LOS ANGELES - A $100,000 settlement for a foster child who was raped, sexually exploited, beaten and emotionally abused as an adolescent by her foster father was approved Monday by the Los Angeles County Claims Board.

        "There was not a single documented visit by a social worker in the entire three years she lived with the perpetrator," Linda Wallace Pate, one of the girl's tort attorneys, said Monday. "They abandoned her."

        But Principal Deputy County Counsel Roger H. Granbo said that while what happened to the child was "a horrible thing," he's not sure county social workers could have prevented it.

        The molestation occurred after the Department of Children and Family Services placed Nikki, whose last name is being withheld, in an out-of-state foster home in Carson City, Nev. The girl came to be in the home of John and Lora Olvera after she ran away from a local placement. The couple were caring for Nikki's sister, and the agency arranged for the younger girl to remain in their home.

        In 1998, following Nikki's disclosure of her molestation to Carson City Sheriff's Department deputies, John Olvera was arrested, convicted and, according to county documents, is now serving a prison sentence. The foster home has had its state license revoked.

        In claims-board documents, county attorneys described the situation as a "case of contested liability" because Nikki allegedly was contacted on numerous occasions by social workers, but failed to mention she was being abused. County attorneys, however, said they urged settlement because the girl "makes a good witness" and they feared a "large award from a sympathetic jury. "

        In the lawsuit filed on Nikki's behalf, tort lawyers appointed to represent her by the Los Angeles Juvenile Court, asserted county social workers failed to make mandatory visits as required by law.

         Nikki, now 20, was represented by tort attorneys Pate of Pate & Pate and Richard C. Voorhies and R. Brian Kramer of Voorhies & Kramer. Nikki C. v. County of Los Angeles, BC219475 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed Nov. 2, 1999).

        Nikki's attorneys also accused the girl's attorneys at Dependency Court Legal Services Inc. of legal malpractice because they allegedly didn't maintain contact with their client.

        "The dependency-court attorneys had a responsibility to ensure the placement was appropriate and that Nikki was being visited by social workers and properly supervised," Pate said. "These attorneys only had phone contact with this child four times in three years. There was no face-to-face contact."

        The county was represented by contract attorneys Jon F. Monroy, Clayton C. Averbuck and Jennifer E. Gysler of Monroy, Averbuck & Gysler and Principal Deputy County Counsel Roger H. Granbo.

        Granbo said Monday that the $100,000 settlement is appropriate under the circumstances.

         "We had a horrible thing happen to Nikki - and while I'm not sure that DCFS social workers could have stopped it, she would have made a very credible witness before a jury," he said.

        The Olveras previously settled their portion of the lawsuit for $100,000.

        Pate said her client just wanted the case to be over.

        "After two years of litigation, the client wanted to settle the case with the county. She now lives in Arkansas, and cross-country litigation posed a severe hardship," she said.

         Los Angeles County, with the assistance of Nevada Social Services, was responsible for the welfare of Nikki and for supervising the Olveras' foster home.

        "We're hopeful that the county will implement policies, procedures and training to ensure that children will not continue to be abused in foster care," Pate said. "This case is certainly a wake-up call with regard to children placed out of state and highlights the serious safety issues involved when they're not visited by social workers."

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