13 Indicators of Quality Child Care: Research Update
This is a study from 2002 done by National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care, University of Colorado and presented to the federal government, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
It was to guide licensing by giving states 13 indicators of quality care in child day care.
The paragraph below tells us more abuse occurs in families than in child day care. That's like saying more crashes occur from the public driving their cars than from planes crashing. OK. But when I give an airline money to fly on their plane I expect attention to safety so I get to my destination in one piece. The same holds if I take my child to a licensed day care. I expect my child to be alive when I come and pick him up. I expect that my child won't have permanent brain damage as a result of being in licensed child day care.
"A major concern of parents when they drop their children off at child care is the safety of their children in the hands of the caregivers. The abuse of children in out-of-home settings has generated a good deal of concern. However, all documented research in this area indicates that fewer instances of abuse occur in child care programs than in homes or residential facilities (Finkelhor & Williams, 1990; Goldman, 1993; Margolin, 1991). If abuse does occur, though, parents must be aware of several signs that are cause for concern. According to research, physical abuse most frequently occurs in the form of excessive discipline, often as a response to prior conflict with the child. Sometimes, excessive discipline may have been inadvertently supported by parental permission for corporal punishment. Although sexual abuse occurs less frequently in centers than in homes, the effects of sexual abuse on the child seems worse in centers. Sexual abuse often involves physical abuse (Schumacher & Carlson, 1999)."
The whole study fails to address the children who were permanently maimed and dead because they were in child day care.
What a study omits is more important than what is included in a study.
The study omits the regulators over licensed day care, your state, county and city governments. "Standards" don't mean anything. "Regulations" don't mean anything without the analysis of the state, county or city government bureaucratic managers.
Studies like this often are paid for by the government. When the government gives out the contracts, the money for the items to be researched are governed by the government manager officials.
I have yet to see a completed study where the state licensing agency said, "Hey, research us managers to see if we are licensing, monitoring, investigating and taking enforcement action per law."
My whistle blower reports on the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) now, the Department of Early Learning (DEL) in terms of child day care licensing, on those thirteen quality items, (through our laws) in 2005 resulted in an incomplete investigation, an investigation to this day that has not been completed. No report as required by law was written.
As they were 86ing my whistle blower reports, the State Auditor in Washington State began to conduct a performance audit on child day care licensing. Our director sent us out a memo that one was coming (how is that an audit?). That's like doing scheduled renewal visits on licensed day care facilities, they can clean up the place, get the felons off the property for a day (well for a couple of hours). That audit never made it past that one heads up memo.
The DSHS Secretary in Washington State, Robin Arnold-Williams, ordered a few of my whistle blower complaints be investigated internally (not from an outside, objective, neutral agency). The investigators before interviewing the supervisor, Darcy Taylor and other licensors promised them before hand that no disciplinary or retaliation action would be taken for speaking to them. Problems were found and then the Secretary's follow up order to do a more complete and systemic investigation may have gone by the wayside as no such record has been released to me.
It's better for the public to know rather than to not know. The government websites including the non-profit agencies' websites don't provide the most vital information that the public needs to know about licensed child day care facilities.
I told parents as a licensor and tell parents now to trust their intuition. That will be more valuable than any study and any information the government gives you through any study or information they put on their websites. All paid for by the parents' money, the taxpayers' money.
Showing posts with label Child Deaths in Daycare Washington State. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Child Deaths in Daycare Washington State. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Monday, April 25, 2011
DSHS - Robin I. Johnson murdered 18 month old Charlotte Wetzel-Her Words to Day Care Licensing
When will DSHS and the Department of Early Learning (DEL) protect children in Washington State? The fingerprinting bill is making yet one more rounds through the legislature this 2011-2012 legislative session.
I thought I'd post this article and opinion piece I wrote back in April 2011 about what a day care provider who murdered a fourteen month old in her care wrote to DSHS with a suggestion how to figure out a person who had her instability and not license them.
Here's my article and opinion piece from April 2011:
A reader of the Tacoma Tribune wrote a comment:
"Do those who the state gives a license to not only get a background check but a physiological and take a polygraph test? If not they should. Who knows what lurks in the minds of those we let take care of our kids. I would like to know that everything possible was done to ensure that those taking care of our children were fully screened and tested before taking care of any child that comes under their care."
