Juvenile court
referee under fire
by Pat Scott
In August, the Multnom ah County district
attorney's office filed an affidavit asking that
Katharine English, an avowed lesbian, be dis
missed as Juvenile Court Referee, charging
that her "personal experiences and strongly
held view s. . . render her com pletely unable
to provide the state and abused and neglected
children with a fair hearing.” The attem pt to
unseat English was dismissed but is currently
under appeal to the State Suprem e C ourt
Regardless of the Suprem e Court findings,
the state has promised to appeal every possi
ble ruling by English in delinquency cases if
she continues to preside. This maneuver
would so tie up the court that English would
quickly becom e a severe liability.
Though both English and the state m ain
tain they serve the best interests of the
children and their families it's obvious there is
vast disagreem ent over what those "best in
terests” are. The state com plains that English
ignores recom m endations by C SD
(C hildren’s Services Divison), that too often
her focus is on treatm ent and rehabilitation
rather than punishm ent and that she is over-
zealous in her attem pts to keep the family unit
together.
Actually, English contends that in 8 0 per
cent of the cases she is in agreem ent with
recom m endations by Children’s Services D i
vision. But the other 2 0 percent may cost
her job.
The state maintains that Referee English is
prejudiced, that her own childhood experi
ences with physical and sexual abuse while
remaining in an alcoholic hom e has rendered
her incapable of m aking an unbiased
decision.
“W hat it has done,” English counters, "is
m ade m e m ore interested in the dam age that
rem oval m ight have on children, versus the
dam age of remaining iri the hom e.... There’s
a lot of debate about this now: whether a sick
family, struggling it out together, isn't better
than a split-up family with no plans for reinte
gration.” Though not at risk of endangering
the children, English is quick to continue.
Certainly English is an innovater, an advo
cate for change — something else CSD is not
happy with. "W hat I do that they object to,”
English says, "is 1 require im m ediate services
to the family: I require reports m uch more
frequently on what’s happening to that child
in foster care, and what’s happening to rehabi
litate the family. In instances of sex abuse, I
have been requiring the offender to be re
m oved from the home and not the victim.”
English is careful of the fam ily u n it Treat
m ent and reintegration back into the home
are prim e considerations. “There’s a new
Federal law that requires all reasonable ef
forts be m ade to prevent the break-up of the
fam ily.. . . W hile that law doesn’t m andate me
as a judge to keep families together, it does
m andate m e to make a finding stating
w hether or not Children’s Services Division
has m ade reasonable efforts to prevent re
m oval o f the child and, once removed, to
return the child home. And I’ve found that
they have not m ade reasonable efforts to
keep the fam ily together m ore often than any
other referee or judge that's sat on the bench
out here.”
Although C SD and the state have found
her decisions faulty and her m anner abrasive,
English is proud of her tim e on the bench. “I
feel badly this happened at this particular
tim e because I already saw changes. I can
think of several cases right offhand where we
did have to remove the children immediately,
but I kept such close track of those cases that
the kids were back in their homes with their
fam ilies within three or four months, with the
fam ilies being offered everything at C SD ’s
com m and because I kept setting these re
Just Out. October 1985
view hearings and requiring CSD to come
forward and prove what had been done."
O f the resistance of CSD and the state
English says. T h e state, CSD and the juvenile
court counselors used to be the ultimate
decision makers. It wasn’t fair, it wasn’t equit
able. Now children and parents have more
rights in helping decide what’s best for the
family.
“O regon has the third highest rate in the
country of kids entering foster care place
m e n t We have the second highest number of
black children entering foster care. These are
shocking statistics; a lot of abuses I see could
have been corrected.”
In statements m ade by the state the sug
gestion has been that English herself has
been guilty of child abuse, that she promotes
child abuse, condones drug and alcohol
abuse, and is soft on criminals. English vehe
m ently denies these allegations. Being an
"out front lesbian” as well as an advocate for
change has brought her under heavy fire with
in the system. “If those things had been
rum ored about any sitting judge,” she replies,
"particularly a white, m iddle class, m ale sit
ting judge, nobody would have believed it
But if the rum or is about m e, well, people are
m uch m ore wilting to believe it without
checking it o u t— because they believe les
bians are weird anyway. I m ean, all of th a t
however unconsciously, is going on, and it
m anifests itself in their ability to get so caught
up in this representation of m e that is so
utterly false. And to that extent I think it has to
do with m y being a lesbian.”
All this is not to say that English has no
regard for the state, CSD, and the juvenile
counselors. Their jobs are difficult resources
are lim ited and burnout is always a problem.
"If I were a social worker and I were in CSD, I
would probably feel the same way they did,"
English acknowledges, “but the mistake
com es when they think they have the only
answer as to what is best for children."
In retrospect would English change her
approach?
"I think the children and families in this
state need som ebody who is as tough and
aggressive and unflappable as me on the
bench."
