Lane County, Oregon

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 2090. 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 Lane 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 Lane County

Lane County Summary

Annually about 315 children from Lane County enter substitute care and stay in care for at least two weeks. Ninety-two cases of children who 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 Lane County is compared to the state profile for the following: Reason's 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. Physical abuse, neglect, and threat of harm are more common reasons children enter care in Lane County. Lane County has fewer cases of sexual abuse, parental absence, and treatment issues of the child than elsewhere in the state.

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. A greater percentage of Lane County children are identified in the highest two vulnerability levels (43%) than in the rest of Oregon (29%). In Lane County, level 1 cases consist of severe physical abuse, severe sexual abuse, drug affected infants, and threat of harm. Level 2 cases are primarily moderate physical abuse cases to young children (ages 0-12). There are fewer level 3 cases (38%) in Lane County than other branch offices in Oregon (43%). Most level 3 cases in Lane County consist of children who are chronically neglected or parents who are incarcerated. Although there are differences between Lane County and the state for the highest levels of vulnerability, similar proportions of level 4 and 5 cases do exist. Lane County does have a lower proportion of level 6 and level 7 cases.

Parents who abuse or neglect their children are themselves often burdened by a number of problems. These problems are known as family factors. Poor parenting skills, drug/alcohol involvement, unemployment, single parenthood, and teen parents are more prevalent in Lane County than elsewhere in Oregon. In addition, there is a high prevalence of parents who were abused as children, parents involved with domestic violence, and parents with a history of being abusive to children. Many of the factors common to families served in Lane County are associated with parents who severly physically abuse their children. Inadequate income/poverty issues, criminal involvement, and chronic neglect are also more prevalent in Lane County than other SOSCF branch offices.

Children entering foster care often can exhibit disturbing behaviors associated with physical or mental disorders. Children entering care in Lane County tend to exhibit fewer problems than elsewhere in the state. Though more children from Lane County are born drug affected, are low birth weight/premature, and are hyperactive, there is a lower incidence of criminal involvement, angry or aggressive behaviors, out-of-control children, academically delayed children, and victims of sexual abuse. This may indicate a younger out-of-home population.

Barriers are family problems that should be addressed before a child is returned home. Like family factors, barriers tend to be more prevalent in Lane County than other Oregon counties. The most common barriers in Lane County include parents with poor parenting skills, drug/alcohol involvement, failure to complete a treatment, chronic neglect, and perpetrator with access to the victim. Domestic violence (threat of harm) and inadequate income are more prevalent in Lane County than elsewhere in Oregon; inadequate housing (15%), and criminal involvement (13%) are less prevalent.

There are many services provided by the community and SOSCF to help families resolve problems and improve family functioning. Lane County's SOSCF social workers serve some of the most needy children and families in Oregon. Oregon's most populated communities tend to serve more difficult client populations; Lane County is no exception. Many parents with children entering foster care have drug or alcohol issues, poor parenting skills, are domestically violent and are chronically neglectful. Services provided to SOSCF families in Lane County attempt to address some difficult family problems. Drug and alcohol treatment, drug and alcohol evaluations/support, and parent training are the most common services provided to parents in Lane County. The most common services provided to children in Lane County include sexual abuse victim treatment and child counseling.

The Lane 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.