State Reports Urgent Need For
Teen Foster Care Homes
Code Adam
I B\ M
FEB. 10, 1999
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a r ia n
W
r ig h t
the h o rro r o f ch ild ab d u ctio n to
national attention. W hen a store
custom er reports a m issing child |
E delm an
E very y ear in th is c o u n try ,
I there are ab o u t 4 ,6 0 0 c h ild ab-
Id u c tio n s by n o n -fa m ily m em -
Ib e rs. N o o n e w ho h a s n ’t liv ed
¡th ro u g h th is tra g e d y can even
to an em ployee, B u m s’ program
calls for a “ C ode A dam " alert to
be an n o unced o v er the public
address system . A b rie f descrip­
tion o f the ch ild is obtain ed and |
im ag in e w hat it m ust be lik e to
lose a ch ild in this w ay. So m any
¡tim e s th e c h ild re n are found
¡d e a d , o r n e v e r fo u n d at all.
| Y o u ’ve seen the p o ste rs and the
| reports on the nightly new s. And
| perhaps this y ear w hen you w ere
¡d o in g y o u r C h ristm a s, H anuk-
I kah, o r k w a n z a a sh o p p in g , you
¡tu rn e d aro u n d in a sto re and
¡ d id n ’t see y o u r c h ild w h ere he
¡o r sh e w as ju s t a se c o n d ago.
¡M o st lik e ly y ou fo u n d him or
I h er do w n at th e end o f th e aisle
¡lo o k in g at th e latest toy on the
provided to all em ployees, w ho
im m ed iately stop th e ir norm al
w ork to search for the c h ild ,
in clu d in g m o n ito rin g all exits
to ensure the ch ild does not
leav e the sto re alone o r accom-1
panied by som eone. Parking lots j
are also c h eck ed , as w ell as
restro o m s, sta irw e lls, o ffic e s, I
and o th er n o n -public sp aces. If |
the child is not found im m ed i­
ately , or if the ch ild is seen I
accom panied by som eone other |
than a parent or guardian, store
p erso n nel n o tify the local p o ­
lice d epartm ent for assistance.
Since the program w as in iti­
ated in 1994,6 child abductions j
shelves, and you breathed again.
¡B u t w h at if y o u r c h ild h a d n ’t
| been ju st a few steps aw ay? W hat
| w ould you have done?
H ap p ily , th ere are p e ople do-
I ing so m e th in g to
"These dedicated
¡k e e p o u r children
¡sa fe . P e rh a p s
private citizens act to
y o u ’ve h eard o f
and E x p lo ite d
O re g o n ’s lack o f fo ste r c a re
re so u rc e s fo r te e n s has re a c h e d
a c ris is le v e l, a c c o rd in g to the
s ta te ’s c h ild p ro te c tiv e se rv ic e s
d ire c to r.
In M a rio n C o u n ty * fo r e x ­
a m p le , 800 c h ild re n are in f o s ­
te r c a re . O f th o se , 12 p e rc e n t
a re te e n -a g e rs b u t o n ly 4 p e r ­
cen t o f h o m e s, o r six, a re d e s ig ­
n ated fo r th is p o p u la tio n .
'T h e a d o le sc e n t y e a rs a re a
turning point in the dev elopm ent
o f a h u m an b e in g ,” sa y s K ay
T o ra n , d ire c to r o f the S ta te O f­
fice for S ervices to C h ild re n and
F am ilies.” A stable, safe and c a r­
in g e n v iro n m e n t can m ean the
d iffe re n c e b e tw e e n su c c e ss and
fa ilu re . T h is is an issu e fo r o u r
have
been
stopped w h ile
th e y w e re in
ensure the reduction o f
crimes against children
and especially abduc-
tions o f children"
5 J ° 8,reSA
have
been
th w a r te d
in
Shop
R ite I
C h ild re n , a p ri-
v a te , n o n p r o f it
—--------------------- -—
stores.
o rg a n iz a tio n e s­
tablished by C ongressional man-
In partnership w ith W alm art,
d ate in 1984 to lo c a te and re-
the N atio n al C e n te r fo r M iss-
ing and E x p lo ited C h ildren has
| cover m issin g children and raise
b een taking “ C ode A dam ” n a ­
| public aw aren ess ab o u t w ays to
tio n w id e th ro u g h th eir P roject
] prevent ch ild ab d u ctio n , m oles-
a le r t. P r o je c t A le r t is th e
| tatio n , an d sexual ex p lo ita tio n .
