Summer
Natural
Fun Guide
Hazards
Professional theater
company opens
production at the
University of Portland
Neighborhood
maps rate risks
and show
community
resources
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e
y nrtlait
See Health, page 7
Read back issues of the Portland Observer at www.portlandobserver.com
City 0/Roses’
Volume XXXXI, Number 20
Wednesday • May 30. 2012
Established in 1970
C om m itted to C ultural D iversity
oj
•'community sen vice
State Audit Not Enough
Long way
to go for
bringing
children home
by M indy C ooper
T he P ortland O bserver
Although a recent state audit
shed light on necessary improve
ments within the Child Welfare Di
vision, both agency workers and
families believe there is more to the
picture than the findings revealed in
the report.
According to the audit, 29-per-
cent of Oregon foster children are
reunited with their families. Al
though the number is higher than
the national average of 22-percent,
the findings have revealed that there
is a lot of room for improvement.
The goal of the report, a routine
part of state government, was to look
at how well the child welfare program
does in returning children home to
their parents or families, once they
have been removed by the state.
Heavy caseload, lim ited access
to drug and alcohol treatm ent pro
gram s for parents and lim ited fi
nancial resources were am ongst
m any problem s found within the
state’s analysis, which concluded
there is a lot o f work to be done to
ensure c a se w o rk e r’s have the
ability to help families be reunited
with their children.
Currently there are around 2,700
case workers, who work within ev
ery county in the state, said Gene
Evans, communications director for
the Department of Human Services
Child Welfare Division.
M ultnom ah C ounty, he said,
has largest num ber o f casew o rk
ers because nearly h a lf o f the
fo ster kids in the state are in the
P o rtlan d m etro area.
“I think the biggest issue the
continued
on page 5
photo by M indy C ooper /T he P ortland O bserver
Carollynn Smith, founder of the organization Grandparents Raising Grandparents, takes a seat on the front porch of her north Portland
home to talk about the long struggle she has waged with the state over the custody of her grandchildren.