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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 7, 2007)
Page 12 Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, February 7, 2007 Child Protective Services questioned ... (Continued from page 1) children -- this time for keeps. In February 2003, Re- orowicz followed her attor- ney’s advice and agreed to sign her parental rights away in exchange for guar- anteed involvement in her childrens’ lives. It is a decision she now regrets. “It would have been better for me to go to trial,” she said. The children were placed with an adopted fam- ily in January 2004. By this time, Reorowicz was having second thoughts about sign- ing away her parental rights, so she filed an appeal. That appeal delayed the adop- tion’s closure until October 2005, but didn’t make its way through the process. “My appeal never went to court,” Reorowicz said. “They just dropped my case.” As shocking as Re- orowicz story is, Susan Detlefsen, of Salem, has heard many more exactly like it. Detlefsen’s Website motherinterrupted.us, and a cable television show, serve as forums for families who have tangled with DHS. She started the Website two years ago after her own struggles with the agency, and found that she was not alone in her experience. “I put up the Website and started hearing from people all over the country,” Detlefsen said. She said that DHS poli- cies sometimes amount to “another form of child abuse.” Detlefsen estimates that she has heard from “between 200 and 300” families that have been trau- matized, or forever shat- tered, by the actions of DHS caseworkers. “Easily a couple hun- dred families have been completely destroyed, and for no good reason,” Detlef- sen said. “There are eight times more children that are hurt when they’re taken into the system than if they had been left alone with their parents.” In response to many of these issues, Oregon House District 4 Rep. Dennis Richardson (R-Central Point) proposed House Bill 2839 during the 2005 legis- lative session. “There were a multitude of complaints that we were getting from our constitu- ents indicating that DHS was exercising oppressive power over parents and their control over their own chil- dren,” Richardson said. “There has been a definite need.” House Bill 2839 aimed to “impose personal liabili- ties on employees of DHS who intentionally falsify reports and willfully misrep- resent the truth.” “It was a very straight- forward bill that says that as long as DHS employees are doing what they’re sup- posed to do, in an honest and conscientious matter, they have nothing to worry about,” Richardson said. “But if they use their position in a way that falsi- fies information or inten- tionally misrepresents re- ports or the truth in the posi- tions they give to judges in custody matters,” he said, “they can be held responsi- ble for such fraudulent ac- tions.” The bill was referred to the House Judiciary Com- mittee on March 10, 2005. The committee’s chairman, Rep. Wayne Krieger (R- Gold Beach) had co- sponsored the bill, along with committee members Linda Flores (R- Clackamas), Bill Garrard (R-Klamath Falls) and Kim Thatcher (R-Salem). A public hearing was held on March 30, 2005. Residents from throughout the state came to testify, including Detlefsen. Work sessions were held on April 18 and 21 in an attempt to get the bill out of committee and to the full House for a vote. However, laws aimed at curbing case- worker abuse. Krieger, along with Rep. Mike Schaufler (D- Happy Valley) and Sens. Kate Brown (D-Portland) and Jeff Kruse (R- Roseburg), have put to- gether a series of bills to be considered during the 2007 Legislature. Senate Bills 408 through 415 would implement a number of reforms to the current system. Reforms include authorizing the court to direct DHS to place chil- ‘Right now, I just want to see my kids.’ * * * Remedial legislation in works committee members Greg Macpherson (D-Lake Oswego), Jeff Barker (D- Aloha), Robert Ackerman (D-Eugene), Kelly Wirth (D-Corvallis) and Andy Ol- son (R-Albany) voted against it. Olson, a 29-year vet- eran of the Oregon State Police, was a freshman leg- islator at the time. He said he was concerned about some aspects of the bill. “I felt that the way it was designed was wrong, and I believe there are enough personnel rules and regulations in place so the agencies could deal with that from an internal per- spective rather than exter- nal,” Olson said. The bill languished in committee until the legisla- tive session ended in August 2005. However, Krieger still remained passionate about the DHS problems. So he put together a “sensitive review team” to examine DHS cases and suggest new dren with a relative “or per- son with care-giver relation- ship,” and appropriating money from the state’s gen- eral fund to the Public De- fense Services Commission for improving legal represen- tation of parents and children in dependency cases. Also, to require DHS to “make a reasonable effort to place siblings together.” Accountability meas- ures are included in Senate Bill 413, which would re- quire DHS to report to legis- lative interim committees regarding children placed in foster care. Senate Bill 415 would direct the DHS director to appoint an ombudsman for families and caregivers