A Clark County Sheriff's Office vehicle parks in front of Daybreak Youth Services in Brush Prairie around 3 p.m., Sept. 11, as deputies searched the facility.
The Clark County Sheriff’s Office served six search warrants at Daybreak Youth Services in Brush Prairie today as part of a sexual misconduct investigation at the youth substance abuse and mental health facility. The investigation began in June.
Specifically, the investigation is looking into allegations of unlawful sexual contact between youth clients and between a staff member and a youth client as well as allegations that Daybreak failed to report criminal sexual conduct.
The warrants allow the sheriff’s office, under judicial authority, to search for evidence including, among other things, written documents, video footage, and computer records, which includes emails.
Warrants are also being served to Microsoft and Qualifacts Systems, requesting they preserve relevant records stored on their servers.
The sheriff’s office notified the Washington State Department of Health on June 7 about the allegations. The Department of Health, which has licensing authority over Daybreak, is also conducting its own investigation.
In a June letter to the Department of Health Clark County Sheriff Chuck Atkins wrote that his department has responded to numerous calls at the facility in the past several months including ones for runaways, physical altercations and sexual assaults. The frequency of calls led the department to specifically track responses to Daybreak.
The letter stated concerns for the safety of staff and youth at Daybreak. Atkins also indicates a reluctance by staff “either on their own initiative or by direction from management” to report crimes at the facility. Atkins specifically mentions a May 28 incident where one deputy responding to a call of a disturbance noted that multiple staff members “said they lose control of the facility all of the time and are told not to call 911.”
The 911 call for that incident did not come from a staff member according to that deputy’s statement, “even after losing total control of the youth inside.”
Atkins’ letter goes on to say that Clark County Juvenile Court has concerns over the facility and would no longer place youth there.
The sheriff’s office asked any current or former employees of Daybreak Youth Services who may have information relevant to our investigation to contact the sheriff’s Sergeant Chris Luque at 360-397-2211 ext. 5626 or email at Chris.Luque@clark.wa.gov. Current or former clients, and parents or guardians of current or former clients, contact investigators if they have information which may be relevant to this investigation.
— This story will be update
