EUGENE 鈥� They were shuffled from foster home to foster home, physically abused and emotionally scarred.
On Thursday, they spoke out on behalf of Oregon鈥檚 4,500 children in the state鈥檚 foster care system in a federal courtroom in Eugene. The four-hour hearing represented the final step in settling a five-year that advocacy groups for children brought against the Oregon Department of Human Services, which runs the state鈥檚 foster care system. Called a fairness hearing, the event gave current and former foster children an opportunity to testify about the proposed settlement.
After their testimony, U.S. District Court Judge Ann Aiken approved the settlement agreement, which requires the state agency to work with Disability Rights Oregon and A Better Childhood, a national nonprofit advocacy group, on improving the beleaguered system, which has faced widespread criticism and scrutiny for moving vulnerable children to questionable out-of-state facilities, to hotels and hiring outside contractors like without adequate vetting.
In the months ahead, the state and advocates will map out the specific goals and benchmarks for improvements with Kevin Ryan, a neutral expert who has done similar work in lawsuit settlements in Oklahoma, Michigan and New Jersey, where he started his career in 2002. In New Jersey, Ryan led efforts to modernize and improve an antiquated system that relied upon post-it notes to track children.
For Ryan, advocates and the nearly 3,600 state child welfare employees in the agency, the goal will be to give children a better life than that of Rain Parrish, a 22-year-old in Portland who spent nearly 16 years in the system.
Hugging her stuffed pink bunny, named Usagi, Parrish spoke to the court about her life in 25 different homes and the neglect and molestation she endured.
鈥淚t was never OK, and when they were done with me, I was moved to the next home like a library book,鈥� said Parrish, who agreed to let the Capital Chronicle publish her full name.
Parrish struggled to connect with people and said she attempted to suicide three times and suffered from flashbacks.
As with all three witnesses, Aiken, a former juvenile judge, thanked her for sharing her story and encouraged her.
鈥淛ust don鈥檛 quit on yourself,鈥� Aiken said.
鈥淚鈥檓 trying but it鈥檚 really hard,鈥� Parrish responded.
Aiken lamented that the same problems she heard in courtrooms in the 1990s persist today. But children and former children in the system can make an impact, Aiken said.
鈥淵ou need to tell your story,鈥� Aiken said. 鈥淚t needs to be written.鈥�
Long-running case
In 2019, the lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Eugene.
The lawsuit alleged the Oregon Department of Human Services, agency director Fariborz Pakseresht and the child welfare system failed to keep foster children safe from trauma such as frequent moves among foster homes and a lack of appropriate therapy and other services.
The case started based upon the accounts of 10 current and former children in the foster care system. A federal judge granted it class-action status in 2022.
The personal experiences of emotionally bruised children have been central to the case. At the time of the filing, then-3-year-old Wyatt and his 18-month-old brother Noah suffered from being frequently shuffled among homes and eventually separation. Wyatt had outbursts with kicking, hitting and screaming. Noah had night terrors and needed constant attention.
Another foster care child, Norman, was 17 when the case started. He moved through at least 50 locations, including an Idaho facility where he was placed in restraints by staff and assaulted by other youth. He also did not get the mental health services he needed 鈥� and was not allowed to observe his Native American cultural traditions, including growing out his hair.
The harms done cannot be undone, advocates say. So rather than seeking money, the lawsuit pressed the state to change the system to prevent more children from being abused and neglected because the system failed them. For five years, attorneys representing the state fought the case in court and tried to get it dismissed, an effort that will cost the state at least $18 million in legal fees, primarily from the Markowitz Herbold law firm in Portland.
On Thursday, Aiken, the judge, lamented that the case had taken so long to resolve.
鈥淭he waste of time to get to the point where we can start making a difference bothers me extraordinarily,鈥� Aiken said. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 long overdue.鈥�
Whitney, a former foster child who requested only her first name be used, echoed that sentiment in her testimony. Before she aged out of foster care in 2021, she said she was placed in unnecessary restraints while in care and received improper adult doses of psychiatric medications. It led to stomach ulcers.
鈥淚t feels like five years of nothing for the state to agree to improve a system we already know is failing,鈥� Whitney said in her testimony.
Long road ahead
Improving the system could take up to 12 years.
The expert鈥檚 first review is due by April 20, 2025, and it will include the goals the state has to meet. Ryan, the expert, told the court he鈥檒l read through all the case filings and start working with the state to identify the targets.
He said the settlement will require a high level of collaboration and interaction with the agency.
He鈥檒l continue to produce annual reviews until he determines the Oregon Department of Human Services is in compliance with the goals 鈥� or after 10 years, whichever comes first. The expert could recommend an extension of up to two years beyond that.
Emily Cooper, legal director for Disability Rights Oregon, said the agreement allows the foster children to return to court if they don鈥檛 feel adequate progress is being made.
鈥淚 think there was a wide, vast difference in understanding the problem and what the solution to the problem would be,鈥� Cooper said in an interview, reflecting on the five-year case.
After the hearing, Oregon Child Welfare Director Aprille Flint-Gerner told reporters she wishes the case could have been settled sooner. But five years ago, the state didn鈥檛 have the pieces in place for the settlement, like a data system, she said.
鈥淎s much as it was an expensive case to get through, it is a negotiated process,鈥� she said.
Young people and others need to be at the table and telling the agency when they do things right and wrong, Flint-Gerner said.
鈥淲e have to keep working at making sure that we get to a place where their bravery around sharing those stories is not taken for granted,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 think that they are extraordinarily brave for coming here today and sharing those stories and reliving some really painful experiences.鈥�
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