- Lehigh County Commissioners' Human Services Commission will discuss the county’s Office of Children and Youth Services (OCYS) at its meeting on Wednesday
- The agenda includes a presentation about the challenges the agency faces and a discussion of "major community goals"
- Lehigh County Controller Mark Pinsley in August released a report that alleges “systemic overdiagnosis” of medical child abuse
ALLENTOWN, Pa. — How Lehigh County handles cases of child abuse has been a hotly debated topic in recent weeks.
And Lehigh County officials will soon talk through the issues that have been raised.
The Lehigh County Board of Commissioners’ Human Services Commission will discuss the county’s Office of Children and Youth Services (OCYS), the agency that handles local cases of suspected child abuse, at its meeting Wednesday.
The discussion comes after Lehigh County Controller Mark Pinsley in August released a report that alleges “systemic overdiagnosis” of medical child abuse in the county.
The report also raises concerns about how child abuse accusations are handled overall and calls for an independent investigation of the county’s OCYS, among other recommendations.
Pinsley, who is up for reelection on Nov. 7, has worked with the Lehigh Valley’s Parents’ Medical Rights Group, which was formed in response to alleged false accusations of child abuse by Lehigh Valley Health Network’s Child Advocacy Center.
What will the committee discuss?
According to the meeting’s agenda, committee chairman Bob Elbich will give additional background about the Child Protective System’s structure, and a “subject matter expert” will present on challenges OCYS faces.
The committee also will discuss a recent letter from county solicitors that outlines actions commissioners can take.
Pinsley said in a response that he thought the letter included personal opinions as well as legal advice and that the county solicitor may be biased in favor of OCYS.
Lastly, the committee will discuss “major community goals,” identified as improving the quality of medical assessments by the CAC and “improving the quality of custody and registry determinations.”
The meeting starts at 6 p.m. It will be held at the Lehigh County Government Center and will be streamed online.
What the county solicitor says
Lehigh County’s Department of Law sent a letter to the county Board of Commissioners on Oct. 6 answering questions commissioners raised about what role commissioners could have in directing or setting policy for the county’s OCYS.
The letter was also meant to address concerns in a letter from the Parents’ Medical Rights Group, which called for an “independent investigation into the practice and policies of Lehigh County CYS and its relationship with [LVHN’s Child Advocacy Center].”
The letter says the county can also “establish additional policies” for the agency with the approval of Pennsylvania’s Department of Human Services, according to the letter.
"The BOC could not provide case files for review, which such an entity would likely need to provide a balanced and well-informed evaluation of how OCYS handles abuse cases.”A letter from the county solicitor's office
The Board of Commissioners can evaluate the performance of OCYS “to determine if it is operating properly under State requirements,” the letter reads, but must maintain confidentiality of reviewed materials.
But the effectiveness of an independent third-party investigation, what Pinsley and the Lehigh Valley’s Parents’ Medical Rights Group have called for, is questioned in the letter.
“The [Board of Commissioners] could hire an outside entity to conduct an investigation, but based on the confidentiality restrictions, the BOC could not provide case files for review,” the letter reads, “which such an entity would likely need to provide a balanced and well-informed evaluation of how OCYS handles abuse cases.”
Pinsley wrote a response, saying he was concerned Lehigh County Solicitor David Backenstoe “blend[ed] legal facts and personal opinions in the advice” in the letter.
Pinsley's response to legal review by lehighvalleynews on Scribd
Pinsley outlined several reasons why Backenstoe may be biased in favor of OCYS, saying lawyers in his office have been “directly involved” in child removal and have used Dr. Debra Esernio-Jenssen, former head of the Child Advocacy Center, as an expert witness.
“With such close ties, it seems virtually impossible for unbiased counsel,” Pinsley’s response read. “We need to keep this in mind when weighing the Solicitor's current opinions related to this doctor's diagnosis.”
EDITOR'S NOTE: Lehigh Valley Health Network is a financial supporter of Lehigh Valley Public Media and a founding supporter of LehighValleyNews.com. LVHN has no influence on our editorial or business operations.
