Luzerne County releases outside review of Children and Youth agency

Luzerne County Acting Manager Romilda Crocamo on Friday released an internal investigation report on Children and Youth that had been initiated after the agency’s former executive director was arrested last summer.

Joanne Van Saun, the prior director, was sentenced in December to 34 months of probation for misdemeanor child endangerment and obstruction offenses, with the first nine months on house arrest, related to her failure to investigate at least 217 reports alleging child abuse and neglect in 2017.

The county retained Philadelphia law firm Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP to conduct an internal investigation of the agency to determine if there is any evidence of additional possible wrongdoing.

Crocamo also released a statement reiterating the safety and welfare of county children and families remains the top priority.

“Almost one year ago, we pledged to continue cooperating fully with the Pennsylvania Attorney General and any additional law enforcement authorities investigating this truly heartbreaking matter,” Crocamo wrote. “We knew then that it wouldn’t be possible without first understanding what happened, how and why. That’s why we retained Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders. The report issued today shows we made good on that promise.”

The law firm’s investigation did not find any evidence that children under the county’s agency’s watch were harmed as a result of Van Saun’s actions, Crocamo said.

This conclusion was reached after the firm interviewed numerous workers, extensively examined thousands of agency records and fielded calls from families who were part of the system.

“That is consistent with the AG’s investigation, which did not find any instances of child harm caused by Ms. Van Saun’s misconduct,” Crocamo wrote.

“Sadly, Ms. Van Saun’s scheme to falsify records was successful in obstructing oversight, even from the state’s regulatory body,” Crocamo said. “We acknowledge the need to significantly improve our internal processes for reporting potential wrongdoing, and further how we communicate such with our CYS employees and caseworkers.”

Report findings

According to Troutman Pepper’s report:

Its investigation found Van Saun “established and fostered an environment within LCCYS that instilled fear in its employees,” encouraged “inaccurate and misleading recordkeeping” to avoid outside criticism and hid problems from people outside the agency, including county leadership.

At Van Saun’s direction, the agency did not submit timely referral outcomes to the state and then submitted false outcomes to resolve a substantial backlog.

“Additionally, under the culture established by Van Saun, some employees engaged in a practice of altering and fabricating agency records” to the state human services department and others “to avoid citations or negative feedback.”

Heavy caseloads, staffing shortages and “onerous statutorily-imposed recordkeeping requirements” also significantly contributed to staff documentation failures, the review concluded. As of April 12, the agency had 50 of 109 caseworker positions vacant, it said.

Van Saun’s concealment of her misconduct was “extensive” and focused on preventing county leaders and the state from learning of the scheme.

“Her concealment and contempt for oversight were clearly illustrated by the fact that agency employees said they felt empowered to report Van Saun’s misconduct only after the county removed her and when it became known that county leadership had ordered this investigation,” it said.

Under an “agency culture” heading, the report said many employees reported Van Saun was “verbally abusive” and regularly screamed at staff.

Troutman Pepper’s investigation did not find evidence of serious or systemic child safety concerns as a result of the misconduct, and found that agency employees “appropriately demonstrated a recognition of their duty to serve children by conducting in-person visits with children and families to assess their risk and safety.”

Although the investigation did not find instances of actual child harm as a result of the recordkeeping misconduct, it had the potential to put children at risk because entities involved in child welfare, such as the courts, rely on accurate records to take appropriate action.

Troutman Pepper coordinated with the state and county agency to identify the referrals that had not been investigated but was unable to find any warranting the opening of new cases or services for those involved.

What’s next

Many of Troutman Pepper’s recommendations already have been implemented or are in process, it said, such as the public release of its final report.

The agency also recommended disciplinary action against workers who directed or participated in the falsification of agency records.

Crocamo said nine agency workers left county employment as a result of the investigations by Troutman Pepper and the state Attorney General’s Office probe that led to the charges against Van Saun. Crocamo said she cannot identify the nine workers, and it is impossible to independently draw that conclusion because more than nine workers left the agency in recent months.

Troutman Pepper’s other recommendations:

• Improve agency culture.

• Encourage employees to raise concerns without fear of retaliation for good faith reporting.

• Increase communication and the sharing of agency records with the state.

• Step up quality assurance.

• Develop clear policy on what actions are permitted to remedy documentation errors or failures, including emphasis that records should never be backdated or “drafted in a misleading manner.”

• Assess and increase agency staff salary levels.

• Proactively recruit caseworkers and a permanent director.

The team of Troutman Pepper’s attorneys involved in the internal investigation included former federal and state prosecutors Richard Zack and Christen Tuttle and Michael Reed, a fellow in Troutman Pepper’s Center for Public Service.

Van Saun declined the county’s offer to review and respond to Troutman Pepper’s report prior to Friday’s public release.

Due to state law requirements, the report does not publicly identify families and children involved in any matters under review. Van Saun is the only employee named in the report, but investigators informed county leadership of any potential employee misconduct it discovered for further action if appropriate.

Troutman Pepper reported its findings to the Attorney General’s Office and county District Attorney’s Office and also provided two interim oral reports to council.

The Philadelphia firm’s investigation cost approximately $300,000, although the county expects a substantial portion will be paid by the state.

“An independent investigation was essential to deconstruct how the records were altered and establish that there are no children out there suffering as a result,” Crocamo said.