Day care data did not reveal abuse claims

      A misspelling in a computer database prevented authorities who issued a day care license to Alica Wegner in January from learning of two complaints of child abuse against her, court and police records show.
      The mother of three has been charged with murder in the death of 14-month-old Kierra Harrison. The child died March 5 of head injuries that police say happened while in Wegner's care.
      The two complaints -- one made by Wegner's aunt and another by her therapist -- state concerns that the woman had beaten her then 3-year-old daughter.
      In December 1994, child welfare investigators determined the complaints could not be substantiated. Yet the reports indicate Wegner took matters seriously enough to ask a friend to look after her daughter for three weeks while she obtained counseling.
      None of this information came to light in the licensing process because Wegner's name was listed as "Wagner" in a computer database of child abuse complaints maintained by Child Protective Services, a division of Clark County Family and Youth Services.
      Wegner was granted a child care license Jan. 21, just weeks before Kierra died from a skull fracture. The injury was so severe her doctor has compared it to falling on concrete from several stories, and to being "struck in the back of the head with extreme force by an object."
      "Obviously, there were devastating consequences to the child involved, and obviously to the family," said Las Vegas police Sgt. Walt Quering, whose division conducts the background investigations into applicants seeking licenses to provide day care.
      Yet neither Quering nor other licensing officials could say for certain Wegner would have been denied a license had the complaints been revealed.
      Police arrest records state an aunt had complained to Child Protective Services that Wegner was beating her daughter during the night when she would wake up crying "hysterically."
      The aunt wanted to take the child with her to California but, according to the report, the child's father would not allow it.
      The complaint indicated Wegner was depressed and considered being hospitalized, but her husband rejected the idea as beyond the family's means.
      According to police, Wegner had contacted a family therapist for help after displaying "abusive behavior toward her daughter."
      The therapist reported to Child Protective Services that the woman had "hit the child two times and that it was not appropriate."
      Steve Wolfson, Wegner's attorney, described the complaints as a "situation blown totally way out of proportion."
      "When the truth comes out," he said, "everyone will see that it isn't of any concern."
      After reviewing Wegner's file, a child welfare administrator said her staff had acted appropriately in handling the case. A complaint will only be substantiated if "the child has an injury, and it can be tied to the caregiver," said Adrienne Cox, assistant director of the county's Department of Family and Youth Services.
      Cox said that under Nevada law, she could not provide the details of specific investigations. But she discussed how her staff must strike a balance between ensuring children are safe and guarding against unnecessarily taking children from their families.
      Most complaints of abuse are unsubstantiated because the parent's behavior toward a child does not rise to the level of abuse, Cox said. But in many of these instances, the behavior is far from ideal.
      "Are they Ozzie and Harriet? Are they the Huxtables on TV?" Cox continued, referring to wholesome families shown on television sitcoms. "They are not. Fifty percent of the time, they are not."
      Substantiated or not, Las Vegas police investigators said they would like to know about complaints before completing a background check on an applicant for a child care license.
      Sandie Durgin, who supervises Las Vegas police's abuse and neglect unit, said she was surprised to hear Child Protective Services does not file all complaints of child abuse to a central state data bank. Las Vegas investigators contact the registry before completing background checks.
      "Even a false report should go there, so we can see if a pattern develops," she said.
      Although the complaints against Wegner were not filed with the state registry, they still should have appeared when police checked with the county's database.
      "Because of a computer glitch, which is nobody's fault, we didn't get the information," Durgin said. "Even if we had got the information, it may not have prevented her from getting a license."
      Clark County commissioners can still approve an applicant's license, overriding police concerns and the recommendations of county licensing agents.
      Cox said the system must weigh the desire of applicants to work with concerns about community safety.
      "I'm very careful about labeling them abusers and denying them career opportunities several years down the road," she said.
      But Amanda Harrison, Kierra's 22-year-old mother, gave what she described as a "mother's point of view."
      "Unsubstantiated or not, if there's a risk factor at one point in time there's always going to be a risk factor," Harrison said.
      "I understand that false accusations can be made, but I probably would have found someone else."