Robin Johnson killed 18 month old Charlotte Wetzel in 1998. Robin had stomped on Charlotte's stomach causing internal injuries. Robin had previously abused Charlotte as well as other little girls in her licensed day care. Robin was 33 at the time.
Robin wrote a letter to her former licensor with a suggestion on how to keep children safe from people like her.
The letter was received by DSHS on April 22, 1999. Four years before Robin's suggestion in 1995 the legislature strengthened the laws protecting the children in licensed day care.
The unelected government bureaucracy is so broken and has been for 2 decade. As a former licensor and current expert witness at a minimum I urge parents to become essentially your own detectives if you must use licensed care. If you use unlicensed care also be your own detective. Both for your peace of mind and the well-being of your child.
This author is fed up with the unelected government bureaucracy blaming parents.
You cannot trust state employees to follow the licensing laws consistently, in fact, evidence shows that laws enacted by the senators and representatives you elected to represent the health and safety of you as a citizen and of your child in regards to child safety are cavalierly ignored by state employees starting from the top managers on down through the middle managers and then to the supervisors.
Top ranking elected officials such as Governor Gregoire, Attorney General McKenna and State Auditor, Brian Sonntag at a minimum appear impotent to enforce the laws of the legislature. Why is that?
Robin I. Johnson took full responsibility for abusing and killing Charlotte in her 1999 letter. Robin gave the child care licensing agency a suggestion on how to better monitor and evaluate potential daycare providers before giving them a license. Robin wrote:
"The most important issue, which I feel very strongly about because of the serious, even life-threatening impact it can have on any home daycare. Again, I speak from an insight from personal experience on this issue; the catalyst which played a major role in my crime. There is a dire need for mental health evaluations for all home daycare applicants. According to WAC 388.155.180 providers are expected to to be of sound mental health, but this cannot be truly ensured without proper evaluation. Applicants are carefully screened to ensure the children are placed in a safe, well-prepared, and thoughtfully planned daycare environment, with the exception of an evaluation of the applicant's mental stability."
What Robin didn't know and parents aren't told is that her recommendation was all ready a "shall" under the law per RCW 74.15.030(3)to investigate each applicant for "character, competence and suitability". That law allowed and does allow the state today to direct an applicant and other member of the household to get a mental health evaluation on a determination that one is so needed to enforce the intent of the law which had been strengthened in 1995 by the legislature after 4 babies died in licensed foster care (one was a day care baby)in 1993 and 1994.
I reviewed the "home study" the licensor did on Robin Johnson. Those important questions were on the home study and the licensor did not ask them. Robin is right, she was praised for having her environment look good. There was about a 3 sentence write up regarding the home study.
I as a licensor (a social worker 3 who by experience and with a masters in social work) had the expertise to ask the questions to make an evaluation as to the capabilities of the applicant to care for children. I did so. Folks struggling with hidden shame or on shaky grounds around the issue of allowing such a person to be alone with small vulnerable children who avoided or refused to get the mental health assessments I required of them, with that non-compliance I moved and denied the license. In 1993 when I got my first day care provider caseload of 260 I was appalled at who had been allowed to continue providing care. One day care provider had been fined in court for "child endangerment" and was allowed to keep her license. At the next "bloodied" child complaint, I interviewed her and found her to be very depressed; and probably had been chronically depressed for some time. I revoked her license. Why had DSHS managers allowed her to stay licensed?
In the course of my DSHS career I witnessed the laws made by the legislature ignored. In or around 2004..2005 unelected bureaucratic managers were directing licensors not to investigate applicants per RCW 74.15.030(3)for "character, competence and suitability".
Robin had only worked in a daycare center for one month when she applied to take children into her own private home. With the little girls in her care she had "backhanded them" "pulled their hair" "pushing them down" "shaking, dropping, kicking, stomping" One child "had had an area of hair almost the circumference of a 'pop can' pulled from her head" "Robin had hit her with a white belt, spanking her until she fell down". Robin explained away the many bruises to parents that asked. One child began having "night terrors" waking up "screaming and often not calming down for 30 or 40 minutes."
