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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 Jackson 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 Jackson County
Jackson County Summary
Researchers from the Child Welfare Partnership at Portland State University reviewed 55 case records from Jackson County where children had been removed from their homes for at least two weeks. These cases where children entered care between 1991 and mid-1993. This report compares families served in Jackson County with families served elsewhere in Oregon for the following: types of abuse and neglect that prompted the removal, severity of maltreatment, problems exhibited by the parents, problems exhibited by the children, barriers to returning children home, and services offered to the families. The most common reasons children enter care in Oregon include physical abuse, neglect, treatment issues of the child, parental absence and sexual abuse. The three most common reasons children enter care in Jackson County (treatment issues of the child, parental absence, and sexual abuse) are more pervasive in Jackson County than in other Oregon counties. Treatment issues of the child is twice as common in Jackson County (33%) as in Oregon (16%). Neglect, physical abuse and child's behavior problems are less common reasons for children to enter care in Jackson County than elsewhere in Oregon. The level of vulnerability system is comprised of 7 levels; level one cases include the most severe situations while level 7 cases include the least severe situations. There are more higher level (more vulnerable) children entering care in Jackson County than in other Oregon counties. Eighty-six percent of cases in Jackson County are level 1-3 compared to 71% elsewhere in Oregon. Severely emotionally disturbed (SED) children, short term desertion and severe sexual abuse are the higher level cases more common in Jackson County. Although, Jackson County has higher proportions of level 1 and level 3 cases, there are lower proportions of level 2, level 5 and level 7 cases. Children entering foster care often exhibit a number of disturbing behaviors associated with child maltreatment. Children from Jackson County are often afflicted with problems such as criminal involvement, drug and alcohol use, sexually acting out, and problems associated with being sexually victimized. In addition, mental disorders such as depression, emotional disturbance, destructiveness and academic delays are more common with children entering care in Jackson County. Parents with children entering foster care are also burdened with a number of problems or conditions known as family factors. The most common parental factors in Oregon and Jackson County are drug/alcohol involvement, poor parenting skills, and single parenthood. In general, most family factors are equally prevalent in Jackson County as elsewhere in Oregon. History of being abusive to children, unemployment, teen parenthood, and single parenthood are more common in other geographic locations throughout Oregon. Conversely, chronic neglect is a more common condition among the parents with children entering care in Jackson County. Family factors, which provide a profile of family problems when a child is placed in foster care, can also be barriers to returning children home. The most common barriers to returning children home in both Jackson County and in Oregon are parental drug/alcohol involvement and poor parenting skills. This implies the parental drug/alcohol involvement or their parenting skills prohibit adequate care and safety for their children. Parent-child conflict, sexual offender residing in the home, and unable to locate the parent are more common in Jackson County than in other Oregon counties. Conversely, angry or aggressive behaviors exhibited by the parent and their ability to complete treatment are less common barriers to returning children home in Jackson County. Resolving family barriers improves the chances of a child returning home. Services are designed to help families resolve barriers, minimize the potential for subsequent abuse and minimize the impact of child maltreatment. The six most prevalent services offered to families in Jackson County are all for children -- counseling, residential treatment, shelter evaluations, psychological examinations, independent living, and sexual abuse treatment -- all of the services are more common in Jackson County than elsewhere in Oregon. In most counties, more services are offered to parents than children. Visitation, parental drug/alcohol treatment and parent training are less commonly offered in Jackson County than in to other Oregon counties. Visitation has historically been noted as a service in case records when parents are unwilling to visit their children while in foster care. In general, the Jackson County SOSCF branch office tends to provide more services to children in care and fewer services to parents when compared to other SOSCF offices. Return home rate refers to the percentage of children returned home to the same parent(s) from whom they were removed in the year after removal. The return home rate is influenced by the parents' involvement with services and their ability to resolve barriers. Return home rate in Jackson County is similar to other branches serving the same client population (47%). Re-abuse rate, which combines the percentage of children re-abused after returning home with the percentage of children abused after being assessed by SOSCF, is similar in Jackson County (9%) to other branches serving a similar clientele. The Jackson County SOSCF branch office strives to balance child safety with efforts to preserve families. This delicate balance weighs the potential for re-abuse with the emotional needs of the child to remain with their parents. Services to children and Families attempts to moderate the effects of child abuse and neglect and ensure the most vulnerable children are protected from abuse. |
