Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2005 | 7:56 a.m.
Genesis Acosta-Garcia was among the most vulnerable children in society.
Society, sadly, could not save her. And now, her grandmother worries that society is unwilling to even perform an autopsy that perhaps could fully answer why.
The 3-month-old was born prematurely to an 11-year-old mother. Her 23-year-old father, Carlos Noguera, is behind bars at Clark County Detention Center, facing multiple charges of sexual assault and lewdness with a minor.
The county quickly took Genesis out of her young mother's custody and placed her into the Department of Family Services' foster care system, first at the county-run shelter Child Haven and later with an unidentified foster mother.
A day before she turned 3 months old, however, Genesis died of an apparent viral infection at University Medical Center while still in the county's custody.
Although the infant had been there for three days, her grandmother said she had told Child Protective Services caseworkers that her granddaughter was showing symptoms of a fever or cold for at least a week.
"I told the social worker, 'The baby is sick,' " the grandmother, 31, said. "She told me she would tell the foster mother so they can take (Genesis) to the doctor."
The grandmother said she told a caseworker that the baby was sick on Nov. 13, during a routine visit between the baby and her biological family at Child Haven. Genesis was coughing, had a runny nose and was warm to the touch, her grandmother said.
"Every time we go and visit, she is happy," she said of the baby. "This (time), she would not respond and was always crying."
A social worker assured them that the baby would be examined by a doctor the next day, but the grandmother said she never found out whether that occurred.
Susan Klein-Rothschild, Clark County Family Services director, said the child was examined by a medical professional before being taken to UMC on Nov. 16.
Klein-Rothschild said she was not certain which day Genesis was examined, but she added it is Family Services' policy to examine children at Child Haven.
"This child (had) medical vulnerabilities," Klein-Rothschild said, adding that an investigation into the case has begun.
She could not provide information on Genesis' foster family because of privacy concerns.
After expressing concern about the baby's health on Nov. 13, the grandmother next heard from Child Protective Services on Nov. 16, when a caseworker called and told her that Genesis had been rushed to UMC at 1 a.m. because the infant "refused to drink and eat," the grandmother said.
Three days later, on Nov. 19, the baby died. The coroner later ruled that Genesis died from organ failure caused by a viral infection.
The grandmother, however, wants an autopsy performed on the infant -- but the county does not want to perform one. Because Genesis died at UMC of natural causes under a physician's care, his office is not responsible for performing an autopsy, Clark County Coroner Mike Murphy said.
None of which sits well with the grandmother, who still wonders whether quicker medical attention could have saved her grandchild.
"I told the social worker the baby was sick," she said. "I want to know why she waits three days (to take to the hospital)."
There are about 2,000 children in foster care and another 250 in emergency foster care shelters or homes in Clark County.
David Kihara can be reached at 259-2330 or at [email protected].
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