Letter From Environmental Alternatives

For Immediate Release:

In the recent tragedy of a toddler's death, there has been interest and justifiable publicity about its circumstance. Unfortunately, in the early stages of investigation, facts and details are necessarily withheld until law enforcement and involved governmental agencies conclude their work.  Therefore, my comments will lack the type of total public disclosure I prefer. However, Environmental Alternatives has disclosed all information to the appropriate parties, is working cooperatively with them, and to the extent information can be made public, it undoubtedly will.

As the Executive Director of Environmental Alternatives, I conducted my own investigation of the matter. At this time, I have not found any action by agency staff or the child's foster parents to suggest they contributed to the death. In addition, there is no indication that any law enforcement or regulatory agency has found fault with our actions.

We are aware of various publicized allegations made by a disgruntled ex-foster parent. Among the allegations is the child "died of a broken heart" and that there was no reason to remove the child from their care. At this point, the law prohibits me from verifing that any child was in their care.  Nevertheless, evidence indicates that every action taken by the foster family agency was reasonable, prudent and approved by all legally involved agencies. Foster children cannot be moved about, their lives disrupted, without justification and the authorization and approval of court appointed representatives.

At this time, we do not know the cause of death and therefore cannot know what may have contributed to the death. Until further details are released, we suggest people not point accusatory fingers prematurely.

Tim Wilkinson
Executive Director