Daybreak Youth Services said Friday that it is appealing the state Department of Health’s intended revocation of its Brush Prairie facility’s licenses.
On Nov. 19, the state’s Residential Treatment Facilities and Behavioral Health Agencies programs notified the youth outpatient and inpatient mental health and substance abuse treatment facility, 11910 N.E. 154th St., of their intent to revoke the licenses.
The action was prompted by allegations earlier this year of sexual assault, problems with client and staff safety, and a pattern of inadequate reporting as required by law.
According to a written statement issued by Daybreak, it is appealing the revocations to prevent the closure of “the only psychiatric residential treatment facility in Washington for at-risk youth who require both mental health and substance use services.”
The nonprofit filed its appeal Friday, noting in a statement that the intended revocations are based on “inaccurate and unsubstantiated” claims.
“This is a matter of injustice not only to our state’s only long-standing, proven inpatient psychiatric treatment provider for these troubled youth, but more importantly injustice to the young people who will have nowhere else to turn if Daybreak’s doors are forced to close,” Daybreak’s attorney David H. Smith said in the statement. “The state is basing its decision on inaccurate and incomplete information and misleading evidence that is the result of unlawful investigatory practices by the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.”
In September, sheriff’s deputies served a series of search warrants at the Brush Prairie facility as part of an investigation into allegations of unlawful sexual contact between clients, between a staff member and client, and for failure to report criminal conduct as required.
The sheriff’s office has been investigating the allegations since early June.
At the time of the searches, Daybreak’s board said in a statement that it takes the allegations seriously and intends to work with the sheriff’s office.
But in the statement on the appeal, Daybreak alleges deputies unlawfully seized highly confidential and sensitive patient records in violation of federal patient privacy laws.
Following the searches, Daybreak filed a complaint for injunctive relief against the sheriff’s office seeking to prohibit investigators from reviewing, releasing or using certain records that were seized. Those records included Prison Rape Elimination Act documentation with the full names of individuals involved, confidential health care records, hard drives and external thumb drives, and numerous computers, according to the complaint.
However, a Clark County Superior Court judge denied Daybreak’s request to halt the examination of materials seized during the searches. Judge Robert Lewis told attorneys for Daybreak at a hearing in September that deputies were acting within the scope of search warrants issued by the court, and denied the attorneys’ request for a temporary restraining order.
Undersheriff Mike Cooke said Wednesday that the investigation is ongoing and that no arrests have been made.
On June 8, the sheriff’s office provided notice of its investigation to the Department of Social and Health Services, the facility’s regulatory agency at the time.
DSHS opened its own investigation June 11, which included an on-site visit June 19, according to Kenny Coleman, communications specialist manager with the Department of Health. When oversight of behavioral health agencies shifted from DSHS to the Health Care Authority and Department of Health on July 1, the health department took over the investigation, Coleman said.
DOH investigations
A total of six investigations were conducted by the Department of Health into Daybreak’s Brush Prairie facility. The investigations concluded in the last week of September and entered into legal review, Coleman said.
The disciplinary notification states that “Daybreak allegedly didn’t comply with a staff-to-patient requirement, didn’t comply with a personnel training policy, didn’t have current legal citations in its policies and procedures, and didn’t report or follow up on incidents that took place at the facility.”
Daybreak said Friday that its request for a hearing to appeal the revocations “does not attempt a point-by-point rebuttal of the claims” made in the disciplinary notification. Instead, it offers examples of how the Department of Health made its decision based on a “fundamental misunderstanding” of the provider’s program, as well as a misapplication of state law and code requirements.
Among other arguments, Daybreak maintains it has done the following:
- Reported all safety incidents to appropriate agencies as required by law, despite the Department of Health’s allegations of unreported incidents;
- Continued to provide and improve staff training, including Crisis Prevention Institute protocols designed to de-escalate acts of aggression and self-harm, in accordance with quality improvement efforts and state and federal mandates;
- Complied with state law for nursing staffing levels.
