A Clark County judge dismissed a criminal case against former Daybreak Youth Services staffer Alicia Kaye Stowe on Wednesday, April 16.
The case involved allegations of sexual misconduct by Stowe with a teenage patient, 17-years-old at the time, at the Daybreak Youth Services location in Brush Prairie — which was ordered to cease operations in 2023. The facility treated youth with substance abuse issues.
Clark County Superior Court Judge Jennifer Snider dismissed the jury trial based on a single statement by the former patient. “Seven out of 10,” he said of his certainty level regarding if the allegations against Stowe had occurred.
Stowe’s defense attorney, Jon McMullen, argued that the former patient’s memory was fogged by prior drug use and that his recollections of the events from four years ago were inaccurate.
The case against Stowe is just one example of allegations against former Daybreak Youth Service staffers. A total of 22 staffers have been involved with sexual misconduct across the Spokane and Brush Prairie locations, with most instances allegedly taking place between 2021 and 2023.
According to Washington state Department of Health (DOH) documents, Stowe allegedly initiated and engaged in sexual contact, including sexual intercourse, with the patient on multiple occasions. The sexual contact between Stowe and the patient occurred within the Brush Prairie facility, according to the DOH documents, and while he was still receiving inpatient services from Daybreak Youth Services in Brush Prairie.
The DOH documents add that he did not report the sexual contact to any of Daybreak Youth Service’s Brush Prairie staff. The documents also state that Stowe continued the sexual relationship with the patient even after he was discharged from the youth service facility. The patient would then report to the program and law enforcement that Stowe would contact him to arrange a meeting, travel to his location, book a hotel room, and then the former patient would travel to the hotel or Stowe would pick them up and transport them to the hotel, DOH states in the documents. Once at the hotel, the former patient and Stowe would engage in sexual contact, including sexual intercourse, DOH states.
Stowe’s employment with Daybreak Youth Services in Brush Prairie was terminated on Feb.10, 2022, due to excessive absences and failing to use proper call-out procedures, according to the DOH documents.
Roughly a week later, the Clark County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) received a report stating Stowe and the patient had been texting each other and arranged to meet at a hotel, according to the documents. A CCSO deputy called Daybreak Youth Services’ Brush Prairie facility to discuss the incident with management. A Daybreak Youth Service Brush Prairie staff person indicated that someone in risk management or the executive office would return the deputy’s call.
David Smith, Daybreak’s attorney, returned the deputy’s call later in the day, the documents state. Smith, after being informed of the incidents and who was involved, then informed the deputy that he would speak with Daybreak Youth Services’ leadership and that a report would need to be filed with the department, according to the documents. Following the communication with the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, Daybreak Youth Services’ Brush Prairie staffers did not file a report with the department, nor did they conduct an internal investigation of the encounters, DOH states.
Other Brush Prairie facility staffers alleged misconduct ranged from romantic messages to non-consensual sexual contact with a patient in the facility bathroom, according to DOH documents.
In May 2023, DOH announced Daybreak Youth Services had its license to operate suspended. Alongside the Brush Prairie location, Daybreak Youth Services also operated a facility in Spokane. That facility’s license to operate was also suspended, according to previous reporting by The Reflector.
The suspension came after Daybreak Youth Services “repeatedly failed to cooperate with (health department) investigations into ongoing patient safety concerns, failed to make mandatory reports, and failed to respond appropriately to allegations of staff misconduct, all of which are required by law,” a 2023 news release stated.
