San Bernardino County Counsel Juvenile Dependency Investigation: Joseph Barrell, Rebecca Lohman and Questions of County Accountability
San Bernardino County Counsel Juvenile Dependency Investigation: Joseph Barrell, Rebecca Lohman and Questions of County Accountability
1134 News is investigating the San Bernardino County Counsel juvenile dependency operation, its handling of information concerning attorneys Joseph Barrell and Rebecca Lohman, and what county officials did—or did not do—after receiving information raising child-safety and conflict-of-interest concerns.
At the center of the investigation is Joseph Barrell, a San Bernardino County attorney whose professional work has included representing San Bernardino County Children and Family Services in juvenile dependency proceedings involving children and families.
1134 News is reporting that San Bernardino County officials were provided access to records concerning a family court order involving Barrell and a minor child. According to records reviewed by 1134 News, Commissioner Natalie Keller entered an order on December 26, 2023 directing that Joseph Barrell not be left alone with the minor.
1134 News is examining what San Bernardino County knew about that order, when county officials learned about it, whether a formal investigation occurred, and why Barrell was permitted to continue performing juvenile dependency work involving children without, according to the information presently available to 1134 News, a publicly identified investigation resolving the concerns.
Who Is Joseph Barrell?
Joseph R. Barrell is a California attorney whose professional work has included serving as a San Bernardino County Deputy County Counsel and representing San Bernardino County Children and Family Services in juvenile dependency litigation.
Court and public employment records establish that Barrell has worked directly in matters involving children and parental rights.
That professional responsibility makes the December 26, 2023 family court order examined by 1134 News a significant matter of public interest.
The order itself does not establish that Joseph Barrell committed child abuse or a criminal offense. The question being investigated by 1134 News is different: what responsibility did San Bernardino County have to examine the circumstances surrounding an order preventing one of its juvenile dependency attorneys from being left alone with a particular minor?
Commissioner Natalie Keller's December 26, 2023 Order
According to court records reviewed by 1134 News, concerns regarding Joseph Barrell and the minor were presented in San Bernardino County family court proceedings.
On December 26, 2023, Commissioner Natalie Keller entered an order directing that Joseph Barrell not be left alone with the minor.
1134 News is examining the circumstances leading to that restriction, how long it remained effective, what subsequent courts did with the restriction, and whether the information was ever formally evaluated by officials responsible for supervising attorneys entrusted with juvenile dependency cases.
San Bernardino County Had Access to the Information
1134 News reporters state that San Bernardino County officials were provided access to information and documentation concerning these allegations and the underlying court proceedings.
The investigation therefore asks what happened after county officials received that information.
Was an internal investigation opened?
Was Joseph Barrell interviewed?
Were the underlying family court records obtained and reviewed?
Was Commissioner Keller's order evaluated?
Were supervisors within County Counsel notified?
Were Barrell's juvenile dependency assignments reviewed while those questions were being investigated?
If an investigation occurred, 1134 News is seeking documentation establishing its scope and conclusions.
Beth Steigerwalt Was Contacted
1134 News reports that Beth Steigerwalt was contacted regarding the matter and information concerning the allegations and underlying records was made available.
That contact is significant to the 1134 News investigation because it establishes a point at which concerns regarding the situation were brought outside the immediate family court dispute and into the professional sphere surrounding juvenile dependency practice.
1134 News is seeking to establish what occurred following that notification, including whether information was forwarded to San Bernardino County officials, whether an investigation was requested or initiated, and what response was provided.
Did San Bernardino County Investigate Joseph Barrell?
This is one of the central questions of the 1134 News investigation.
1134 News has not identified documentation establishing that San Bernardino County conducted a complete independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the family court restriction involving Joseph Barrell before allowing him to continue handling juvenile dependency matters.
If such an investigation exists, its existence, scope and conclusions would materially affect this reporting.
The question is especially significant because Barrell's professional responsibilities involved proceedings affecting children, parents, foster care, dependency, custody and parental rights.
Joseph Barrell Continued Representing San Bernardino County
Public court records establish that Joseph Barrell continued representing San Bernardino County Children and Family Services in juvenile dependency litigation.
That includes appellate proceedings in which Barrell appeared on behalf of the county in cases concerning children and parental rights.
The issue raised by 1134 News is therefore not hypothetical.
The investigation asks whether San Bernardino County appropriately evaluated information concerning one of its attorneys before continuing to entrust that attorney with matters affecting vulnerable children.
Who Is Rebecca Lohman?
Rebecca S. Lohman is a California attorney whose public employment records identify her as a Supervising Deputy County Counsel for San Bernardino County.
Lohman is also the mother of the minor involved in family court case FAMSB2207189 and a party to the family court proceedings examined by 1134 News.
1134 News is investigating whether Lohman's personal involvement in the underlying family court dispute intersected in any way with her professional position within San Bernardino County County Counsel.
Her employment by the county does not itself establish wrongdoing. The investigation concerns whether appropriate conflict-of-interest, disclosure, supervision and investigative safeguards existed when matters involving county attorneys overlapped with private family court proceedings.
