-
Illustration by Kristyna Wentz-Graff/OPBWhen Oregon鈥檚 sweeping child welfare class action lawsuit was finally settled this fall, the judge presiding over the case lamented how 鈥渇rankly over-lawyered beyond belief鈥� the case had been. -
Ben Botkin/Oregon Capital ChronicleThree Oregonians talked in a court hearing about the neglect and abuse they endured as children in the state鈥檚 foster care system.
-
Family members and the child鈥檚 attorney say the 17-year-old boy spent much of his life in the foster care system. -
Three schools across Oregon will receive funding in the upcoming school year to run a pilot program helping kids placed in foster care graduate from high school. -
The settlement stipulates Disability Rights Oregon and the state will agree upon a 鈥渘eutral,鈥� an expert to oversee the foster care system and work with the individual to improve the child-welfare system, primarily by reducing the rate of mistreatment and improving the quality of placements. -
In 2019, a national advocacy group filed a class-action lawsuit against the Oregon Department of Human Services, alleging the state mistreats children in its foster care system and has failed to fix glaring problems. Five years and millions of dollars later, the next trial has been delayed as the two sides near a settlement agreement. -
Some programs helping foster kids and families in crisis could lose all funding as lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom address budget shortfall. -
The agency has subpoenaed nine years of state Sen. Sara Gelser Blouin鈥檚 correspondence with constituents, journalists and even Paris Hilton. -
Oregon鈥檚 child welfare agency has been in and out of court since 2019, defending against a class action lawsuit brought on behalf of every child in foster care in the state. -
The plaintiffs have accepted the offer, which is the agency鈥檚 largest award in Oregon history to settle a foster care lawsuit. -
Independent watchdog鈥檚 draft report obtained by OPB argues that 鈥渨hole child care鈥� and changes in state agencies are required to stop this practice. -
Oregon cancels contract with nonprofit that places foster care kids in unlicensed short-term rentalsOPB wrote about the nonprofit Dynamic Life Inc. last month, noting the organization grew at a shocking rate over a short time fueled by taxpayer鈥檚 dollars and placed children in unlicensed short-term rental homes. Several attorneys and children鈥檚 advocates raised questions about the type of care children were receiving when placed with Dynamic Life. -
State officials are paying a religious nonprofit more than 100 times the amount they pay foster care parents to watch vulnerable children in unlicensed short-term rental homes. -
The suit says the state Department of Human Services ignored complaints about abuse, injuries and neglect and kept children in the home.
