Bittersweet Justice: Washington DSHS

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.

“Lester Drappeaux had already served prison time for molesting a child when he was granted a license to become a foster parent in 1974. Among those he took in was a 5-year-old girl known now only by her initials, M.M.

The abuse began almost immediately.

“He started by doing things to her in the bath when she was little, and as she grew older the abuse escalated and got worse and worse,” said Jason Amala, partner with the Seattle law firm Pfau Cochran Vertetis Amala.

It all happened inside Drappeaux’s Lake Stevens home where hundreds of children were cycled through by DSHS over the course of nearly two decades. Documents obtained by KING 5 show that Drappeaux had actually been under the supervision of DSHS for his sex conviction before becoming a foster parent. At the time there was no Department of Corrections and DSHS was in charge of the oversight of parolees. DSHS staff either knew or should have known that Drappeaux was a “habitual criminal, alcoholic and child molester,” according to the law suit filed on behalf of M.M.

But no one said a thing.

“They supervised his probation. If there was any question all they had to do was walk a few blocks to the courthouse, pull his file and it was there for anyone to see, including DSHS,” said Amala.

DSHS’s own records may indicate why this happened. The agency was trying to adhere to federal guidelines that paired minority children with minority foster parents. The victim in this case is Native American. There were apparently so few Native American foster families that DSHS even granted an exception to Drappeaux, allowing him to take in more that the standard number of vulnerable children.

“It looks like DSHS was so concerned about placing a Native American child in a Native American home that they had blinders on and didn’t do their normal background checks,” said Amala.

Amala also says the agency did not adequately investigate allegations by Drappeaux’s step-daughter that her molested her.

Meantime, in 1995 DSHS awarded Drappeaux with the “Foster Parent of The Year” award, according to Amala.

The victim in the case has now been awarded a 2-and-a-half million dollar settlement from DSHS. Her attorneys say three more victims have come forward, and they believe many more may be out there.

DSHS released a statement saying, in part that “although background check processes appropriate for the time were done when the foster home was licensed in 1978, they did not pick up that the foster father had a conviction for indecent liberties with a 17-year-old minor in 1972. The foster father consistently lied in his licensing documents about prior convictions involving minors. When statewide background checks became available in the 1980s, that conviction was not reported on those statewide background check reports. It is unknown why. Both our practices and background check procedures have been strengthened since.”

Lester Drappeaux died several years ago.”

Attorney: Former ‘foster parent of the year’ molested girl[KING 5 2/3/15 by Eric Wilkinson]