the state of Washington’s internal review of DSHS t’s a list of screw-ups 16 pages long....

Who was at fault? Everyone

SEAN ROBINSON; The News Tribune
Published: June 24th, 2007 01:00 AM

http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/l...ory/94707.html


Officially, the state of Washington’s internal review of the Chornice
Lewis case outlines a series of findings and recommendations.

Unofficially, it’s a list of screw-ups 16 pages long. Here are the
highlights:

Who was at fault? Everyone.

Everyone, except police and teachers who repeatedly raised concerns. The
review of Lewis’ decade of apparent abuse of a foster child in her care,
completed in February 2007, blames “a system breakdown involving all
stakeholders,” including state social workers, King County courts and
foster care licensing workers.

“Parties to the case failed to hold each other accountable, and the
management of this case and the care of the children suffered as a
result,” the review states. “Checks and balances were not evident in
this case.”

Who was fired? Who was disciplined? No one.

No one, according to the Department of Social and Health Services.
However, four foster care licensing workers in the agency’s Kent office
have been reassigned, said Mike Tornquist, director of the Division of
Licensed Resources, a subset of DSHS.

Reassigned workers included Laticia Williams, the foster care licensor
who handled Lewis’ licensing applications for five years. Williams also
was given “additional coaching and feedback,” and sent to the training
academy DSHS provides for licensing workers, Tornquist said.

Who conducted the case review?

DSHS staff members; a King County Superior Court judge; a member of the
county’s court-appointed special advocate staff; a King County physician
specializing in child abuse and neglect; and a state assistant attorney
general specializing in child dependency cases.

Did the state make any other changes?

Yes. Tornquist said the Lewis case revealed that foster care licensing
workers were investigating child abuse and neglect complaints, though
they weren’t trained for such work. He said he has shifted the
responsibility to trained investigators.

Does this mean there were other problems at Kent’s DSHS office?

Yes. Tornquist said DSHS leaders found “some problems” and “some issues”
that led to state action. He didn’t say what they were.

“It wasn’t what I would consider a large-scale problem,” he said. “There
were some things that needed to be cleaned up.”

Is child abuse common in the state foster care system?

State leaders say no. They note that .24 percent of children in
Washington’s foster care system are subject to maltreatment, which is
much better than the national standard of .57 percent.

Exactly how did the state fail in the Lewis case?

The full case review is posted at www.thenews tribune.com, but here are
some of the findings and recommendations, edited to cut through
government jargon:






CURRENTLY CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES VIOLATES MORE CIVIL RIGHTS ON A
DAILY BASIS THEN ALL OTHER AGENCIES COMBINED INCLUDING THE NATIONAL
SECURITY AGENCY/CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY WIRETAPPING PROGRAM....

CPS Does not protect children...
It is sickening how many children are subject to abuse, neglect and even
killed at the hands of Child Protective Services.

every parent should read this .pdf from
connecticut dcf watch...

http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com/8x11.pdf

http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com

Number of Cases per 100,000 children in the US
These numbers come from The National Center on
Child Abuse and Neglect in Washington. (NCCAN)
Recent numbers have increased significantly for CPS

*Perpetrators of Maltreatment*

Physical Abuse CPS 160, Parents 59
Sexual Abuse CPS 112, Parents 13
Neglect CPS 410, Parents 241
Medical Neglect CPS 14 Parents 12
Fatalities CPS 6.4, Parents 1.5

Imagine that, 6.4 children die at the hands of the very agencies that
are supposed to protect them and only 1.5 at the hands of parents per
100,000 children. CPS perpetrates more abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse
and kills more children then parents in the United States. If the
citizens of this country hold CPS to the same standards that they hold
parents too. No judge should ever put another child in the hands of ANY
government agency because CPS nationwide is guilty of more harm and
death than any human being combined. CPS nationwide is guilty of more
human rights violations and deaths of children then the homes from which
they were removed. When are the judges going to wake up and see that
they are sending children to their death and a life of abuse when
children are removed from safe homes based on the mere opinion of a
bunch of social workers.

BE SURE TO FIND OUT WHERE YOUR CANDIDATES STANDS ON THE ISSUE OF
REFORMING OR ABOLISHING CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES ("MAKE YOUR CANDIDATES
TAKE A STAND ON THIS ISSUE.") THEN REMEMBER TO VOTE ACCORDINGLY IF THEY
ARE "FAMILY UNFRIENDLY" IN THE NEXT ELECTION...