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Reason Children are Removed
Children are often removed from their homes and placed in out-of-home care for multiple reasons. However, if the most serious reason were identified for each of the children removed, the following profile would characterize children entering care between 1991 and 1993.
Level of Vulnerability
State Office for Services to Families and Children has formalized a child welfare priority system known as the level of vulnerability. This system, which replaces an informal prioritization system in each branch office, assures workers provide services to the more vulnerable children and recognizes the level of service provided in each branch office. SOSCF administration, program managers, and researchers created the level of vulnerability system in 1990. There are seven levels in the system. Level 1 includes the most severe abuse and neglect cases: life threatening neglect, abandoned or orphaned children, siblings of children who have died from abuse or neglect, severe familial sexual abuse, and severe physical abuse. The least vulnerable children are identified as Level 7: chronic acting-out teenagers, adolescents exposed to chronic neglect, teenage victims of mild physical abuse, court ordered services where no abuse has occurred, and voluntary requests for services where abuse, neglect, and threat of harm are not apparent. Younger and more vulnerable children are in the higher levels of vulnerability (levels 1-3); older children, better able to protect themselves from moderate and mild abuse, are assigned to the lower levels of the system (levels 4-7).
Child's Problems
Children and youth entering the foster care system exhibit a variety of troubling behaviors and suffer from myriad of physical and mental problems. The following table contains a list of the child's problems most often cited by case workers.
Family Factors
Parents who abuse or neglect their children are themselves often burdened by a host of problems known as family factors. The table below contains the 11 most prevelant problems exhibited by parents in the community who have their children in Foster Care.
Most Prevelent Barriers in Curry County
Barriers are problems or conditions that a caseworker identifies as requiring some resolution before a child can be returned home.
Services Provided to Children and Families in Curry County
Curry County Summary
About 35 to 40 children enter substitute care each year in Curry County. About 40% of the cases where children were placed in substitute care between 1991 and mid-1993 were randomly selected and reviewed by researchers from the Child Welfare Partnership at Portland State University. A profile of children entering substitute care in Curry County is compared to the state profile for the following: the reason children enter care, severity of the abuse, problems of the children, parental problems, barriers to returning children home, and services offered to the parents and children. The most common reasons children enter foster care in Oregon are physical abuse, neglect, treatment issues of the child, parental absence, and sexual abuse. The most common reasons children enter foster care in Curry County are parental absence, physical abuse, threat of harm, and voluntary requests. Parental absence and physical abuse are more common in Curry County; treatment issues of the child is less common when comparing Curry County to the state. The level of vulnerability system is comprised of 7 levels; level 1 cases include the most severe situations while level 7 cases include the least severe situations. The Curry County SOSCF serves a lower proportion of levels 1-4 cases (55%) than other Oregon counties (75%). About 45% of substitute care cases are levels 5-7 in Curry County compared with 25% statewide. Although more than half the Curry County children entering care are victims of the most serious types of abuse and neglect (levels 1-3), more level 7 children are provided service in Curry County (27%) than elsewhere in Oregon (11%). Level 7 children are primarily teenagers who are beyond parental control. Most children entering foster care exhibit behaviors after being abused or neglected. More level 7 children -- the older acting out adolescents not considered delinquents -- are served in Curry County. Problems exhibited by children entering care in Curry County are reflective of these older level 7 children. Many children from Curry County are out of control (54%), are criminally involved (32%), are victims of sexual abuse (32%), and are angry or aggressive (30%). Interestingly, a higher proportion of children from Curry County (11%) have temporary medical conditions than elsewhere in Oregon (1%) Parents who abuse or neglect their children are themselves often burdened by a host of problems known as family factors. There are certain family factors which place children at risk of serious abuse or at risk of removal. The family factors that place children at greater risk of removal include drug/alcohol issues, criminal involvement, inadequate income, and unemployment. Domestic violence, new baby in the household, and criminal involvement are more prevalent with cases of severe abuse. Of the twelve most common family factors in this SOSCF population, eleven are more common in Curry County than other counties. Poor parenting skills, history of being to children and chronic neglect are particularly more common in Curry County. Barriers are family problems or conditions that require some resolution before a child can be returned home. Family barriers often include many of the family factors discussed in the previous section. Family problems are identified as barriers when the severity of the problem prohibits adequate child-rearing or safety within a household. Although many family factors may exist when the child enters care, resolution of one or two barriers is typically sufficient to initiate the child's return home. The most common barriers in Curry County include parents' angry/ aggressive behavior, parents' drug/alcohol involvement, parent-child conflict, and poor parenting skills. Although angry/aggressive behavior and parent-child conflict are more common in Curry County, drug/alcohol involvement and poor parenting skills are more common barriers elsewhere in Oregon. The State Office for Services to Children and Families and other social service agencies provide services to minimize the number of children entering out-of-home care and to encourage the return home of children in care. Parental participation facilitates barrier resolution and increases the chances of children being returned to their biological families. The most common services provided to parents in Curry County include SOSCF counseling, visitations, and parent training. Shelter evaluations, sexual abuse treatment are the most common services offered to children in Curry County. SOSCF counseling, visitation, and shelter evaluations occur more often with families in Curry County than SOSCF families in other counties. Researchers from the Portland State University Child Welfare Partnership identify the proportion of children returning home in the year after removal; SOSCF identifies the proportion of children who are reabused. About two-thirds of the children return home within the year after removal in Curry County. Other branches serving the same client population would return about half the children. Considering the high proportion of children returned home in the year after their removal, a higher proportion of reabused children would be expected. In Curry County, about twice as many children are reabused in the year after a valid referral or returning home as elsewhere in Oregon. Thus, more children are returned home although more are also reabused. The Curry County SOSCF branch office strives to balance child safety with efforts to preserve families. This delicate balance weighs the potential for reabuse with the emotional needs of the children to remain with their parents. Services to children and families attempt to moderate the effects of child abuse and neglect and ensure the most vulnerable children are protected from abuse/neglect |
