‘Keep us in your prayers,’ SC family of 3-year-old who died in foster care pleads
Last year brought one heartache after another for the Phares family of Travelers Rest.
Not long after the new year began, Mike and Vickie Phares’ great-granddaughter, Victoria Rose Smith, died in the care of foster parents. The Phares had to fight the Department of Social Services for the right to be at her funeral.
Vickie Phares and other family members, including Victoria’s mother, Casie, attended court hearing after court hearing as the process of holding the foster parents — Ariel and Austin Robinson — accountable dragged on. There are more court days ahead.
Mrs. Phares was in the courtroom again Thursday, but this time she won’t be going home to her husband of 48 years.
Michael A. Phares died days before Christmas. He was 66.
His funeral was a year after he and the family buried Victoria, who they called Tori.
“It was a tough year,” said Michelle Urps, who is best friends with the Phares’ daughter, an aunt to Tori. Urps lived for a while in her teens with the Phares and calls them mom and dad.
Urps was designated early on as a spokesperson for the media and has been in the forefront of the family’s efforts to see changes in the way children are placed in foster homes.
Their petition at change.org calling for legislation to tighten rules for foster parents and placements is nearing 50,000 signatures.
Once the trial is over, the family intends to step up pressure on DSS to protect Victoria, whose brothers were also placed with the Robinsons. They are in another foster home now.
DSS has long faced criticism for child safety, including lack of proper medical care. Heavy caseloads were reported for social workers. The agency remains under federal court supervision as it works its way out of several lawsuits.
On Wednesday, about 4,200 children were in foster care in the state, the majority younger than 12 years old. DSS has profiles and photos of hundreds of children available for adoption on its website.
Asked what the family wants to tell people at this point, Urps said, “Keep us in your prayers.”
On Facebook in early March, Vickie Phares wrote, “She was just a little girl. She loved to laugh & have fun, eat cupcakes & wear big bows. We need justice for her. She’ll never grow up to enjoy more cupcakes, & we were robbed of her sweet giggles & her presence.”
Just about every day Vickie Phares posts a photo of Tori and writes about her and asks people to sign the petition.
Phares’ page is called Justice for Victoria Rose Smith.
This story was originally published April 14, 2022 at 12:17 PM.