‘He weighed 61 pounds’: Lawsuit says DCYF missed signs of starvation before 15-year-old autistic teen died

After a 15-year-old nonverbal and autistic child died while in the care of his adoptive parents, who received assistance from the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF), a local law firm has filed suit with the state department.

Chris Davis, with Davis Law Group, joined “The Jake and Spike Show” on KIRO Newsradio to discuss the harrowing story of how Vancouver’s Karreon Franks died after several “red flags” were missed regarding his gaunt appearance and clear signs of starvation.

“He was 15 years old, severely autistic, nonverbal, and he was being supported by his adoptive parents, who were receiving assistance from the state,” Davis said. “The adoptive mother, Felicia Adams Franks, starved the boy over several months, and we sued DCYF because a week before the boy died, the DCYF caseworker actually visited the apartment where the boy was living and did not do anything to help the boy.”

Davis explained that the wellness check was conducted in response to a complaint that Franks looked “emaciated,” but the check itself proved ineffective.

“It was based on a complaint. So somebody had said that the children looked emaciated and were not being fed. So the DCYF caseworker came out to investigate, and the boy weighed about 61 pounds at the time of his death, and he was 15 years old,” Davis said. “We sued the DCYF, but we also found during our investigation that there were numerous signs of abuse and neglect that Karreon’s teachers ignored, probably anywhere between 20 and 30 instances, red flags that would put any reasonable teacher on notice to make a complaint, and that was not done.”

Attorney explains why teachers may have stayed silent despite clear warning signs

Spike asked why a teacher would fail to report any signs of abuse or neglect, and if the teachers themselves feared they were at risk of making inaccurate reports or accusations.

“Great question. No, the law is drafted in a way, for instance, the reporter has complete immunity, so if your report turns out to be false, you can’t be sued,” Davis said. “The other thing with the law is that if you do not make a complaint that is considered a criminal offense. It’s set up to encourage people to make reports, even in close cases, you make the call to Child Protective Services, and it’s only about a 5-10 minute call, if that, in many cases.”

Davis relayed his full understanding of the events during the welfare check on the children, outlining how one seemingly minor, routine action looms large over the case in hindsight.

“From what we know, the caseworker saw the boy in a room that was completely dark. She did not turn on the lights. She did not go to the boy and lift up his shirt, which is a minimum of what should have been done,” Davis said. “If she had done that, she would have clearly seen that he was emaciated and starving, but even without that, by looking at the boy’s face, his gaunt appearance would have put any reasonable person on notice that the boy was not being fed, especially when that’s the whole purpose that you’re there. The complaint was that the boy, the children are not being fed enough food.”

Jake looked at the school district’s actions and at why any of the teachers, with an understanding of Frank’s situation, failed to report his health status to the proper authorities.

“We don’t believe the teachers were adequately trained by the school district. That’s No. 1. No. 2, they didn’t really understand their responsibility fully. They didn’t understand that even in close calls, a minor suspicion, you need to make the report,” Davis said. “Unfortunately, it didn’t happen in this case. We’ve got emails and records to show that the teachers knew something was going on. I think in this case, the adoptive mother was intimidating, and I think some of the teachers were afraid not to make her angry. You add all those things up, and you’ve talked about a couple of dozen missed opportunities to save this child.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to “The Jake and Spike Show” weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.