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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 Children and Families 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 10 most prevalent problems exhibited by parents in the community who have their children in Foster Care.
Most Prevalent Barriers in Baker 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 Harney County
Harney County Summary
Between 15 and 20 children per year from Harney County enter substitute care and stay in care for two weeks between 1991 and mid-1993. Twenty-two cases where children entered 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 Harney 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 include physical abuse, neglect, treatment issues of the child, parental absence, and sexual abuse. In Harney County, treatment issues of the child, child's behavior, physical abuse, and sexual abuse are the most prevalent reasons children enter care. Although treatment issues of the child, and child's behavioral problems are more common reasons children enter care in Harney County, neglect and parental absence are slightly less common. Despite some minor differences, the reasons children enter care in Harney County are similar to the reasons children enter care throughout Oregon. The level of vulnerability system contains seven levels; level 1 cases are the most severe instances of abuse/neglect while level 7 cases are the least severe. The level of vulnerability system considers numerous factors including severity of abuse and age of the child. Although the sample of 22 cases is inadequate for definitive conclusions, there tends to be a larger proportion of level 1 and level 7 cases entering care in Harney County than in other Oregon counties. Level 1 cases represent the most severe cases of sexual abuse, physical abuse, life threatening neglect, threat of harm and children in severe danger to themselves. The level 7 cases consist primarily of chronically acting out non-adjudicated teenagers (ages 13-17). Level 3 cases in Harney County are dominated by children entering care after their parents are incarcerated and children requiring residential treatment. Many children entering foster care are afflicted with mental, physical, or behavioral problems. The most prevalent problems exhibited by children entering foster care in Harney County are not as common elsewhere in Oregon. Many common behaviors manifested by Harney County children are often manifested by level 7 children -- beyond parental control, criminally involved, and drug/alcohol involved. Children entering care who are angry/aggressive and children who are victims of sexual abuse are less common in Harney County than in Oregon. Parents who abuse or neglect their children are themselves often burdened by a number of problems. These problems are known as family factors. Some family factors are associated with risk of removal while other factors are associated with risk of serious abuse. In general the families with children entering care in Harney County tend to have fewer problems than families served in other Oregon counties -- this could reflect the higher percentage of level 7 children being served. Families with level 7 children tend to have fewer family factors than families with more vulnerable children. Parental drug/alcohol involvement and poor parenting skills are less common in Harney County. Barriers are family problems that should be addressed before a child is returned home. The barriers identified on page 6 display the most common barriers in Oregon and Harney County. Of these barriers, inadequate housing, criminal involvement, inadequate income, parent does not want the child, and sexual offender in the home are more prevalent in Harney than in Oregon; drug/alcohol involvement tends to be less common in Harney County. Parent does not want child and sexual offender in the home are both associated with low return home rates. There are many services provided by the community and SOSCF to help families resolve problems and improve family functioning. The most common services provided to parents in Harney County include non-SOSCF family counseling, parent training, visitation, drug/alcohol evaluations and homemaker services. Harney County serves many children with behavioral problems as reflected by the services provided to children who enter substitute care. The most common child services include psychological examinations, child residential treatment, counseling, and treatment to sexual abuse victims. Non-SOSCF family counseling and homemaker services are offered more often in Harney County than in other Oregon counties. About 36% of the children are returned home in the year after removal in Harney County; this is similar to other branch offices serving a similar client population. Reabuse rate (10%) is also similar to other counties serving the same client population. All SOSCF branch offices attempt to balance the 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. This balance is particularly difficult knowing SOSCF serves the most needy children and families in Oregon. |