¡T h e C e n te r w o rk s in c o n ju n c ­
C e n te r’s in n o v a tiv e idea o f e s­
tab lish in g a n atio n al corps o f
tion w ith the U .S. D ep artm en t
re tire d law en fo rcem en t o ffi­
o f Ju s tic e ’s O ffic e o f Ju v e n ile
¡Ju stic e and D e lin q u e n c y Pre-
cials who volunteer to m ake pre­
sen tatio n s and train sto re o w n ­
v en tio n in th e ir e ffo rts to find
¡c h ild re n m issin g n atio n w id e.
ers, m anagers, and personnel on
“ C ode A dam " p ro ced u res, and
Last m onth, the C e n te r released
o th erw ise o ffe r assista n c e to
¡in fo rm a tio n ab o u t a p ro g ram
| begun by W alm art stores to help
state and local child safety o ffi­
cials. “T h ese ded icated priv ate
¡in th is b a ttle .
citiz e n s act to e n su re the re ­
T he p ro g ram , “C o d e A d am ,”
d u ctio n o f crim e s ag ain st c h il­
w as c re a te d and p ro m o te d by
dren and esp e c ia lly ab d u ctions
W alm art and has spread to other
o f children,” says Ann Scofield,
¡s to re s in c lu d in g Shop R ite, a
the C e n te r’s D irector o f P roject
m a jo r re ta il m a rk e t c h a in , and
] sh o p p in g m alls, in clu d in g 26 in
Alert.
W hat can you do? T alk to the
L o u isv ille , K en tu ck y . A nd last
| N o v em b er, N ew J e rs e y ’s state
sto re m a n a g e rs in y o u r c o m ­
¡le g isla tu re p a sse d a re so lu tio n
m u n ity and e n c o u ra g e them to
in stitu te “ C o d e A d a m ” pro ce
m aking it the “first Code A dam ’
d u res in th e ir e sta b lish m e n ts.
] sta te ,” e n co u rag in g all stores in
Y ou can fin d o u t m o re ab o u t
the sta te to in stitu te the pro-
“Code A dam ” and Project A lert
| gram.
by calling the N ational C e n te r’s
It all sta rte d w ith a W alm art
2 4 - h o u r h o tlin e a t 1 -8 0 0 -
| em p lo y ee, B ill B u rn s, w ho cre-
] ated and nam ed the program as a
T h eL o st. A nd re m e m b e r th at
num ber. I t’s also the num ber to
¡ tr ib u te to 6 - y e a r - o ld A dam
¡W a lsh w h o se 1981 ab d u ctio n
use for a ssista n c e w hen a child
¡fro m a F lo rid a sh o p p in g m all
is m issin g a n y w h e re in the
| and su b seq u en t m u rd e r brought
country.
I
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I
I
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c o m m u n itie s and w e n eed O r­
e g o n ia n s to re s p o n d .”
P o te n tia l fo ste r c a re p a re n ts
are so m e tim e s h e sita n t to open
th e ir h o m e s to te e n -a g e rs b e ­
ca u se th e y th in k i t ’s too la te to
help or influence. In reality , says
T o ra n , th e re are so m e a d v a n ­
ta g e s to c a rin g fo r te e n s ra th e r
than y o u n g e r c h ild re n .
“ B e c a u se te e n s a re g ro w in g
so ra p id ly - em o tio n a lly , p h y si­
c a lly , an d so c ia lly - yo u see the
r e s u l t s o f y o u r w o r k v e ry
q u ic k ly ,” sh e say s. “ T h is is an
id eal tim e in a te e n ’s life for
a d u lts to te a c h , m o d el and c o m ­
m u n icate.”
R e se a rc h in d ic a te s th a t a d o ­
le sc e n c e is a c ritic a l tim e for
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su g g e st p o te n tia l p a n e lists. To
n o m in a te y o u rse lf, su b m it a re ­
su m e and a sh o rt le tte r o f in te r­
est. To n o m in ate so m eo n e else,
su b m it a statem en t o f q u a lific a ­
tio n s along w ith the c a n d id a te ’s
postal or e-m ail address and te le ­
phone num ber.
