The civil lawsuit spurred by the disappearance of Everlyse Cabrera while in foster care is evolving into a frenzy of finger-pointing.

Birth parents Marlena Olivas and Ernesto Cabrera blamed the county and the foster family when they filed the lawsuit in September.

The foster parents, Manuel and Vilma Carrascal, faulted Clark County's Department of Family Services and the birth parents after being named as defendants in the legal action.

On Monday, Clark County weighed in when Deputy District Attorney Gloria Navarro responded to the birth parents' federal lawsuit targeting five Department of Family Services employees for negligence in supervising and monitoring Everlyse while in foster care.

The county response places responsibility for the small girl's plight on not only the Carrascals and their adult son Melvin Balane but on the birth parents.

"The resulting damage, if any, to the plaintiffs, was proximately caused or contributed to by Melvin Balane, Vilma Carrascal and Manuel Carrascal's negligence, and such comparative negligence was greater than the negligence, if any, of these (county) defendants," Navarro wrote.

The county, which became the legal guardian for Everlyse once she was removed from parental custody, also asserted a claim to qualified immunity from civil liability and said that the birth parents should not receive a financial settlement.

"Plaintiffs are not entitled to recovery on any claim of relief set forth in the complaint since the plaintiffs come to court with unclean hands regarding the matter," Navarro wrote.

Attorney Gregory Mills, who represents Olivas and Cabrera, said the county's assertion that the birth parents are at fault in their daughter's disappearance is ridiculous. He was also taken aback by the county's claim that the birth parents "voluntarily" assumed the risks and dangers of foster care by causing their children to be taken away.

"Are they saying that the 2,900 other individuals in foster care are in open and obvious risk of being lost, killed or harmed?" Mills asked. "This is the county's own attorney saying that foster care is an unsafe place for children."

Navarro said that the response was simply a legal action that preserves the county's right to assert those defenses in the future. It does not mean there is currently any evidence to support them, Navarro said.

"The affirmative defenses are merely meant to preserve those defenses should information come to light in the discovery process," Navarro said.

Mills said he understands that, but he questioned how the county could hold itself blameless. Although the house occupied by the foster parents and Everlyse was owned by Balane, the couple's adult son was never licensed or subjected to a background check. That's the usual procedure for anyone who lives with a foster child, Mills said, and it was not followed in this case.

The lawsuit alleges that Family Services workers placed Everlyse in danger by poorly screening, training and supervising the foster parents. The action also faults the county for not making sufficient efforts to reunify the family under Nevada law.

The county employees named in the civil action are former Family Services Director Susan Klein Rothschild, Family Services Administrator Nancy McLane, Family Services supervisor Amy Jaffee, and Family Services caseworkers Vera Sampson and David Cronister.

Everlyse was 21/2 years old when she was reported missing in June. The Carrascals told police that the child had unlocked the front door and wandered off into the night. Police report that no one outside of the foster family had seen Everlyse after May 15.

The Carrascals, whom police said have stopped cooperating in the missing persons investigation, said last week in their response to the lawsuit that they deny any wrongdoing. Their attorney, E. Brent Bryson, said Monday that although he understands why the county is arguing that they are not at fault, he doesn't think it's going to be a strong position for them.

"When it comes down to it, I don't think anyone will be of the belief that the county has no responsibility in this situation," Bryson said. "I don't see how the county can be relieved of any type of negligence."

Gary Peck, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, a group negotiating with the county to reform foster care and phase out congregate care, said that while the county is entitled to offer whatever legal defense it can, some of the arguments presented are deeply disturbing to him.

"It is terribly important that everyone take a deep breath and remember the underlying reality behind the more abstract legal dispute," Peck said. "What you're talking about is a baby and the way in which that baby's life may have ended. That underscores the pressing need for a major reform of the child welfare system."

Little progress has been made in the missing persons investigation handled by North Las Vegas police. Although officers recently revisited the neighborhood where Everlyse went missing, no new information has moved the case forward. Sean Walker, spokesman for the North Las Vegas police, said anyone with information on Everlyse should call 633-9111.

"Anything will be helpful at this point," Walker said. "Our investigation has not changed at all. We still have a missing 21/2-year-old."