BALLSTON SPA, N.Y. (Times Union) — A Saratoga County lawmaker is calling for a review and possible changes to how the county’s Child Protective Services operates after more information has surfaced about years of reported educational neglect and abuse of four Mechanicville children who were killed by their mother and grandmother.
Meanwhile, an attorney for the children’s father believes the county agency could’ve done more to protect them after noting that the mother was likely suffering from Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a serious mental health condition that is considered a form of abuse and causes a caregiver to fabricate or exaggerate illnesses in someone under their care.
Ram Lalukota, a member of the county’s Health and Human Services Committee who represents Clifton Park on the Board of Supervisors, is seeking more information about Child Protective Services investigations into 44-year-old Sarah Myers, who, with help from her mother, 64-year-old Amy Steadman, killed Myers’ children on June 10. After Harper, 13, Hudson, 11, and twins Gavin and Gracelynn, 10, died, the two women died by suicide.
But he says Child Protective Services Commissioner Patrick Maxwell told him the investigations spanning from 2021 to 2026 are confidential and the department cannot share those records.
“Where were the assigned caseworkers during this period?” Lalukota asked Maxwell in a July 2 email. “How frequently were they visiting these households, and what documentation exists regarding those visits? Will the caseworker reports be made available to the public, consistent with applicable confidentiality laws? If they cannot be released publicly, will they at least be shared with this committee so it can conduct appropriate oversight and make informed fiscal and policy decisions?”
Lalukota also wondered if the county is spending enough on CPS. It wasn’t immediately clear how much the county budgets for the agency, but according to Saratoga County’s website, the county spends only $1,798 per resident. Of all 57 counties in the state, Saratoga County spends the least per resident. But it has the third-highest number of employees, 183, next to Westchester and Rockland counties.
“As we approach budget season, this may warrant a careful review to determine whether additional staffing or resources are necessary to strengthen child protection services,” Lalukota wrote to Maxwell.
In his correspondence with Maxwell, Lalukota also sought information about the 2025 death of 3-year-old Joycelynn Ann Dylewski. Her parents were convicted in her death of criminally negligent homicide in June.
Cassandra Rohme, attorney for Brady Harmon, the father of four children who lives in Utah, said she doesn’t know how CPS can justify why it did not remove the children from Myers, who was suffering from mental health concerns.
“They, on the record, said that the mother has or likely has a diagnosis with factitious disorder (formerly Munchausen syndrome by proxy),” Rohme said. “That has a very high fatality rate for children who are exposed to that. It’s incredibly dangerous. Obviously, it’s very upsetting that the children were not put in foster care on an emergency basis and then sent to their father, who had a loving home and loving family awaiting them. CPS hid this information from the father and allowed the abuse to continue.”
Since 2019, Harmon sought shared custody of his children after Myers left Utah with them in tow. Over the years, Harmon received 10 letters from CPS saying that the care of his children was under investigation. However, the letters never specified what they were investigating or revealed outcomes of those investigations. Meanwhile, he continued seeking joint custody in Utah family court.
Earlier this month, Harmon filed a notice of claim against Saratoga County, Mechanicville, the Mechanicville City School District, the Mechanicville Housing Authority, and the Ballston Spa Central School District, which the children attended briefly. He plans to sue those public entities for $400 million for failing to protect his children, who were found dead on June 23 in Steadman’s apartment. The discovery of their bodies came just days ahead of the children’s scheduled reunion with their father after he was awarded joint custody.
Since filing the notices, a standard precursor to filing a lawsuit, many of the CPS records have become public. Court documents filed on Friday in state Supreme Court show that Myers was investigated by CPS for educational neglect and inadequate guardianship as far back as January 2021. That included a 2024 incident where all four children showed up at school overdosing on Benadryl. One child was so ill that first responders administered naloxone, a nasal spray to reverse opioid overdoses. Three of the four children had to be hospitalized.
Nancy Nissen, a family and matrimonial attorney and partner with the Tully Rinckey law firm, said that while all county CPS agencies operate under state standards, she has found that each county can judge situations differently. Still, she said, findings of educational neglect and falsifying medical information should have triggered removing the children from the home.
“Educational neglect is not taken lightly at all,” Nissen said. “Teachers are on top of these things and it’s a very big deal.”
Nissen said a caseworker may have believed there was not enough evidence to prove a case of abuse or neglect.
“CPS is not looking at if this child will be murdered by the parent,” Nissen said. “They probably thought it didn’t meet a legal threshold. But there were so many warning signs — educational neglect, an overdose of Benadryl.”
She said there is an agreement between states that would have allowed the children to stay with their father while their mother received care.
“If they found she was not acting in their best interest, they could have done that before going to court,” Nissen said. “They often put together a safety plan before removing children. They could have said, ‘go stay with him until your mother gets healthy.’ It would have been an intermediary plan so the children wouldn’t have to go to foster care. … But we are only looking at a snapshot and in hindsight. This is a heartbreaking tragedy.”
