DSHS Archives - Northwest Public Broadcasting

‘The Situation Is Dangerous.’ Parents Sound Alarm Over Troubled In-Home Care Provider

By Austin Jenkins December 7, 2021

Andrew Simmons, right, blows bubbles with his father Bo last spring. Andrew, who's profoundly autistic and mostly non-verbal, lives in a supported living home in Snohomish County operated by Aacres WA, a troubled state contractor. Bo Simmons says conditions in the home over the past year have deteriorated to the point of being dangerous for Andrew and his housemates.

Mysterious bruises. An unreported burn. Two vulnerable clients left alone overnight. These are just some of the complaints that families are leveling against Aacres WA — a troubled residential care provider that gets tens of millions of dollars a year from the state to care for people with developmental disabilities. Now state officials say they’re investigating.Read More

For The First Time, A Woman Will Lead Washington’s Department Of Corrections

By Austin Jenkins April 30, 2021

Department of Social and Health Services Secretary Cheryl Strange will be Washington's first female Secretary of Corrections. She will begin her new position in mid-May. CREDIT: Washington DSHS

For the first time in its 40-year history, the Washington Department of Corrections (DOC) will be led by a woman. On Thursday, Gov. Jay Inslee named Cheryl Strange as the agency’s next secretary.Read More

Washington Mother And Advocate For Developmental Disability Services: ‘Move To Oregon’

By Austin Jenkins November 20, 2019

Lindsey Topping-Schuetz poses for a photo with her three-year-old son Owen before testifying about the challenges families face in obtaining state-paid developmental disabilities services.

Currently, nearly 14,000 people who meet the Washington state's criteria as developmentally disabled are not receiving services. They’re on what’s known as the no-paid services caseload.Read More

13,000+ Washingtonians Qualify For Developmental Disabilities Services, But Don’t Get Them

By Austin Jenkins September 25, 2019

Lindsey Topping-Schuetz holds her nearly three-year-old son Owen who qualifies for developmental disabilities services, but has been denied them because of a lack of state funding. CREDIT: AUSTIN JENKINS / N3

Fifty years ago, Owen might have been institutionalized because of his developmental disabilities. Today, his family just wants to take care of him at home. But they can’t get services from the state to help. And they’re not alone.Read More

This Boy Was Institutionalized At Age 12. Now He’s Moving Out — Half A Century Later

By Austin Jenkins September 20, 2019

Gregory Paul was dropped off at a state institution in Washington. He was diagnosed with "mental retardation." After 55 years, he has finally moved out. COURTESY OF MARYANN BROOKHART

Initially it was traumatizing. On the occasions when MaryAnn Brookhart would visit her brother, who was nonverbal and diagnosed with severe "mental retardation," he seemed institutionalized and "beat up." But over the years, Brookhart came to accept that the state-run Rainier School was where her Greg belonged.Read More

Washington State Racks Up Contempt Orders, Fines As Developmentally Disabled Patients Languish

By Austin Jenkins September 9, 2019

Dawn Akerman and her brother Fred pose while having lunch together before he returned to the hospital in June. Courtesy of Dawn Akerman

In recent months, court commissioners on both sides of the Cascades have found the state of Washington in contempt, and even imposed fines, over access to state psychiatric care for people with severe developmental disabilities. The cases involve people who’ve been found to pose an imminent risk to themselves or others, but are languishing in local hospitals.Read More