Mother arrested on suspicion of causing injury to death

Last year, in Fujisawa City, Kanagawa Prefecture, a mother was arrested for assaulting a 2-year-old boy and causing him to die. I found out that my mother never let me go to kindergarten because of poor health.

We will tell you in detail about the circumstances leading up to the incident and the response of the prefecture and the Child Guidance Center.

Mei Tashiro (27) of Fujisawa City was arrested by the police on suspicion of causing death by assaulting her 2-year-old son Soraki at home around April 22 last year. The person was sent to the public prosecutor.

According to the Child Guidance Center and the prefecture, the boy began to live in his mother's home in Fujisawa City after the facility's admission measures were lifted at the end of March last year.

At this time, related organizations were making adjustments so that the boy could attend a nursery school in Fujisawa City from April, but an interview with the child guidance center revealed that the mother had never sent the boy to the nursery school. .

Her mother explained to the nursery school that she was not feeling well.

Her mother has also canceled her visit to the Child Guidance Center due to "poor physical condition", and the police are investigating in detail the life and childcare situation during this time.

According to the police, in response to the investigation, he stated that he was "not convinced" and denied the charges against her.

History from entering the facility to the occurrence of the incident

[Birth in Hiratsuka City in May 2019].

According to Hiratsuka City, Mei Tashiro, who was arrested, has been living in Hiratsuka City since January 2019.

When she moved in, she was already pregnant. was considered a “specific pregnant woman” who needed

She then gave birth to Soraki-kun on May 28, 2019 at a hospital in Hiratsuka City.

[May 2019 Temporary protection immediately after childbirth].

On the same day as her birth, the Hiratsuka Child Guidance Center received a notice of neglect from a medical institution, saying, ``I didn't prepare necessary things such as diapers, and I wasn't ready to welcome a newborn baby.''

We accepted this, and on the 3rd of the following month, we took the boy into temporary custody and took him to an infant hospital.

[January 2020 admission measures].

Six months later, in January 2020, with the mother's consent, the temporary custody was switched to a facility, and the parent and child continued to live separately.

[Moved to Fujisawa City in August 2020].

Meanwhile, her mother moved from Hiratsuka to Fujisawa in August 2020, and her younger brother will be born in February 2021.

[April 2021 program for collection].

Two months later, in April 2021, a program will begin to determine if it is possible to live with her, as her mother has expressed her desire to adopt her.

Is it possible for mothers and children who live separately to live together while going step-by-step through the steps of “visiting,” “going out,” and “staying out,” while checking the situation at child guidance centers and facilities where they are admitted? to evaluate.

[April 2021 ~ Repeat visits, outings, etc.].

First of all, from April 2021, mother-child visits will be held once a week.

From around June, they started going out to a park near the facility, and it was evaluated that there were no problems with mother-child interaction.

Subsequently, in November 2021, the boy will go out to his mother's home in Fujisawa City for the first time.

When he left the facility, he was crying, but after returning, he seemed happy.

In addition, on New Year's Eve 2021, she spent the first night at her mother's home, and from February to March 2022, she stayed at home for 12 days.

At this time, when the person in charge visited the home, there was no particular change, and the mother seemed to be cuddling.

[March 2022 measures lifted to home].

Based on the relationship between mother and child in the one-year program, the Child Guidance Center has determined that it is possible to pick up the child at home, and will lift the facility admission measures at the end of March 2022.

[bruises immediately after April 2022].

Shortly after his birth, the boy was taken into custody because of neglect and was living in a facility at the age of 2 years and 10 months.

On April 1, shortly after he returned to his home where his mother lived, the person in charge of the facility where he had been living until then visited and found a bruise on the boy's left cheek.

Regarding the bruise, the mother said, "I think she hit something."

[April 2022 unable to meet].

After returning to her mother's home, the Child Guidance Center made multiple appointments with the parent and child.

However, her mother canceled her visitation appointments multiple times due to her poor health, and since April 2nd, she has been unable to visit her for three weeks.

During this period, the Child Guidance Center did not visit the home directly.

[April 22, 2022 ambulance transport].

And on the 22nd, the day of the incident.

I called her mother to try to make an appointment to see her, but never got a call back.

That night, the boy was rushed from his home to the hospital by his mother's 911 call, and he died the next day.

What is the response of Kanagawa Prefecture and Child Guidance Centers?

[About cancellation of measures].

After a year-long program to evaluate whether the child can be picked up, the Child Guidance Center will lift the facility admission measures at the end of March 2022, and the boy will live in his mother's home.

Regarding this, the Hiratsuka Child Guidance Center said, ``The mother was telling the truth, such as ``I don't listen to what the child says'' or ``I fight with my brother. I felt very relieved. I appreciated that I could return to my home and live while I was visiting, going out, and staying out with my mother and child in preparation for my home."

In addition, the Kanagawa Prefectural Children and Family Division said, ``We are working together carefully to support the collection, and we believe that it was appropriate at this point to finally decide that the collection is appropriate.''

[What to do when you find a bruise].

On April 1st, right after he returned to his mother's home, he found a bruise on his left cheek.

Regarding the bruise, the mother said, "I think she hit something."

Regarding this, the child guidance center said, "I understand that it was a small bruise that could be explained to some extent."

[Cannot meet for 3 weeks].

Hiratsuka Children's Guidance Center and others made several appointments to meet even after the boy returned to his mother's home, but he was unable to meet for three weeks until the incident occurred.

Regarding this, the Hiratsuka Children's Guidance Center said, ``In light of the child's death, we believe that there were issues with whether the assessment was correct and whether safety could not be confirmed.''

[Incident in less than a month after the cancellation of measures].

The boy was released from the institution and returned to his home, where he died three weeks later.

Regarding this, the Hiratsuka Children's Guidance Center said, ``We checked and evaluated the condition of the mother and child during the exchange that took about a year, and we were very careful when picking them up

. I take it seriously and am very sorry.

I think it is necessary to thoroughly verify the risk assessment of the child consultation center and how it was handled."

In addition, the Kanagawa Prefectural Children and Families Division said, "We take the death of a child who was involved in the Child Guidance Center very seriously. After the child was taken in by the family, until the child passed away, we were able to make an appointment to visit them, and we were in a state of contact. However, I was unable to visit the home, so I could not confirm the child's condition.I believe that I have done everything I can, but from the results I would like to have a third party verify whether the response was sufficient. ”.

Expert: "Efforts to visually confirm are required"

Regarding this case, Professor Hiroshi Ogiso of Tokyo Management Junior College, who is familiar with the problem of child abuse and has experience working at a child guidance center, said about this case, It happened when the child had just returned home, and it may have been at a stage when the parent-child relationship had not yet been fully formed."

On top of that, he touched on the fact that he was unable to meet with the parent and child for three weeks immediately before the incident, saying, ``It is a high risk to be in a situation where the visitation is canceled many times before the parent-child relationship is formed. Even if the other party refuses, first of all, we need to make an effort to directly and visually confirm the child's situation according to the principle."

Regarding this parent and child, the boy was entrusted to a facility for 2 years and 10 months due to the possibility of neglect immediately after birth, and was returned to the home after visiting the parent and child and staying overnight.

Professor Ogiso said, ``At the stage of visits and overnight stays, you can receive guidance from the Child Guidance Center, but when it comes to parents taking care of a small child who has been away for a long time, the relationship between parent and child can be broken. In making the decision to return home, it is important to have the support of partners such as grandparents, relatives, and fathers.In this case, the mother has such people around her. It is necessary to confirm whether there was sufficient confirmation whether it was done. "