FORNEY, Texas — The agency responsible for placing a child in CPS custody who died in a Forney foster home on December 29, has had their contract with Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) terminated permanently.
FORNEY, Texas — The agency responsible for placing a child in CPS custody who died in a Forney foster home on December 29, has had their contract with Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) terminated permanently.
Kingdom Kids Child Placing Agency was responsible for placement of baby Elizabeth Henson and her older brother in the home of Natalie Parker in Forney, after they were taken into Denton County CPS custody in July 2018.
Kingdom Kids Child Placing agency was a licensed agency contracted to place children in the CPS system into foster homes. Michelle Marie Williams of Dallas is the licensed administrator records say. DFPS records indicate the agency has been licensed since November of 2015 until they received notification on February 7 from DFPS via email that their contract had been terminated.
“DFPS is terminating this Contract based on the serious nature of the investigations, concerns regarding the quality of home studies specifically in the due diligence in the assessment of foster parent verifications and on-going supervision and overall concern for children’s safety and well-being. As a result of this action no further referrals will be made to your agency,” the letter released to inForney.com by DFPS officials said.
According to DFPS records, Kingdom Kids has 24 foster homes that they managed throughout Texas. Calls to Kingdom Kids have continued to go unanswered.
In the case of baby Elizabeth, her foster mother had a previous criminal history that should have exclusively excluded her from being a foster parent. As inForney.com had previously reported, the living conditions in the home were described as “filth and squalor” according to law enforcement officials. Records confirmed that the home had never been inspected by any governmental official for fire safety and health inspections, which are both required by law. Investigators determined Parker was not home the night leading to Henson's death through cell phone downloads and surveillance video, according to affidavits.
Parker's 19-year-old son, Christian Richmond, also known as "Smokey," who was arrested for possession of child pornography in the day's following the infant's death, told investigators he cared for the infant overnight, feeding her and eventually falling asleep with the infant face up on his chest while on the couch. Investigators say Parker allegedly attempted to coerce Richmond to make false statements about the circumstances of Henson's death.
Dallas County Medical Examiner’s office determined the 5-month-old official cause of death as “asphyxia due to wedging.” A term to describe when someone suffocates from either lying face down or being lodged between a sleeping partner or surface.
37-year-old Parker surrendered to sheriff's deputies January 7 on felony charges for tampering with a witness, injury to a child, and abandoning or endangering a child. Parker remains in custody at the Kaufman county jail on bonds totaling $195,000 awaiting trial.