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February 05. 2016 12:01AM Our View: Action on state foster care long overdue While the concern over trying to consider complex legislation in the short 35-day session in Salem is well founded, there is one major fix that simply can't wait another year: cleaning up Oregon's scandal-plagued foster care system. Senate Bill 1515, which already cleared the Senate Human Services Committee on a unanimous vote Wednesday, would require the state to issue public reports of confirmed abuse and neglect once every quarter. It would also make it easier for the state to shut down providers, add licensing inspectors and make it a crime to leave children in unlicensed facilities. The measure comes in response to the case of a Portland foster-care provider called Give Us This Day, which closed last year amid allegations of financial mismanagement involving $2 million in state money. Worse than the financial issues, however, were cases of neglect and abuse, including sexual abuse of children in foster care placed through the agency. Documents released by the state Department of Human Services last fall showed DHS officials knew about the allegations as long ago as 2001, but many were never fully investigated, and the state continued to place children with the provider. Gov. Kate Brown has ordered an outside investigation of the state child welfare system, but that could take months to complete. In the meantime, SB 1515 will begin to shine the light of public attention on cases of abuse and neglect. Foster care is fraught with difficulty for state caseworkers, who must constantly scramble to place children  with not enough foster homes to go around. Foster children frequently have been victims of abuse before they enter the state system, and may become abusers themselves as a result, further complicating the situation facing state officials. But that grim reality is no excuse for ignoring serious allegations or allowing troubled agencies to continue to operate. As shocking as some of the allegations are, even more troubling is the utter failure of state officials to deal with them. The short legislative session is not the best place to tackle complex issues, but this one truly qualifies as an emergency. The foster children under the state's care cannot wait any longer.   http://www.mailtribune.com/article/20160205/OPINION/160209808 © 2016 Copyright © 1995-2011 Crain Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use Privacy Statement -->