Allegany County, NY – An Allegany County resident is accusing the Allegany County Deputy Commissioner of Social Services, Jennifer Bigelow, and other County employees for lying under oath, not disclosing key evidence at discovery during a judicial hearing and repeatedly lying on an official report. A peaceful protest calling for their removal and reform will be held at the County Courthouse on Monday, August 14 at 11:00 a.m. Accountability for Allegany County CPS
In June of 2022, Marshall Green was charged with endangering the welfare of a child. Those charges were later dismissed at a hearing in September of 2022, however, Allegany County Child Protective Services (ACCPS) found cause to show an indicated report for the same charges. An indicated report is when CPS feels there is significant evidence to declare someone guilty of abuse. Green filed a Fair Hearing request with the state and was granted that hearing. On June 12, 2023, the Fair Hearing concluded with the Judge overruling ACCPS and declaring the case as unfounded and to be sealed. During this hearing, evidence came to light on potential misconduct on the part of ACCPS.
Green claims that during the hearing, Deputy Commissioner Bigelow testified under oath that ACCPS did not have pictures of the alleged injuries to his child. But during deeper questioning of Deputy Commissioner Bigelow by the Judge, it was found that ACCPS did have pictures in their case files and these were in the possession of the Department of Social Services. It was also found that the pictures did not support the alleged injury claims made by the CPS case worker and in fact, directly countered them.
It was also further revealed that the County Attorney did not disclose these photographs to the court or appellant during the evidentiary discovery phase of the hearing. The hearing also uncovered that the physician’s report of the alleged injuries directly countered the claims made by ACCPS and as with the photographs, the physician’s report was not made available to the court or the appellant by the County Attorney during discovery.
Audio transcript of the hearing supporting the above accusations were made public on the website www.HoldAlleganyCountyAccountable.com
“It is abundantly clear, in my opinion, that the CPS Case Worker, Pamela Watson, lied in her case notes,” said Green. “It is also abundantly clear that Deputy Commissioner Bigelow lied under oath and that CPS had in their possession the two most key pieces of evidence that showed their case worker was lying. Lastly, we know that County Attorney Kellogg did not submit those two pieces of evidence—the pictures of the alleged injuries and the doctor’s report of the alleged injuries— (both of which directly refuted the case worker’s notes) to me during discovery or as evidence in their case. I am not sure anyone could deny that this seems to be a clear case of misconduct at every level.”
Green has filed formal complaints with Allegany County, The NYS Office of the Welfare Inspector General, NYS Bar Association, and the Grievance Committee for the Eighth Judicial District. He has requested that Allegany County immediately terminate Deputy Commissioner Bigelow, County Attorney Kellogg, and CPS Case Worker Watson, and that the County make a formal statement concerning the mismanagement of the case and wrongful accusations made against him.
On July 21, 2023, the Allegany County Commissioner of Social Services was put on administrative leave and the county has not commented further as to the reasoning. Deputy Commissioner Bigelow, who is named in this article, has assumed shared responsibilities of the commissioner’s duties.
Allegany County has not made any formal statements regarding Mr. Green’s accusations, or the formal complaint he has made.
Green is organizing a peaceful protest at the steps of the Allegany County Courthouse from Monday, August 14 at 11:00 a.m.
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