MYNORTHWEST NEWS

Lake Stevens family says system failed them, addicted teen spiraling out of control

Mar 25, 2015, 3:07 PM | Updated: Mar 26, 2015, 9:55 am

Kathy Graham is shown with her son Devan and husband Landis about six years ago, before the teen spiraled out of control. "We were happy once," Kathy said. (Photo courtesy Kathy Graham)

(Photo courtesy Kathy Graham)

What do you do when your teenager goes off the deep end, and when you turn to the system for help nothing works?

A Lake Stevens couple said their lives have been a living hell the past few years, and everyone from police to mental health providers have failed to provide the support they need to deal with their disturbed son.

Devan Graham was about 14 when his parents began noticing a change, his mom Kathy Graham said.

“He was having a hard time finding a place to fit in with kids and he found out if he did what the stoner kids did, he fit in.”

Kathy fought back tears detailing Devan’s dramatic plunge into drug abuse that followed.

“You know, having the nurse call us and say your son can’t stay awake or he’s dazed and confused and we’re like ‘what’s going on?'” she said.

Kathy and her husband, Landis Maloney, turned to counselors. They enrolled Devan in a special alternative school and sent him to drug rehab. But he grew increasingly hostile, belligerent and violent.

“Slamming doors, punching walls, things like that. Just aggressive behavior,” said Landis Maloney, Devan’s stepfather. Devan eventually assaulted Maloney, leading to his arrest and conviction for juvenile domestic violence.

The teen threatened to strangle his principal and burn the school down with everybody in it. He started having hallucinations. Kathy called police to report the threats. They told her there was nothing they could do.

“So the school worked with us to have him involuntary committed for mental health issues,” Kathy said.

They took Devan to the hospital, where he spent days strapped to a gurney. But they couldn’t find a mental health facility willing or able to take him.

“We finally found one in Oregon and they had a bed, but they wouldn’t take him because he had violent tendencies,” Kathy said. “That’s why we’re trying to have him committed to get him the help that he needs but nobody wants to help.”

Things kept getting worse. There were break-ins, priceless family heirlooms stolen. They were certain it was Devan and his friends. They called police, who again told them there was little they could do other than take a report.

“When we tried to get help, or more help, that’s when we turned to the court system,” Maloney said.

The couple enrolled Devan in Snohomish County’s At Risk Youth program – a voluntary diversion program run by the juvenile court to help kids and families dealing with substance abuse and other issues.

Devan was supposed to attend bi-weekly hearings, work with a counselor, and attend drug treatment.

But he fought it every step of the way, repeatedly failing drug tests and refusing to do anything ordered.

The couple said there were little consequences, and the program should have done far more to punish him. According to Maloney, court-ordered community service became little more than a weekend hike and television watching.

“He kept getting chance after chance after chance, and it’s almost like saying, ‘Okay I can do this because all that’s going to happen is they’re going to throw me in jail and I’m scot-free,'” Kathy said.

Authorities did put him behind bars for a week, but he immediately went back to using drugs, running away for days at a time.

Though she can’t specifically discuss Devan’s case, Assistant Administrator of the Snohomish County Juvenile Court Brooke Powell said the goal is to get troubled teens to want to change. She pointed out the At Risk Youth program is entirely voluntary.

“We would rather they be in compliance and if they’re not then find incentive for them to be in compliance,” Powell said. “Detention is the last resort and that’s not a place where we want these kids to grow up. They belong in their family homes, they belong in the community.”

While Devan’s parents wanted him locked up, that often can make the problems even worse.

“The research is in on that and confinement is not necessarily effective at changing behavior with young people, and we try to use it less and less and it really is a last resort,” said Mike Irons, a programs manager overseeing probation with the Snohomish County Juvenile Court.

It clearly didn’t work for Devan, who continued getting in trouble with the law. Along with his domestic violence arrest, police also arrested him several times for stealing alcohol from local stores and put him on juvenile probation. But he failed to appear in court multiple times, most recently last week.

Related Resources:

Snohomish County Juvenile Court


Cocoon House

Project Safe

The family finally reached their wit’s end in February when Kathy caught Devan smoking pot in her house. She called police again, who said there was nothing they could do – even though he’s a minor on probation and violated parole multiple times.

So they kicked him out, just days before his 18th birthday.

Several weeks ago, he showed up to the house at 5 a.m. and Kathy gave him a blanket and hooded sweatshirt, but when he camped out on the front porch, she called police again.

“As much as I hate to admit this, I am afraid of my own son. I called the cops. They wouldn’t even come to the house to escort him off my property,” Kathy said.

Lt. Jeff Lambier with the Lake Stevens Police Department wouldn’t do a recorded interview. But he did say his officers should have responded and they have since been “counseled.”

However, he said he and his department have done everything within their power to help the family, responding to multiple calls, taking reports, providing them with information about all of the resources available to them.

Those resources include mental health services, functional family therapy and substance abuse treatment.

Janelle Sgrignoli oversees the juvenile drug court. She said there are a significant number of programs for struggling families, but many wait until a full blown crisis before they start seeking help.

And she said it’s critical they intervene as soon as possible.

“That’s why we start our Connections program at 13,” she said. “Once they get to 17, they see the ARY (At Risk Youth) petition expires because now they’re 18, so a parent waiting until then is often too late,” Sgrignoli said.

Devan’s parents tried all of that and more, and nothing worked.

“We did give him punishments, we did our part as parents. We just couldn’t get through to him,” Kathy said.

While Kathy insists the system failed them, sadly the system can’t fix everyone.

“Can we 100 percent force these kids to be successful? No, we can do our best to motivate them, to engage support for the family as best we can, wrap around services the best we can, and hope that the youth are successful,” Sgrignoli said.

“He’s our kid, we love him, but we feel like victims in this whole thing – not just from Devan but the whole system. Where is our justice?” Kathy said.

Devan’s story isn’t unique, but experts say it’s far from hopeless for many struggling with a similar situation.

“We have those stories of kids that are incredibly successful,” Sgrignoli said.

One of those is a young man currently sentenced to the offender drug court she oversees.

“There is trauma, substance abuse. He has since turned his life around. He’s writing music, he’s writing poetry, great rap poetry, the sky’s the limit with him. He’s reconciled with his father. It’s amazing – a 100 percent turnaround,” she said. “I have another young woman who’s now 20, she’s going to college. And at 15, I thought she was going to die.”

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Lake Stevens family says system failed them, addicted teen spiraling out of control