl asked social workers for help finding her father. They were finally reunited in 2005, and Smith obtained full custody in 2006. Under the terms of the settlement, Smith will be paid $225,000 and his $91,500 child support debt will be forgiven. The county spent $306,266 in attorney fees and other legal costs litigating the case. troy.anderson(at)dailynews.com (213) 974-8985 |
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