Bittersweet Justice: Washington
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.
From Yakima, Washington, foster mother “Margaret Wagner, a local woman in the Yakima Valley known for requesting young foster children with mental and physical disorders got two sisters, in 2006 were two and four years old.
Right after Wagner got both girl; identified in the paperwork by their initials S.G. and M.G., they started to act out at school with physical and sexual actions.
Wagner, at the time said it was because they had visitations with with their biological mother.
Even though both girls had numerous signs of sexual abuse, physical abuse and neglect, their many different social workers never took action to investigate what was going on in the home and believed Wagner’s explanation.
In the investigation they found that Wagner’s then boyfriend, Jose (Joe) Cortez who was their foster father, was sexually molesting both sisters, specifically targeting sister M.G. according to Tamaki Law Office.
Wagner was physically abusing both girls with both sisters saying she would hit them, deprive them of food, make them take cold showers, have M.G. sleep outside and eat dog food and not let the sisters use the restroom.
This abuse went on from 2006 to 2015 when police arrested Cortez, who eventually pleaded guilty to first degree child molestation.
Finally, both girls were removed from the home.
The state said they never looked into the abuse because…”The girls again had had come from a difficult home and they had been exposed in utero to drugs and domestic violence” said said Megan Hale, an attorney at Tamaki law office.”So a part of it, I think was this overall generalization that you know, they were trouble to begin with and they’re still troubled but hopefully… they’re going to grow out of that.”
In December of 2007 the state of Washington put both girls in a dependency guardianship with Margaret Wagner having some of the rules previously in place not applying anymore.
Also there weren’t as many check ups from social workers.
“For so many reasons that’s just illogical” said Hale. “This home continued to have foster children in the home, there were still licensing requirements in place and so there was still supervision required just not the same kind of supervision that was required for foster care.”
The Washington conceded negligence in how they handled both the sisters cases.
Now, paying both girls, now women at 18 and 20-years-old $4,025,000 to resolve the lawsuit; a record breaking settlement in Yakima.
Wagner had all her foster children taken away, having 6 young children at one point and having another female showing signs of sexual abuse by Cortez.
Cortez is now out of prison and Wagner was never arrested.
The attorney’s for both M.G and S.G said they hope this is a turning point for Washington and this will hopefully lead to the foster care system to be more aware of abuse and ensure that foster children are never abandoned in this way again.”
[FOX Yakima 12/22/21 by Sophia Lesseos]
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