L e tte e rs sh o u ld be se n t to the
O reg o n A rts C o m m issio n , 775
S u m m er S tre e t, N E , S alem , O r­
e g o n 9 7 3 1 0 , o r e - m a il to
O regon.artscom m M jstate. or, us,
N o m in ation s sh ou ld reach the
When the Oregon Health Plan
began enrolling new members five
years ago, it exempted people who
are elderly or disabled and children
in foster care because o f concerns
about whether managed care would
meet their special needs.
Now, anew survey of several thou­
sand such adults - that were en­
rolled in the health plan a year later,
beginning in February 1995-show s
a high level of satisfaction with it,
including managed care.
Sixty-eight percent o f 5,747 re­
spondents said they would recom­
mend their managed-care health plan
to a friend or family member, and
only 9 percent said they would not
(22 percent were unsure).
‘Although we must continue to
be diligent to ensure high-quality
care for these people, more than
half o f whom consider their own
health fair or poor, I am encouraged
that most say health-care access and
quality have improved,” said Hersh
Crawford, state Medicaid director
in the Oregon Department o f Hu­
man Resources. He said a next step
will be to identify reasons behind
some people’s dissatisfaction.
The new survey was done in 1997-
98, and its results can be compared
with those o f a comparable 1995
survey. Among the findings o f the
new survey.
■Respondents generally rated ac­
cess to health-care services and qual­
ity o f care higher than they did in
1995. T hree-quarters (4,208 o f
5,553) reported they received all
the care and services they needed or
wanted.
Respondents reported ease in
c o m m issio n o ffic e by F eb . 19,
1999 to be c o n sid e r e d for the
p a n e ls, w h ich m eet in M ay.
T he O regon A rts C om m ission
fo ste rs the a rts in O re g o n and
a ssu re s th e ir e x c e lle n c e . T he
a g e n c y ’sp o lic ie s and p ro g ra m s
are o v e rse e n by a n in e -m e m b e r
c o m m issio n a p p o in te d by the
g o vernor, w ith fu n d in g from the
sta te g e n e ra l fu n d , th e N a tio n a l
E n d o w m en t fo r the A rts and in ­
com e from p u b licatio n sales and
serv ices.
Happy Birthday
Trina
■■M M M
With Love
a from your
family
and
friends
te r p a r e n t’s c o n se n t. SCF also
re c o g n iz e s th a t c a rin g for teens
is a c h a lle n g in g jo b and c o m ­
p e n s a te s f o s te r fa m ilie s fo r
te e n s a c c o rd in g ly .
“ As a p a re n t, you face no
g r e a te r c h a lle n g e - an d no
g re a te r o p p o rtu n ity - th an to
g u id e a c h ild th ro u g h the teen
years tow ard a productive, happy
and resp o n sib le ad u lth o o d ,” said
T oran. “ For this vulnerable popu­
la tio n , fa m ily su p p o rt can be a
p o w e rfu l im m u n iz a tio n , giving
te e n s th e stre n g th to b lo sso m
and the sta m in a to p e rs e v e re .”
F o r m o re in fo rm a tio n about
b e c o m in g a fo s te r c a re p a re n t,
c o n ta c t y o u r lo c a l SCF b ra n c h
o r ca ll 1 -8 0 0 -3 3 1 -0 5 0 3 .
Oregon Health Plan Survey Reports Satisfaction
Among Vulnerable Members
Nominations sought for Oregon
Arts Commission grant panels
T he O reg o n A rts C om m issio n
is se k in g n o m in a tio n s fo r O r­
e g o n ia n s to h e lp re v ie w g ran t
a p p lic a tio n s and m ak e fu n d in g
re c o m m e n d a tio n s fo r th e fiscal
y e a r th a t b e g in s on Ju ly 1.
M o st o f th e p a n e lis ts a re
n e e d e d fo r A rt In d u stry D e v e l­
o p m e n t g ra n ts, w h ic h a ssist the
s ta te ’s m e d iu m an d la rg e r a rts
o rg a n iz a tio n s w o th o p e ra tin g
su p p o rt. P an els w ill b e o rg a ­
n iz e d b y a rtis tic d ic ip lin e : m u ­
sic , th e a te r, d a n c e , lite ra tu re ,
v isu al a rts and a m u lti-d isc ip lin ­
ary g ro u p th at c o n sid e rs c o m b i­
n a tio n s o f th e o th e r. S e p a ra te
p a n e ls w ill b e a sse m b le d to r e ­
v iew R e g io n a l A rts P a rtn e rsh ip
and art e d u c a tio n a p p lic a tio n s.
