ODHS pledges to address issues in settlement with Oregon foster youth

After five years of litigation, The Oregon Department of Human Services has reached a settlement with the state’s foster children to hold the state accountable for the safety of Oregon’s foster youth. In 2019, these foster youth sued ODHS on the claim that it hadn’t done its job in keeping foster children safe or accommodating their physical and mental needs. Since then, this case has been pending in federal court, but the state agency has just agreed to work with an outside neutral party in order to research where the gaps in the foster care system are and to set goals for improvement in the future. This agreement could last for up to a decade, with the potential of being extended, and could increase safety and stability for foster youth in the system.

To read more about this problem, please click on one of the links below. The first link will redirect you to a KPTV news article on the settlement, and the second link will redirect you to a longer article from the Oregon Capital Chronicle.