BY JANET KIM

February 12, 2008

MEDFORD, Ore.  --  A new $2.5 million grant will work to improve Oregon's foster care system over the next five years.  Workers say it will create a support network for foster kids.

Each year, $40,000 of that grant will go to reconnecting families of foster kids.  The money will fund one full-time and part-time person to find and reconnect foster children with relatives across the country, as well as mentors the children already know.  

The workers will use a database to locate family members.  They'll run background checks and interviews to see if that relative is safe and could provide a positive relationship for the child, not necessarily to live with, but just to keep in touch with. 

"So, the idea is that no child has ever had too many caring relationships in their life, so it's just about bringing together all those relationships," said Cheyenne Blevins, the program manager.

"They may not be a growing-up resource for that child, but they may be someone who can support that child in knowing that they're special," said Pam Bergreen, who works for the Department of Human Services.

Jackson County's Commission on Families already provides a similar program but it's mostly aimed at older children who are leaving the system.  This new program will start the connection process as soon as children enter the system.  Details of how the process will work are still being ironed out. 

Some foster parents have voiced concern on whether it's a good idea to reconnect foster children to families they've been removed from, but program managers say relatives will be thoroughly interviewed to ensure it's a right match.

BY ASHLEY HALL

February 6, 2008

MEDFORD, Ore. -- Jackson County is still in need of foster parents, but the Department of Human Services is trying to decrease that need by offering more help to biological parents. DHS is trying to get to the root of the foster care shortage by providing more education and support to parents struggling with addiction, and a big element is working to get foster kids reunited with their biological parents as quickly as possible.

Nichole Dial and two of her daughters experienced the foster care system firsthand. "That was one of my main struggles when my kids were in foster care," says Dial. "It was really hard to focus on me when I didn't know where my kids were at, what they were doing."

Dial says once she had some visitation with her girls, she was able to start working on herself, which led to her family's reunion. The Department of Human Services is working on a new program to take that incentive for success a step further. "We are also working to expand some of our parents to have their children remain with them as they go through treatment episodes," says John Hamilton, who works with On-Track.

The cost of the housing projects is included in a $500,000 grant. On-Track is just a few months away from opening a supervised housing situation in an existing apartment building. "We're looking at a housing project that will be specific and supervised for parents who don't need residential treatment, but do need extensive treatment and do need to have 24-hour supervision to make sure they're appropriate with their children," says Hamilton.

Dial says she has some concerns about programs that put too much contact between biological parents and kids too soon. "If they're not getting their stuff together, then I don't know," she says. "I'm afraid if they back-step, if the kids have to go through even more. Because what a lot of people look at is, 'Oh, it's so hard for me to have my kids in foster care,' but what they don't think about is what that child's going through."

On-Track says it will be very careful about choosing parents and children who are in the right mindset to benefit from the housing program.

BY JENNIFER SEEKER

February 5, 2008

SALEM, Ore. -- A federal report says Oregon's foster care system is broken. "(It's) absolutely unacceptable for our state, and we need to address it," says Democrat Peter Buckley, who represents District 5. Federal analysts reviewed Oregon foster cases and conducted interviews and focus groups with families and case workers. It found the state failed in 11 of 14 areas studied.

The review pointed to a lack of foster homes; overcrowded foster homes; mistreatment of foster children; and failure to find permanent homes for children. "The foster care system needs to be overhauled, and that's not going to happen in this special session," says Dennis Richardson, the Republican representative for District 4.

Some hoped the special session would provide new funding for the foster system, but Republican legislators say that's not necessarily the answer. "We have a tendency in state government to just accept the fact that money is the solution," says Republican Ron Maurer, who represents District 3. "This is about leadership and management."

The governor met with about 100 members of DHS on Monday to look at the scathing report and to discuss a complete overhaul of the system. The federal report points to a lack of services and little contact between caseworkers and families. But it could be some time before a permanent fix is found. Says Richardson, "The foster care system will be addressed in 2009 when it can really be addressed thoroughly."

BY ANDREA PETTES

February 4, 2008

MEDFORD, Ore.  --  A new $2.5 million grant will allow Oregon's foster care system to improve over the next five years.

Topping the list of improvements is a change in how DHS looks at who needs fostering.

Over the next five years, DHS, On Track and other local groups will get $2.5 million to improve the foster care system in Southern Oregon.  Their goal for the money is to find ways to limit the overall affection children when they go into foster care.

"Often they have to overcome the impacts over a lifetime, sometimes they don't," said On Track Executive Director Rita Sullivan.

Research shows it's not just the children who needs fostering, it's the entire family.  The Permanency Grant Steering Committee, with representatives from several groups, agrees.

"What this grant has done is give us the resources to begin that model and overtime be the model of care," Sullivan said.

