Bittersweet Justice: Washington/Wenger case UPDATED

Occasionally there is justice for those negatively affected by the child welfare and adoption systems. Unfortunately, it is usually bittersweet and much too late. This will serve as REFORM Talk’s justice files.

We have way too many posts on Washington state payouts for foster care abuse. The latest case stemming from abuse in the 1990s is as follows:
“The state of Washington will pay $5.3 million to four people who were placed in an abusive foster home as children.

The court settlement was reached Monday and is intended to head off a trial scheduled for next year.

The four plaintiffs filed negligence and civil rights claims against the Department of Social and Health Services and one social worker.

The lawsuit was originally filed in Stevens County Superior Court, and moved to federal court in Spokane.

The plaintiffs allege they were placed in an abusive foster home with Sylvia and Michael Wenger, who later adopted the children. The plaintiffs contend they were emotionally, physically and/or sexually abused in the home.”

Washington state to pay $5.3 million in child abuse case

[Oregon Live 10/1/12 by The Associated Press]

“After extensive negotiations, the principal terms of a settlement agreement have been reached today.  The settlement, once approved by the Court, will pay the four plaintiffs $5.3 million to resolve both the alleged negligence and civil rights claims against the Department of Social and Health Services and one individually named social worker.

This lawsuit was originally filed in Stevens County Superior Court, but removed to the United States District Court (Eastern District-Spokane Division). The case was scheduled for trial in 2013. By settling prior to trial, the plaintiffs and the Department avoid the expense of a costly and complex trial and further stress for the plaintiffs.

The plaintiffs allege that due to negligent placement and licensing, they were placed in an abusive foster home with Sylvia and Michael Wenger, who later adopted the children. The plaintiffs were emotionally, physically and/or sexually abused in the home. In addition, the plaintiffs allege that their civil rights were violated by one of the social workers who oversaw their placement.

The four children were placed in the foster home in 1996 and were later adopted in 1998 and 2000. In 2001, one of the children ran away and disclosed that she was being physically and sexually abused by Michael Wenger. The other siblings were then removed from the home. Michael Wenger was convicted of child molestation in the first degree. He served seven years in prison and is currently registered as a Level II sex offender.

“It is truly unfortunate that these children suffered at the hands of adults they had trusted to love and keep them safe,” said DSHS Children’s Administration Assistant Secretary Denise Revels Robinson.

“Although nothing can change what happened in that home, DSHS believes that the agreement fairly compensates these individuals, who can use the proceeds to meet any special needs they may have in the future,” said DSHS spokeswoman Chris Case. Beginning in 1996, a separate division within the Children’s Administration of DSHS was created, the Division of Licensed Resources (DLR). This separation was designed to address situations that might pose a conflict of interest when social workers were responsible for both licensing of foster homes and placement of children in those homes.

Using lessons learned from this and previous cases of child abuse and neglect, DSHS has made many changes to help further strengthen the focus on child safety, including:

• The Department of Licensed Resources and Department of Children and Family Services work closely together to ensure that child safety is the primary focus of both divisions. Collaboration between the two divisions occurs during Child Protective Team collaborations, Family Team Decision Making meetings, permanent placement planning meetings and adoption planning reviews.
• The process for placing children is now more formal. The Family Team Decision Making process includes social workers from different programs, the children’s families and service providers.
• The home study process is a more detailed evaluation of a prospective foster family and includes several meetings with the family, endorsements by extended family members, references and other family contacts.
• A comprehensive investigative assessment assists social workers in documenting all case activities and assists supervisors in their review and approval of investigative work.
• A standardized, automated decision process creates more consistency to ensure that allegations of child abuse and neglect are appropriately screened in and investigated statewide.
• Instead of taking a child’s word that they are not being abused or neglected, investigators also focus on gathering additional information from other sources.
• The focus on assessing child safety continues as long as the Department is involved with the biological and foster family.
• The Children’s Administration now responds to critical incidents by immediately communicating with the team of people working with the family to learn what happened, what services have been provided and determine next steps to ensure child safety.
• Social workers are required to make monthly health and safety visits with children in out-of-home placements. The visit is to assess the foster family or caregiver’s ability and capacity to continue to meet the child’s needs.
• There is specific licensing, home study and adoption training for staff.
• The background check process now includes fingerprint based checks.

“We can’t emphasize enough the importance of family, neighbors and schools in keeping children safe from abuse and neglect. Public child welfare is a shared responsibility,” Case said. “You can report abuse or neglect of a child or vulnerable adult at 1-866 ENDHARM (1-866-363-4276) or, in an emergency situation, call 9-1-1.”

