The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 31

Sunday, November 5, 1995 THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER BZ Area Votes in Congress Advocate saw danger for boy Chaka Fattah Pa.) and. ROLL CALL REPORT SERVICE WASHINGTON Here is how Philadelphia-area members of Congress were recorded on major roll-call votes last week. Senate Transportation. The Senate voted 87-10 to give final congressional approval to a bill (HR 2002) appropriating $13.1 billion in fiscal 1996 for the Transportation Department and related agencies. The bill abolishes the Interstate Commerce Commission, sharply cuts Amtrak and mass-transit operating subsidies, modestly cuts the Coast Guard, and increases spending for road building and Federal Aviation Administration operations.

A yes vote was to pass the bill. Voting yes were Frank R. Lauten-berg N.J.), William V. Roth Jr. Rick Santorum Pa.) and Arlen Specter Voting no was Joseph R.

Biden Jr. Not voting was Bill Bradley N.J.). House Bosnia. The House voted 315-103 to advise President Clinton to obtain a green light from Congress before sending U.S. ground troops to Bosnia-Herzegovina.

A yes vote was to challenge the potential deployment of U.S. troops. Voting yes were Robert E. Andrews N.J.), Michael N. Castle (R Jon D.

Fox Jim Greenwood Frank A. LoBiondo N.J.), H. James Saxton N.J.), Christopher H. Smith N.J.) and Robert S. Walker Voting no were Robert A.

Borski part based on the medical examiner's information or anything," she said. "Legally, we have to go on the basis of the information that we have." Gorka said he had taken the unusual step of making public his complaints about the handling of this case in the hope that it would help officials find Ke-Shaun and prod DHS officials to give more weight to family histories and the context surrounding a case. "Even if everything seems OK with one kid, we ought not to let go so soon," Gorka said. "Had there been weekly visits by a social worker, after Aug. 11, 1 think we would not be looking for Ke-Shaun.

If I were a wagering man, I would bet that we never find Ke-Shaun alive." Not voting was Curt Weldon Abortion. The House approved 288- 139 and sent to the Senate a bill (HH 1833) making it a crime for doctors tp; perform so-called partial-birth abor" tions, a procedure used for late-term pregnancies when the mother's litp-is endangered, or the fetus is severe-" ly malformed, or both. Doctors pe forming the procedure would face up to two years in prison and civil liability unless they demonstrated "rea1 sonable belief" that it was necessary to save the mother's life. A yes vote was to pass the bill. Voting yes were Borski, Castle, Foglietta, Fox, LoBiondo, Saxton," Smith and Walker.

Voting no were Andrews, Fattah and Greenwood. Not voting was Weldon. "Certainly the advocate was in court at every hearing and expressed his opinion to the judge," Tucker said last week. "The judge heard both sides." He approved closing the DHS case file on Ke-Shaun Vanderhorst. The next thing Gorka heard of Ke-Shaun was that he was missing, that homicide detectives were leading the investigation, and that in light of the child's disappearance, the Medical Examiner's Office was reviewing the files of the earlier deaths attributed to SIDS.

While Gorka said he was troubled by those deaths as soon as he read about them in the DHS files, Tucker said her agency could not and did not consider them red flags. "There was never any indication of criminality or suspiciousness on the The Complete Please join us as we bring together under one spectacular roof ALL EDDIE BAUER HAS TO OFFER Discover 75-years of quality service in a unique environment inspired by our outdoor heritage. BAUER HOME1 TM and gifts to from, sit on, sleep in, and live with. EDDIE AKA Items dine BOY from B1 earlier drug conviction. At a Family Court hearing on Aug.

15, 1994, all the social workers and attorneys agreed that Ke-Shaun -should remain in foster care as long as Vanderhorst was in jail. (A short time later, Gorka got his first glimpse of the file that DHS had on Vanderhorst. And what lie saw filled him with alarm. Vanderhorst had lost three babies whose deaths had been attributed to spdden infant death syndrome: 8- "raonth-old lerrence Slaughter in 1980, 3-month-old Catrina Stephens in 1983, and 10-month-old Kenneth Stephens in 1985. In 1988, Vanderhorst lost a fourth baby, Marie a 1 pound, 1 ounce crack-exposed pree-n)ie who died after clinging to life for four weeks in a hospital's neonatal intensive care unit.

