THE OFFICE OF THE FAMILY AND CHILDREN’S OMBUDSMAN (OFCO) was established to work independently on behalf of children in need of state protection and on behalf of families and children who are involved with the state because of child abuse and neglect issues. As an independent office within the Office of the Governor, it is OFCO’s mission to protect children and families from potentially harmful acts or omissions by governmental agencies. It is also OFCO’s mission to identify significant problems and recommend improvements in the child protection and welfare system.

Pursuant to RCW 43.06A.030(6), OFCO is to submit annually to the Governor and the members of the Legislative Children’s Oversight Committee a report analyzing the work of the office, including recommendations for changes in state law and policies.

This report provides an account of OFCO’s activities from December 1997 through January 1999. Specifically, this report describes OFCO’s progress in meeting its organizational goals, and the status of the recommendations and concerns identified in OFCO’s 1997 report. It also describes the complaints received by OFCO, and the systemic investigations that OFCO conducted in 1998. Finally, this report includes a recommendation regarding school districts’ policies and procedures for reporting child abuse and neglect, and identifies three issues of concern which will receive further review in the upcoming year.

Since becoming operational in June 1997, OFCO has expended considerable effort on organizational development. In October 1997, OFCO established the following four goals to help it achieve its vision of establishing itself as an effective, accessible and credible organization by the year 2000:

1. Establish internal operations and external activities that support OFCO’s commitment to being responsive to clients’ needs and to performing its work effectively and efficiently.
2. Establish a statewide presence through public education and awareness activities.
3. Establish trust and credibility among diverse communities across the state.
4. Establish regular lines of communication with agency officials and state policy makers, and provide them with reliable information.

OFCO has directed significant effort toward accomplishing these goals. Accomplishments to date include:

• The development of a clear mission statement and core processes for achieving OFCO’s mission.
• The development of clear policies and procedures for processing complaints.
• The development of an automated database that allows OFCO to track complaint trends and patterns, as well as the progress of each complaint through OFCO’s review and response process.
• The development of criteria for selecting systemic issues for investigation.
• The completion of a national certified investigator-training program by OFCO investigators.
• Growing local and statewide visibility resulting from: 1) the release of OFCO’s reports; 2) the dissemination of OFCO brochures and complaint forms; and 3) OFCO’s participation in community meetings and statewide conferences.
• Regular communication with agency officials, the Governor’s Office, and the Legislative Children’s Oversight Committee.

Nearly all of the recommendations set forth in OFCO’s 1997 annual report have been responded to favorably by the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) Children’s Administration, the Washington State Legislature, and the Governor. In response to OFCO’s recommendations:

• The Children’s Administration will develop guidelines for addressing potential conflicts of interest resulting from an individual’s dual role as a placement resource and a professional involved in the life of a foster child.
• The Children’s Administration has developed a new complaint brochure and "Client’s Rights" poster that describes the department’s internal complaint process and how to contact OFCO.
• The Children’s Administration is developing a "Child’s Guide to Foster Care" that will include information on how to contact OFCO.
• The Children’s Administration will begin training new social workers on the department’s complaint process.
• The Children’s Administration will begin providing internal complaint information, including identified concerns or trends, to regional administrators.
• The 1998 Legislature unanimously approved legislation that shields most of OFCO’s investigation-related information – including the identities of complainants and witnesses – from civil discovery and judicial and administrative subpoena. The legislation was signed into law by Governor Gary Locke.

From December 1997 through August 1998, OFCO received 863 contacts from the public. Of these, 27 percent were complaints requesting either an intervention or investigation. Complaints arrived at a rate of about six per week, a 28 percent increase over the preceding reporting period.

Complaints were most often filed by parents, grandparents, and other relatives. A majority of complaints involved children who were especially vulnerable due to their young age and/or disability. Over half were age seven or younger, and about one child in three was identified as having a mental, developmental or other disability.

Most complaints were directed at the DSHS Children’s Administration. The most frequently identified complaint issue regarded child protection and safety; the next most frequent complaint issue was of inappropriate family separation and failure to reunify.

OFCO intervened in 76 complaints to prevent or mitigate harm resulting from an agency’s act or omission. (This figure represents 47 percent of the complaints that were closed as of September 1, 1998.) Of these interventions, 66 percent were conducted on an emergent basis where there was reason to believe that children or families might be in imminent peril without immediate action. Concerns relating to child protection and safety most frequently prompted an intervention, followed by issues relating to the health and well being of children in the state’s care.