Settlement Reached in child abuse case

[Washington DSHS October 1, 2012 press release]

REFORM Puzzle Piece

Update: “In July 1996, two 9-year-old twin sisters and their 7-year-old brother were removed from the abusive home of their biological mother and placed in foster care.

Making the decision to remove a child from a family is among the most complicated, controversial and difficult choices that the government can make. Under Washington state law, child-welfare workers can file a “dependency” petition when a child is being abused or neglected; the children are removed and the circumstances investigated. Usually, the problems in the home are addressed and the children return. The goal is to keep families together.

In extreme cases, the child may be placed with a guardian or foster family; in the rarest instances, a biological parent’s rights will be terminated and the child can be adopted.

Unsurprisingly, the process is often controversial and greeted with resistance, particularly in the most rural reaches of the state. Edith Vance, the same social worker charged with helping the three children in 1996, was attacked in 2005 by a father wielding a machete during a child welfare check.

In the earlier case, the children were removed from the rural Stevens County home of their biological mother following years of concerns over abuse and neglect. They were placed in the newly licensed Chewelah foster home of Michael and Sylvia Wenger. The Wengers had a spotty record; they were licensed in December 1995 and given the care of a toddler. Within just a few months, though, the child was removed when state workers learned that Sylvia Wenger had made “material omissions” in her application to be a foster mother – including failing to detail the criminal and violent activities of herself and her family.

The children’s social worker recommended the Wengers not be licensed as foster parents. A supervisor overruled that recommendation, and soon thereafter, the twin sisters and their brother were moved into the couple’s care. In January 1997, a 15-month-old boy was also placed with the Wengers.

What happened to the four children in the Wenger home became simply an extension – a deepening – of the horrors they’d already endured. The children say in court records that they were regularly struck with boards, wooden spoons, belts and other objects. They say they were forced to stand in a corner for hours, locked into closets and force-fed for punishment. They were home-schooled and had little contact with the outside world.

And Michael Wenger molested the girls. Beginning when his wife was pregnant with their first biological child in 1997, he molested the twin girls regularly.

The three older children say they told Vance, the social worker, about the abuse repeatedly – on several specific occasions, according to their lawsuit, in 1997 and 1998. The biological mother of the youngest child says she reported suspicions that her son was being sexually abused in the Wenger home to state officials in 1997.

Vance has flatly denied being told of the abuse. In a sworn statement to the court, Vance details several reports and interviews she had with the family, as well as consultations with a therapist who treated the kids: “At no time” did they tell her they were being abused or neglected, she said. “To the contrary, by all indications available to me, the children thrived in the Wenger home.”

In 1998, the Wengers, with the assistance and approval of the Department of Social and Health Services, adopted the children.

•

The abuse went on for five years, the children say. In 2001, one of the girls ran away. She fled to a former foster house and told them what was happening. CPS removed her from the house and opened an investigation. While the monthlong investigation proceeded, the three other children remained in the Wenger home, where the abuse allegedly continued.

The kids were finally removed and placed into other foster families. Michael Wenger was convicted of child molestation and served seven years in prison; he is now listed as a level 2 sex offender.

The children filed a lawsuit against the state, Vance and others in 2011. The twin girls are now 25; one lives in Spokane County and one in Pierce County. Their brother is 23 and living in Snohomish County. The youngest child is 17.

All of them suffer dramatic, long-term effects from the abuse, according to psychological evaluations, ranging from depression to anxiety to symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. One is described as “chronically suicidal.” One doctor said that the youngest child’s extreme inability to control his sexual impulses – the likely result of being sexualized at an early age – as well as other severe problems with social interaction make it unlikely that he will ever live independently as an adult.

The crux of the lawsuit – and the state’s liability – rested on the decision made in 1995 to license the Wengers. It is easy to view such decisions in hindsight as much simpler and more clear-cut than they really are.

And yet it is hard to picture how the Wengers presented a close call as potential foster parents, from the origins of their relationship – 21-year-old Michael dating 14-year-old Sylvia – to Sylvia Wenger’s dishonesty on her application to the issues raised in her psychological evaluation. You might be reluctant to hire someone like that to manage the till at a concession stand.

The weakness of the state’s position on this question was exemplified by a document state attorneys filed early in the case.

Referring to the psychologist’s report on Sylvia Wenger, they wrote, “The evaluation provided a less-than-flattering depiction of Ms. Wenger, but the involved psychologist opined in relevant part that ‘Many people who provide good and adequate parenting and foster parenting show personality difficulties even more serious than those found in Sylvia Wenger.’ ”

Unsurprisingly, the state did not dedicate itself to this argument. It settled the case for $5.3 million Oct. 1.”

Abuse within foster families systemic, hurts

[The Spokesman Review 10/13/12 by Shawn Vestal]