P o te n tia l p a n e lists sh o u ld h av e
s ig n ific a n t e x p e rtise in the a r ­
eas th e y p ro p o se to re v ie w .
T h e a rts c o m m u n ity , th e g e n ­
e ra l p u b lic o r th e c a n id a te m ay
b ra in d ev elo p m en t b e c a u se d u r­
ing th e m id- to la te -te e n y e a rs
and in to e a rly a d u lth o o d , the
b rain exp erien ces grow th spurts.
“ T h is grow th period is an o p p o r­
tu n ity
to
d e c re a se
an
a d o le s c e n t’s risk and m a x im iz e
h is o r h e r p o te n tia l,” sa y s Paul
E slin g e r, a P enn S tate U n iv e r­
sity n e u ro lo g y p ro fe s s o r w ho
sp o k e re c e n tly in Salem .
B ecau se o f p ast abu se and n e ­
g le c t, c h ild re n in fo ste r ca re o f ­
te n h a v e p ro b le m s and b e h a v ­
io rs th a t re q u ire lo v e a n d w ork
by th e fo ste r p a re n ts. C e rtifie d
fo s te r c a re p a re n ts re c e iv e s p e ­
c ia l in s tru c tio n and tra in in g to
p a re n t th e se c h ild re n and no
c h ild is p la c e d w ith o u t th e fo s­
finding a doctor or nurse, making a
prompt appointment, and in getting
to a conveniently located office.
Almost 70 percent said it was easy
to find a doctor while 13 percent
reported difficulty.
•More than 75 percent said doc­
tors or nurses showed respect while
70 percent said time spent with the
doctor or nurse was satisfactory.
Also, 70 percent said their doctors
communicated well and explained
ways to stay healthy.
But Crawford expressed concern
about what appears to be deteriora­
tion in three areas: obtaining special
equipment and supplies (such as
wheelchairs and walkers), getting
such equipment repaired, and gain­
ing access to rehabilitative thera­
pies.
“This is a significant finding, and
we will work on it with the insurance
plans and providers,” Crawford said.
He noted that his office has an om­
budsman where Oregon Health Plan
members can seek help and that the
individual health plans, with whom
his office contracts, employ people
called exceptional-needs care co­
ordinators who fill a similar func­
tion.
Survey respondents rated access
to after-hours medical advice and
satisfaction with alcohol and drug
services as problems. O f those who
*
reported needing mental health ser­
vices, 21 percent said obtaining
them was difficult, a higher percent­
age than in 1995. Crawford said his
office will work with the Mental
Health and Developmental Disabil­
ity Services Division and the Office
o f Alcohol and Drug Abuse Pro­
grams that the survey identified.
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T R I- M E T
N EWS
Help plan Tri-Met’s future
■ Public comment welcomed on how to expand it
Tri-Met is hosting a series of open houses around the region so
the community can help the agency make choices on how best to
expand the transit system. The public is invited to comment on
the proposed three-year plan, as well as on ways to pay for the
new service. Tri-Met will incorporate public suggestions into the
service expansion package expected to be presented to the Board
of Directors in late March. If the Board approves the plan,
service improvements could begin in September, 1999.
Open house schedule:
Tigard
Feb. 22, 7-9 PM
Tigard Senior High School Lecture Hall
9000 SW Durham Road
Downtown Portland •
March 1, 5 -7 PM
Portland Building, Room C
1120 SW Fifth Avenue
Milwaukie
Feb. 23, 7-9 PM
St. John’s Episcopal Church Parish Hall
2036 SE Jefferson
<•
N E Portland
Feb. 25, 7-9 PM
Northeast Workforce Training Center
5600 NE 42nd, Building 2, Room 112
SW Portland
March 2, 7-9 PM
Garden Home Recreation Center, Room B
7475 SW Oleson Road
Gresham
March 3, 7-9 PM
Gresham City Hall Council Chambers
1333 NW Eastman Parkway
Comments are also welcomed by contacting 238-5806, 238-5811 TTY, 238-6469 fax,
www.tn-mct.org or mail to Tri-Met Service Planning, 4012 SE 17th Ave., Portland, OR 97202.
TRI-MET
238-RIDE
H o w we g e t t h e r e
m a tte rs
I l Y 238-5811 • www.tri-met.org