A4
Opinion
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, February 7, 2018
We can’t keep
failing the most
vulnerable
O
regon’s foster care
system needs to enter
the 21st century.
A scathing audit conducted
by the Secretary of State’s
Office makes that clear.
Caseworkers are overworked
and exhausted, foster families
are in short supply and children
suffer.
The state Audits Division
began the audit a year ago.
The results, though disturbing,
should not come as a surprise.
Oregon’s leaders have long
known of the problems, and a
series of administrators have
promised improvement.
That turnaround finally
might be underway. In
releasing the audit report,
Secretary of State Dennis
Richardson criticized the
culture and performance of the
Oregon Department of Human
Services, but he praised its
new leadership.
The top administration has
been doing such simple but
important things as visiting
DHS field offices throughout
the state, talking firsthand
with front-line workers. DHS
Director Fariborz Pakseresht,
who took over in September,
and his top managers regularly
hold town hall meetings
to update and listen to
employees, advocates and the
public.
The most critical concern
is to recruit, train and retain
far more caseworkers and
foster families. Richardson
said the state needs nearly 800
additional caseworkers and
related staff. