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Sarasota YMCA, State Sued Over Foster Home Crib Death

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By TODD RUGER

Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Published: March 3, 2008

SARASOTA COUNTY - SARASOTA COUNTY - The grandmother of an infant who died in a Sarasota foster home two years ago has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the state's foster care system, saying it failed to protect the medically fragile child.

Kaitlin Eaton was 1 month old when the foster mother, Catherine Landis, put her to bed facedown with a pacifier in her mouth that was too big. She did not check on the baby for about seven hours, and Kaitlin died from positional asphyxiation, investigative reports state.

The grandmother, Lisa Johnson, filed the lawsuit late last week against the Department of Children & Families, the Sarasota Family YMCA and Landis. Johnson wants more information about Landis' foster home and why Kaitlin was there, her attorney said Wednesday.

"We don't believe she was properly licensed to do what she was doing," attorney Michele Stephan said. "When you look at the conditions where the child was living, your heart goes out to this little baby."

Kaitlin was born with a cocaine addiction and immediately put in state custody, though Johnson had petitioned for custody, according to state records.

Kaitlin went to Landis' house when she was discharged from a hospital on Feb. 6, 2006. She died 18 days later. Johnson's request to visit her granddaughter and go on doctor's visits was denied.

The death was ruled accidental but could have been prevented if Landis had followed instructions to place infants on their backs to sleep, a death review team concluded.

An investigation showed Kaitlin's sleeping bassinet had been placed in a cluttered storage room. She had not been fed in 12 hours or given methadone that a doctor had prescribed.

Landis, who had completed 40 hours of training on caring for infants, also told investigators she had taken Kaitlin and another foster child in her care in a boat with no life preservers and left them in a car while she worked as a house cleaner.

Landis' foster home was closed. The YMCA sent staff to check on all homes with foster children younger than 2 years old and initiated a policy wherein senior management would review all foster care applications, the DCF said.

Both the YMCA and the DCF declined to comment about the lawsuit.

Landis could not be reached for comment.

The lawsuit comes as the YMCA is restructuring after a string of criticisms from a state review team led the agency to give up a $49 million contract in Pinellas and Pasco counties.

The YMCA still oversees foster care in Sarasota, Manatee and DeSoto counties.

The criticisms included the way the YMCA dealt with a Manatee County girl who died from neglect in December.

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