Joseph Barrell and Rebecca Lohman
1134 News is examining the relationship between Joseph Barrell and Rebecca Lohman because both have worked within San Bernardino County's legal system while simultaneously appearing in the factual background of the family court controversy involving the minor.
The investigation examines whether county supervisors knew about the underlying proceedings, whether professional conflicts were evaluated, whether appropriate disclosures occurred, and whether the county's response was sufficient given the child-safety issues contained in the records.
San Bernardino County Juvenile Dependency Attorneys
Juvenile dependency attorneys operate in one of the most sensitive areas of California law.
Their work can affect whether children remain with their parents, enter foster care, reunify with families or become subject to termination of parental rights.
That extraordinary authority demands equally serious oversight.
1134 News is therefore investigating the standards San Bernardino County uses when allegations or court restrictions involve attorneys working in juvenile dependency proceedings.
County Counsel and Children and Family Services
San Bernardino County Children and Family Services participates in dependency proceedings involving allegations of abuse, neglect and risks to children.
County Counsel attorneys represent the county in those proceedings.
1134 News is examining whether the standards applied to parents and families appearing in dependency court are also reflected in the county's internal treatment of concerns involving professionals working within that same system.
Was There a Conflict of Interest?
1134 News is examining whether the professional positions of Rebecca Lohman and Joseph Barrell created actual or potential conflicts requiring disclosure, recusal, reassignment or independent investigation.
The existence of a personal relationship or shared workplace does not automatically establish an unlawful conflict.
The relevant question is whether their professional responsibilities intersected with the private family court controversy in a manner requiring additional safeguards—and, if so, whether those safeguards were implemented.
Beth Steigerwalt, Joseph Barrell and Rebecca Lohman in Juvenile Dependency Practice
There is also documented professional overlap within California juvenile dependency legal practice.
A California juvenile dependency practice publication identifies Beth L. Steigerwalt among its original authors and identifies Joseph Barrell and Rebecca Lohman among its update authors.
That fact does not establish participation by Steigerwalt in the family court events or establish wrongdoing by any of the individuals.
It does, however, demonstrate that the names appearing in this investigation are not strangers to the same professional field of California juvenile dependency law.
1134 News is investigating what happened when concerns involving Barrell were subsequently brought to the attention of individuals within that professional sphere.
Questions of Institutional Accountability
The 1134 News investigation extends beyond Joseph Barrell or Rebecca Lohman individually.
It asks whether San Bernardino County's institutional safeguards worked.
When county officials received information concerning a juvenile dependency attorney and a court order involving a minor, who was responsible for investigating?
Who reviewed the documents?
Who determined whether the attorney could continue handling children's cases?
Was an independent investigator used?
Was Children and Family Services notified?
Was County Counsel management notified?
Was the California State Bar contacted?
Were the attorney's cases reviewed?
Those questions require documentary answers.
Cover-Up Allegations and the Need for Records
1134 News is examining allegations that San Bernardino County officials failed to adequately investigate or disclose information concerning the matter.
1134 News has not established that county officials collectively entered into an agreement to conceal wrongdoing, and therefore does not present a coordinated “cover-up” as an established fact.
What can be investigated is the documentary trail.
Who received the information? What did they do with it? What investigation occurred? Who made the decision to allow continued juvenile dependency work? What records memorialize those decisions?
The absence or existence of those records will help answer whether this was an adequate institutional response, negligence, or something more serious.
San Bernardino County Juvenile Dependency Scandal Allegations
1134 News is reporting on allegations involving San Bernardino County juvenile dependency attorneys, San Bernardino County County Counsel, San Bernardino County Children and Family Services, Joseph Barrell, Rebecca Lohman, Beth Steigerwalt, child safety, family court proceedings, attorney conflicts, government accountability and allegations of institutional failure.
The investigation is based upon records and seeks additional documentary evidence from the agencies and individuals involved.
1134 News will distinguish documented facts from disputed allegations as additional information becomes available.
What Did San Bernardino County Know and When Did It Know It?
That is ultimately the central question.
A child's father reported concerns.
A San Bernardino County judicial officer entered an order restricting Joseph Barrell from being alone with the minor.
Joseph Barrell worked in juvenile dependency law involving children.
Rebecca Lohman held a senior professional position within San Bernardino County County Counsel.
1134 News reports that information concerning the matter was subsequently made available to county officials and that Beth Steigerwalt was contacted.
The unanswered question is what happened next.
If San Bernardino County conducted a complete investigation, the records should establish it.
If the county determined Barrell could safely and appropriately continue handling juvenile dependency cases, records should establish the basis for that determination.
And if no meaningful investigation occurred, the public deserves to know why.
1134 News Investigation Into San Bernardino County County Counsel
1134 News continues investigating San Bernardino County County Counsel, San Bernardino County juvenile dependency attorneys, San Bernardino County Children and Family Services, Joseph Barrell, Rebecca Lohman, Beth Steigerwalt and the county's response to documented family court proceedings involving a minor.
The investigation seeks records, responses and evidence capable of answering whether San Bernardino County appropriately investigated information brought to its attention and whether adequate safeguards existed for children whose cases were handled by county attorneys.
1134 News welcomes documentary responses and corrections from San Bernardino County, County Counsel, Children and Family Services and the individuals identified in this reporting.