REMEMBERING VIOLA

Viola Aundra Vanclief was two years old. Those who knew her also called her Vicki. Her funeral program was decorated with Disney princesses and described Viola as a little girl who was “loved by all who met her.” She had big, expressive eyes and a little face that should have had years to change as she grew. But Viola's earliest years were filled with instability. She entered foster care because the adults and systems around her believed she needed somewhere safer to live. Foster care was supposed to provide that safety. Instead, Viola was placed in another home where she would be hurt. She was only one month away from her third birthday when she died.

Her name was Viola Aundra Vanclief. She was somebody's little girl. And she deserved the safe childhood everyone around her was supposed to provide.

VIOLA'S STORY

Viola was removed from her mother's care after serious concerns about her safety and eventually placed in the foster home of Kiana Barker. Barker was supervised through United Care, a private foster family agency contracted to place and monitor foster children. The home was supposed to be Viola's refuge. But there had already been numerous complaints involving Barker before Viola died, including allegations of abuse and neglect. One earlier allegation involving severe neglect of Barker's own biological child had been substantiated. Despite that history, Viola remained in Barker's home.mThe foster agency was even moving toward allowing Barker to adopt her. On March 3, 2010, after hours of drinking, Barker entered Viola's room. According to testimony later presented in court, Barker began beating the two-year-old. A witness eventually pulled Barker away. Viola was left on the floor struggling to breathe. She died the following day. Viola's little body was covered with red and purple bruises. The coroner determined that her death was a homicide caused by blunt force trauma. Barker initially gave investigators a very different explanation. She claimed Viola had become trapped in a bed frame and that she accidentally struck the toddler with a hammer while attempting to free her.

The evidence did not support that account. Viola Vanclief died on March 4, 2010.

WARNING SIGNS & SYSTEM FAILURES

Viola's death is particularly difficult because she was already supposed to have been protected. She was a foster child. The government had removed her from one unsafe situation and assumed responsibility for placing her somewhere safer. Yet Kiana Barker had already been the subject of multiple complaints to the child abuse hotline. At least one complaint involving severe neglect had been substantiated. Other allegations involved neglect, emotional abuse and sexual abuse, although several were determined to be inconclusive or unfounded. Barker also had a criminal history and a reputation for violent behavior. Still, she was allowed to foster children.

Viola was placed in her home. Social workers continued visiting. Reports repeatedly described Viola as appearing healthy and happy. And plans moved forward for Barker to adopt her. Then Viola was beaten to death. Her case became part of a much larger Los Angeles Times investigation into California's privately operated foster care system. The investigation found that children placed through private foster agencies experienced abuse at higher rates than children in government-run foster homes. The private agency responsible for supervising Barker's home was sanctioned after Viola's death. The maximum state penalty imposed was just $150.

Viola had already been removed from one home because adults believed she wasn't safe. She should never have needed rescuing a second time.

JUSTICE FOR VIOLA

Kiana Barker was eventually prosecuted for Viola's death. In October 2013, a Los Angeles County jury convicted Barker of second degree murder. She was also convicted of assault on a child causing death and child abuse. Barker's boyfriend, James Julian, was also charged in connection with the case. He ultimately pleaded no contest to being an accessory and received a three-year prison sentence.

 

Kiana Barker
Relationship to Viola: Foster mother
Convictions: Second degree murder, assault on a child causing death and child abuse
Sentence: 25 years to life in prison

 

James Julian
Relationship to Viola: Foster mother's boyfriend
Conviction: Accessory
Sentence: 3 years in prison

FOREVER REMEMBERED

Viola Vanclief lived for two years and eleven months. She came heartbreakingly close to her third birthday. There should have been three candles on a cake. Then four.

Then five. There should have been kindergarten, school pictures, friendships and scraped knees. There should have been teenage years. Graduation. Adulthood. Instead, Viola became another child whose name appeared in investigations of a system that was supposed to protect her. Even after she died, Viola was overlooked. She was buried at Lincoln Memorial Park in Carson. For years, there was no marker above her grave. Grass grew over the place where the little girl lay, with nothing there to tell a visitor that Viola was beneath their feet. Eventually, someone who had never met Viola learned about her unmarked grave. He paid for the marker her resting place had gone without. In 2014, a polished granite headstone was finally placed above Viola's grave. It carries her name. Her dates. An image of a little angel. And two simple words: Beloved Child. Those words matter. Because Viola's life was bigger than the foster care file left behind. She was bigger than the failures surrounding her placement. And she was more than the violence inflicted upon her. Her name was Viola Vanclief. She was Vicki. She was loved. She was a child who was placed into foster care because she needed protection and deserved to receive it. Abuse Angels remembers Viola Aundra Vanclief the little girl who should have found safety in foster care and whose name now rests above the place where she was finally given the dignity of being remembered. We remember Viola. We speak her name.

And Viola Aundra Vanclief will not be forgotten.