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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 6, 1981)
Shelter parents open homes, hearts And abused children find family refuge By CAROLINE PETRICH OftwEiMoM Evelyn Slaven must push her “children" outside and order them to play: sometimes they obediently stay outside When they do stay outside, they walk aimlessly about the yard, ignoring the elaborate swingset Slaven only shakes her head she can do little to improve their spirits To the unsuspecting eye Slaven and her sidekick' Patti Johnson seem like ordinary housewives Their looks belie their real profession shelter parents Both women work in the Children s Services Division to help abused children in Lane County After a CSD caseworker discovers a case of abuse that demands intervention, or the child's removal from the home, the caseworker calls Slaven Slaven cares for children ages six to 12 Johnson supervises teenagers who have become involved in incestuous relations The shelter families receive a daily reimbursement from CSD Each family can accomodate up to six kids in their West Eugene homes In fact. Johnson says she s bored if she houses less than four Slaven stresses they are not one of the 300 foster parents in Lane County They, along with four other families, act as shelter evaluation parents, who keep abuse victims for up to 60 days Slaven serves as a perfect example During that time she carefully notes behavior, personality and peccadillos in a report for CSD If needed. CSD uses her observations to find a suitable foster home But cold observation is not her style Slaven often evolves into a surrogate mother, nursing colds, playing games, cooking cleaning and counseling am-'bret-a esp South am- n [It ombrella umbra] 4 Something which covers or embraces a broad range of elements or factors (Webster s Dictionary) The Annual Giving Program Every year thousands of alumni and friends make gifts to the University through the UO Foundation's Annua! Fund. The gifts are processed and passed along to the colleges, departments, faculty and students, or invested as part of the endowment fund. These annual gifts are triggered by a sophisticated program of direct mail, student operated telephone campaigns, and in-person visits. Incidentally, more than 90% of all the annual gifts are restricted to a specific University purpose by the donor. Want to know more about the annual fund? Call Doug Wilson, Executive Director, at your Foundation, 686-3016. THE UNIVERSITY OF OREGON FOUNDATION Sometimes her temporary charges react negatively to her loving ways and that doesn't surprise her The behavior problems stem from abuse " she says "The only attention they get is negative attention," and they fight sudden positive notice Of course the sudden move to a strange new environment sends some kids into depression, Slaven says The worst abused seem the most upset She notes that one boy cried for three days "They have to go through a certain amount of grieving she says "They re so scared they don't know what s going on "The caseworker tells them as much as (they) can, says Slaven To them a tew days sounds like an eternity An adult would be scared Not only must the uprooted children deal with Slaven and her family, they face counseling with the CSD caseworker three hearings at Skipworth Juvenile Court, emotional phone calls from their parents, as well as school After a day at Skipworth, Slaven says a child either abstains from food or "eats everything in sight Oftentimes they return guilt-ridden It s terrible they carry all the guilt," Johnson says of her experience with teenage girls who were sexually molested by their fathers "She s afraid her dad s going to go to jail and it's _ iraphic by Mi> DeHung» ah her fault Almost every child that passes under Johnson s and Slaven s scrutiny share the same desire they want to go back home, even if it means more abuse The idea is to always get the child back," Slaven says explaining that nine times out of ten. the child is reunited Johnson adds, however, that sometimes they never return home Slaven. a shelter parent for three years, and Johnson, a one-year veteran say shelter Live Music Tonight featuring MOHAN MELLOW MUSIC - NO COVER PISAN'S 1255 Alder St. 343-9661 Cali ahead tor to go order* parenting despite the constant demands, reaps admiration and many personal rewards That's halt the reason we do it we like to be admired Johnson says with a hearty laugh We need a lot of support You have to have a sidekick " We ll call each other in the middle of the night if we have to, Slaven adds, smiling at Johnson Still, seeing a distraught child begin to have fun warms their hearts the most , Stenberg to speak Carl Stenberg of the United States Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations will speak about Reagan s New Federalism An ACIR Perspective.’ today at 2 30 p m in the EMU Forum * The ACIR has recently reported that in the past 20 years, "the federal government has become more ineffective, more costly and above all. more unacc ountable " Stenberg will compare that statement with the Reagan Administration Poetry Reading Tues, Nov. 10th, 8:00 p.m Geology 150 Admission $ I 00 at the door \ Marge Piercy Ca' ad-1' A \\ • ,-y; Ay ,1 Marqe "she is square^ n the Whitman tradition Marqe Pierey1' wmi'iq e..<••• ph?i.. Oeliet that the persona is political She ends he* poem "Corrnputior. To Out Museum" with these lines "We mac*- history or it makes us
