Report critical of Colville DSHS office

Residents of northeastern Washington have lost trust in the Colville office of the state Department of Social and Health Services, undermining the safety of children involved in custody cases, according to a report issued Wednesday.

The state Office of the Family and Children's Ombudsman conducted an investigation and found that poor communication and infighting among child safety professionals in Colville had poisoned relations with the community.

"Our investigation revealed a culture of pervasive distrust between parties and stakeholders, poor communication, and a lack of collaboration among professionals which infects day-to-day decision making and case planning for dependent children," the report said.

Those problems led to unnecessary delays or changes in child placement decisions and "actions or inactions that put children and families at risk of harm," the investigation found.

State Rep. Joel Kretz, R-Wauconda, requested the 10-month investigation after receiving complaints from constituents.

A DSHS statement said the agency is reviewing the ombudsman's report, plus findings of its own internal investigation, and finding consensus on many issues.

"We have been working with the Ombudsman on this situation for more than a year, and now that we have these reports we will put in place a corrective action plan," said Randy Hart of DSHS' Children's Administration.

The main conflict involved workers for DSHS and the local Court Appointed Special Advocate program, which represents children in legal cases, plus medical providers and others who provide child safety services.

Mary Meinig, director of the ombudsman's office, said investigators talked with "frustrated parents, overworked DSHS social workers ... disillusioned foster parents" and others in the system.

They received 62 complaints regarding DSHS practices and so far have resolved 44 of those, she said. They found problems with DSHS actions 16 times.

Among the recommendations from the ombudsman's office:

- use of an outside professional mediator in disputes

- creation of a community advisory board

- providing better support for relatives of children in the system

- expanded resources so that contested cases can be heard on a timely basis.

DSHS spokesman John Wiley said expanding resources will likely require more money from the Legislature.

The Colville DSHS office serves Stevens, Ferry and Pend Oreille counties.

In their separate investigation, DSHS officials said they interviewed child welfare authorities and found there had been improvements in leadership and community outreach in the past year.

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On the Web:

The DSHS and Ombudsman's reports: http://www.dshs.wa.gov/ca/general/index.asp .

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