Read about Toledo child neglect case leads to suit against DSHS …

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Kirotv.com reports a lawsuit has been filed against the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services on behalf of two Lewis County girls claiming the agency failed to stop years of abuse and neglect by their mother despite repeated warnings.

News reporter Kevin McCarty writes DSHS received two dozen reports over a period of six or seven years but allowed the children to stay with their mother Theresa Hutton at the rural property where she took in dozens of dogs, cats and horses.

It wasn’t until the summer of 2007 after a highly contagious disease prompted authorities to euthanize more than 40 dogs, and the eldest child at age 12 was found so malnourished she weighed only 60 pounds that the girls were removed from the Toledo area home to an aunt and uncle’s care.

The mother was convicted in 2009 of second-degree criminal mistreatment and sentenced to four years in prison.

Read about it here

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5 Responses to “Read about Toledo child neglect case leads to suit against DSHS …”

  1. Donny says:

    My niece had calls about her step mom, and because they put the wrong code in which changed to emergency status from critical to mild. Had they put down emergency visit required they would have to make visual contact with the child within 24 hours and my niece would still be alive today. I hope DSHS trains the staff better and know what signs to look for. R.I.P. Autumn Rest In Peace sweet angle. She was only 4.

  2. Guilty Bystander says:

    I’ve often wondered which was the worse state agency, DSHS or WSDOT because both are monumentally bad. However, I have to give the “worst” title to DSHS because as corrupt and poorly-run as the DOT is, DSHS ruins people’s lives directly.

    Anyone who believes government involvement is the best way to solve our problems only needs to look at these unaccountable two agencies with open eyes to understand things just don’t work that way because they have no motivation to make things better…it’s just a job with good bennies and union protection. We’re just a means to their ends.

  3. meh says:

    Sad indeed when animals are of more concern than children. This is where Darwin’s THEORIES have led us….

  4. sunshinegirl says:

    This is not only in Lewis Co. , but Lisarae is right I am very familiar with that case and other family members let that go on also , Lisarae and the school were the ones who were relentless about seeing a change in that case. The APS in this county is also a joke. I know some people who were advised to leave their home to their abusive child as they had more resources than the abusive child did!!!!! So even though that 30 year old child was abusive they deserved the home their parents had worked hard for? That is nuts!!! I also am very familiar with this case as I live in this area and it is the saddest thing in the world. The father who rescued them died in a car wreck. In this state you can abuse your kids but mess with your dog and they get right on it . That is the only reason this child was saved, and it took them a long while to figure out there were two children not one as the other one was forced to sleep outside. The animal abuse got their aattention right now though.

  5. Lisarae says:

    There were 76 referrals to DCFS in Lewis County regarding my sister in a 5 year time frame, ranging from abuse, neglect, domestic violence, and drugs/alcohol. Her youngest child is severely handicapped, as in 100% dependent on others. DCFS responded to 16 of those calls in that time frame. This was finally addressed when my brother in law was being arrested for DV, and my sister attacked the police, and she too was arrested. Take note, they were never concerned about the children until the police became the victims of my sisters behavior. Once they were placed in foster care, as both of their parents were incarcerated, then, and only then did they take notice, and that was only due to the constant harassment by me. About two years later, my sister lost her parental rights permanently, and the damage done to her 2 children……will last their entire life. Thanks for absolutely nothing Lewis County DCFS!!