Now, when a child is taken into care, a drug and alcohol counselor will enter the struggling family's home and work with the biological parents to get treatment as quickly as possible.  That process is aimed to allow parents to get their children back faster, but it does take a special foster parent to work with this new idea of a foster home.

"The benefits to children are enormous in seeing their parents are still part of their lives, they are there and engaged on a daily basis with people who are caring for them," said Pam Bergreen with DHS.

Studies show, the more help these families receive, the better off they are down the road.

"The more involved and more hands there are reaching out to a family, the greater the chances are they'll be able to return home safety," Bergreen said.

Not every foster home will follow the new model.  Many will still accept children under the traditional setup.

If you'd like more information on becoming a foster parent, contact DHS.

BY TIM CONROY

December 11, 2007

MEDFORD, Ore. --  Critics say an alarming number of Oregon foster children use psychiatric drugs and that has the state legislature on guard.  A Southern Oregon state senator says he is ready to create a system to monitor those kids to keep them healthy.

Statewide about 25 percent of foster kids are on psychotropic drugs.  That compares to six percent of kids not in foster care.  The state legislature wants to know why and foster care workers say they welcome the help.

When a child is placed in a foster home it is generally because something bad happened to them.

"Kiddos in foster care have often lost safety in their homes," says DHS Child Welfare Supervisor Pam Bergreen.

Abuse, a parent on drugs or parents in prison usually lands children in the system.  The comfort a foster home brings is sometimes not enough and foster children are put on psychotropic drugs.  The drugs are designed to help the children get through life.

In September in Jackson County, 432 children were in foster care.  That is the most recent month with data available.  Of those 432 children, 77 were on psychotropic drugs.  About 18 percent which is below the statewide average.

"Certainly we worry and want to be aware of and on top of medication of kids for behavior or medication of kids in instances when that's not necessary or appropriate," says Bergreen.

Begreen says foster children on any kind of medication are monitored with logs filled out by foster parents.

"They review all medications what a child is doing, whether there seem to be side effects," she says.  "So those are the ways we monitor what kids are prescribed."

Begreen says it isn't enough, but it is the best plan now.  She says a committee looks at the drugs each child is on as well as a nurse and the child's doctor.  If someone raises a concern about the medication, the case gets a closer look.

"It's really like, 'what does this child need now?'" she says.  "Not that we got a prescription six months ago and this child is going to stay on it."

Democratic Senator Alan Bates says the system needs to change.

"Let's not kid ourselves we have a problem," says State Senator Bates.

Bates knows the problem through his work as a legislator and as a family physician.

"The doctor writes the prescription is doing the best he can to help the child. The problem is due to confusion. Without good medical records following them and tracking the medications they are on," says Bates.

Bates says it is the legislature's job to step in and create a plan to monitor what drugs foster kids are on.  He wants a web-based tracking system and is already in talks to create one.

"I expect by February, we will be ready to take action," he says.

That action is welcomed by those charged with protecting kids in crisis.

"I feel the more we are able to work in partnership with our community, the legislature and to have transparency to share what our work is with kids the better it is going to be for children," says Bergreen.

Bates talked with the director of DHS Monday.

"These kids need special attention, special care and special help from us. As much as everyone is well-intentioned it is not getting done," says Bates.  "We have to step in and give it some help."

He expects hearings will be held next month and the medication watch system will be one of the first things the legislature acts on during its session in February. 

Drugs aren't the only option.  Foster kids have counseling available and case workers say that often works and kids are eventually taken off some medications.

BY ANDREA PETTES

December 3, 2007

GRANTS PASS, Ore. -- Bags of toys are already starting to pile up inside the Josephine County DHS office. But if it weren't for the kindness of another business, this pile could have been all they have to give to 140 children. "It's becoming better and better," says Lisa Coca of holiday donations for foster children in Josephine County. "In the past we've always had some donations, (but) in the last few years we've been getting more help from community sources."

The holidays aren't typically the best time of year for foster children -- or for many foster families. "It can be an extremely stressful time of year," says Coca. "A lot of the children have had difficult holidays in the past, and therefore there is not only the normal holiday stress, but a lot of emotional stuff that goes around."

But Sterling Savings Bank in Grants Pass is trying to change that. "Our goal is to gather at least one present for every child that's in the Josephine County foster care program," says Bea Ryan, a Sterling spokeswoman.

Currently that list is nearly 140 deep, with handfuls of other families who have open cases with DHS. "We are asking that customers and other people that are supporting the program drop off a gift that is appropriate for a child between the ages of 6 months and 18 years old," says Ryan. "It can be anything." She says knowing you've helped the life of a child at Christmas is one of the best gifts you can give yourself this holiday season.

According to the Josephine County DHS office, Sterling Savings Bank is the only company gathering gifts for foster kids in Josephine County. It will be gathering toys until December 18th.

