Survivor tells Torch Study Committee civil suits led to apology, reforms and safety net; urges preserving access to litigation

Emily Stochel told members of the Torch Study Committee that civil litigation was the only path that produced accountability, an apology and concrete reforms after years of abuse and repeated failures by child-protective workers.

Stochel, who said she worked in child welfare for nearly 15 years, described being subjected to severe abuse from age 8 until her removal at 16 and said more than 40 CPS reports were filed during that period. ‘‘It took eight years for me to be removed,’’ she said, and later told the committee that her case ‘‘touched probably over 80 state workers’’ before removal occurred. She said the criminal case produced a conviction of her perpetrator but that the nine-month house-arrest sentence felt insufficient and that civil litigation helped secure more meaningful accountability.

The Mockingbird Society’s Tacoma chapter and other advocates were cited by Stochel as focusing on the same reporting and system-failure concerns she experienced. Stochel said mediation produced a settlement in her case and that, crucially, the defendants acknowledged mistakes and the Department of Children, Youth, and Families issued an apology she considered important to her healing. She also said litigation provided the financial means to obtain long-term treatment she could not otherwise have afforded and created a financial safety net that brought peace of mind.

Committee members pressed Stochel on procedural details. Tina Eck, general counsel for the Washington Schools Risk Management Pool, asked whether the case went to trial and whether an expedited or less adversarial path would have been preferable. Stochel said the civil process took about two years, that depositions were often re-traumatizing, and that less combative forums such as forensic interviews or better-trained questioning could reduce harm.

Stochel told the committee she sees both individual errors and system-wide failures: ‘‘It was both people and systems that failed to protect me over and over again.’’ She argued that reforms should increase survivors’ options and that recommendations should ‘‘give survivors greater flexibility and consideration instead of restricting their ability to pursue justice.’’

The committee thanked Stochel for testifying and opened the discussion to related agenda items. The committee did not vote on any policy changes during this session; members repeatedly described the need to study options that preserve survivor choice and minimize re-traumatization while addressing systemic causes of harm.