OLYMPIA -- Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) Secretary Robin Arnold-Williams today released a report outlining the events that preceded the removal of a 12-year-old Pierce County boy from his grandparents' home earlier this month.

"We receive thousands of referrals in the course of the year, but this is a reminder that it's about one child at a time." said Robin Arnold-Williams, who last week directed the agency's Children's Administration to produce the review. "The bottom line for us is that the system failed for a reason – we did not respond appropriately to a child in danger."

She said the review also confirmed her instinct that the agency missed opportunities to protect the boy.

A 14-member panel representing all DSHS regions was convened and concluded that four of the eight referrals the agency received about the boy in 2004 and 2005 were incorrectly handled and should have led to a CPS investigation of the case. Four should also have been sent to law enforcement.

The review criticized a series of "safety plans" developed by CPS after it began investigating a new referral this year. The review noted that the plans all hinged on self-reporting by the accused abusers - the boy's legal guardians.

The report lists a number of immediate corrective measures to improve operations in Child Protective Services (CPS) in Region 5, which includes Pierce and Kitsap counties. Arnold-Williams said those measures will include the initiation of corrective and disciplinary action. Under the state's Collective Bargaining Agreement and personnel rules, details cannot be provided at this time.

The full report is available on the DSHS Web site at http://www.dshs.wa.gov/pdf/EA/VenegasRL.pdf