Washington’s Department of Social and Health Services opened the Lake Burien Transitional Care facility in July 2024, dubbed “the first of its kind,” to treat youths with significant developmental disabilities and mental illnesses before transitioning them back into the community. A year and a half later, a scathing report from Disability Rights Washington revealed grave concerns about the 12-bed facility.
The Office of Developmental Disabilities Ombuds, a program of Disability Rights Washington, published a report in January after months of regular visits to Lake Burien. Investigators interviewed three families and eight residents. The report described children with unexplained bruises, concerns that staff were intentionally agitating children to justify physically restraining them, and a child being inappropriately touched by another resident while in the care of supervising staff. One parent said her child was not fed enough during his stay and didn’t receive individual therapy for almost his entire time at Lake Burien. Because the facility’s record keeping has been “incomplete or missing altogether,” the report said it was unable to report the precise number of allegations. Complaints about abuse and neglect often went nowhere because the facility is not managed by any independent governing body.
The state opened the 12-bed facility in just 90 days after taking over an unused property on the eastern shores of Lake Burien. Since Lake Burien’s opening, 20 kids have been admitted. Eight have been discharged: five returned home and three returned to a hospital. Leigh Walters, a regional ombuds and main author of the report, said “The organizational mismanagement of the facility was pretty astounding.”
Upkar Mangat, deputy assistant secretary for DSHS’ Behavioral Health and Habilitation Administration, said the state takes the report seriously. “We believe if we have the care and custody of people, we need to go the extra step, because people are trusting us with their loved ones.” Since the report came out, the facility’s “quality assurance” has become very tight, and the state has increased its oversight. Mangat now spends one day a week working at Lake Burien.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2026/mar/19/scathing-report-criticizes-care-at-burien-youth-me/