“If I’m sitting in a judge's chair, in a judge's
robe, it is for m e the right thing to do to force
people to com ply with the law, and the fact
that the system out there beats me at it
doesn’t m ake it not the right thing. Justice
doesn’t always prevail,” English admits, “but
that doesn't m ake it not justice; it simply
makes it defeated."
Phoenix Rising maintains the largest gay
referral list in Portland and receives calls daily
for referrals to gay-owned businesses and to
gay professionals.
Last year, the need for gay people to sub
merge themselves in a totally gay environ
ment prompted Phoenix Rising to begin
sponsoring retreats at Breitenbush Hot
Springs. The second annual Women in the
Woods took place last August, and the first
annual Men in the Woods will take place in
November. The retreats provide gay people
with the opportunity to relate on a level not
possible within heterosexual society.
An introduction service. Dear Phoebe, was
started this year to m eet the many requests
Phoenix Rising received for such a service.
For a $25 fee Phoebe will introduce people to
potential friends, gin rum m y partners, room
mates or whomever they would like to m eet
In addition to their regular groups and
workshops, Phoenix Rising is planning work
shops that will focus on social, non-problem
Lesbian Forum
sets Fall/W inter
dates
by Willow
In M ay the Lesbian Forum celebrated four
years o f bringing to the Lesbian com m unity a
supportive, women-only atmosphere in w hich'
to explore topics of interest to Lesbians and
gay-positive women.
A volunteer planning com m ittee meets
once m onthly to plan the Lesbian Forum . O f
course, outreach into the com m unity is a
m ust to gather information, enlist the experts
to appear on panels and keep the Lesbian
network alive and energetic. The brainstorm
ing sessions alone are worth an evening
com m itm ent, even in thse tim es of over
burdened calendars and occasional bum -out
Many Lesbian Forum planners have expres
sed that involvement in the Forum has
.
/
afforded them new insights into subjects pre
viously unexplored, taught them skills in or
ganization and planning, and opened up
new channels socially.
W ith the above in m ind, consider attending
an inform al brunch potluck sponsored by the
Lesbian Forum on Sunday, O ctober 20,
11:00 a.m . Call W illow at 2 3 6 -4 3 8 6 or Peggy
a t2 2 3 -0 2 6 1 for location. In addition to lots of
good food and conversation with friends old
and new, we'll talk about the Lesbian Forum
as a Portland “institution.” hear your input on
what you think o f the Forum and how it m ight
im prove, and hopefully interest som e of you
to join the planning com m ittee. W e'd like to
see form er Forum planners there, to rem i
nisce about favorite Forum s in the past and
keep those networking skills sharp! W om en
of color and differently-abled wom en are
especially urged to attend, as we’d like to
know how we can serve you better.
Thanks for your continued support and
interest in the Lesbian Forum . See you at the
brunch!
F O R W A R D
EAR
Northern Italian Cuisine
Phoenix Rising
broadens
service base
i
and health issues. Topics include "How to
Survive in Social Situations," "Stop Sm oking
Now," and "Coping with Death and Dying."
Future workshops will include such topics as
sports psychology, and chemical dependency.
Adm inistratively Phoenix Rising has been
changing too. The Director of Counseling
position has been revamped to focus more
on program development and supervision of
counseling services. The Administrator posi
tion has been changed to Executive Director
and a part-tim e Administrative Assistant has
been added to the staff.
Phoenix Rising is in the process of doing
outreach within the mainstream com m unity
and within the gay com m unity in order to
generate awareness of all the services it pro
vides. To some Phoenix Rising is "just a
counseling center,” when in fact it is a full
service center for gay m en and lesbians,
focusing on mental health as well as educa
tion, referrals, and providing the kind of place
where friends m eet friends.
M o n .-S a t., 5 : 3 0 - 1 0 : 3 0 p .m .
2 8 3 2 SE B e l m o n t
P o rtla n d , O r e g o n
'
The Phoenix Rising Foundation has been
serving Portland's lesbian and gay com m u
nity for eight years. As the nation’s first gay/
lesbian tax-exempt foundation, Phoenix Ris
ing planned to expand and change to meet
the needs of the people it was form ed to
serve.
Surviving on donations and volunteer
labor, Phoenix Rising has maintained a
m odel counseling center, speakers bureau
and referral service, setting the standard for
similar service centers throughout the CIS.
Phoenix Rising has gained a reputation of
professional integrity by retaining counselors
with master and doctorate degrees to con
duct groups, workshops, and individual
counseling sessions.
The foundation's speakers bureau has
been called upon to conduct seminars for
Multnom ah County Health Departm ent em
ployees and to speak at universities, high
schools, and businesses throughout the
Pacific Northwest providing the most accu
rate and up to date information available
about lesbians and gay men.
238-1464
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