CLEVELAND — The family of a young girl who died more than two years ago while in foster care has reached a settlement with Cuyahoga County.
County Council on Tuesday approved a $1 million payout to relatives of Mandisa Sizemore, who passed away in June of 2020 after apparently choking on a playing card at the home she was staying in. She had been in the custody of the Cuyahoga County Division of Children and Family Services, and though her death was officially ruled as being accidental, her parents claimed the county was negligent regarding "deplorable" conditions at the temporary address.
"It was not a place that anyone would believe that foster kids could live or a home that would have been approved by any agency," attorney Stanley Jackson of the Cochran firm said at the time.
Mandisa's mother and father also alleged the foster parent had abused the child in the past, saying she previously came home with "busted blood vessels in her eyes [and] a busted lip" but that "nothing was done" despite a report being filed. In addition, parents Dayou Bruce and William Sizemore Jr. also say the foster mother did not tell them of their daughter's death and that they only found out when DCFS workers went to perform a scheduled check-in the next day.
"Her death violated the mission and vision statement of this department," lawyer Shean Williams said after the family filed a lawsuit in November of 2020. "That statement says: 'To improve the lives of children as the result of attention, care and support.'"
The settlement was approved unanimously at Tuesday's regular County Council meeting.
3News' Brandon Simmons contributed to this story
