Another case - 7.3 million awarded! CPS ignores abuse for 10 years. $Federal funding$ more enticing... again.

June 5, 2011

Washington: Three foster children sued CPS and won 7.3 million dollars

Physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, and exploitation – in a foster home!

We’re not surprised.

Three children in Washington state were granted 7.3 million dollars in a lawsuit settlement by the Washington Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS). CPS social workers in Washington placed the children in the home of Enrique Fabregas, a foster “parent” with a long history of arrests, criminal convictions, and drug abuse. Their excuse was that he had lied on his application. In other words, in their haste to get kids into a foster home and start drawing in federal income streams for three foster children, they didn’t bother to do a criminal background check. Or if they did, they just didn’t care enough about the children to protect them from him.

Between 1996 and 2006 the Department of Social Services received at least 28 complaints from the three girls – alleging everything – including sexual abuse. But did Washington CPS social workers do anything to help these children? NO… not for ten years! … until 2006 when the foster “parent” was charged with three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and possession of child pornography.

CPS social workers in Washington state made life a horrible nightmare for these three girls, and for ten years managed to turn their backs and ignore their cries for help. That’s a lot of child neglect, and the social workers and CPS caseworkers involved should be prosecuted and imprisoned, not just fined!

A Seattle Times article, State to pay $7.3 million for 3 abused as foster children, by Queenie Wong (staff reporter), tells us the stories told by these abused children – and I want to make clear – they weren’t abused only by Enrique Fabregas – but also by all those CPS social workers who ignored them when they asked for help.

One girl said that she and her sister were forced to kneel for hours with their arms in the air, and that when the foster abuser left the house he told the children that they were being videotaped and that if they moved they’d be killed. Another girl said that he sexually and physically abused her and made her feel like trash. She’s still having flashbacks from the abuse she endured. The third sister said that he would force her to copy Bible verses for hours, about lying and stealing, then when she complained about him he’d give these writings to the CPS social workers as if they were her confessions of wrong-doing. The foster children also said they’d been emotionally abused, choked, and beaten by the foster “parent”. But CPS social workers refused to help them escape from this horrendous child abuse.

If all the abused foster children in America were to sue their state’s social services departments the system would soon run out of money to pay their insurance companies – or more likely, the insurance companies would refuse to insure them further. The child welfare nightmare would be finished.

Perhaps as family rights advocates the best thing we can do is to arrange lawsuit opportunities for foster children aging out of the system. Very few of them would tell you they were never abused, and many would have verifiable proof. Unfortunately most of these abused children don’t realize they’ve got the right to sue for their maltreatment. At the age of eighteen they’re put on the streets and are suffering, trying to find ways to keep from being homeless.

Perhaps this could be the next great law specialty for family lawyers. It would truly be a great public service.

Similar Posts:

• Washington: Three foster children sued CPS and won 7.3 million dollars
• Washington: Foster Parent Arrested For Abusing A Foster Child For Ten Years; CPS Caseworkers Ignored 15 Reports of Child Abuse!
• Florida: Foster parent’s sons accused of molesting younger foster children; CPS ignored first complaint
• California: Foster Parent Pleads Guilty To Child Molestation
• Vermont, Ohio: Protecting Children From Abusive Fosterers