Failure to Screen Foster Parents: When Negligence Leads to Abuse

Foster care agencies and placement organizations have a responsibility to properly screen potential foster parents. If they don’t, and the child is harmed as a result, the agency or organization may be held liable. Talk to a Washington foster care abuse attorney to learn more.

Part of the foster care process is screening potential parents. Careful evaluation of the parents and their home can reveal potential problems and ultimately prevent a child from being placed in a harmful environment. However, not all agencies and organizations take this step.

When foster children experience injury or harm because of insufficient screening, they or others could have a legal claim for monetary damages. Whether that compensation is available and how much it is worth will depend on several factors.

If you or someone else in the foster system was harmed due to a lack of proper review or evaluation of the foster parents, we’re ready to help. Our Washington foster care abuse attorneys can explore your legal options and help you seek monetary compensation.

What Is Involved With Foster Care Screening in Washington?

Foster care screening is a process that aims to ensure foster children are placed only in homes that provide appropriate care and a loving environment. It looks at prospective foster parents, the home environment in which the foster child would be placed, and other factors that may affect the child’s welfare.

The actual screening process can vary from one agency or organization to another. However, it generally includes such steps as:

• Conducting a background check on the foster parents and other household members
• Reviewing any criminal history that either parent has
• Examining child abuse and neglect records
• Checking the personal references provided by the foster parents
• Assessing the quality of the parents’ home environment
• Considering the foster parents’ ability to meet the child’s needs
• Interviewing the foster parents and other members of the household

The objective of these and other steps is to minimize the risk that a foster child will be placed in an unsafe or unsuitable home. Agencies responsible for placing children must meet certain requirements to help prevent inappropriate placements.

How Does Insufficient Screening Cause Harm to the Foster Child?

Insufficient screening can result in a child being placed in a foster home where known or foreseeable risks of abuse were either not identified or not properly acted upon. Every case is different, but in general, the failure to conduct appropriate screening can cause avoidable risk to the child and lead to injury, illness, or even death.

An agency or other responsible party might overlook warning signs like prior allegations or evidence of abuse, unsafe home conditions, or indications that the parents are unwilling or unable to care for the child. When these problems are ignored, the child could be placed in a home that proper screening would have avoided.

Another common situation is when an agency fails to investigate circumstances that should appear suspicious. For example, the foster parents’ references might appear to be phony or questionable. Although this alone does not necessarily mean the child is in danger, a careful agency would look into the matter further.

Who Is Liable for Negligent Foster Care Screening?

The individuals or organizations responsible for foster care placement could be held liable. These can include private foster care agencies, child placement organizations, and government entities that act negligently. A Washington foster care abuse law firm can help you properly identify which parties are liable.

Private agencies can be liable when they fail to follow applicable requirements or protocols, ignore known risks or risks that should reasonably be known, or place a child without properly evaluating the foster parents. Placement organizations and government entities may also face liability if their failure to follow applicable requirements contributes to a child’s injuries.

There are also situations in which foster parents deliberately include misleading information in their applications, resulting in an unsuitable placement. If this was something that a reasonable foster care agency should have noticed, then they may be liable.

What Has to Be Proven in a Foster Care Negligence Lawsuit?

A plaintiff in a foster care negligence lawsuit must generally prove:

• Duty of care: This means the defendant owed the child a legal duty to act with reasonable care.
• Breach: A breach of the duty of care occurs when a negligent act or failure to act, such as skipping a key step in the screening process, occurs.
• Causation: The breach must actually cause harm or injury to the child.
• Damages: The child must have suffered compensable losses or injuries as a result of the defendant’s negligence.

What Compensation May Be Available?

A foster child / former foster child who has been harmed because of insufficient screening may be able to seek monetary compensation for the injuries and losses they experience. The nature and amount of compensation will depend on the specific facts of the case, but may include:

• Medical expenses related to current healthcare needs or reasonably expected future needs the child will have due to their injuries
• The costs of counseling, therapy, and other mental health services
• Disability-related expenses for long-term needs the child has due to their injuries
• Lost future earning capacity if the injury impairs the child from earning income at their full potential
• Non-economic damages to compensate intangible losses like emotional distress or pain and suffering

Frequently Asked Questions About Foster Care Screening Negligence

Are all cases of foster child abuse or neglect proof of poor screening?

No, because it’s not possible for even the most rigorous screening process to absolutely guarantee that no child will ever be improperly placed in a foster home. The law does not require foster care agencies and other responsible parties to be perfect, only to avoid unreasonable errors.

Who files a Washington foster care negligence lawsuit?

This depends on the child’s age, legal status, and whether anyone has legal authority to act on the child’s behalf. The appropriate plaintiff could be a parent, legal guardian, guardian ad litem, or another court-appointed representative of the child. In some cases, the adult child can sue for harm they experienced in the foster system.

What evidence may be helpful in my case?

Possible evidence could include the foster child’s medical bills, pictures, videos, foster agency reports and other internal records, court records, organizational policies and procedures, placement records, background check results, the foster parents’ original application, and more. We take the time to identify and obtain the necessary evidence in every case we represent.

How Can a Washington Foster Care Negligence Attorney Help?

Truitt and Lyons has extensive experience representing victims and other plaintiffs in Washington foster care negligence cases. When you retain us to handle your legal matter, we get to work by:

• Investigating the circumstances surrounding the poor screening
• Obtaining evidence of negligence and identifying the liable parties
• Determining the full value of all past, present, and future damages
• Filing and serving a lawsuit on all defendants
• Working to settle the case out-of-court, if possible
• Taking the case to trial if a fair settlement cannot be reached

To get started or to learn more about these cases, get in touch with Truitt and Lyons. You can give us a call or complete our online contact form to schedule your initial consultation now.