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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; A mother who sued Luzerne County Children and Youth Services over alleged abuse at a foster home has reached a settlement, a recent federal court filing says.</p><p>The suit, filed by a plaintiff identified as only M.J. to protect her and her children&#8217;s privacy, said the woman&#8217;s daughters were sexually abused while they were in foster care. The filing further accuses foster care officials of handling the situation improperly.</p><p>The suit also names the county, a supervisor, the foster care placement service and the foster parent as defendants.</p><p>A letter filed Tuesday by M.J.&#8217;s attorney, Shelley L. Centini, alerted U.S. District Judge A. Richard Caputo that an agreement had been reached between the parties.</p><p>&#8220;The defendants have made an offer to settle this case,&#8221; Centini wrote. &#8220;Plaintiffs have accepted defendants&#8217; offer, and the parties are working together on preparing the necessary paperwork to effectuate settlement.&#8221;</p><p>According to the original suit:</p><p>M.J.&#8217;s two daughters, then 3 years old and 16 months, were living in Kathy Ryan&#8217;s three-bedroom trailer foster home in Ashley, beginning in 2014.</p><p>On visits, M.J. and her family noticed the girls were wearing dirty clothes, smelled like they hadn&#8217;t been bathed, and had bruises and burns.</p><p>In the spring of 2015, the older girl told M.J. she had been sexually abused by Ryan&#8217;s adopted son. M.J. also said she saw the older girl inappropriately touching the younger girl. Further reports came regarding Ryan&#8217;s son after M.J.&#8217;s cousin obtained kinship custody of the girls in August 2015.</p><p>The suit claimed M.J. spoke with Children and Youth caseworker Jesse Goshert about her concerns, along with foster placement agency Concern Inc., but neither did anything.</p><p>Tuesday&#8217;s letter does not detail the terms of the settlement. In the letter, Centini asks for the cancellation of a case management conference originally set for Aug. 27.</p><p>So far, a response from Judge Caputo has not been filed.</p><p>Previous reporting by the Times Leader suggests the girls currently live with their mother and have since August 2016.</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Patrick Kernan</p><p>pkernan@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Patrick Kernan at 570-991-6386 or on Twitter @PatKernan</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Mother settles lawsuit against Luzerne County Children and Youth Services