Jeb Bladine: Reducing abuse of Oregon foster care children
Oregonians had a glimpse into the world of child foster care, but transparency is fleeting.
From a report in The Oregonian: “Disability Rights Oregon and national advocacy group A Better Childhood sued the state in 2019 on behalf of foster youth whose advocates said they had been abused or neglected while in Oregon Department of Human Services custody … The ultimate settlement (in 2024) required that a neutral expert oversee Oregon’s efforts to improve foster care … (He) issued a set of metrics and guidelines in late July for how he expects Oregon to improve.”
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit declared that oversight by the “Neutral” extends to children in both physical and legal custody of the state. The court referred to “a class of Oregon foster children who experienced serious abuses while in ODHS’s legal custody,” writing: “Once the state assumes wardship of a child, the Due Process Clause imposes an affirmative duty on the state to provide the child with reasonable safety and minimally adequate care. The Ninth Circuit has repeatedly held that this right extends to children in the care of foster parents.”
I read about this case with more than a passing interest. My late wife, as a teenager, became the youngest Oregonian emancipated out of foster care and state wardship. During my years as chair of the state Children Services Division Citizen Advisory Committee, her life experiences gave me insights into the difficult world of foster care.
A fund established in her name assists programs serving Oregon foster kids.
Decades ago, public policies promoted foster care for children facing diverse family challenges. In 2006, nearly 10,000 Oregon youths were in foster care, but as government funding moved to more in-home services seeking to retain family structure, those numbers have dropped to about 4,500 today.
There still are bad foster homes. Public policy demands confidentiality to protect the rights of the children, but too often that confidentiality only protects irresponsible or even criminal adults.
Oregon’s Neutral has issued mandatory metrics for reducing mistreatment of children in foster care: Regular medical and mental health assessments and added certainty of reporting abuse of children to their parents and attorneys.
More public scrutiny is coming, I thought, but when I asked for follow-up information about Oregon’s progress with stemming abuse, I received this language from the settlement agreement:
“The Neutral shall not communicate with any member of the media, post on social media, or publish any writings in media publications related to this Settlement Agreement while serving as the Neutral, without prior written consent of the Parties … the Neutral’s communications related to this Settlement Agreement shall be limited to designated representatives for the Parties, the Parties’ counsel, and the Court, unless the Parties give prior written consent for other communications.”
Thus constrained, the Neutral wrote: “As a result, I will not be able to have further communications with you absent the parties’ approval.”
We hope improvements take root, but don’t expect too many details.
Jeb Bladine can be reached at jbladine@newsregister.com or 503-687-1223.
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