The US state of Washington’s foster care system has been sending many young people in need of residential care and treatment to the Clarinda Academy, an institution in Iowa. This is a report by Disability Rights Washington (DRW) to expose the conditions and treatment experienced by Washington foster youth at this institution.
To learn more about the facilities where numerous Washington youth have received treatment, DRW partnered with its sister P&A, Disability Rights Iowa (DRI), to conduct onsite monitoring in the two Iowa facilities. Over the course of two days in February 2018, DRW and DRI conducted separate private interviews with all the young people from Washington, which by that time had dropped to about a dozen. Practically every young person who spoke to DRW discussed or alluded to experiencing multiple traumatic events of sexual or physical assault and/or abandonment by trusted adults in their lives, and almost all had been through multiple placements prior to coming to Iowa. Individuals at both academies described highly restrictive and segregated environments, and as expected, all expressed homesickness for Washington. However, the youth at Clarinda Academy independently reported consistent allegations of verbal and physical abuse, and earnestly complained that they desired to live somewhere else.
Based upon these complaints, DRW initiated a systemic investigation. Although a number of young people feared getting in trouble for reporting complaints, a few agreed to participate in DRW’s investigation and provided releases for DRW to access their records and consent for DRW to speak with their advocates in Washington. With three investigation participants, DRW proceeded to assess the allegations of abuse and neglect that DRW had heard while conducting its monitoring at Clarinda Academy.
This report details non-identifying evidence regarding Washington State’s failure to oversee the care and treatment at Clarinda Academy and the improper practices that Sequel has allowed. The case examples from Clarinda Academy illustrate how Washington’s use of out-of-state facilities is creating an unacceptably heightened risk of abuse and neglect and further harm to youth who have already suffered from multiple, prolonged, or chronic traumatic events. This report aims to shine a light on the inappropriate conditions and inadequate treatment at Clarinda Academy, and to advocate for elimination of out-of-state foster care placements.
