Washington Dept. of Children, Youth & Families sued over child left in hot car
Mar 23, 2025, 12:01 PM
Logo representing the Washington Department of Children, Youth & Families, which is accused of negligence after a child who was left unattended in a hot car died in 2023.
A lawsuit filed against the Washington State Department of Children, Youth & Families accuses the agency of negligence, after a one-year-old boy who was left in a hot car died.
The child died in May of 2023.
The lawsuit claims his foster mother forgot about him and left him in the back seat of her car for close to nine hours.
Authorities found the unresponsive child in a parking lot at MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup where she worked.
According to the Tacoma News Tribune, a lawsuit filed on behalf of the child’s estate claims the department knew, or should have known, the boy was placed in a foster home that was neglectful and “posed dangers to his health and safety.”
Steven Kopp, the child that died, was left in the car on a day that temperatures reached the 70s, according to the lawsuit filed March 14th.
Court documents filed by the plaintiff claim officials at DCYF had received “information indicating the potential occurrence of abuse and neglect” at the foster home. The lawsuit alleges the state agency responsible for protecting children failed in its duties, by not removing the child from the home.
The News Tribune reported attempts to contact lawyers representing the estate were unsuccessful.
A spokesperson for DCYF also declined to comment, since the agency’s policy is not to speak about pending litigation.
After the boy’s death, the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the incident was an accident. The Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney’s office chose not to file criminal charges at the time.
In a memo dated July 30th, Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney Mary Robnett wrote, “there is no concern that the foster mother will commit this type of act again herself, and criminalizing her tragic mistake will not deter others from making similar future mistakes.”
Robnett also said, based on the circumstances of the case and other legal precedents, a conviction was not likely.
“There is no concern that the foster mother will commit this type of act again herself, and criminalizing her tragic mistake will not deter others from making similar future mistakes,” Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney Mary Robnett said in July 30 memo.
She also noted that a conviction was unlikely based on the circumstances and prior precedent.
According to the prosecuting attorney, the incident should be considered a tragic accident. She said it was clear the boy was left in the car by mistake, and his 47-year-old foster mother had taken complete responsibility for his tragic death.
Robnett added that when the incident happened and the boy was left unattended, the foster mother was exhausted, recovering from a bout with COVID-19, and was nervous about a new job she was taking on as a case manager.
Investigators say the foster mother was on her way to work when she dopped off several children at different locations and intended to take the one-year-old to a daycare.
The foster mother also explained to them that three other factors were involved: a change in her usual routine, anxiety over being late to work, and being distracted by colleagues in the parking lot.
Puyallup police reported interviews with the first-time foster parents after the boy’s death were “heartbreaking.”
The family is not being identified because there have not been charged with a crime.
Attorneys representing the child’s estate claim in the lawsuit that DCYF failed to act act on issues that were purportedly present after the couple was licensed.
Court documents allege “over the course of the following year, the (foster parents) repeatedly demonstrated a lack of familiarity with procedures and requirements of foster care under Washington Law, violated health and safety protocols for the care of a foster child, and showed clear signs of exhaustion and burn-out as well as a lack of communication, all concerning child safety factors that were known to DCYF yet ignored by DCYF.”
The legal complaint filed by the boy’s estate has not specified any damages being sought by the plaintiffs.
