DSHS won't use customs agents to translate

By Florangela Davila
Seattle Times staff reporter

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Back then, at the request of Mattawa Mayor Judy Esser, agency fraud investigators investigated 51 child-care facilities in Mattawa, Grant County, the mayor claimed were billing the government for nonexistent children. Many of the facilities were run by Spanish-speaking Latinas.

One provider pleaded guilty to felony theft, identity theft, fraud and other charges. Grant County law-enforcement agencies are reviewing the documents of 29 other child-care providers. And the agency is attempting to recover $190,000 in overpayments to some providers.

But the state Commission on Hispanic Affairs argued that the investigations were racially motivated, used federal immigration officers as translators and treated the Spanish-speaking providers differently from those who spoke English.

DSHS hired an outside consultant to work with its own investigator to review the complaints of unfair treatment. In a letter sent to the state commission this week, DSHS Secretary Dennis Braddock defended his fraud investigators and said no department policies or protocols were violated. However, Braddock said using Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents as interpreters had been "ill-advised."

"The main reason they said they used [them] was for financial considerations and availability," Braddock said in an interview Wednesday. "It is not standard practice, and we've made it clear it's not a practice to be repeated. We certainly have apologized to those providers who feel they were treated improperly, and have committed to training and policy changes."

Eleven providers, meanwhile, have filed suit against DSHS, the mayor and several state officials, alleging racial discrimination and illegal searches. The lawsuit was filed June 11 in U.S. District Court in Spokane.

The Evergreen Freedom Foundation, a private nonprofit watchdog group based in Olympia, also has filed complaints to federal agencies alleging DSHS is hampering Grant County investigations of possible day-care fraud. The state Auditor's Office has said DSHS distributed as much as $2 million in subsidies to providers with bogus documentation. DSHS disputes that.

Florangela Davila: 206-464-2916 or fdavila@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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