COLVILLE — The Stevens County prosecutor says he has found a “pattern of misconduct” at the Colville office of the Department of Social and Health Services.
The Spokesman-Review newspaper reported Saturday that Prosecutor Tim Rassmussen sent a sharply worded letter about the office last week to Gov. Chris Gregoire, Attorney General Rob McKenna and 30 other state employees and lawmakers.
Rasmussen accused the office of removing foster children from their caregivers without cause and of “shopping” for doctors and counselors to support its agenda. The letter included accusations that children have been subjected to forensic examination to look for evidence of sexual molestation when no allegations of abuse exist.
His letter included a complaint from a doctor who said that even after he determined a baby did not have methamphetamine in its system, DSHS’s Child Protective Services ordered the child be placed on a morphine drip. The result, said Dr. Barry J. Bacon, was the baby became addicted to the drug.
Rasmussen also noted that a judge blasted the department for removing five foster children on what the court deemed a “very questionable basis.”
Connie Lambert-Eckel, deputy regional administrator for the DSHS children’s administration, said the department has been working with Rasmussen on his concerns for some time, but his letter contains new allegations she could not immediately address.
“We will be diving into these concerns very appropriately, very responsively, very quickly and very early next week,” she said.
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