Toddler’s Death Brings Network Into Being

Hoping to prevent further tragedies like that of Lance Helms, the 2-year-old boy who was beaten to death after a county court returned him to an abusive home, children’s activists have formed a national network in the boy’s name.

The Lance Helms Network for the Rights of Children will link child advocacy groups here and elsewhere to keep members informed of national and state legislative efforts to change the child welfare systems they blame for having failed children such as Lance.

Its goal, said Gail Helms, the North Hollywood boy’s grandmother, is “networking for the protection and safety of children.”

“So many people are frustrated with the system but they don’t know who to call,” said Connie Maloney, founder of Little Blue House, a national group that helps drug-exposed abandoned infants.

Organizers of the Manhattan Beach-based network hope to change that. “The goal is to keep the awareness level high and to show people how they can get involved to protect children’s safety,” Maloney said.

Their first monthly newsletter includes a schedule of rallies and a list of books about child abuse. Summaries of national and state legislation regarding children’s rights and suggestions on how to contact lawmakers are listed.

In addition to Little Blue House, other national groups in the network so far are Hear My Voice, Justice for Children and Grandparents as Parents. Organizations in Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C., have also expressed interest in joining.

Marking the first anniversary of Lance’s death, the groups held a news conference outside the Edmund D. Edelman Children’s Court Building in Monterey Park last week.

Despite warnings from Lance’s case worker that his father’s home appeared abusive, a judge gave custody of the boy to his father in January 1995.

Lance died April 6, 1995, his internal organs ruptured by a severe beating. His father’s girlfriend was later convicted of child abuse leading to a death.

The network is following the progress in the state Legislature of a bill known as Lance’s Law, which would crack open the state’s tight confidentiality laws surrounding child dependency records.

In addition to making court records public to the news media and the Legislature, SB-1812 by Sen. Richard Polanco (D-Los Angeles) would require the state Department of Social Services to investigate the deaths of court wards.

Another bill, AB-2258 by Assemblyman Steven Kuykendall (R-Rancho Palos Verdes), would increase the penalty for fatally assaulting a child to 25 years to life, from 15 years to life.

The Lance Helms Network can be reached at Box 402, Manhattan Beach, CA 90267-0402.