Danieal Kelly trial bores in on record of social worker

When Philadelphia social worker Dana Poindexter was suspended in August 2008, after a grand jury recommended criminal charges for his role in the 2006 starvation death of Danieal Kelly, his bosses could not have been shocked.

After all, Poindexter's supervisors in the Department of Human Services had already suspended him three times - twice in 2003 and once in 2005 - including one incident where an infant in his caseload died at home.

But Poindexter remained a DHS employee and even got a "superior" rating on a job evaluation two months before a 30-day suspension in 2005.

Poindexter's troubled work history - and DHS's inability to get rid of an employee one former supervisor said "didn't seem to want to be a social worker" - was dissected Friday in the Common Pleas Court trial of him and two others in the death of the disabled 14-year-old girl.

Danieal's father, Daniel Kelly Sr., 40, is charged with child endangerment. He allegedly abandoned Danieal Kelly and her year-older brother, Daniel Jr., with their mother, Andrea, in 2003 after returning with them to Philadelphia following several years living with a girlfriend in Arizona.

Also charged is Mickal Kamuvaka, 62, cofounder and onetime chief administrator of MultiEthnic Behavioral Health Inc., a now-defunct DHS contractor paid to do twice-weekly visits to monitor Danieal Kelly's welfare after the case was taken from Poindexter in September 2005.

Poindexter is charged with child endangerment, as well as perjury over what he told the grand jury.

Lawyers for the three contend that only Andrea Kelly is responsible for her daughter's death. Andrea Kelly, 42, pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and is serving 20 to 40 years in prison.

Poindexter's attorney Craig Hosay struggled Friday to rehabilitate his client's image before the jury. He spent more than an hour questioning Martha Poller, a retired DHS administrator, about Poindexter's job evaluations.

Hosay focused particularly on Poindexter's Aug. 1, 2006, review, in which supervisor Janice Walker rated him "superior" in every category.

Hosay got Poller to confirm what he has described as personal animosity between Poindexter and his previous supervisor, Donna Grubb. Hosay also noted that Poindexter's performance improved under Walker, who had supervised him years before as well.

Grubb, who has retired from DHS, testified Thursday that Poindexter was suspended for 10 days in 2003 after the death of a three-week-old infant.