Andrew
08-27-05, 06:03 PM
Two siblings suffer from ADD
BY J.D. GALLOP
FLORIDA TODAY
The two brothers screamed, punched at their fellow classmates and would not listen to teachers.
Now Ebony Dukes, a single, 29-year-old Cocoa mother has been charged with child neglect because police said she failed to give the disruptive pair their medicine and refused to answer the door when an officer tried to bring the children home.
Dukes was held without bond early Tuesday and appeared before a judge at the Brevard County Jail. The two boys -- ages 8 and 10 -- suffer from Attention Deficit Disorder and were turned over to the Florida Department of Children and Families.
Dukes was arrested Monday, hours after a child-care center alerted police about the 10-year-old's behavior and his refusal to get on a school bus, officials said.
The officer, who knew the child, walked the boy to his school and discovered that the youth had not taken medications, officials said.
At the second school, administrators told the officer about the 8-year-old's similar behavior there. The officer decided both were unfit to go to school and tried to contact Dukes for nearly four hours.
"It's not just the issue of not giving the children their pills, but the fact that she knew we had her kids, and for four hours we were trying to find her," said Barbara Matthews, a spokeswoman for the Cocoa Police Department.
Neighbors told officers that Dukes was still inside the apartment, prompting them to continue knocking at the door.
Dukes eventually opened the door and said she forgot to give the children their pills, the police report said.
A Florida Department of Children and Families caseworker counted the children's pills and found they had not had the medicine for several days, Matthews said, adding that Dukes regained custody of the children from the state agency three weeks ago.
Sara Stern, spokeswoman for the Brevard School District, said parents can have school nurses administer a child's prescribed drugs. If parents refuse, there is little the school can do to medicate a child.
Dukes was being held without bond at the Brevard County Jail in Sharpes.
http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050824/NEWS01/508240383/1006
BY J.D. GALLOP
FLORIDA TODAY
The two brothers screamed, punched at their fellow classmates and would not listen to teachers.
Now Ebony Dukes, a single, 29-year-old Cocoa mother has been charged with child neglect because police said she failed to give the disruptive pair their medicine and refused to answer the door when an officer tried to bring the children home.
Dukes was held without bond early Tuesday and appeared before a judge at the Brevard County Jail. The two boys -- ages 8 and 10 -- suffer from Attention Deficit Disorder and were turned over to the Florida Department of Children and Families.
Dukes was arrested Monday, hours after a child-care center alerted police about the 10-year-old's behavior and his refusal to get on a school bus, officials said.
The officer, who knew the child, walked the boy to his school and discovered that the youth had not taken medications, officials said.
At the second school, administrators told the officer about the 8-year-old's similar behavior there. The officer decided both were unfit to go to school and tried to contact Dukes for nearly four hours.
"It's not just the issue of not giving the children their pills, but the fact that she knew we had her kids, and for four hours we were trying to find her," said Barbara Matthews, a spokeswoman for the Cocoa Police Department.
Neighbors told officers that Dukes was still inside the apartment, prompting them to continue knocking at the door.
Dukes eventually opened the door and said she forgot to give the children their pills, the police report said.
A Florida Department of Children and Families caseworker counted the children's pills and found they had not had the medicine for several days, Matthews said, adding that Dukes regained custody of the children from the state agency three weeks ago.
Sara Stern, spokeswoman for the Brevard School District, said parents can have school nurses administer a child's prescribed drugs. If parents refuse, there is little the school can do to medicate a child.
Dukes was being held without bond at the Brevard County Jail in Sharpes.
http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050824/NEWS01/508240383/1006