Sons Kendall and Keith, born in 1986 and 1987, are being raised by their paternal grandmother. Ke Shaun was born in July 1993, while Vanderhorst was serving a drug sen tence at the State Correctional Insti tution at Muncy. "I'm not a SIDS expert, but I was concerned," Gorka said. "She was a known and admitted drug abuser, and evidently a woman with very little parenting skills. Vanderhorst was released from jail last fall, when the theft charges were dropped for lack of evidence.

At Family Court hearing on Nov. 10, Gorka learned that Vanderhorst had lined up an apartment and DHS planned to reunite her with Ke-Shuun. Objections in court In court that day, Gorka raised his objections, pointing to the three SIDS deaths, as well as the death of the tiny preemie. "I was not against Ire-unification as a long-term goal," he said Friday. "It was reunifying them so soon that I was very leery about." The judge, whom Gorka declined to name, rejected the argument, saying those deaths were not relevant to Ke-Shaun case.

The judge approved the DHS plan to return Ke-Shaun home with DHS supervision and told the agency's social worker to work with Gorka on providing services to the family in their apartment. Eight days later, Gorka was stunned when the social worker told him that Vanderhorst's in-home services would not begin until January. In the meantime, the worker would check on Ke-Shaun once a month. His case had been classified by DHS as low-risk, because Vanderhorst had never' been accused of abusing or neglecting her son. Gorka said he immediately phoned the social worker's supervisor to urge the agency to check on Ke-Shaun much more frequently.

The supervisor, he said, told him that DHS was doing everything possible. According to Gorka's handwritten notes from that conversation, she also told him that if he was so worried about the child's welfare, he should make the visits himself. Gorka said he warned her then: "In my opinion, this case is a headline waiting to happen." After talking to the DHS supervisor Friday, Tucker said the woman did recall a contentious conversation with Gorka but denied ever telling him to make the visits himself. "That is not the kind of response that my staff makes," Tucker said. During the next several weeks, Gorka said, he talked of his continuing concerns about Ke-Shaun's care with Frank Cervone, executive director of the Philadelphia Support Center for Child Advocates, the nonprofit agency that provides many of the child advocates for Family Court.

Talks with coroner Last November, Gorka said, he also contacted Dr. Ian Hood in the city Medical Examiner's Office to discuss the two SIDS deaths that had been handled by hospitals in Philadelphia. (The third child had been pronounced dead at Lankenau Hospitali in; Montgomery County.) IJood did not return Inquirer pDne calls last week. Hi early January, under a contract with DHS, a private agency called Family Support Services began sending a social worker to Vanderhorst's apartment. The worker visited the hoine at least once a week to provide counseling and help Vanderhorst for her son.

Virginia Peckham, th agency's executive director, said Vanderhorst also attended some of th agency's parenting classes. The visits continued through June. The social workers at Family Support Services praised Vanderhorst's carl; of Ke-Shaun. Peckham said they saw nothing to suggest that Vanderhorst was using drugs. They turned the case back to DHS, saying she no longer needed the agency's services.

Said Tucker: "They described Vanderhorst as an exceptional parent who invested a lot in her son ana VM-. Hfn fri- Viim Tucker said that a DHS worker did not visit Vanderhorst's apartment in July or early August, although they continued to check on her through her parole officer, who saw her regularly. On Aug. 10, at the regular six-month Family Court review, DHS asked the judge for permission to close the case. Vanderhorst, DHS said, did not require any further supervision.

Gorka said he made his objections plain that day. While he did not dispute that Vanderhorst seemed to be doing well at the time, he thought it was dangerous to cut off all supervision. "The judge noted my objection for the record," Gorka recalled. Our new line of updated dress sportswear for men women. SPORT SHOP9 Field-and-stream gear and garments for the outdoor enthusiast.

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