From the CPS investigation summary report: The grandparents of one little girl stated: "..that they spoke to a pediatrician and to a day care consultant about the fact that (redacted name) was indicating strongly by her crying and her body language that she did not want to be left at the Johnson's home in the mornings. Mr. and Mrs. (name redacted) were told that some crying and reluctance to be left for care was quite normal, and should not be cause for concern. This case would certainly be an object lesson on the fact when a child exhibits these behaviors in regard to their day care situation,the parents and grandparents should make every effort to determine the source of their child's fears and apprehensions, and to report to the agency any information that would indicate abuse or neglect or which would be helpful to the licensor."
This author is fed up with the unelected government bureaucratic managers blaming the parents and not investigating the unelected bureaucratic managers who operated the agency in such a way as to allow children to be at risk, treated meanly and in some cases to have died.
Who was the "day care consultant"? Likely,it was a child care resource and referral agency. They exist because of your federal and tax money. They are not allowed access to child care licensing files to know any of the history on any providers. A false sense of security is provided to parents in the media hype that Child Care Resource and Referral agencies and Child Care Licensing agencies look out for the well-being of your child. The head of the state contracted agency makes over $100,000.00 a year as well.
Then the DSHS Division of Licensed Resources Child Protective Services (the layers of bureaucracy grow like a cancer after x number of deaths happen in child care, the managers stay the same, are often promoted, more taxpayer money is spent, the name of the agency changes, until another threshold of deaths become too much of a media story then the "reform" story and hype repeats itself) does not "investigate" the child care agency for possible neglect or failure of duty in licensing child day care homes and centers.
Robin Johnson suggestion was a good one in 1999. Robin had read WAC 388.155.180 correctly. Robin didn't know and I'm sure Charlotte's parents didn't know the legislature had enacted Robin's "suggestion" in 1995. The unelected government bureaucracy ignored the legislature.
Then that other portion of the unelected bureaucracy "investigated" only Robin and did not investigate the unelected child care licensing agency managers for their failure and neglect of duty to the citizens of Washington State.
Covering the most essential duties to keep your children safe have gotten worse over the years but the financial wealth of these unelected bureaucrats has increased. The number of managers who fail at their jobs has increased as well as their paychecks.
The Communications Managers, Amy Blondin, Communication Manager for the Department of Early Learning (the latest name for child care licensing) brings home at least $93,000.00 a year with health benefits and retirement benefits. Her boss, deputy director, Bob Hamilton brings home $112,000.00 a year with health benefits and retirement benefits.
Yet Washington State is in a dire budget situation.
You, the public, parents and and most certainly most of your teenagers know how to put a website up on-line in 15 minutes (if you don't know, Google Siteskins to do that), but these two highly paid child care licensing bureaucrats who make over $200,000.00 a year can't or more precisely won't comply with RCW 43.215.370 passed in 2007 (almost 4 years ago) to post those providers who hurt children, put them at risk or where children actually died as a result of being in a licensed provider's care. The Department of Early Learning is on FACEBOOK and could comply that way as well as on their own website. But they refuse to comply with this law.
Robin Johnson's suggestion was a good one in 1999. 12 years ago. It had become law in 1995. 16 years ago.
The only math going on is towards spending your tax money to enrich these unelected bureaucratic managers who won't comply with the laws.
I thought I'd post this article and opinion piece I wrote back in April 2011 about what a day care provider who murdered a fourteen month old in her care wrote to DSHS with a suggestion how to figure out a person who had her instability and not license them.
Here's my article and opinion piece from April 2011:
A reader of the Tacoma Tribune wrote a comment:
"Do those who the state gives a license to not only get a background check but a physiological and take a polygraph test? If not they should. Who knows what lurks in the minds of those we let take care of our kids. I would like to know that everything possible was done to ensure that those taking care of our children were fully screened and tested before taking care of any child that comes under their care."
Robin Johnson killed 18 month old Charlotte Wetzel in 1998. Robin had stomped on Charlotte's stomach causing internal injuries. Robin had previously abused Charlotte as well as other little girls in her licensed day care. Robin was 33 at the time.
Robin wrote a letter to her former licensor with a suggestion on how to keep children safe from people like her.
The letter was received by DSHS on April 22, 1999. Four years before Robin's suggestion in 1995 the legislature strengthened the laws protecting the children in licensed day care.
