Wilson Criscione

Investigative reporting prompts action from oversight agency and attorney general as accusations of fraud and exploitation mount By Wilson Criscione and Kelsey Turner / InvestigateWest As more whistleblowers come forward, federal authorities have launched an investigation of an influential Idaho nonprofit accused of exploiting human trafficking victims in a Medicaid fraud scheme. The alleged scheme

Funding agencies overlooked red flags that anti-trafficking safe houses allegedly exploited victims By Kelsey Turner and Wilson Criscione / InvestigateWest Within days of leaving the safe house, Ally decided she needed to put it all in writing — the control, manipulation, the feeling like she’d been “trafficked and exploited” by the very place that was

Lacking accountability, program took federal money and billed Medicaid for services victims say they never received By Wilson Criscione and Kelsey Turner / InvestigateWest Three years ago, Paula Barthelmess — the mother of Idaho’s first anti-trafficking task force, the fiery advocate with the ear of policymakers, the devoted social worker allowed inside police interrogation rooms

Lawmakers cite InvestigateWest series that revealed abuse, neglect at youth facilities By Wilson Criscione / InvestigateWest In response to InvestigateWest reporting that uncovered allegations of child abuse and neglect at state-licensed facilities, the Idaho Legislature has commissioned a state watchdog investigation that will examine oversight of Idaho’s youth treatment homes. Rep. Marco Erickson, R-Idaho Falls,

Committee rejected a compromise with Catholic lobbyists that survivors argued “protects abusers” By Wilson Criscione / InvestigateWest Each of the last two years, Washington state lawmakers on both sides have broadly agreed that clergy should be mandatory reporters of child abuse and neglect. Washington is one of just five states where that’s not required by

Advocates express relief but push for greater oversight of facilities statewide By Wilson Criscione / InvestigateWest Cornerstone Cottage, the Idaho youth treatment home featured in several recent InvestigateWest articles detailing alleged child abuse and neglect that took place there, has closed. Owner Jim Smidt notified the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare on Jan. 25

Lawmakers hope a compromise will get Catholic lobbyists on board By Wilson Criscione / InvestigateWest After failing a year ago, Washington state lawmakers are trying again this session to pass a bill that would make clergy mandatory reporters of child abuse or neglect. Senate Bill 6298 would add clergy to the list of mandatory reporters

An InvestigateWest analysis reveals a lack of disciplinary action against troubled programs By Wilson Criscione / InvestigateWest In 2016, Idaho state regulators wrote a scathing letter to Northwest Children’s Home, a 46-bed residential care facility in Lewiston. The facility’s license was being revoked, the letter explained, after a seven-week investigation conducted by the Idaho Department

A prison interview, court documents and public records told the story of a girl failed by the system By Wilson Criscione / InvestigateWest Related: “The Cruelest Lie: You’re Safe Now” In August, I sent a letter to Alyssa Bowers, who was incarcerated at South Idaho Correctional Institution, notifying her that InvestigateWest was working on an

Idaho officials rescued a young girl from a house of horrors, only to send her to a state-licensed facility where she was preyed upon again By Wilson Criscione / InvestigateWest Editor’s note: This story details cases of sexual assault. Alyssa Bowers was 3 when her mom went to prison. She was 12 when her dad

Legal experts say the case underscores Idaho’s weak protections for workers facing retaliation By Wilson Criscione / InvestigateWest Earlier this year, two whistleblowers who triggered a state investigation into Cornerstone Cottage, an Idaho youth facility where they once worked, still believed at least one state agency would take their side. They made their case to

The demand for action comes after InvestigateWest showed how the state’s hands-off approach allowed dangerous conditions to go unchecked By Wilson Criscione / InvestigateWest Idaho lawmakers said they will look to boost oversight of children’s residential facilities in response to an InvestigateWest report detailing abuse and neglect at a girls’ treatment home in Post Falls.

Employees at Cornerstone Cottage alerted state officials to the dangers, only to be fired themselves.

Attorneys say there’s little accountability for judges who may show bias against victims By Wilson Criscione / InvestigateWest In 2021, Marie worried that her son was unsafe at her ex-husband’s home. She went into the county courthouse in Pasco, Washington, and filed a restraining order, thinking she had a good case: There was audio of

By Wilson Criscione / InvestigateWest As state lawmakers look to advance legislation that would require clergy to report child abuse or neglect, the Catholic Church’s lobbying arm in Washington has come out in support of the bills — but only if they provide a loophole for confessions. Two bills in the state Legislature — House

Legislative proposals follow InvestigateWest’s reporting revealing the treatment of kids with disabilities By Wilson Criscione...

By Wilson Criscione / InvestigateWest In response to InvestigateWest reporting on Jehovah’s Witnesses covering up...

By Wilson Criscione / InvestigateWest Four years ago, many of Washington state’s sheriffs were unhappy...

People on the street who are resistant to shelters face a cruel choice: living rough in the cold or spending time behind bars By Wilson Criscione / InvestigateWest Published in partnership with The Guardian Chris Carver waits in the courtroom for two hours before his name is called. Spokane Municipal Judge Mary Logan tells him

Clergy in the state have no obligation to report child abuse By Wilson Criscione /...