Update: Tri-City woman’s counseling license suspended over misconduct with young patients
CORRECTION: This story has been changed to clarify the information agreed to in the final order. The final order did not find there was sexual conduct.
A woman from the Pasco area has surrendered her agency affiliated counselor’s license and agreed never to reapply in Washington state.
Madison Kay Taber, born in 1997, was working in Spokane as a skills coach at Daybreak Youth Services when she was accused of inappropriate conduct with patients younger than 18. Her state license was issued to her as a Franklin County resident.
Daybreak is a behavioral health agency and residential treatment facility that serves adolescents.
Taber started work at Daybreak at the end of August 2021 and within about six weeks she was confronted by staff about what appeared to be an inappropriate relationship with a patient. In the next several weeks she reportedly was seen hugging a patient for about 30 seconds and spending one-on-one time with a patient at “lights out,” according to state documents.
Her actions included writing, “I love you,” on one patient’s body, giving presents of jewelry, holding hands and reportedly having a patient’s drawing tattooed on her body, according to allegations in state documents.
She would stay after her shift ended to spend time with two of the patients, according to state documents.
After she no longer worked with Daybreak she remained in contact with a former patient, which included staying with that patient at the patient’s family home.
The former patient died in 2023 at the age of 17 of a fentanyl overdose.
Daybreak facilities in Spokane and Brush Prairie, Wash., had their licenses suspended by the Washington state Department of Health in May 2023.
The state said that Daybreak repeatedly failed to cooperate with the Department of Health 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.
The Department of Health said that since March 2022 it had attempted to investigate several allegations that Daybreak staff engaged in sexual misconduct and that staff failed to maintain appropriate boundaries with adolescent patients.
Taber’s attorney, Steven Dixson, said she had no sexual misconduct with patients.
In 2022, the Department of Health conducted more than 700 facilities investigations and all cooperated except Daybreak, the state agency said.
Daybreak was required to stop operating and relocate patients to other facilities. It appealed the license suspension but its clinical services remain suspended.
This story was originally published March 6, 2024 at 12:48 PM.