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Appeal Tribune Wednesday, August 30, 2017 3B No more hotels? New housing coming for ‘unplaced’ Oregon foster youth STATESMAN JOURNAL Since mid-2016, more than 130 Oregon children have spent at least one night as “unplaced foster youth” — meaning they had no foster family to go home to. But a soon-to-be opened temporary housing program is looking to change that. In the past, being unplaced could mean a night spent sleeping in an Oregon Department of Human Services office. Now, it usually requires a hotel stay accompanied by a child protective ser- vices worker. Nonprofits Youth Villages and New Avenues for Youth announced their col- laboration with the Oregon Department of Human Services and the Oregon Health Authority to create a better op- tion: a 12-bed, 24-hour housing facility dubbed Robinswood opening mid-Sep- tember in Clackamas County. Housing unplaced youth has been a contentious and litigious issue over the years. In 2016, DHS agreed not to house foster children in hotels or its offices un- less it is an emergency, following a settlement reached between the agency and lawyers representing foster chil- dren. Earlier this year, Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said DHS had permanently ceased the practice of housing children in offices. Some officials have argued that many unplaced youths are older teens who pre- fer the hotel environment. But a lawsuit filed on behalf of two mi- nors and by CASA for Children alleges that more than half of the children sub- jected to hotel stays are under 12 years old. Additionally, the lawsuit states, there is no limitation on the length of the stays. A 9-year-old spent 81 days in hotel limbo; a 5-year-old spent 55 days. The plaintiffs stated they filed the lawsuit to stop the practice of placing abused and neglected foster children in hotels. “Unplacement creates serious emo- tional and psychological harm to foster children,” the lawsuit alleges. The class action lawsuit remains in litigation in U.S. District Court. Once the program opens, any youth age 9 to 20 who would otherwise be placed in a hotel will instead come to Robinswood, Youth Villages spokes- woman Crissy Lintner said. But, she added, the facility won’t sim- ply be a place to spend the night. New Av- enues for Youth will operate the housing program and provide round-the-clock in- tensive care. Youth Villages will provide transitional services. “New Avenues will welcome the child, help them settle in, and assess the circumstances that caused them to be Strong economy means Oregonians to get refund CONNOR RADNOVICH APPEAL TRIBUNE Oregonians will receive a tax refund next year thanks to an unexpectedly strong economy bolstered by historic tax revenue, the Office of Economic Analysis said Aug. 23. The state’s general fund revenue ex- ceeded projections by 2.7 percent, trig- gering a $464 million payout to taxpay- ers at an average of $227 per person. Based on an individual’s adjusted gross income, the rebates range from $5 to $4,900, with a median at $89. “We thought it was going to be a good biennium in terms of revenue growth and we got a very good biennium,” state economist Mark McMullen said. Under Oregon’s “kicker” law, if gen- eral fund revenue tops projections by more than 2 percent, the entirety of the above-projection moneys goes back to taxpayers in the form of a rebate. Next year, both the personal and cor- porate tax kicker rebates will come into effect, but the $111 million that would go back to corporations will in- stead go toward funding K-12 education per a 2012 ballot measure. The economy grew at around 15 per- cent biennium over biennium, around three times higher than a typical state, McMullen said. Among the factors that pushed reve- nue over the 2 percent limit was record estate tax collections, which contribut- ed around $100 million to the fund, McMullen said. Oregon set the record for estate tax revenue in 2016, and then nearly doubled that in 2017. Much of it came from the tippy top of the tax bracket. “We’re talking some of the real 0.1 percenter-types,” McMullen said. “We saw more of those accounts cashing in this biennium than ever before.” Gov. Kate Brown said in a statement that “Oregon continues to show the world that our state is a great place to live, visit, and do business.” But she added there is still work to do bolster- ing the economy, especially in rural and underserved communities. McMullen said it’s unclear if this bi- ennium’s estate tax revenue level is sustainable. Add that to the kicker payout and projected lower lottery and corporate tax revenue and McMullen said the state is expecting relatively modest growth for the next biennium. “Overall the arrow is still pointing up. We’re still expanding and we’re see- ing revenue growth,” he said. “But there will be quite a bit of slow down for a lot of idiosyncratic factors.” Contact the reporter at cradnovich@statesmanjournal.com or 503-399-6864, or follow him on Twitter at @CDRadnovich. help in Oregon,” said Andrew Grover, executive director of Youth Villages Oregon. “Our work is designed to not only provide for their immediate needs, but goes further to address the root causes of the troubles they face.” Sean Suib, executive director of New Avenues for Youth, said their immediate focus will be to provide short-term sup- port. But, he said, their goal is to create longterm, lasting change. “Young people need to be empowered and have a voice, and by listening to and partnering with youth and their commu- nity, we can help create the safety and permanence all young people deserve,” he said. In 2016, an average of 7,600 children were in foster care on a daily basis. Cantu-Schomus said as of Wednesday, eight foster care youth were unplaced. From Sept. 2016 to July 2017, their av- erage length of stay was eight days. “We’re excited about this new solu- tion to a serious problem facing Oregon’s most vulnerable youth and proud to be coming together to make it happen,” Lintner said. For questions, comments and news tips, email reporter Whitney Woodworth at wmwoodwort@statesmanjour- nal.com, call 503-399-6884 or follow on Twitter @wmwoodworth there,” Lintner said. “Within 72 hours the New Avenues and Youth Villages teams will work with other community part- ners to determine the supports needed to successfully transition the child back into a family setting.” Their emphasis will be on finding bio- logical and foster care family place- ment. Lintner said the services won’t disap- pear once youth leave the facility. Spe- cialists will visit three times a week and provide 24-hour crisis response for an- other four to six months. The two nonprofits realized their complementary strengths and re- sources and joined forces with DHS in early 2017 to solve the longtime problem of unplaced foster youth. The Oregon Health Authority and DHS decided they like the new approach and decided to invest in it, Lintner said. DHS spokeswoman Andrea Cantu- Schomus said the collaboration was a “natural fit” and offers a unique, special- ized solution. Between Robinswood and partner- ships with Boys and Girls Aid and Ma- plestar, more than 23 beds will be avail- able to unplaced youth. This, Cantu-Schomus said, will prob- ably permanently abate the need to use hotels. “We are proud to be part of this inno- vative solution for children who need our KYAC kicks off concert series and older. Pre-show din- ners are available from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Reserva- tions are required and have a separate charge. For dinner reserva- tions, call 503-859-4488. The concert room opens at 6:30 p.m. and the perfor- mance begins at 7 p.m. For more information, call Ken Cartwright at 503-507-2941. The full con- cert schedule can be viewed at http:// www.wvi.com/~dnielson/ KYACconcerts/KYAC- seasonFlyer.htm. For a preview of Spur- ing’s appearance, visit https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=Ff8E8F1s Vdw. ANNETTE UTZ SPECIAL TO THE STAYTON MAIL KYAC Radio, 94.9 FM out of Mill City, is about to kick off the 2017-2018 KYAC Concert Series. Singer, songwriter and storyteller Steve Spurgin will do the honors at 7 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 16, at Trexler Farm outside of Stayton. Spurgin began per- forming in the early 1960s and has worked with the likes of Gene Watson and Reba McEntire. With years of experience and a boatload of awards under his belt, he continues to be an audience favorite. The eight concert se- ries continues with monthly shows through April 21, 2018. Season tickets are on sale through Sept. 15 or until any individual show sells out. 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