| 'This is just the tip of the iceberg' |
| Wednesday, 13 August 2008 | |
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State investigating complaints about child welfare office in Colville BY SOPHIA ALDOUS S-E Staff Reporter A state ombudsman will be in Colville this week as part of a state investigation into the Washington Division of Chil¬dren and Family Service’s Colville office. The investigation follows a high number of complaints connected to the department. “CPS always states that their very first effort is to re¬unite the children with family, but they never do, at least not here,” said Diana Williams, Co-Chair of Northeast Wash¬ington Grands, a grandpar¬ent’s support group who has also logged complaints about the Colville office. “We want to know what we can do to stop the discrepancies and pat¬terns we see evolving.” At the request of Depart¬ment of Social and Health Services Secretary Robin Arnold-Williams, ombudsman Mary Meinig will be in Colville meeting with WDCFS staff as well as area groups and indi¬viduals concerned about the division’s practices in Stevens and Ferry counties. “We are certainly pleased that Mary Meinig is here,” said Connie Lambert-Eckel, Deputy Regional Admin¬istrator for WDCFS Region #1, which includes Colville. “She is a strong resource for both staff and families with ques¬tions and concerns about children. She will have full ac¬cess to case file information and all staff will be available to her. If she wishes to meet with any organization or indi¬vidual to discuss these issues, we will certainly administrate that.” Joel Kretz, 7th District State Representative, encouraged the request for an investiga¬tion after his office was in¬volved with multiple CPS cases over a period of several years. In a letter to Arnold-Wil¬liams dated June 5, 2008, Kretz said that, “there is a very negative view of the de¬partment, both with individu¬als involved, as well as the general public. It is my opin¬ion that these views are le¬gitimate and warrant a deeper look into CPS and their prac¬tices and processes.” Multiple Colville residents and the Northeast Washington Grands have logged grievances about child placement deci¬sions and have asserted un¬fair treatment by managers and social workers. Honest answers… “I’ve gotten complaints about the Colville office for years, and there’s been no mechanism to get an individ¬ual, outside review of things,” said Kretz. “It’s a real touchy area, because the welfare of children is an emotional is¬sue. I’m concerned whether or not they (Colville CPS) are following their own proce¬dures to the law and if there’s an ethics violation.” According to Lambert-Eckel, the Colville office has received 15 complaints so far this year. In 2007, the office received 25 complaints, which has been described as a “fairly good number” for the area by Sharon Gilbert, deputy direc¬tor for field operations with the Children’s Administration. A number of grandparents with NWG are troubled about why their grandchildren, after liv¬ing with them for years, are being removed and sometimes placed with non-family mem¬bers. “This is just the tip of the iceberg,” stated NWG Co-chair Betty Tomlin. “Honestly, when I protested for Civil Rights in the 1960’s, I feel like that was nothing compared to what we’ve been dealing with con¬cerning CPS in Colville. I never thought that I would have to fight this battle in my own country.” While Meinig is in Colville, she will help deduce how complaints and concerns can be dealt with by examining whether there is a problem with a pattern, or an issue that reflects the entire system of the CPS branch in Colville. “This truly is an emotional issue, and I expect people to be passionate and angry,” said Lambert-Eckel. “I wouldn’t hold that against anyone. I respect that people want honest answers to their questions and, hopefully, we’ll get those.” |
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| Last Updated ( Wednesday, 20 August 2008 ) |