Daybreak Youth Services is pictured in Brush Prairie in 2019. It's now closed. (Amanda Cowan/The Columbian files)
Plans for a 54-bed recovery and mental health center for youth at the former Daybreak Youth Services building in Brush Prairie are still underway, despite a lawsuit filed by Daybreak against the state making its way through court.
Daybreak filed the lawsuit in September in Clark County Superior Court against the Washington State Department of Commerce and its director, Mike Fong, arguing it should not be required to repay a portion of some state grants it previously received. The nonprofit claims that the reason it failed to meet the grants’ 10-year requirement was because the state health department forced the facility to shut down.
“Despite Daybreak’s vigorous objections, it was forced to close its Brush Prairie facility by the Thurston County orders requested by (Department of Health),” according to the lawsuit.
The now-closed facility provided resources to stabilize youth who had severe mental illness and substance use conditions. In June 2023, both its Brush Prairie and Spokane facilities closed after the state health department revoked the nonprofit’s license. The health department said staff at both facilities failed to cooperate with investigations since March 2022 into multiple allegations of employee misconduct with teenage patients.
A hearing is scheduled later this month in Thurston County Superior Court, where the lawsuit was transferred earlier this year, to set a trial date.
A Commerce spokeswoman declined to comment on the lawsuit, citing the pending litigation. According to the spokeswoman, the Brush Prairie property is now owned by the state and leased to Tigard, Ore.-based Madrona Recovery via the Department of Enterprise Services. Madrona Recovery is in the process of planning for improvements to the building before it is operational.
Madrona Recovery did not respond to The Columbian’s request for comment.
Lawsuit
In April 2024, Reps. Stephanie McClintock, R-Vancouver, and Greg Cheney, R-Battle Ground, who are both from the 18th Legislative District, helped secure funding for Madrona Recovery to purchase the Brush Prairie facility.
The Madrona Recovery model is a residential, short-term program for youth struggling with behavioral health and substance use issues. Madrona Recovery’s operation of the Brush Prairie property is partially funded by $16.2 million set aside in Washington’s 2024-2025 supplemental capital budget.
“To avoid bankruptcy filing, Daybreak’s board determined it should sell the Brush Prairie facility, which was independently valued at $15,000,000,” according to the lawsuit.
The sale required the Department of Commerce’s approval, and on April 12, 2024, Daybreak wrote to the director formally requesting the sale to Madrona Recovery, according to the lawsuit. Fong did not respond to the April letter, and Daybreak sent a follow-up in June.
The request for state funding required Daybreak and Madrona Recovery to extend their closing date multiple times, according to the lawsuit.
The legislative seizure also required Madrona Recovery and the Washington State Department of Enterprise Services to enter into a long-term lease agreement for the Brush Prairie facility. Madrona Recovery, Daybreak and the state department entered into an agreement in July.
Fong responded to the letters June 24, approving the sale to Madrona Recovery. But he said that Commerce would not waive the recapture provisions or Daybreak’s repayment obligations noted in its contract. A recapture provision is a payback of benefits or grants.
Fidelity National Title Company of Washington is handling closing of the Daybreak property sale. The Department of Commerce is requesting more than $5.9 million as recapture of the grants.
According to the lawsuit, Daybreak alleges Commerce’s recapture request is unjust because it disregards that Daybreak was forced to close its Brush Prairie facility due to Thurston County orders, which are being appealed.
The requested amount of $5,995,633.40 would exceed the original grant by $1,545,633.40, without crediting Daybreak for its years of operation, according to the lawsuit. If Daybreak prevails in its appeal, the Thurston County orders will be vacated, and the facility would have continued operating as intended under the grant.
“The actions of DOH and the Thurston County Superior Court are the sole reason Daybreak was unable to operate the Brush Prairie facility for the full 10-year period provided in the grants,” according to the lawsuit.
This story was made possible by Community Funded Journalism, a project from The Columbian and the Local Media Foundation. Top donors include the Ed and Dollie Lynch Fund, Patricia, David and Jacob Nierenberg, Connie and Lee Kearney, Steve and Jan Oliva, The Cowlitz Tribal Foundation and the Mason E. Nolan Charitable Fund. The Columbian controls all content. For more information, visit columbian.com/cfj.
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