Oregon daily emerald., January 20, 1978, Page 9, Image 9

All my children
There must be more guilt per
capita in Pine Valley than any
other town in the United States. A
tragedy struck Tuesday which
ought to kick Nick's guilt-o-meter
into the red. But let s not get ahead
of ourselves.
By GLEN OZONEWOOD
About a week and a half ago
Erica took off without telling any
one where she was headed. Not
that unusual (after all she is
single), but she and Nick had a
dinner date set up for the night she
split. She wasn't seen for awhile
and Nick and Mona were worried.
The other day we found out where
she was—a hospital in the city.
What was she doing there? I
don't know, but I think it’s the
backstroke. Hey, no time for
jokes, this is serious. At first the
doctors suspected an overdose,
but it was eventually discovered
that she had pneumonia. Erica
almost died from pneumonia be
fore and when Nick and Mona
were alerted, they jumped on the
next train out.
Foster kids helped
by Oregon Project
By DAN POSTREL
Of the Emerald
Foster children, still under the
legal control of parents not fit to
take care of them, often drift from
home to home for years.
“They are in limbo," Lynne
Frohnmayer told a luncheon meet
ing of the Republican Rubicon
Society Thursday. “They don't be
long anywhere.'' The child moved
from one foster family to another,
she said, often “goes through a
period of grief and loss, a mourn
ing process. It s almost as if his
parents had died.”
Foster parents aren't legally ob
ligated to hang in there,” Frohn
mayer said. When financial dif
ficulties, illnesses, or marriage
problems arise in a foster house
hold, parents often arrange to
have their foster child transferred.
“Whatever the crisis, the foster
child is the first to go.”
Frohnmayer, who works for the
state Children Services Division,
said there are 632 Oregon chil
dren under age 12 who have
spent a year in foster care. “That’s
alot of young kids to be spending
that much time in foster care and it
worries me," she added.
Nationally, studies indicate that
foster children spend an average
of 56months—overfour and a half
years -in various foster homes.
The Oregon Project, conducted
r
by the state in 1973-1976, attemp
ted to find ways of giving transient
foster children more permanent
homes. Some parents were
forced to give up control of their
children, while therapy made
others capable of taking their chil
dren back, she said.
Children who can't be returned
to their own homes cannot be
adopted until freed in court from
the legal control of their parents. In
two years, the 12 project
workers-starting with 509 chil
dren who had been in foster care
for a year-placed 72 percent in
permanent homes after parents
relinquished all control. In addi
tion, intensive work with problem
parents allowed 26 percent of the
children to return to their original
homes, Frohnmayer said.
The project saved enough fos
ter home costs to pay for itself
within three months—and to save
Oregonians an additional
$400,000 in taxes. Each month a
child under 5 years of age, spends
in foster care costs the state $123.
The success of the Oregon Pro
ject earned national acclaim. “It
also made us realize that had we
started earlier and worked more
aggressively with the real par
ents. some of those kids would
never have been in foster care,”
Frohnmayer said.
i
The train ride there was interest
mg because Mona accidently
made Nick feel like it was his fault.
Of course it wasn’t but by the time
the train got to New York, Nick
was low enough to wash an ant's
belly.
A quick trip to the hospital and
after Mona had said hello, Nick
and Erica were reunited.
It looked like Nick was going to
propose right in the hospital, but
the show ran out of time before he
had a chance. One o'clock saved
him this time, but it wouldn't be too
surprising if the two ended up at
the altar soon.
The whole thing got a little
mushy, but didn't come close to
equaling the mush coming down
at the young Tylers.
Now that Donna knows the
truth, everyone (at least those in
terested in Pine Valley events) is
wondering how she ll react to the
knowledge she's sterile. For a
while it looked like Donna was
going to follow in Erica s footsteps
(when she was married to Phil,
she miscarried and really lost it.
She moved her bed into the living
room—so the baby 'wouldn't have
to climb the stairs—and finally
ended up with a vacation in the
loony bin) and refused to admit
that there is no baby.
But with time it looks like Donna
will adjust (she’s seeing the shrink
to get a hand) and with a hus
band as sweet and caring as
Chuck, she’ll pull through okay.
Which is more that one could
say about Phoebe.
The stay at the hospital hasn't
been that tough for Phoebe be
cause Benny’s been smuggling
vodka to her. But this week, the
source dried up.
Last week, Phoebe called
Charles to her side. She told him
of a vision of he and her taking a
pilgrimage together. He told her
she was crazy. Jeez, she’s really
trying to milk this stay in the hospi
tal Anyway, as Charles listened to
her babble, he spied and confis
cated her flask.
And. he didn't stop there.
When Benny came to see
Phoebe the next time, Charles in
tercepted him and declared the
hospital off limits. Of Phoebe
should start suffering from the
DT's soon. No alcohol will prob
ably bring a miraculous recovery
soon.
Finally, Estelle s been over to
see her friend Maggie again.
While Locust Street is probably in
her blood, Estelle's been making
noises about retiring.
The whole thing has Billy Clyde
laughing, but when he discovered
she was gone, he waited for her in
her room. He passed the time
playing with a Mexican toad
sticker, but didn't cut Estelle when
she got back. She really wants
out.
Hope she makes it.
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