The unelected government bureaucracy is so broken and has been for 2 decade. As a former licensor and current expert witness at a minimum I urge parents to become essentially your own detectives if you must use licensed care. If you use unlicensed care also be your own detective. Both for your peace of mind and the well-being of your child.
This author is fed up with the unelected government bureaucracy blaming parents.
You cannot trust state employees to follow the licensing laws consistently, in fact, evidence shows that laws enacted by the senators and representatives you elected to represent the health and safety of you as a citizen and of your child in regards to child safety are cavalierly ignored by state employees starting from the top managers on down through the middle managers and then to the supervisors.
Top ranking elected officials such as Governor Gregoire, Attorney General McKenna and State Auditor, Brian Sonntag at a minimum appear impotent to enforce the laws of the legislature. Why is that?
Robin I. Johnson took full responsibility for abusing and killing Charlotte in her 1999 letter. Robin gave the child care licensing agency a suggestion on how to better monitor and evaluate potential daycare providers before giving them a license. Robin wrote:
"The most important issue, which I feel very strongly about because of the serious, even life-threatening impact it can have on any home daycare. Again, I speak from an insight from personal experience on this issue; the catalyst which played a major role in my crime. There is a dire need for mental health evaluations for all home daycare applicants. According to WAC 388.155.180 providers are expected to to be of sound mental health, but this cannot be truly ensured without proper evaluation. Applicants are carefully screened to ensure the children are placed in a safe, well-prepared, and thoughtfully planned daycare environment, with the exception of an evaluation of the applicant's mental stability."
What Robin didn't know and parents aren't told is that her recommendation was all ready a "shall" under the law per RCW 74.15.030(3)to investigate each applicant for "character, competence and suitability". That law allowed and does allow the state today to direct an applicant and other member of the household to get a mental health evaluation on a determination that one is so needed to enforce the intent of the law which had been strengthened in 1995 by the legislature after 4 babies died in licensed foster care (one was a day care baby)in 1993 and 1994.
I reviewed the "home study" the licensor did on Robin Johnson. Those important questions were on the home study and the licensor did not ask them. Robin is right, she was praised for having her environment look good. There was about a 3 sentence write up regarding the home study.
I as a licensor (a social worker 3 who by experience and with a masters in social work) had the expertise to ask the questions to make an evaluation as to the capabilities of the applicant to care for children. I did so. Folks struggling with hidden shame or on shaky grounds around the issue of allowing such a person to be alone with small vulnerable children who avoided or refused to get the mental health assessments I required of them, with that non-compliance I moved and denied the license. In 1993 when I got my first day care provider caseload of 260 I was appalled at who had been allowed to continue providing care. One day care provider had been fined in court for "child endangerment" and was allowed to keep her license. At the next "bloodied" child complaint, I interviewed her and found her to be very depressed; and probably had been chronically depressed for some time. I revoked her license. Why had DSHS managers allowed her to stay licensed?
In the course of my DSHS career I witnessed the laws made by the legislature ignored. In or around 2004..2005 unelected bureaucratic managers were directing licensors not to investigate applicants per RCW 74.15.030(3)for "character, competence and suitability".
Robin had only worked in a daycare center for one month when she applied to take children into her own private home. With the little girls in her care she had "backhanded them" "pulled their hair" "pushing them down" "shaking, dropping, kicking, stomping" One child "had had an area of hair almost the circumference of a 'pop can' pulled from her head" "Robin had hit her with a white belt, spanking her until she fell down". Robin explained away the many bruises to parents that asked. One child began having "night terrors" waking up "screaming and often not calming down for 30 or 40 minutes."
From the CPS investigation summary report: The grandparents of one little girl stated: "..that they spoke to a pediatrician and to a day care consultant about the fact that (redacted name) was indicating strongly by her crying and her body language that she did not want to be left at the Johnson's home in the mornings. Mr. and Mrs. (name redacted) were told that some crying and reluctance to be left for care was quite normal, and should not be cause for concern. This case would certainly be an object lesson on the fact when a child exhibits these behaviors in regard to their day care situation,the parents and grandparents should make every effort to determine the source of their child's fears and apprehensions, and to report to the agency any information that would indicate abuse or neglect or which would be helpful to the licensor."
