Powell boys murder – DSHS has questions to answer

Citing a failure to contact law enforcement before
visits, a panel reviewing the deaths of Josh Powell’s
children says DSHS could have done more to determine a
possible risk. (Read more)

“The violent death of any child, especially at the
hands of a parent, is always a tragedy. But few of us who
have served in child welfare have had to deal with such a
horrific experience as the loss of Charlie and Braden. The
thorough, thoughtful examination and recommendations
provided by the committee members will be of great help in
our ongoing efforts to improve our practice in keeping
children safe,” said DSHS Children’s Administration
assistant secretary Denise Revels Robinson.

That’s a quote today from the Assistant Secretary,
Children’s Administration for DSHS Denise Revels-Robinson.
Sadly, she has far too much experience in the loss of
children.

I extensively covered the story of her hiring by the
State of Washington. Here’s what I wrote in 2011:

–2011 blog post–

Back in Wisconsin, here is what people said about our
state hiring Revels-Robinson. This from blogger “Freedom Eden.”

Thursday, September 17, 2009
Denise Revels Robinson Goes to Washington Denise Revels
Robinson, the disgraced director of the Bureau of
Milwaukee Child Welfare, has been appointed to be the
assistant secretary overseeing the Children’s
Administration in Washington State.

Remember, Robinson resigned in the wake of the horrific
torture that 13-month-old Christopher Thomas Jr. suffered
at the hands of his foster mother and aunt, Crystal Keith.
Keith tortured Christopher to death and mercilessly abused
his sister while they were in her care.

Many caring individuals wanted to be a parent to
Christopher and love him. Instead, the Bureau of Milwaukee
Child Welfare determined that he belonged with Keith.

Here’s what the Milwaukee Journal said about her
hiring.

Revels Robinson, who ran the Milwaukee bureau for
12 years, continued to work for the Department of Children
and Families as an executive policy adviser. She will
become Washington’s assistant secretary for children’s
administration.

The Milwaukee bureau, under her leadership, was
heavily criticized for the way it handled the November
2008 beating death of Christopher Thomas. Christopher and
his sister had been tortured by their aunt, Crystal Keith,
a court-ordered kinship foster parent, even as caseworkers
repeatedly visited their home.

Once again today, I will continue to ask the same
questions I’ve been asking for years – what qualities does
Denise Revels-Robinson bring to her job that outweight the
scandals of children’s deaths that have happened under her
watch?

Attorney Anne Bremner, who is representing Susan Cox
Powell’s family, also wonders why DSHS and Washington
State would want someone with that track record
responsible for the well-being of our children.

“We want to know that kids are going to be safe and we’re
just not satisfied that that’s the case right now even
after this review….and she’s still there,” Bremner said
on the Dori Monson
Show
Thursday.

Bremner is filing a lawsuit on behalf of Susan Cox Powell
against DSHS because she believes sweeping changes need to
be made before more children are killed.

“We keep hearing about these problems and ours is probably
the worst in the nation with Charlie and Braden being
taken out by a hatchet and fire when there were warning
signs after warning signs,” Bremner said. “Clearly the
problems at the top end up with the problems at the
bottom. What they’re trying to do is reunify families and
not look at the best interest of the child.”

Interview with Attorney Anne Bremner on the DSHS
report: