Washington state will pay $8 million to settle claims that it failed to act on years of warnings about the abuse and neglect of a developmentally disabled Pierce County woman under her family’s care, court records show.
In June 2023, the now 25-year-old woman’s court-appointed guardian and conservator sued the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) and the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF).
The lawsuit, filed in Pierce County Superior Court, alleged that state case workers didn’t investigate allegations of mistreatment or take any meaningful action to shield the woman from potential harm, despite a dozen known referrals dating back to 2018 that raised concerns about her well-being. Another referral was received when she was younger than 2 years old, according to the suit…