BY CHELSEA MULLER

November 20, 2007

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. -- The Department of Human Services says more than a quarter of Klamath County's children experience abuse.  Klamath County leaders say they recognize there's a problem, now they're working together toward a solution.

"I believe that last statistics put us at 34 out of 36, meaning that there are only a couple of counties, and those are in Eastern Oregon less population than we have, that are actually in worse shape than we are," says Sherri Bean, the director of the Commission on Children and Families.  "We're all sick of it and now we feel like we do have some tools to change the system but it's going to happen over time."

The Commission on Children and Families receives state and federal funds in order to address the problems of parenting, child abuse, literacy, or any other factor that affects children and families in Oregon.  Bean says the commission's most important work could be getting communities focused on a shared goal.

"We have a community comprehensive plan where we work with others to try and get a collaboration and define those difficulties that we all share in common and work toward a common solution."

Bean says she knows the Klamath community well and says there's a spirit of cooperation present that's often unseen in other communities.

"We've been talking to all different kinds of groups. For instance, we're talking to pregnant and parenting teens, we've talked to the courts, we have the interest of the judges, child welfare is training the foster parents in a new way, so really from a variety of fronts we're trying to attack this program, change systems so that we can work with families in a new way to prevent and give support to parents who may not have been parented correctly when they were kids,” Bean says.  "To teach them how to give to themselves so they can be whole people and it's only when they can be whole people that they can raise children who are healthy."

Bean says the way to affect a child's character is to begin 100 years before they're even born.  She says the key is looking closely at caregivers.

"Whether it's alcohol, drugs, violence within the family... it's because of an unmet need we all have and that’s to connect with others is a positive way," says Bean.

Klamath County Sheriff Tim Evinger agrees. He sees substance abuse as the biggest problem in our area.

"It's a big picture situation where you have to have enforcement, but you also have to have treatment and then community corrections plays a huge role in making sure that when people go to jail they need to reintegrate back with their families and they need to go through treatment and make sure they have parenting skills," says Evinger.

Klamath's family court is a relatively recent addition to the county court system.  Judge Roxane Osborne has a regular docket of dependency cases but also oversees the family court program.

"We try to get all their cases into one courtroom and try and give an approach that helps them solve all their problems instead of working at odds," says Osborne.  "We try to get that coordinated and more intensive services that are closely monitored. To try and help them get through the system quicker so the children can be returned home safely."

"I really think it's families having support, because our first goal is to keep kids with their families," says Child Welfare Program Manager Cyndi Kallstrom.  "Kids want to be with their families, kids do better if they can remain with their families so some type of support and help to people prior to them getting in such crisis that we have to get involved."

Klamath-Lake Community Action Services is trying to facilitate that with its family support and connections program.  It has a worker stationed at Child Welfare Services -- there to assist families who might be on the edge of entering the system.

"It's a preventative, we want to keep this family out of having to have their children taken away. Just lessen the involvement with the system," says Donna Bowman, who works for Klamath-Lake Community Action Services.

The program is in it's second year and has just has just received additional funding.

"I firmly believe if we can take care of some of those issues, some of the other issues will take care of themselves, or at least improve working out the details,” says Bowman.

BY JENNIFER SEEKER

November 19, 2007

MEDFORD, Ore -- Foster care workers are trying to match "kids in crisis" with the best families possible.

Newswatch 12 has been highlighting the foster care shortage in our community for more than a year now, and you have responded. Hundreds of you have called and attended meetings to start the process of becoming a foster parent.

Now the Department of Human Services can move beyond simply finding beds for children in need -- and match kids with families for the best fit all around. But, they still need your help.

"We love kids and there are so many in need we thought we'd try it out here also," says Rachel Patstone.

The Patstones moved to Medford this summer. They fostered children in Southern California and picked up where they left off when they arrived here in October. They took in a brother and sister just before Halloween.

"They'd never carved a pumpkin before so they got to carve a pumpkin, we went trick or treating, got them costumes, so that was really fun," Rachel said. "They're fun, they're goofy, they're fun. She's a lot like me so it's weird we took her in."

With two of the Patstones' own children in the mix, the East Medford home is full of laughter. It takes loving people like the Patstones to open their homes and give foster children a second chance at life. The more homes there are, the better DHS can serve children.

"We like to be able to match homes, so like if they're attending a local school we like to keep that child in that school if at all possible," says Diane Bowers, a DHS certification worker.

Foster workers also try to match a child's special needs, age, and temperament to a family. If beds are in short supply, placement workers have few options.

"We just need homes," says Bowers. "We need the people who are available, who don't already have their home filled with children."

For a few weeks this Fall, foster workers did have a surplus of beds and were putting the matching program to work. But with the start of each school year, reports of child abuse and neglect go up, and the system is filling up again.

