Investigation reveals disturbing legal loophole
SEATTLE The patagonia fleece pullovertragic death of a 2 year old revealed a shocking loophole in state law, and a Problem Solver investigation found that loophole allows felons convicted of certain crimes to operate or work in children s day cares.
We also discovered that passing a background check doesn t necessarily mean the person hasn t committed any crime.
Assault. Promoting prostitution. Making and selling drugs. Stalking. Custodial sexual misconduct. These are just some of the 35 crimes on what Washington State calls the Director s List.
Get convicted of any of these and, five years later, a person can be cleared to operate or work in a day care.
That s not right, clearly not right, said attorney Eric Lindell.
Lindell was stunned when he found the Director s List. And then, he adds, there are the crimes that don t require any waiting period.
You can get convicted of the crime of cruelty to animals, having sexual relationship with an animal, he said. And the day after you re convicted you can apply to become a daycare provider or daycare worker.
State Representative Roger Goodman (D Kirkland) chairs the State Houdiscount patagonia shortsse Public Safety Committee and helped set the current Director s List.
We don t really have a lot of evidence that hiring people in childcare centers with certain criminal backgrounds is of increased danger to the kids, Goodman said.
Then KOMO News told him about the Roberts family of Mount Vernon, Washington. Despite 2 year old David Roberts autism his parents say he was a happy child, always smiling. He loved his older sister, he loved the family pets, he just loved life.
He was one of the happiest kids ever, said Bryan Roberts, David s father. while at an Oak Harbor day care. Bryan was in the Navy at the time and it was a convenient location. Shayna Roberts, David s mother, recalls getting the call from the day care owner.
Terrified, I was terrified, she said.
The Roberts raced to Oak Harbor to find their son lying in the back of an ambulance, unresponsive.
I was just trying to wake him up saying, David, I m here, mommy s here, wake up, David wake up, and he wasn t responding, Shayna said.
David was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattpatagonia outlet reno nv directionsle. He never woke up and two days later David was pronounced dead.
I don t know what he felt patagonia outlet store san diegobut I know that he s gone, Shayna said.
She worries that her son never knew his parents had raced to be with him, anpatagonia outlet reno nv directions2d I just hope that he knows that we were there.
Nearly two years later the family still grieves.
A huge part of our heart is missing, Bryan said through tears.
According to documents obtained by the Problpatagonia discount code discountem Solvers from the state s Department of Early Learning, David died of an, inflicted head injury. Those records refer to a report by Dr. Ken Feldman, patagonia discount code origamia child abuse expert, saying, the injurpatagonia discount code shutterflyy was caused by an adult and ruled out any injury to the child prior to entering the Provider s home.
The Provider is the day care, the two people watching the children that day, were the owner and her husband. The records also say that DEL would have revoked their license except the couple moved out of state.
And then the Roberts learned: the husband of the daycare owner has a criminal record.
I felt betrayed, Shayna said.
The Problem Solvers examined the husband s criminal history and found a burglary conviction in 1999, a Class B felony. That same yepatagonia everlong review 6770mar he was arrested for malicious mischief and, as part of a diversion agreement to avoid a possible conviction, he had to complete an angepatagonia outlet reno nv directions1r management program.
The Roberts were stunned. They had specifically checked out the daycare before ever placipatagonia guide jacket kangaroong David there. The Roberts says the Navy told them patagonia outlet reno nv directions3everyone had cleared their background checks.
patagonia outlet reno nv directions0
To me clear clear means nothing there, said Shayna. Clear is transparent, clear is nothing.
But the state records the Roberts never saw, specifically the husband s background check application, he checked yes in the section asking about a felony conviction. And per state law, the agency granted him permission to work in the home with unsupervised access to the children. It doesn t make sense to Bryan Roberts.
patagonia guide pants 97% You can t join the military if you ve had a felony, you can t vote, you can t own a firearm, but I guess they feel like you can, they can watch our children, he said.
