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