Head of County Child Abuse Probe Contests Demotion

The woman who oversaw the investigation of a foster mother allied with the head of the county’s child welfare agency filed a claim Friday, alleging that she was demoted last month in retaliation for pressing the case.

Rebecca Lizarraga said in an interview that when she stumbled on to a case involving alleged child abuse by foster mother Sandra Rodriguez in July, a colleague said: “If you care about your career, I would put a rubber band around it and put it back in the cabinet” because Rodriguez was an ally of Peter Digre, the agency chief who resigned Thursday.

Lizarraga continued the investigation, which ultimately led to the Department of Children and Family Services terminating Rodriguez’s ability to be a foster parent.

The inquiry also touched off probes by other county departments into allegations that Digre interfered with his own agency’s investigations.

Child abuse allegations against Rodriguez were dropped in a deal in which a court officer sustained lesser accusations.

Digre’s resignation announcement came two weeks after the Board of Supervisors, in closed session, discussed his case and performance.

County officials said Thursday that their investigations found Digre to have given “no favorable treatment” to the foster mother.

In an interview Friday, Digre said that he was unfamiliar with Lizarraga’s case and that the idea he would retaliate against her was silly.

But after 18 months running the unit that investigates foster care, Lizarraga was demoted April 16 to a post as a case carrying social worker. The explanation given was that an anonymous tip led the county’s Human Resources Department to determine that she had been working as a manager, even though she was only classified as an investigator and was not on the county’s list of eligible managers.

Lizarraga’s boss, Gene Gilden, said Friday that four other children’s services workers were also demoted and that she hopes Lizarraga qualifies to take an exam to regain her old job.

But in her claim, Lizarraga alleges that hundreds of workers in the agency--including high-level managers--are in similar circumstances and that she is the only one who has been demoted.

“These bureaucrats have long memories and sharp knives,” said Rees Lloyd, her attorney.

Lizarraga said she cooperated with investigators from the county auditor’s office during their probe of Digre and that she was assured she had protected status as a whistle-blower.

After the demotion, Lizarraga said auditors told her that although her change in rank might appear to be retaliatory, it was technically justified.

In her claim, Lizarraga also alleges that in December, Gilden ordered her to remove from her reports and place in a separate memo material related to Digre’s relationship with Rodriguez.

Gilden acknowledged having done so.

“It wasn’t that anyone was trying to hide it; I didn’t think it was pertinent to abuse against the kids,” she said. “Since these reports go all over the place, I thought it would just be waving a red flag needlessly.”

Lizarraga also said Gilden later ordered her to delete the information from her computer.

Gilden denied this and said she eventually forwarded all the data to investigators.

Lizarraga’s claim alleges that she suffered threats and other abuses and that officials told her Digre viewed her as the whistle-blower.

Lizarraga said Friday that she does not regret her actions. “I want to send a message to all of my co-workers and the department that they must preserve child safety, whatever the political influences,” she said.