Washington state has agreed to pay $9 million to settle a lawsuit over failures that led a girl to be placed in a Pierce County foster home where she was subjected to severe sexual abuse in the 1990s and early 2000s and allowed to be adopted.

Ashley Miller was abused “countless” times when she was 5 to 12 years old in homes in Tacoma and Fife, according to attorneys with the law firm Pfau Cochran Vertetis. Now 34, Miller is speaking publicly about her experience in foster care with the hope that the needs of children and families won’t be brushed aside by the state.

“They say it takes a village to raise kids, or even one, so that’s how it should really be done,” Miller said in an interview.

The Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) referred The News Tribune to the Department o

See Full Page