Reporter unearths years of abuse – and of DSHS failure....

Reporter unearths years of abuse – and of DSHS failure

DAVID ZEECK; THE NEWS TRIBUNE
Published: June 24th, 2007 01:00 AM

http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/c...ory/94695.html

More than a year ago, on Jan. 20, 2006, Federal Way police issued a news
release about a woman wanted on suspicion of child abuse.

The woman was accused of – among other torments – stabbing her foster
daughter’s eyes with hypodermic needles.

“At the time, I knew nothing about the history of the case,” said
reporter Sean Robinson. “All I could think was, ‘How could someone do
that to a child?’”

Sean couldn’t get the case out of his mind. In March, he asked the state
to produce what records it had.

“A few months later, I got a fat package from DSHS (the state’s
Department of Health and Social Services),” Sean said. “It was 800 pages
of records, the whole story of Chornice Lewis’ involvement with the
foster care system.”

Other stories intervened, so it wasn’t until early this year that Sean
got back to the case and began to look at the records in detail. What he
found was a 10-year history of the abuse of a young girl, and many
chances for the state to intervene and stop it.

It missed every chance, ignored every tip, dismissed the mounting
evidence – evidence noticed and documented primarily by teachers and
school counselors and occasionally by police.

Sean’s biggest obstacles were records heavily redacted by DSHS to
protect the privacy of secondary people involved in the case.

“DSHS is a difficult bureaucracy to navigate under any circumstances,”
Sean said, “but when you’re sailing through an ocean of black ink,
trying to figure out who is who, the task is exponentially harder.”

He gives the state some credit for admitting its mistakes, albeit too late.

He also found several heroes:

• Sandy Templeton, a Federal Way police detective, who pursued an
abuse complaint against Lewis and tried to share her findings with the
state, only to be ignored or rebuffed.

• Lana Wainscott, a counselor at Sequoia Middle School in Kent, who
tried to alert Child Protective Services that the victim was being
abused. The state didn’t take her warnings seriously.

• Heidi Canfield, a state social worker who refused to be intimidated
by Lewis. It was Canfield who reported her concerns about Lewis’
increasingly aberrant behavior in late 2005 and apparently urged that
the victim be removed from Lewis’ home. She continues to aid the victim
in her recovery from a decade of abuse.

“Canfield did the right thing and continues to,” Sean said. “It’s just a
shame it took everyone else so long.”





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...