• Protect families and children from potentially harmful agency acts or omissions;

• Ensure that agency officials and state policy makers are aware of chronic problems in the child protection and welfare system so they can improve state services.

OFCO fulfills its mission by acting on specific complaints, and by investigating broader systemic issues of concern that relate to the provision of state child protection and welfare services. The purpose of OFCO’s systemic investigations is twofold:

• Identify system-wide problems that adversely affect families and children, and;

• Recommend steps which agency officials and state policy makers can take to address these problems. OFCO’s systemic investigations result in written reports that are provided to agency officials, the Governor, the Legislative Children’s Oversight Committee, and the public.

OFCO director, Vickie Wallen, announced on October 23, 1997, her office would review the involvement of the state Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), Children’s Administration (CA), Division of Children and Family Services (DCFS), in the 1994-95 Wenatchee child sexual abuse investigations. This review would be pursuant to OFCO’s authority under RCW 43.06A.030. The announcement came only four months after OFCO had become operational.

OFCO’s decision to conduct a preliminary review of the Wenatchee investigations was prompted by a petition received within days after the office became operational in June 1997. The petition was accompanied by letters of support from defense attorneys and an array of social services organizations, as well as by thousands of signatures of Wenatchee-area citizens. The petition alleged that state social workers, employed by DSHS, had inappropriately assisted law enforcement investigations of child sexual abuse allegations in various ways. An independent review of the actions of state social workers was requested.

OFCO concluded in its preliminary review that the allegations relating to CPS child interviews and the provision of state-contracted mental health services warranted further investigation. Of particular significance were those concerns had been raised by state-contracted mental health professionals, and by children themselves. OFCO concluded that these concerns warranted further review because systemic problems in these areas might have a serious impact on children in two ways: By endangering their safety and well being, and by undermining perceptions of their credibility.

Before deciding to proceed with a targeted review, OFCO staff spent hundreds of hours reviewing the Wenatchee Report,1 and more than 3,600 pages of supporting documentation. OFCO also evaluated several internal reports provided by the DSHS Children’s Administration.

OFCO announced that its full-scale review of the Wenatchee investigations would initially focus on the following issues regarding the conduct of state social workers:

• How interviews of possible child sex abuse victims were conducted.
• How interviews of possible child sex abuse victims were documented.
• Decisions to refer some children for admission to psychiatric hospitals.
• Decisions to terminate some children’s ongoing therapeutic relationships.

The investigative team included a lead investigator and two additional investigators. In addition, OFCO’s permanent staff contributed to the review by participating in information gathering and analysis. During the six-month full-scale review (June-November 1998) the investigative team has:

• Reviewed more than 60,000 pages of documents, including:

• DCFS confidential family and child case files
• CAMIS (Case and Management Information System) entries 2
• Children’s Administration internal reports
• DCFS foster parent licensing files
• Criminal court files
• Police reports from Chelan and Douglas Counties
• Depositions
• Transcripts of trials and sentencing hearings
• Children’s Administration operational policies and procedures
• DCFS staff training records
• Newspaper articles
• Materials received from individuals OFCO interviewed
• Professional literature on pertinent topics

• Reviewed pertinent video tapes, including tapes of:

• Some alleged victims and abusers
• News reports
• Witnesses in a recent civil trial

• Conducted over 40 interviews, including:

• Current and former state social workers
• Current Children’s Administration administrators
• Foster parents
• Children who expressed the desire to talk to OFCO investigators, and who have–
• Reunited with their families, or
• Aged out of the foster care system
• Guardians ad litem 3
• Attorneys
• Therapists
• Defendants

Not wishing to disturb the well being of the Wenatchee children who remain in state custody, OFCO did not attempt to subject them to investigative interviews. However, in an effort to provide an opportunity that would allow these children to describe their views and experiences regarding the child protection and welfare system generally, OFCO offered to meet with children ages 11 through 17. OFCO then met with nine children who indicated a desire to speak about their experiences. The statements they made in response to OFCO’s questions are set forth at the end of this report.

To assist in understanding the diverse and complex issues presented by the Wenatchee investigations, OFCO convened a multidisciplinary panel of professionals from Washington State and across the country. See Appendix A. In addition to the panel, OFCO consulted with a child and adolescent psychiatrist and a child psychologist regarding state-contracted mental health services provided to children in Wenatchee. See Appendix B. These experts have proved to be valuable in developing OFCO’s understanding of several key issues relating to mental health treatment.

While conducting the preliminary review, OFCO investigators became aware that a full-scale review would require a focused and intensive effort. Additional resources would be needed to complete the review. OFCO was also concerned whether people with pertinent information would be willing to speak to its investigators.

Special Funding: A timely review of the Wenatchee investigations was beyond the existing budget and staff resources of OFCO. In March of 1998, the Legislature provided OFCO with additional travel and other investigation-related funding. Also in March of 1998, Governor Gary Locke provided OFCO’s five-person office with a $100,000 emergency fund allocation for additional investigators to help expedite the review.

The "Shield" Law: Following the preliminary review of the Wenatchee investigations it was clear that many individuals were reluctant to speak with OFCO’s investigative team. OFCO determined that a "shield" law was essential to encourage people to come forward. Those with sensitive information would need to be able to speak without fear that OFCO could be legally compelled to disclose their identities. The Legislature passed the shield law in March of 1998. Governor Locke signed it in April of 1998.

Additional Challenges: OFCO’s investigative team was also challenged by the task of compiling, cataloguing, and securing tens of thousands of confidential documents. CPS and police activities, prior court cases and ongoing litigation, had served to create an enormous record of events. In addition, the lead investigator for OFCO’s review resigned for personal reasons in May 1998. A new lead investigator was hired and took over the task of organizing the review. Thus, OFCO’s review was not able to get fully under way until the beginning of June 1998.

The nature of the allegations raised by the Wenatchee investigations pose challenges for a clear and thorough analysis of events and actions by CPS. Compounding the analytical challenges are a number of factors that have served to constrain OFCO’s review. Among these are:

• The complexity of events – The number of children and families involved in the joint CPS/police investigations, and the number and kinds of allegations that were made have resulted in a scenario that defies simple description.

• Insufficient documentation on critical issues – While the number of documents collected by OFCO’s investigative team exceed 60,000, the contradictory and incomplete aspects of these documents often serve to obscure the facts rather than clearly define them.

• Electronic mail unavailable – OFCO requested any electronic mail pertinent to the Wenatchee investigations. However, OFCO was advised that a new e-mail system was implemented between the time of the Wenatchee investigations and the time of OFCO’s request, making retrieval impossible.

• The passage of time – Memories have begun to fade about details surrounding the specifics of the allegations and investigations.

• Ongoing litigation – Numerous court cases have resulted in children and others being subjected to multiple interviews regarding allegations of sexual abuse, and recantations. Some individuals have made conflicting statements in the course of being interviewed multiple times.

• Individuals who are unwilling to talk to OFCO – Some individuals have indicated that they are afraid of being harassed by fellow community members who have different points of view regarding the sexual abuse allegations and investigations. Others have indicated that they are worried about possibly being involved in litigation. Some have indicated that they simply want to put the whole thing behind them.