Where is Cathi Bedy from 'Take Care of Maya' now?
The new Netflix documentary Take Care of Maya is a pretty harrowing, but important, watch. Based on the true story of Maya Kowalski, Dr Sally Smith may stand out as the woman who wrongly accused her mother, Beata, of abusing her, but she's not the only one who contributed to the family's demise.
Maya had been diagnosed with a chronic condition called Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), which was helped with high doses of ketamine, as advised by former doctors. But when Smith testified that these methods were indicative of child abuse, Maya was kept in custody in Johns Hopkins hospital, in the care of social worker Cathi Bedy, while her mother was barred from visits.
Beata, who sadly died by suicide after three months of separation from her child, was only allowed to communicate with her via phone calls supervised by Bedy, who falsely accused her of being inappropriate during these conversations. What was beyond inappropriate, however, was that Bedy had previously been arrested on suspicion of child abuse herself, accused of holding down a 10-year-old boy, a colleague covering his face with a towel.
So, where is Cathi Bedy now and does she still work at the All Children's Johns Hopkins hospital in Florida?
Who is Cathi Bedy?
Catherine, or 'Cathi' Bedy, was assigned to Maya's case after Beata was suspected of abusing her through Munchausen syndrome by proxy.
This "rare" form of child abuse "happens when a parent or carer exaggerates or deliberately causes symptoms of illness in the child", according to the NHS.
"The parent or carer does not necessarily intend to deceive doctors, but their behaviour is likely to harm the child. For example the child may have unnecessary treatment or tests, be made to believe they're ill, or have their education disrupted," it adds.
Bedy, heard trying to wrap things up quickly in the background of Maya's phone call conversations with her mother in the Netflix doc, was accused of child abuse when she worked previously at the Suncoast Center for Community Health, after a new boy reportedly ignored being asked why he was there.
"The manager, Catherine Bedy, grabbed the boy's head, causing him to fall down, police said. Bedy placed both knees on the boy's chest. The boy's face turned red and he said he couldn't breathe," Tampa Bay Times reported in 2007.
"According to an affidavit [statement], Bedy replied: 'Yes you can'."
Was Cathi Bedy previously convicted?
At the time Beady, along with her colleague (a therapist), were fired from Suncoast. They both faced one felony count of child abuse, but the charges were later dropped, with Bedy reportedly denying using her knees on the child.
With Beata's husband Jack Kowalski saying in the doc "something didn't seem right" about Bedy's care over Maya, they discovered records of this incident online, though were unsuccessful at assigning their daughter a different social worker.
Maya herself also once claimed that Bedy made her remove her clothes (other than a sports bra and shorts) and took photos of her, apparently for risk management, threatening Maya for not complying.
"I was screaming, crying, yelling 'no,' Maya can be seen later testifying in the documentary. "I could not have made it any more clear [that I wanted her to stop]."
Where is Cathi Bedy now?
With the case still ongoing, following the Kowalskis initially suing her and others involved in 2018, Bedy appears to be living in Clearwater, Florida, according to her LinkedIn page.
Is Cathi Bedy still working as a social worker?
It doesn't appear that Bedy is still working at Johns Hopkins anymore, but in her LinkedIn profile, she is listed as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker at OBGYN Associates, though hasn't posted anything recently.
A number of outlets have reported she is still an active social worker in Florida, doing counselling through the CVS MinuteClinic, attributed as being listed by Psychology Today, though we have not been able to verify this.
The Kowalski family's trial is due to begin on 11 September 2023, after years of them fighting for a date.
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