Antonovich Asks Family Services Agency to Review Adoption Policies

Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich is calling for the Department of Children and Family Services to review its adoption policies after the lawsuit recently filed against the county by the adoptive parents of convicted killer Jeremy Strohmeyer.

The motion by Antonovich instructs the department’s director to review procedures for disclosure of information about the background of birth parents. The board is expected to discuss the matter Oct. 26.

Jeremy Strohmeyer is in a Nevada prison for the murder of 7-year-old Sherrice Iverson, whom he strangled in a toilet stall at a Nevada casino two years ago.

Winnie and John Strohmeyer alleged in a lawsuit filed last week that social workers withheld crucial information about the mental illness of Strohmeyer’s birth mother, who had been diagnosed as a chronic schizophrenic. Before adopting Jeremy as a toddler in 1980, the Strohmeyers had completed a form indicating that mental illness would be unacceptable in an adopted child’s background.

The Strohmeyers have sued the county, asking for compensation of the more than $500,000 they spent for attorneys’ preparation of their son’s defense before he pleaded guilty. They have also asked for an unspecified amount to cover their own pain and suffering.

“Adoptive parents have a right to know about children’s biological background so [the children] may receive treatment as soon as possible,” Antonovich said. “The Department of Children and Family Services must be honest. . . . The reason is to ensure the child’s family will be able to obtain treatment so the young person can be a productive person.”

Neil Rincover, spokesman for the Department of Children and Family Services, said the history of the agency should be noted. It was created in December 1984 with the merging of services from two county agencies. The current entity, formed four years after the Strohmeyers’ adoption, bears no resemblance to its predecessors, he said.

“The policy of this department is full disclosure to prospective adoptive parents,” Rincover said. “It’s important that issues being discussed relative to this lawsuit do not have a chilling effect on recruitment of adoptive parents. That would be a tragedy because these kids need permanent homes.”

Gregory W. Smith, the Strohmeyers’ lawyer, said he and his clients welcomed Antonovich’s motion.

“We’re very happy Supervisor Antonovich recognizes there are problems and he’s going to do something to try and solve those problems,” Smith said. “We believe settlement discussions in this case should commence right away to save taxpayers the cost of a lengthy, costly trial.”

Since The Times’ story on the Strohmeyers’ lawsuit last week, the couple have accepted invitations to appear with various television show hosts, including Dan Rather and Leeza Gibbons, Smith said. “The Strohmeyers don’t intend to profit from this,” he said. Smith added that his clients might create an organization to help other adoptive families.

Some at the Department of Children and Family Services expressed outrage over what they saw as the Strohmeyers’ loss of perspective and refusal to accept responsibility for their son’s actions.

“The victim is the little girl--not the Strohmeyers,” said one administrator, who requested anonymity. “The perpetrator is Jeremy Strohmeyer, not the social workers who 20 years ago did their best to find him a good home. Maybe his parents should examine their own role.”

The Department of Children and Family Services is responsible for 80,000 abused and neglected children, placing them in foster or adoptive homes or reuniting them with their biological parents.