FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Feb. 14, 1996

Lowry releases State Patrol report on OK Boys Ranch

OLYMPIA - Gov. Mike Lowry today released the first two sections of a State Patrol report on its investigation of administrative actions by the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) dealing with the Olympia Kiwanis (OK) Boys Ranch.

"This report documents numerous failures of the system that was in place at the time," Lowry said. "But it also gives us confidence that we have identified how these things were allowed to happen and that the steps we've taken and will continue to build upon can help prevent such inexcusable tragedies in the future."

The State Patrol report, initiated by Lowry last September, details claims of outside influence in the way DSHS employees licensed and monitored the Olympia group home in the years before it was closed in 1994. The section on specific employee misconduct related to the Boys Ranch is still being investigated.

"In no way is this an indictment of the entire agency, but it does show that there were significant problems with oversight and decisionmaking," Lowry said. "Frankly, these findings call for the oversight we have created in our children's ombudsman legislation." The independent ombudsman would have authority to investigate complaints about the care of children in state facilities.

DSHS has made significant efforts to correct the administrative problems identified in this report and in previous reviews and will apply those new procedures throughout its operations. Previous investigations by the agency and the Attorney General concluded that from 1987 to 1994, residents of the OK Boys Ranch were involved in incidents of physical and sexual assault by other residents and Boys Ranch staff. Criminal charges have been brought against three former OK Boys Ranch staff members; additional criminal investigation is ongoing.

The State Patrol report identifies 41 items of concern involving agency operations. DSHS says 37 of those items have been addressed by agency directives over the past two years, recent executive orders, and in the Governor's 1996 supplemental budget request.

In addition, DSHS Secretary Lyle Quasim says the agency will launch an effort to review and monitor the governing boards which operate many state-licensed facilities.

"The governor's recent executive order creating a separate division of licensing gives us the ability to redefine how we grade our group homes and the people who operate them to ensure the health and safety of children we place there," Quasim said.

For more information, contact the Governor's Communications Office at 360-753-6790.

Individual Employee Accountability

• Team Decisionmaking/Community Protection Teams (CPTs): Until recently, social workers made most critical decisions in isolation. Now workers are required by DSHS policy to share decisionmaking by consulting with co-workers and supervisors. This policy has been institutionalized in Governor Lowry's Executive Order 96-02. In addition, supervisors are now required by policy to conduct reviews of all social workers' cases. Further, Governor Lowry's Executive Order 95-04 mandates the use of CPTs in specified cases to ensure that DSHS social workers share decisionmaking on key issues affecting children and families with professionals in the community.

• Clear Reporting and Decisionmaking Responsibilities: Until recently, specific reporting and decisionmaking authority and responsibilities of line-staff, area managers, regional administrators and headquarters staff were unclear. This made it difficult to hold DSHS employees individually accountable for their action or inaction as it related to reporting information or making decisions. Employees' reporting and decisionmaking responsibilities have now been clarified through the chain of command, thereby making it easier to hold individual employees accountable. Governor Lowry's Executive Order 96-02 institutionalizes this change.

Regional Accountability to DSHS Headquarters

• Delayering the Chain of Command: By July of 1995, DSHS had delayered the Children's Administration headquarters structure by eliminating two positions (Office Chief for Field Operations, Director of Children and Family Services) to whom regional administrators had previously reported. Now regional administrators report and are directly accountable to the Assistant Secretary. This change will improve communication and accountability between headquarters and the regions.

• Regional Performance Expectations: In the Fall of 1995, clear performance expectations were developed for all regional managers. These comprehensive expectations address management, case practice, and performance outcomes. Progress toward these expectations is being closely monitored by the Assistant Secretary through monthly meetings with regional administrators and quarterly meetings with regional management teams. Governor Lowry's Executive Order 96-02 requires DSHS to prepare an annual report on performance outcomes relating to children's health and safety.
  

Provider Accountability to DSHS

• Audit Compliance Tracking System: Prior to 1993, DSHS audit findings were not tracked, making it difficult to determine whether corrective action had taken place. Since then, a mandatory audit compliance tracking system has been implemented which closely monitors significant findings to ensure that corrective action occurs.

• Provider Outcomes Expectations: In 1994, DSHS recontracted all of group care on a competitive bid basis -- the first time the group care system had been recontracted in 12 years. The new contracts include expected treatment outcomes for children which DSHS will begin measuring this year.

• Group Care Monitors: As part of his 1995-97 Health and Safety budget request, Governor Lowry requested and the Legislature provided funding for a .5 FTE in each region to monitor the health and safety of children in group care and to monitor compliance with corrective action plans. The governor's 1996 Child Protection supplemental budget request proposes an additional .5 FTE per region. Moreover, Governor Lowry's Executive Order 96-02 requires DSHS to designate and maintain at least one group care monitor in each region.

• Centralized Data System: In 1992, DSHS began implementing a state-of-the-art computer information system (CAMIS) to track child abuse and neglect complaints and services provided to children. Since then, DSHS has added a licensing module which allows licensers to access in this centralized location all pertinent data relating to group, foster care, and child care licensees. This helps licensers flag problems earlier by identifying patterns of incidents.

• License Revocation: In 1995, the Legislature passed DSHS-request legislation that makes license revocation easier when a child's health and safety is in jeopardy. The effect of this legislation is to allow for the revocation of licenses in cases where a pattern of incidents has been identified, but a crisis has not yet occurred.
  

Additional resources are required to successfully maintain and build upon these newly created systems. Critical needs include:

• Additional social workers (and support staff) to reduce average caseloads so workers have sufficient time to participate in team decisionmaking, including CPTs, and maintain accurate files.
• Additional front-line supervisors to reduce average caseloads so supervisors can continue to perform 100% case reviews.
• Additional licensers for group care, foster care, and child care to reduce average caseloads.
• Additional group care monitors to monitor the quality of care and compliance with corrective action plans.
• Additional social worker and supervisor training to reinforce team decisionmaking policies and to improve case practice and supervisory skills.
  

• Separate Division of Licensing: Governor Lowry's Executive Order 96-03 establishes a new division of out-of-home care licensing within DSHS to eliminate the conflicting pressures of ensuring children's health and safety and locating scarce placements for abused and neglected children.

• Transfer of Internal Employee Investigations to the Washington State Patrol: Governor Lowry's Executive Order 96-01 transfers criminal and major administrative investigations involving DSHS employees to the State Patrol. This transfer is intended to avoid even the appearance of conflict of interest or undue influence.
  

• Independent Children's Ombudsman Office. Governor Lowry has requested legislation that would establish an independent children's ombudsman's office to provide information on children and family services, ensure DSHS responsiveness to citizen complaints, and help identify on an ongoing basis "system" issues and responses for the governor and the legislature to act upon. An independent ombudsman will help ensure agency accountability to the public and counteract external pressures on DSHS to compromise children's health and safety.

• DSHS Response to State Patrol Report. DSHS will respond to the issues raised in the Patrol's report as indicated in its formal response.