This author is fed up with the unelected government bureaucratic managers blaming the parents and not investigating the unelected bureaucratic managers who operated the agency in such a way as to allow children to be at risk, treated meanly and in some cases to have died.
Who was the "day care consultant"? Likely,it was a child care resource and referral agency. They exist because of your federal and tax money. They are not allowed access to child care licensing files to know any of the history on any providers. A false sense of security is provided to parents in the media hype that Child Care Resource and Referral agencies and Child Care Licensing agencies look out for the well-being of your child. The head of the state contracted agency makes over $100,000.00 a year as well.
Then the DSHS Division of Licensed Resources Child Protective Services (the layers of bureaucracy grow like a cancer after x number of deaths happen in child care, the managers stay the same, are often promoted, more taxpayer money is spent, the name of the agency changes, until another threshold of deaths become too much of a media story then the "reform" story and hype repeats itself) does not "investigate" the child care agency for possible neglect or failure of duty in licensing child day care homes and centers.
Robin Johnson suggestion was a good one in 1999. Robin had read WAC 388.155.180 correctly. Robin didn't know and I'm sure Charlotte's parents didn't know the legislature had enacted Robin's "suggestion" in 1995. The unelected government bureaucracy ignored the legislature.
Then that other portion of the unelected bureaucracy "investigated" only Robin and did not investigate the unelected child care licensing agency managers for their failure and neglect of duty to the citizens of Washington State.
Covering the most essential duties to keep your children safe have gotten worse over the years but the financial wealth of these unelected bureaucrats has increased. The number of managers who fail at their jobs has increased as well as their paychecks.
The Communications Managers, Amy Blondin, Communication Manager for the Department of Early Learning (the latest name for child care licensing) brings home at least $93,000.00 a year with health benefits and retirement benefits. Her boss, deputy director, Bob Hamilton brings home $112,000.00 a year with health benefits and retirement benefits.
Yet Washington State is in a dire budget situation.
You, the public, parents and and most certainly most of your teenagers know how to put a website up on-line in 15 minutes (if you don't know, Google Siteskins to do that), but these two highly paid child care licensing bureaucrats who make over $200,000.00 a year can't or more precisely won't comply with RCW 43.215.370 passed in 2007 (almost 4 years ago) to post those providers who hurt children, put them at risk or where children actually died as a result of being in a licensed provider's care. The Department of Early Learning is on FACEBOOK and could comply that way as well as on their own website. But they refuse to comply with this law.
Robin Johnson's suggestion was a good one in 1999. 12 years ago. It had become law in 1995. 16 years ago.
The only math going on is towards spending your tax money to enrich these unelected bureaucratic managers who won't comply with the laws.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Child Deaths in Daycare and Failure to Inform Parents and the Public of Revocation Action in Washington State
Jesse Hunt died January 14, 1994
THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS NO LONGER IN CAMIS
(Children's Administration Management Information System) and also not in the newest DSHS computer system FamLink)
This former provider (Edith Goetz) and any of the family members could again apply for a license. The computer system which licensors would search to look for CPS history, the history on this daycare home is GONE.
Edith and Dean Goetz were licensed for almost three years. They had teenage daughters.
The legislature passed a law (RCW 43.215.370) in 2007 that to date the Department of Early Learning (DEL) refuses to comply with and reporting this violation of the law to Dr. Betty Hyde, director of DEL, Bob Hamilton, Deputy Director of DEL, Amy Blondin, Communications Manager of DEL, State Auditor Brian Sonntag, Attorney General, Rob McKenna and Governor Christine Gregoire and a number of Senators and Representatives in April 2010 (now a year ago) has resulted in NOTHING BEING DONE to require DEL to comply.
Why has no action been taken against these unelected government manager bureaucrats for not posting revocation action against licensed facilities that put children in harm’s way or actually hurt them; and in some cases killed them?
Below is some of the history of the home where 7 month old Jessie Hunt was in before his death. His mom was never told any of this history and only learned it after her son was dead.
Dear parents, Jessie’s mom went through Child Care Resource and Referral. Child Care Resource and Referral gets good money from you, the taxpayer and they get NO INFORMATION ON THE LICENSING HISTORY of the list of homes or centers they then give to you.
