State Rep. Ruth Kagi and the Manson Family

Business | State Saw Many Signs Of Trouble At Home Where 4 Infants Died -- Case Files Show Little Done Despite Warnings | Seattle Times Newspaper

No, not that Manson Family.

Four dead babies, 1 a daycare child, the other 3 foster babies. It was 1994 in Washington State, the same year 7 month old Jesse Hunt who had been in the Edith Goetz daycare home died.

After interacting with unelected state bureaucratic managers for almost 2 decades are representatives, senators, the state auditor and his staff, the governor and the attorney general numbed out about the deaths of children? Are feelings repressed? Does one dissociate in order not to grieve?

Rep. Kagi is listed as a "child advocate and public policy consultant" in the February 4, 1995 Manson Fatality Review Committee report. This report was the reason the legislature strengthened RCW 74.15 in 1995 adding a clear "intent" to the law that the health, safety and well-being of your children in state care was paramount over the right of someone to get a daycare license.

For parents and the public out there in readership land the "intent" gives assistant attorneys general, administrative law judges, superior court judges, appellate court justices and supreme court justices a heads up as to just what the legislature intended in passing the law.

The report recommended: "Regular reports of child fatality reviews should be made available to...licensors to increase their understanding of risks for children for whose well-being they are responsible." The unelected bureaucratic managers never did that in the 13 years I was a licensor.

In 2004, 2 year old Hailee Rhodes was slammed down in the playpen by licensed daycare provider Danette Zaring. Hailee suffered brain damage. I brought a card to our regional meeting and asked the managers if they would pass it around for the licensors and supervisors to sign to send to Hailee. They said no.

January 27, 2005 and February 9, 2005 I testified before Rep. Kagi's children's services committee about managers removing information from files, destroying records and not investigating applicants as required per RCW 74.15.030(2)(3)(b). I gave her a copy of a packet I found in a notebook from 2002 when I  conducted the background clearances on applicants in Vancouver DSHS office. I discovered in 2005 it had been removed from the Jennifer Jones licensing file.

Rep. Kagi merely turned around and gave it to director Rachael Langen. The 1994 Manson Fatality Review report stated: "high priority must be given to formation and maintenance of files so that information is complete, easily accessible and useful..."

From 2002 when Christine Gregoire was attorney general to this present moment in 2011 with Rob McKenna as attorney general I have tried to get an official opinion on the record from these two top elected officials about unelected bureaucratic managers concealing, removing and destroying records in violation of the law.

Why won't they go on the record? Why didn't they and why didn't State Auditor Brian Sonntag investigate the concealing, removing and destroying records allegations I reported through the whistle blower program in 2002 and 2005 as well as up my chain of command; and through the House and Senate? It's a class C Felony. 

The management mind set in 1994 that led to the deaths of those 4 unnamed babies and 7 month old Jesse Hunt continued to be the management mind set I witnessed through most of my 13 years as a daycare licensor. More about that in another article I will write.

In 2003 I had a good supervisor who allowed me to follow the law; and he didn't conceal, remove, didn't order records to be rewritten how he wanted them nor did he destroy records.

From 1989 in DSHS until towards the end of 2001 I had never been ordered to rewrite a record (whereby then the supervisor had the original destroyed).  2001 was the turning point.

Currently, the public disclosure process being done by the child care licensing agency, the Department of Early Learning (DEL), is centralized out of headquarters and is being done with integrity. And I just learned that licensing files on revoked licenses are required to be kept for 35 years. I have not been able to learn who made the request to the records retention committee which I would like to know as I want to give credit and kudos when high quality practices are done within the government agency.

Are we overwhelmed with guilt and grief about the many children who have been treated meanly, horribly injured and those that died...that forgetfulness, numbness and denial prevent the running of government as required by RCW (efficiency, effectiveness and economy) and we ignore what is paramount in day care licensing which is the health, safety and well-being of the child?

Is Rep. Kagi protecting herself from those feelings?