Although OFCO does not have authority to impose its recommendations directly on an agency, OFCO’s interventions resulted in an agency changing its position to address OFCO’s concerns in 44 complaints. (This figure represents 58 percent of the interventions that were completed as of September 1, 1998). These changes have resulted in greater protection for children and their families, and greater responsiveness to the needs of families and children involved with the state.

In addition to intervening in particular matters to address harmful administrative errors, OFCO conducts systemic investigations. Systemic investigations are aimed at identifying system-wide problems and recommending solutions. OFCO completed the following two systemic investigations in 1998:

Review of the 1994-95 Wenatchee Child Sexual Abuse Investigations: In December 1998, OFCO completed its review of the involvement of DSHS social workers in the 1994-95 Wenatchee child sexual abuse investigations. OFCO’s review was prompted by a petition received in June 1997, within days after the office had become operational. OFCO’s review represents the first full-scale independent review of the Wenatchee investigations by a government agency.

The Wenatchee child sexual abuse investigations were conducted jointly by local law enforcement officials and DSHS Child Protective Services workers. These investigations involved allegations against more than 80 adults, and led to the prosecution of 38 people in 1994 and 1995. The techniques allegedly employed by law enforcement and Child Protective Services investigators in eliciting statements from suspects and alleged child victims have been the focus of intense and enduring controversy.

OFCO set forth its investigative findings and recommendations in a report titled, 1998 Review of the 1994-95 Wenatchee Child Sexual Abuse Investigations.¹ In the report, OFCO found that the 1994 and 1995 Wenatchee child sexual abuse investigations present a progression (from common to uncommon) with regard to the kinds of allegations that are made in child sexual abuse cases. Because the Child Protective Services investigations were not well enough documented, OFCO could not determine whether the uncommon allegations occurred as alleged, or something went wrong in the investigative process resulting in factual distortions.

Nonetheless, OFCO review produced findings and recommendations relating to: 1) CPS interview documentation; 2) child interview techniques; and 3) cross-discipline collaboration in child abuse investigations. In addition to these findings and recommendations, OFCO’s report includes a description of documented and alleged events in Wenatchee that are illustrative of investigative errors that experts agree can increase the possibility of factual distortion.

Guardian ad Litem Representation: In January 1999, OFCO released a report on the issue of children’s representation by guardians ad litem (GAL) in child abuse and neglect proceedings. ²OFCO’s investigation into this issue was prompted by a pattern of complaints received by the office in which a significant number of affected children were reported as having no one to represent his or her best interests in court.

The federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) requires states receiving CAPTA grants to certify that the state has in effect – and is enforcing – a state law that a GAL be appointed to represent the child’s best interests for every case involving an abused or neglected child which results in a judicial proceeding. Although Washington State receives approximately $1.25 million per biennium in CAPTA grants, and has made the required certification, OFCO found that approximately one-third of Washington children who are involved in child abuse and neglect proceedings do not have a GAL to represent their best interests. Over one-half of the children involved in proceedings in King, Snohomish and Spokane counties did not have a GAL during the time period of the OFCO survey. OFCO also found that children in three counties are served by professional GALs with individual caseloads ranging from 90 to 400 children.

Based on these findings, OFCO recommended that: 1) the number of GALs be increased to a level that is sufficient to ensure appointment for all children who are involved in child abuse and neglect proceedings; 2) state law be amended to make clear that a GAL shall be appointed to represent the best interests of every child who is the subject of a child abuse and neglect proceeding; and 3) county officials review and take appropriate steps to reduce high caseloads of professional and attorney GALs in their jurisdictions.

Based on further investigation of the concern identified in OFCO’s 1997 report relating to the statutory duty of service professionals to report possible child abuse and neglect, OFCO is making a recommendation for consideration by Washington school districts regarding reporting by professional school personnel. In addition, based on its preliminary experience with complaints received during the reporting period, OFCO has identified three issues of concern that will receive further review and possible investigation in 1999.

Local school districts should review their policies and procedures relating to mandated reports of child abuse and neglect by professional school personnel to ensure that they are in compliance with the requirements and intent of the state’s mandated reporting law. School districts that have not adopted the model reporting policy and procedure developed by the Washington State School Directors’ Association (WDDSA) should consider doing so.

In addition to the above recommendation, OFCO has identified three areas of concern, which will receive further review and possible investigation in the upcoming year.