A reasonable person would have revoked the Goetz license in 1991 and Jessie would never have been in that home in 1994. A reasonable person would have been shocked and horrified and revoked the license.
Edith Goetz was first licensed March 1991 for six. After contacting licensing that they needed more money the state let them go to eight the very next month. By June the first very serious CPS concerns were reported, two separate reports:
• Provider kicked her step daughter who had bruising.
• Step daughter described provider hitting her in the head and back with her hand and a belt.
• Another daughter the same day reported that the provider, also, kicked her.
• This daughter asked to be placed in protective custody
• So what did licensing do? They up the provider's capacity to 10, then to 12 by December 1991.
•
On November 20, 1991, Debby Brown, licensor sent a letter to the provider's counselor with the following information:
"I find Mrs. Goetz to be a somewhat overbearing, controlling person. She tends to wants things her way, sometimes overly stern with Day Care kids. She is trying hard to be professional in her day care and provide good activities. I regret that my caseload does not allow me more time to observe her interactions with the children more extensively.
Ellyn Turner related that she tends to be rigid and denying. She evaluates the family as dysfunctional, stressed, rigid and little warmth.
Both kids are extremely unhappy and appear frightened. They describe verbal abuse and (name redacted) is still being hit. (Name redacted) says that Mrs. Goetz hit Day Care kids. They have low self esteem and have heads down around their mom. Ellen feels that there is corporal punishment being used.
Mr. Goetz is quiet and asked for help in anger control. I have never met him.
Mrs. Goetz refused home builders services, said she didn't need help and that she already uses the skills. The hold has been lifted from the home.
My supervisor and I are leaning toward raising the licensing capacity to 10 but not 12 at this time. Later next year, possible reevaluate and raise to 12 after we give the family some time to deal with their functioning problems. Mrs. Goetz is not satisfied with these acts and is being very pushy for 12. We are recognizing the fact that allowing her to have more than 8 will giver her better income so that she can have an assistant who says she is a support to her. With no assistant, I can recognize she will be under more stress.
More CPS complaints and licensing complaints came in:
May 1992 - One of the provider's daughters was observed by a day care parent to shake a baby violently. The provider took the baby away from the daughter and started hitting the daughter.
June 1992 - A daughter reports afraid of being hit by the provider and her husband. The daughter lost a volunteer job for use of inappropriate sexual language with children.
December 1992 - A daughter reports being yelled at and having her hair pulled by the provider's husband; and that he hit her with the handle of a hammer.
April 1993 - A daughter reports fear of going home to the provider and her husband. CPS places the daughter in a receiving foster care home.
May 1993 - A former assistant reports the provider hitting day care children over and over again." The assistant further reported the provider gave medicine to drug the babies to sleep and she had seen the provider slap, punch, and kick her children. The assistant also witnessed one daughter throw a knife at the other daughter.
August 1993 - licensor Judy Becker wrote the provider a letter stating:
"Generally, the referrals describe your discipline of your children as angry and harsh, including kicking, hitting with hands and fists on heads, arms, shoulders, slamming (name redacted) against the wall and causing and injury after she talked to CPS, and saying mean and degrading thing to the children. The referrals come from very different sources, so it is not just one person who might b wanting to cause you trouble. The last one indicated that you might be spanking the every little day care children as well.
We do not live in your home and cannot determine exactly the nature of your discipline and negative effects on your children. However, referrals to Child Protective Services in two years, saying basically the same thing, and from different sources is indicative of serious problems. Since you rely on day care for much of your income, you cannot further jeopardize your license by having more referrals. You must understand the necessity of following exactly all the day care regulations, especially regarding the serious matter of discipline and medication....In addition, your discipline methods with your own children do impact the day care and will impact your license. Even if it only happens once or twice a year, losing your temper to the point of hitting or kicking them or leaving marks or bruises is clearly unacceptable."
November 1993 - CPS complaint from a day care mom that both she and her son witnessed the provider hitting day care children.
January 14, 1994: Jesse Hunt died. Doctors suspected shaken baby, suffocation or strangling. Jesse was almost eight months old.
Licensing failed to conduct an investigation on any of the complaints, only sending a wagging finger admonishment letter to the provider.
The state still did not take any legal action until May 16, 1994 four months after Jesse Hunt died. The legal action cited all the complaints made to the state that were never investigated as the reason for not renewing her license.
