Governor announces independent review of Poutre case

BOSTON --Saying "errors in judgment were made" in the case of 11-year-old Haleigh Poutre, Gov. Mitt Romney on Monday announced an independent investigation into the state's handling of the girl at the center of a right-to-die battle.

The Westfield girl was allegedly beaten into a coma by her adoptive mother and stepfather. The stepfather fought the state's efforts to remove her from life support, but the Supreme Judicial Court granted permission last week to disconnect her from a ventilator and feeding tube.

The next day, the Department of Social Services revealed her condition had improved and she was breathing on her own.

Romney, a Republican who is considering a run for president in 2008, said he will establish a panel to review the girl's entire 10-year, 45-page case log with the Department of Social Services.

The commission, whose members will be announced later this week, will look into whether case workers missed signs of physical abuse leading up to the September beating that landed Haleigh in the hospital, as well as the agency's handling of her care afterward.

"One cannot look at the life of Haleigh Poutre without being overwhelmed with sadness," Romney said at a Statehouse news conference. "She was not someone who fell through the cracks -- doctors and social workers were watching. But errors in judgment were made."

Thinking she was in a permanent vegetative state, DSS, which has custody over Haleigh, received permission from the court last week to remove her from life support. A day later, DSS officials said she was breathing on her own after being slowly weaned off the ventilator, and doctors were monitoring her for further signs of improvement.

DSS Commissioner Harry Spence said he welcomes "any expert review of one of the most complex and confounding cases that the department has encountered."

At a news conference Friday, Spence declined to discuss Haleigh's medical condition, but said the state now has no immediate plans to remove her life support. Romney repeated that Monday.

DSS has been criticized for its handling of the case. Though there were signs of abuse even before Haleigh was hospitalized in September, Spence said last week that the agency did nothing wrong because every health professional involved believed the girl was injuring herself.

"That was an error in judgment, apparently," Romney said.

A spokeswoman for House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi said a legislative committee will hold hearings on Haleigh's case as well. No timetable has been set.

The agency's apparent rush to seek permission for removing her from life support has also come under fire from state lawmakers who want to question Spence about the department's handling of the case. Some are concerned the department is overburdened and therefore susceptible to missing signs that children are being abused.

Romney said his commission will operate independently from any review by the Democrat-controlled Legislature.

"I don't think that I should wait for the conclusions of a legislative panel but instead should take actions as an administrative team to assure we're doing everything we can to protect our kids," he said.

Last year, the right-to-die case of a brain-damaged Florida woman, Terri Schiavo, thrust the issue into the national spotlight. Florida Gov. Jeb Bush intervened, as did congressional Republicans who pushed through unprecedented emergency legislation, signed by President Bush, aimed at prolonging Schiavo's life.

But Romney's spokeswoman, Julie Teer, said the governor was "absolutely not" motivated by politics, despite his presidential ambitions.

Romney said he was appointing the panel because, "an individual is a child of God, and this is something that we care very deeply about and that's why were going to focus on this particular case."

Susan Molina, executive director of the Whitman-based Yellow Ribbon Kids Club, which advocates for foster children, said Romney should fire Spence and make sure social workers who missed the signs of abuse are disciplined.

"Don't tell me that the way you're going to solve this is to appoint a commission by the end of the week," Molina said. "The way to handle the problem is to send a message that unfit and incompetent social workers don't have a job in this state."

But Romney said Spence has his full support.

"I certainly hope that through this process we can find ways to make his job and success even greater," he said.

Haleigh had been on life-support since her hospitalization with a badly damaged brain stem that authorities say resulted from abuse administered by her stepfather, Jason Strickland, and her adoptive mother, Holli Strickland. Both were charged with assault.

Less than two weeks later, Holli Strickland, who was Haleigh's aunt and Jason Strickland's wife, was found dead alongside her grandmother in a possible murder-suicide.

Jason Strickland fought the state's efforts to remove her life support, but the Supreme Judicial Court ruled unanimously that he could not prove his role in Haleigh's life was "of a loving or nurturing nature, or even that it was beneficial to the child."

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Associated Press Writer Adam Gorlick in Springfield, Mass., contributed to this report.