Morrow-Gilliam-Wheeler Counties, 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 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 25 most prevelant problems exhibited by parents in the community who have their children in Foster Care.

Most Prevelent Barriers in Morrow County

Barriers are problems or conditions that a caseworker identifies as requiring some resolution before a child can be returned home.

vices Provided to Children and Families in Morrow County

Morrow County Summary

Researchers from the Child Welfare Partnership at Portland State University reviewed 26 case records from Morrow, Gilliam, and Wheeler Counties where children had been removed from their homes for at least two weeks. Cases of children entering care between 1991 and mid-1993 for two weeks were sampled. The Morrow SOSCF branch offices provides services to three counties; reference to the Morrow SOSCF branch office refers to families served in these three counties. This report compares families served by Morrow SOSCF with families served elsewhere in Oregon for the following: types of child maltreatment, severity of maltreatment, problems or conditions of the parents, problems being exhibited by the children, barriers to returning children home, services offered to the families, the percentage of children returned home, and the percentage of children who are reabused.

The five most prevalent reasons children are removed in Oregon are physical abuse (18%), neglect (17%), treatment issues of the child (16%), parental absence (13%), and sexual abuse (12%). Parental absence includes abandonment, leaving the child with a babysitter and not returning, and parental incarceration; parental absence would be a larger category if children entering out-of-home care for parental conditions (hospitalization, residential detoxication, etc.), were also included in this category. The most prevalent reasons children are placed in care by Morrow SOSCF include parental absence (29%), physical abuse (21%), sexual abuse (21%), and neglect (13%). When compared to the state, the Morrow SOSCF has higher proportions of children entering care for parental absence, sexual abuse, and mental abuse; treatment issues of the child and threat of harm are less common reasons for entry into care in Morrow, Gilliam, and Wheeler counties.

The level of vulnerability system considers numerous factors including severity of abuse and age of the child victim. This level of vulnerability system is comprised of seven levels; level one cases are the most severe situations of abuse/neglect while level seven cases are the least severe. With only a few children being removed each year, statistical estimates can vary when comparing two time periods. Between 1987 and 1990, Morrow SOSCF removed only the most vulnerable children. Between 1991-1993, a higher proportion of the lower level children are being placed in care. Although only 4% of the children placed in care are identified as level 1, sixty-seven percent of the Morrow SOSCF cases are considered levels 1-3; statewide, seventy-one percent are identified as level 1-3. A greater proportion of cases in Morrow County consist of level 2 (17%), level 3 (46%), and level 7 (17%) cases. The types of abuse associated with these levels include moderate physical abuse (ages 0-12), moderate sexual abuse (ages 0-12), short term desertion (also due to parental incarceration), chronic neglect (ages 0-12), chronic acting out (non-adjudicated delinquents ages 13-17), and mild physical abuse cases (13-17). In general, Morrow County is similar to the state profile between 1987 and 1993. Morrow SOSCF vulnerability profile is variable from year to year because of the few numbers of children entering care.

Children entering foster care often can exhibit disturbing behaviors associated with maltreatment or family dysfunction. Although 41% of children being placed in care by Morrow SOSCF are identified with no problems, 32% are victims of sexual abuse and 23% have behavioral problems. The "no identified problems" category is appropriate for children not exhibiting problems at entry into care; most sexual abuse victims or young victims of abuse/neglect will later exhibit problems and require therapy or treatment.

Parents who abuse or neglect their children are themselves often burdened by problems known as family factors. Certain family factors are more prevalent with families who have children in care; other factors are more prevalent with families who severely abuse/neglect their children. Family factors associated with risk of placement or risk of serious abuse include unemployment, inadequate income, history of being abusive to children, domestic violence, teen parenthood, and criminal involvement. All of these factors are more prevalent in the population being served by Morrow SOSCF. Interestingly, the family factors indicate the client population is high risk, yet there are fewer level 1 cases. Unfortunately, level of vulnerability is recognized after the abuse has occurred. Branches, like Morrow, Gilliam, and Wheeler who are removing vulnerable children before the severe abuse has occurred would have high risk families combined with lower levels of vulnerability.

Barriers are family problems or conditions that require some resolution before a child can be returned home. The barriers in cases served by Morrow SOSCF reflect family factors. Drug/alcohol involvement, criminal involvement, parent incarcerated, and poor parenting skills are the most common barriers in Morrow, Gilliam, and Wheeler counties. Criminal involvement, incarcerated parents, sexual offender in the home, pregnant teenager, chronic unemployment, and domestic violence are the barriers considered to be more prevalent with the Morrow SOSCF office than other SOSCF branch offices. Poor parenting (29%) is also prevalent in Morrow County but is less prevalent than elsewhere in Oregon.

The State Office for Services to Children and Families and their community partners provide services to families to minimize the number of children entering out-of-home care, and to encourage the return home of children in care. The most common services provided to parents in Morrow County include drug/alcohol evaluations, parent training, visitation, and drug/alcohol treatment. The most common services offered to children in Morrow County include counseling and sexual abuse treatment. The most common Morrow SOSCF services are provided to fewer families in other branch offices.

About 81% of the children removed by Morrow SOSCF return home in the year after removal. Other SOSCF branches serving a similar client population return 49%. Although more children are returned home, more are reabused. Of the children returned home and the children remaining in their homes after a valid abuse/neglect referral, 21% are abused in the following year. Twelve percent are reabused in other SOSCF offices serving a similar group of parents and children. Considering the high proportion of children returned home in the year after their removal, one would expect a higher proportion of children to be reabused.

The Morrow 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 attempts to moderate the effects of child abuse and neglect and ensure the most vulnerable children are protected from maltreatment.