The licensing managers remain in this 1994 mind set in this author’s observations, expertise and opinion in their failure to see to the health, safety and well-being of the child in licensed care.
In 1994 after the licensed foster family Manson home where 4 babies died (one a day care child) an outside committee conducted a child death review and as result of that review in 1995 the legislature clarified by strengthening the law for DSHS managers to conduct oversight for the protection of children which comes first (RCW 74.15, “intent”).
Judy Becker one of the licensors of the Goetz family home day care is now a supervisor for DEL out of the Tacoma Office.
This author likes Judy Becker very much. We served on the Statewide Customer Service Committee together one year. We had many laughs together. We worked in the same region. It saddened me to come across this information. When I saw the disconnect coming from Judy in her oversight over this home I was shocked. How could a kind, smiling person like Judy Becker not see?
Homebuilders mentioned in this article? Homebuilders was a contracted program that CPS used as a last resort on a private family who had serious risk issues to the family’s children. If a family refused Homebuilders typically the next step would have been removal of the children from the home either by the police or a Court order.
Unelected bureaucratic managers are not accountable to you, the citizen of Washington State. I tell and expose some of these stories to give parents a more complete picture of the state of child care licensing.
There are some excellent child care providers out there. I had some on my caseload as a licensor. Perhaps one of them will write a guest blog and tell the things they saw from being in the provider community.
THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS NO LONGER IN CAMIS
(Children's Administration Management Information System) and also not in the newest DSHS computer system FamLink)
This former provider (Edith Goetz) and any of the family members could again apply for a license. The computer system which licensors would search to look for CPS history, the history on this daycare home is GONE.
Edith and Dean Goetz were licensed for almost three years. They had teenage daughters.
The legislature passed a law (RCW 43.215.370) in 2007 that to date the Department of Early Learning (DEL) refuses to comply with and reporting this violation of the law to Dr. Betty Hyde, director of DEL, Bob Hamilton, Deputy Director of DEL, Amy Blondin, Communications Manager of DEL, State Auditor Brian Sonntag, Attorney General, Rob McKenna and Governor Christine Gregoire and a number of Senators and Representatives in April 2010 (now a year ago) has resulted in NOTHING BEING DONE to require DEL to comply.
Why has no action been taken against these unelected government manager bureaucrats for not posting revocation action against licensed facilities that put children in harm’s way or actually hurt them; and in some cases killed them?
Below is some of the history of the home where 7 month old Jessie Hunt was in before his death. His mom was never told any of this history and only learned it after her son was dead.
Dear parents, Jessie’s mom went through Child Care Resource and Referral. Child Care Resource and Referral gets good money from you, the taxpayer and they get NO INFORMATION ON THE LICENSING HISTORY of the list of homes or centers they then give to you.
A reasonable person would have revoked the Goetz license in 1991 and Jessie would never have been in that home in 1994. A reasonable person would have been shocked and horrified and revoked the license.
Edith Goetz was first licensed March 1991 for six. After contacting licensing that they needed more money the state let them go to eight the very next month. By June the first very serious CPS concerns were reported, two separate reports:
• Provider kicked her step daughter who had bruising.
• Step daughter described provider hitting her in the head and back with her hand and a belt.
• Another daughter the same day reported that the provider, also, kicked her.
• This daughter asked to be placed in protective custody
• So what did licensing do? They up the provider's capacity to 10, then to 12 by December 1991.
•
On November 20, 1991, Debby Brown, licensor sent a letter to the provider's counselor with the following information:
"I find Mrs. Goetz to be a somewhat overbearing, controlling person. She tends to wants things her way, sometimes overly stern with Day Care kids. She is trying hard to be professional in her day care and provide good activities. I regret that my caseload does not allow me more time to observe her interactions with the children more extensively.
Ellyn Turner related that she tends to be rigid and denying. She evaluates the family as dysfunctional, stressed, rigid and little warmth.
Both kids are extremely unhappy and appear frightened. They describe verbal abuse and (name redacted) is still being hit. (Name redacted) says that Mrs. Goetz hit Day Care kids. They have low self esteem and have heads down around their mom. Ellen feels that there is corporal punishment being used.
Mr. Goetz is quiet and asked for help in anger control. I have never met him.
