Caged Ohio Kids Reach $1.2M Settlement with Huron County

[MuffyBee]

http://www.fox8.com/news/wjw-news-cleveland-ohio-caged-kids-settlement,0,3380776.story
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Caged Kids Reach $1.2M Settlement with County
Wednesday, March 10, 2010

CLEVELAND - The 11 adopted and foster children who were forced to sleep in cagelike enclosures by a northern Ohio couple convicted of child abuse have reached a $1.2 million settlement with Huron County, Fox 8's Stacey Frey reports.

In exchange, the children agree to drop their lawsuit claiming that the county and its Department of Job and Family Services should have discovered the abuse sooner.

Attorneys for the county say that they believe social workers acted appropriately and adamantly denied the claim made in the lawsuit. However, it agreed to the settlement to avoid funding a lengthy legal proceeding.

"There was a strong preference that the children be provided for rather than spending money and years in litigation," the attorneys said.

Michael and Sharen Gravelle are each serving two-year prison sentences for mistreating the 11 children, many of whom had developmental and behavioral problems.

Huron County removed the kids from the Gravelle home in 2005 and then successfully prosecuted the couple. Prosecutors likened the children's enclosed beds to cages.

"These adoptive parents were two dysfunctional people who actually met in group therapy," Jack Landskroner, a lawyer representing the children, said. "They had four marriages between them and an established pattern of problems in managing their biological children before they ever considered adopting. This should never have been allowed to happen."

Paul Grieco, another attorney representing the children, added that this settlement is "the first step in what will be a series of lawsuits likely to be filed against each culpable individual and entity participating in allowing these eleven innocent children to be placed and remain under the Gravelles' control."

Two of the children have recently filed the first related lawsuit which names Hamilton County, Adopt American Corporation, social worker Elaine Thompson, Fairhaven Counseling and Collin Meyers, Ph.D. The case is pending in the United States District Court in Cleveland.

"It is unbelievable what these kids went through and we are just at the front end of trying to right this wrong," Landskroner said. "We don't intend to leave any stone unturned for these children. We want to make sure their future is brighter than their past."

[MuffyBee]

http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/news/local_news/caged-kids-get-$1.2m-settlement#
Caged kids get $1.2M settlement from Huron County

Wednesday, March 10, 2010
HURON, Ohio - Attorneys for the 11 foster and adopted children who were forced to sleep in cages announced Wednesday that they have reached a pre-lawsuit $1.2 million settlement with Huron County.

Authorities said Michael and Sharen Gravelle kept some of their 11 special needs children in wire and wood enclosures. The couple adopted the children between 1998 and 2004, but the children were removed in 2005 when the couple was charged with child abuse. The Gravelles were convicted of the charges in 2006 and each was sentenced to a two-year prison term in April 2009.

The children claimed through their attorneys that Huron County and its department of children’s services, which oversees the safety of children in the county and investigates and responds to claims of abuse and neglect, should have discovered the problem sooner.

“These adoptive parents were two dysfunctional people who actually met in group therapy. They had four marriages between them and an established pattern of problems in managing their biological children before they ever considered adopting. This should never have been allowed to happen,” said Jack Landskroner, one of the attorneys for the children.

But Huron County denied the claim, saying it never placed the children with the Gravelles. Both sides, however, decided a settlement was in the best interest of the children.

“Although we believe that Huron County social workers acted appropriately at all times, there was a strong preference that the children be provided for rather than spending money and years in litigation,” said the attorneys for Huron County.

According to a news release from the children’s attorneys, two of the children have recently filed the first related lawsuit, naming Hamilton County, Adopt American Corporation, Social Worker Elaine Thompson, Fairhaven Counseling and Collin Meyers, Ph.D.