Latest from The Spokesman-Review

• DSHS official explains visitation schedule that brought sons to Powell’s home

  February 5, 2012 in GoGolf News DSHS officials offer an explanation on how Powell’s sons were brought to father’s home 12

• Excelsior could house sex offenders

  January 1, 2012 in City on Page B2 Excelsior Youth Center may partner with the state Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration to open 12 beds for teenage Level 1 sex offenders. Bob Faltermeyer, Excelsior’s director, said the JRA approached the … 6

• Complaints at DSHS rise as state funding drops

  September 21, 2011 in City on Page A6 Demand for social services increased dramatically at the same time Washington state cut those services for an increasing number of poor, jobless residents. The number of state residents experiencing long-term … 1

• Courthouse family rights protest planned

  August 11, 2011 in City on Page A6 A family rights group is planning protests on Friday against the child welfare system at courthouses across the nation, including Spokane. The protests, planned in 42 states and Washington, D.C., …

• Welfare agency leader lacks support of union

  June 8, 2011 in City on Page A6 A vote by union employees of the state Children’s Administration overwhelmingly expressed no confidence in the agency’s head, the Washington Federation of State Employees said. “This is not something we … 3

• DSHS privatization halted by judge

  May 17, 2011 in City on Page A6 A Thurston County judge has ordered the Washington Department of Social and Health Services to stop contracting with private agencies to manage child welfare cases until it can show that … 1

• State workers union sues DSHS, claims ‘effort to privatize child welfare’

  May 7, 2011 in City on Page B1 The largest union representing Washington state workers has filed a lawsuit in Thurston County Superior Court seeking to stop the Department of Social and Health Services from privatizing child welfare. … 1

• Editorial: Keep public assistance programs accountable

  May 5, 2011 in Opinion on Page A13 What might be lost in the controversy over welfare debit card abuse is the fact that the state is taking serious steps to address the problem. The unfortunate distraction emerged … 2

• DSHS resignation comes amid criticism over fraud comments

  May 1, 2011 in City on Page B1 SEATTLE – The official in charge of Washington state’s food stamp and child support agency has resigned amid an uproar over televised remarks he made that appeared to dismiss evidence … 5

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  Adoptions, parental rights loophole puts families in flux

  March 20, 2011 in City on Page A1 A Tri-Cities couple’s adopted sons may be taken away, and a Spokane woman’s daughter was adopted while she fought to keep the girl. The separate child custody cases illustrate a … 2

• State reduces aid for families

  February 2, 2011 in City on Page A5 Washington cut about 5,000 families off welfare Tuesday and reduced the monthly benefit to the families remaining on assistance at a time when more people are asking for help. As … 7

• State assistance terminated for 5,000 families

  February 1, 2011 in News, City Washington cut about 5,000 families off welfare Tuesday and reduced the monthly benefit to the families remaining on assistance, at a time when more people are asking for help. As … 12

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  Special needs kids find caring home with the Beuhls

  January 20, 2011 in Washington Voices on Page N1 The first phone call came almost 20 years ago. It was about a tiny child at St. Anne’s Children Home with shaken baby syndrome. The baby was so frail and …

• Letter details targeted cuts to Medicaid services

  November 25, 2010 in City on Page A1 Thousands of Washington’s poorest residents will receive a letter early next month informing them that they will lose health care services in the coming year as the state cuts Medicaid … 82

• DSHS to cut 380 workers, among other actions

  September 30, 2010 in City on Page A5 OLYMPIA – One of the state’s largest agencies will cut 380 employees, give the remaining staff two more days of unpaid leave and reduce the amounts spent on long-term care, … 66

• DSHS to cut staff by 380

  September 29, 2010 in News OLYMPIA — One of the state’s largest agencies will cut 380 employees, give the remaining staff two more days of unpaid leave and reduce the amounts spent on long-term care, … 9

• State budget woes strike welfare program

  August 13, 2010 in City on Page A5 OLYMPIA – Fewer people will qualify for a state welfare program that provides child care subsidies and help finding a job under cuts announced by Gov. Chris Gregoire on Thursday. … 8

• Medicaid clients to get service cards

  April 6, 2010 in City on Page A6 About 183,000 people on Medicaid in Spokane and northeastern Washington will receive service cards replacing monthly paper coupons beginning this week.

• County to pay $50,000 to settle suit in death of Trent Yohe

  March 23, 2010 in City Spokane County commissioners approved a $50,000 settlement Tuesday in the May 2007 death of a Spokane Valley man who fought with sheriff’s deputies. 4

• State revokes license of adult family home

  October 23, 2009 in City The license of Amazing Grace Adult Family Home in southeast Spokane has been revoked by the state Department of Social and Health Services. 1

• DSHS defends job cuts

  July 20, 2009 in City on Page A6 OLYMPIA – Washington lawmakers took calculated risks when they adopted a budget that lopped more than $4 billion in state programs and spending this year, but officials say the reality …

• Wash. ombudsman sues over cuts to health program

  July 8, 2009 in City A judge in Seattle has been asked to halt cuts to a health care program for disabled adults living in Washington state-sponsored homes.

• Prosecutor rakes DSHS office

  March 21, 2009 in City on Page B1 A “pattern of misconduct” plagues the Colville office of the Department of Social and Health Services and has resulted in the wrongful removal of foster children, in one instance described … 6

• Our View: Summer Phelps report illustrates need for reform

  March 4, 2009 in Opinion on Page A15 The child fatality review in the Summer Phelps case punctuates the state’s arduous journey in reforming the way it goes about protecting vulnerable children. Before the 4-year-old girl’s horrible death …

• Proposals focus on preventing deaths like Summer’s

    February 27, 2009 in City The Department of Social and Health Services Children’s Administration issued today its review of how it handled the case of Summer Phelps, who was 4 when she died in March …

• Communication specialists fight ABC soup

  January 30, 2009 in City, Idaho, Region The acronym list at Washington’s Department of Social and Health Services Web site runs 53 pages. OUCH. The acronym list for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare stretches 37 …

• State may close teen runaway centers

  January 28, 2009 in City on Page A6 Spokane’s center for teenage runaways could close this year if the Legislature agrees to cuts proposed by the Department of Social and Health Services. Nine centers in nine cities, including …

• Washington cuts funding for runaway teen shelters

  January 27, 2009 in City, Region The budget ax is falling on a Washington state service that houses runaway teens while trying to reunite them with families or foster parents.

• Report says DSHS complaints hit ‘all-time high’

  January 23, 2009 in City on Page A6 Vulnerable children in Washington need to be placed in permanent, safe homes – preferably with caring relatives. And the quicker, the better. That’s the main message in a 102-page report …

• Nurse program, DSHS suffer from budget issues

  December 4, 2008 in City on Page B2 Government budget shortfalls in Washington and Idaho have resulted in cuts to programs that protect vulnerable children. In North Idaho, the Panhandle Health District’s Public Health Nurse Home Visiting Program …