DCYF Secretary Ross Hunter is facing mounting criticism over his agency's response to issues raised in a KING 5 investigation about the punishment of foster youth.
After Hours: Fostering Chaos king5.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from king5.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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began investigating social workers accusations of the state s punitive actions last month, as a result of KING 5’s reporting. Patrick Dowd, director of the ombuds’ office, said his team recently began interviews with after-hours staff and the foster youth who frequently cycle in and out of
placements at hotels and offices. He expects to complete the investigation by November, and he said he will publicly share the results in his offices’ annual report.
“I don’t think you re going to find cases. of deliberate cruelty to children,” Hunter said during the meeting.
Hunter continued to deny social workers’ accusations that the department has a practice of withholding basic necessities from foster youth who don’t behave. He said DCYF has adequate bedding options in every state office, and he again refuted social workers’ claims that the state has forced foster youth to spend the night in cars.
Ginter is one of 30 current and former employees of Washington’s child welfare agency who spoke with reporters about how the state cares for foster youth without placements between the hours of 5 p.m. to 8 a.m., when the agency’s most inexperienced social workers some recruited fresh out of college are left alone to handle many of the most challenging and troubled kids in the state’s care.
Those interviews with state workers, along with a review of six hours of police body camera footage, dozens of police incident reports, internal DCYF emails and child welfare case notes, uncovered an unstable and chaotic environment for both the foster youth without placements and the after-hours social workers responsible for their well-being and safety.
Murder was up 47%, fraud 113% in Washington during 2020, crime report shows
Washington saw an increase in Group A offenses, which include violent crimes, property crimes and crimes against society, according to the report. Author: Helen Smith Updated: 9:21 PM PDT July 7, 2021
WASHINGTON, USA Murder, manslaughter and fraud were on the rise in 2020 in Washington state, according to a crime report by the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC).
The report was compiled based on crime and arrest data from contributing law enforcement agencies across the state. The report is intended to give residents, elected officials and law enforcement agencies information about crime in their communities, according to WASPC.