Mrs. Goetz refused home builders services, said she didn't need help and that she already uses the skills. The hold has been lifted from the home.
My supervisor and I are leaning toward raising the licensing capacity to 10 but not 12 at this time. Later next year, possible reevaluate and raise to 12 after we give the family some time to deal with their functioning problems. Mrs. Goetz is not satisfied with these acts and is being very pushy for 12. We are recognizing the fact that allowing her to have more than 8 will giver her better income so that she can have an assistant who says she is a support to her. With no assistant, I can recognize she will be under more stress.
More CPS complaints and licensing complaints came in:
May 1992 - One of the provider's daughters was observed by a day care parent to shake a baby violently. The provider took the baby away from the daughter and started hitting the daughter.
June 1992 - A daughter reports afraid of being hit by the provider and her husband. The daughter lost a volunteer job for use of inappropriate sexual language with children.
December 1992 - A daughter reports being yelled at and having her hair pulled by the provider's husband; and that he hit her with the handle of a hammer.
April 1993 - A daughter reports fear of going home to the provider and her husband. CPS places the daughter in a receiving foster care home.
May 1993 - A former assistant reports the provider hitting day care children over and over again." The assistant further reported the provider gave medicine to drug the babies to sleep and she had seen the provider slap, punch, and kick her children. The assistant also witnessed one daughter throw a knife at the other daughter.
August 1993 - licensor Judy Becker wrote the provider a letter stating:
"Generally, the referrals describe your discipline of your children as angry and harsh, including kicking, hitting with hands and fists on heads, arms, shoulders, slamming (name redacted) against the wall and causing and injury after she talked to CPS, and saying mean and degrading thing to the children. The referrals come from very different sources, so it is not just one person who might b wanting to cause you trouble. The last one indicated that you might be spanking the every little day care children as well.
We do not live in your home and cannot determine exactly the nature of your discipline and negative effects on your children. However, referrals to Child Protective Services in two years, saying basically the same thing, and from different sources is indicative of serious problems. Since you rely on day care for much of your income, you cannot further jeopardize your license by having more referrals. You must understand the necessity of following exactly all the day care regulations, especially regarding the serious matter of discipline and medication....In addition, your discipline methods with your own children do impact the day care and will impact your license. Even if it only happens once or twice a year, losing your temper to the point of hitting or kicking them or leaving marks or bruises is clearly unacceptable."
November 1993 - CPS complaint from a day care mom that both she and her son witnessed the provider hitting day care children.
January 14, 1994: Jesse Hunt died. Doctors suspected shaken baby, suffocation or strangling. Jesse was almost eight months old.
Licensing failed to conduct an investigation on any of the complaints, only sending a wagging finger admonishment letter to the provider.
The state still did not take any legal action until May 16, 1994 four months after Jesse Hunt died. The legal action cited all the complaints made to the state that were never investigated as the reason for not renewing her license.
The licensing managers remain in this 1994 mind set in this author’s observations, expertise and opinion in their failure to see to the health, safety and well-being of the child in licensed care.
In 1994 after the licensed foster family Manson home where 4 babies died (one a day care child) an outside committee conducted a child death review and as result of that review in 1995 the legislature clarified by strengthening the law for DSHS managers to conduct oversight for the protection of children which comes first (RCW 74.15, “intent”).
Judy Becker one of the licensors of the Goetz family home day care is now a supervisor for DEL out of the Tacoma Office.
This author likes Judy Becker very much. We served on the Statewide Customer Service Committee together one year. We had many laughs together. We worked in the same region. It saddened me to come across this information. When I saw the disconnect coming from Judy in her oversight over this home I was shocked. How could a kind, smiling person like Judy Becker not see?
Homebuilders mentioned in this article? Homebuilders was a contracted program that CPS used as a last resort on a private family who had serious risk issues to the family’s children. If a family refused Homebuilders typically the next step would have been removal of the children from the home either by the police or a Court order.
Unelected bureaucratic managers are not accountable to you, the citizen of Washington State. I tell and expose some of these stories to give parents a more complete picture of the state of child care licensing.
There are some excellent child care providers out there. I had some on my caseload as a licensor. Perhaps one of them will write a guest blog and tell the things they saw from being in the provider community.
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