of children subject to depend- ency matters, and require the ombudsman to review complaints involving DHS caseworkers. It also would authorize the ombudsman to recom- mend to the director that the employee receive additional training or discipline, in- cluding suspension or termi- nation. All these bills were re- ferred to the Senate Judici- ary Committee on Jan. 17, with public hearings and possible work sessions scheduled for Feb. 20. Olson said that, if given the chance, he would like to explore the issue further. “If the bill surfaced again, I would like the op- portunity to work with it from my perspective, and I’d feel more comfort with it,” Olson said. “I would like to sit down, have a discus- sion and work on the bill a little differently.” Reorowicz said that the steps proposed in the new Senate bills would have helped considerably in her case. “That would have been nice,” she said. “That sounds like something I’d like to see happen.” Now 34 years old, Peorowicz is still struggling to put the pieces of her life back together. Her children all live in Texas with their adoptive family. Reorowicz hasn’t seen them in three years, although occasionally pho- tos are sent to her. And though the pictures are a couple of years old -- they’re still the most recent ones she has. Anymore, Reorowicz spends most of her days baby-sitting for a neighbor. It’s the closest she’s come to feeling like a mother in quite some time. But despite all she’s been through during the past decade, Reorowicz is still driven by the possibility of some day coming face to face with the children she helped bring into this world. “Right now, I just want to see my kids,” she said. First office at I.V. Medical Center Monday - Friday by appointment Pain - Stress - Injuries Deep massage CranioSacral Therapy Senior Discounts Gift Certificates Outback Septic Services Servicing The Illinois Valley Exclusively If it has been 5 years or longer since you last pumped your septic tank-Now is the time to set your appointment before the rain starts. Cost is $300.00 for a 1,000 gallon tank with an exposed lid. Additional Costs: Dig & Expose Lid Minimal $50.00 Charge Emergency Call Out Fee $100.00 (541) 592-6307 Call about registering for New March Classes Lots of new patterns have arrived! Call or come in at the corner of Caves Hwy. & Old Stage Rd. 592-5003 RCC, hospitals join for more nurses Because of a continuing collaboration with regional hospitals, Rogue Community College (RCC) has been able to significantly increase the number of students who en- ter and graduate from its nursing program. During the past four years, 45 more brand-new registered nurses entered the workforce than would have if there had been no support from the hospitals,” said Linda Wagner, RCC Nurs- ing Dept. head. Annual financial assis- tance totaling $142,500 has enabled RCC to hire addi- tional classroom and clinical faculty and boost enrollment to record levels. With an aging population and many nurses nearing retirement, Oregon is facing a critical nursing shortage, which Rogue is helping to address through increased training. Asante Health Systems and Providence Medford Medical Center each allocate more than $65,000, with Ashland Community Hospi- tal providing the balance. Gregg Edwards, chief people officer for Asante, noted the importance of cre- ating partnerships between hospitals and educational institutions. “We rely heavily on RCC as a source of new nurses,” he explained. “There’s a tremendous shortage of nurses in Ore- gon, and the role RCC plays is particularly crucial. But what is also important is the quality of the graduates coming out of the program,” Edwards added. “We have been just de- lighted with the quality of RCC’s graduates, and it’s wonderful to be able to pro- vide support.” Ashland Community Hospital President and Chief Executive Officer Mark Marchetti also weighed in on the partnership with RCC. “All hospitals in the Rogue Valley recognize the seriousness of the nursing shortage and the importance of helping wherever we can to address it,” he said. The number of students accepted into the RCC nurs- ing program reflects Oregon State Board of Nursing guidelines for student- faculty ratio, said Cheryl Markwell, associate dean. Without the financial boost from area hospitals, RCC could enroll no more than 24 first-year students. With the additional fac- ulty, advising and program support, however, RCC was able to accept a record 36 students this year. And for the past two years, 100 per- cent of RCC nursing gradu- ates have passed the national licensure exam. FOR EMERGENCY CALL 911 FOR NONEMERGENCY DIAL 1-877-504-8075 Stretcher & Wheelchair Service also available For Paramed Information Phone 1 (800) 228-7601 Ext. 63451 Fine Dining The Kerby Transfer Station Restaurant separate from lounge is open to help you... Steaks - Chicken - Fish - Large Hamburgers Now Available Every Day! Prime Rib & Prime Rib Sandwiches Bring in this ad for a 10% discount Open 4 to 9 p.m. (winter hours) 7 days 592-2892 or 592-4222 Clara Barton was not just a nurse who founded the American Red Cross. She was also the first woman clerk in the U.S. Patent Office. Hours: Mondays - Saturdays 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. For more information phone (800) 922-1025