The Patstones hope more people will follow their lead and help "kids in crisis."

"Enjoy them. They're great kids. Just let them open up to you," says David Patstone.

"These children need love," says Rachel. "They need someone to take them in and they don't need to be forced to go to a home that's overcrowded would be great."

DHS holds a foster open house every month. There is no obligation, you can just attend to learn more and get your questions answered. This month, the open house is Monday, November 26 from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. at DHS headquarters at 909 Royal Court in Medford. You can also call (541) 776-6120 ext. 264 in Jackson County, or call your county's DHS office.

The foster care shortage is a problem across Southern Oregon, but some counties are worse off than others. Tuesday, November 20 on Newswatch 12 at 6:00 p.m., we take a look at Klamath County's extremely high rate of child abuse and what is being done there to help "kids in crisis."

BY JENNIFER SEEKER

MEDFORD, Ore. -- The foster care shortage in Southern Oregon is seeing some progress, but there is still a drastic need for more families. NewsWatch 12 started a campaign in fall 2006 called "Kids in Crisis: The Foster Care Shortage," and Southern Oregon responded. After our special coverage and a town hall meeting, dozens of people attended open houses to learn more about fostering. Several became certified foster families. But the shortage remains.

Drug and alcohol abuse drives the cycle of child neglect and abuse. Right now, about 400 children are in the foster system in Jackson County. Only about 137 permanent homes are available to foster children.

Some families go above and beyond the call of duty to help children in need. Paula and Dan Grimes have two biological children, five adopted children, and three foster children, for a total of ten. One Christmas, they had 13 children in their home.

They use two large crock pots to cook dinner, drive around in a large van, and keep their dozens of shoes in a huge basket by the door. They say their situation is unusual, but they make it work.

There are several familes like the Grimes in Southern Oregon with many foster and adoptive children. Once these families adopt, though, they have less room for other foster children. That's why more loving families must come forward.

The Grimes and other families like them are unique. Not everyone can take in many children. Foster parents can accept one child a single time or even provide relief care for other foster parents. The Grimes and foster care workers just encourage you to consider fostering and to learn more about how it works.

The Department of Human Services holds open houses every month for people to learn more about foster care. Interested parents can talk to foster families and workers to see what opportunities are available.

BY COLLEEN BORMANN

MEDFORD, Ore. -- A new study says foster care sometimes isn't the best choice for troubled children. It makes the controversial claim that sometimes the original homes are better than foster care, even if they aren't ideal.

The foster care system in Oregon has placed thousand of kids into safer homes, but there's an ongoing discussion about what's best for foster kids in the end. While the new study says their original home is the best place, foster families disagree.

"It comes down to the parents stepping up to the plate and doing what's right for their children," says Paula Grimes, a local foster parent. Grimes say every situation is different and should be handled case by case.

The Department of Human Services says its goal is to get foster kids back into their original homes. They say kids will eventually do better if they're under their parents' care.

However, it says many parents do need to change their habits to make a better environment for their kids.

DHS holds open houses every month for families to learn more about the foster system.

BY COLLEEN BORMANN

MEDFORD, Ore. -- Nearly half of the child welfare cases in Jackson County are related to child neglect. Educators say most people assume physical and sexual abuse makes up the majority of problems, but the biggest issue is actually neglect. In 2006, 765 kids in Jackson County fell victim to neglect.  Now, the state is stepping in to help Jackson County come up with a permanent solution to eliminate the growing problem.

Hundreds of educators from around the valley attended a recent community summit on child neglect. The event was funded by a recent grant given by the Child Abuse Prevention Treatment Act. Their goal is to come up with a plan to get all services together in one room to come up with a plan of action. The group plans to meet regularly to monitor the progress made on its plans.

Close to 10,000 Oregon children are in foster care, and that number shows no signs of going down. With so many kids in the system, foster care families are in short supply. NewsWatch 12 has committed itself to helping these children by spreading awareness of Kids in Crisis: The Foster Care Shortage.

Since our coverage began in November of 2006, local workers say they've seen a surge of people wanting to help foster children. Many of those people are opening their homes to these kids. Others who can't become full-time foster parents want to know what else they can do to help.

If you want to know more about the system, or are interested in becoming a foster parent, here are some resources:

Department of Health and Human Services: DHS is the agency responsible for placing children in foster homes and monitoring the children as they move through the foster care system.

Jackson County: (541) 776-6120 ext. 264 

In Jackson County, the Medford DHS office holds regular open houses for people to get more information. For specific information about training to become a foster parent, call (541) 776-6120 ext. 268.

Josephine County: (541) 474-3120 ext. 340 

Klamath County: (541) 883-5511 

Oregon State DHS: (800) 331-0503 

Siskiyou County: (530) 841-2700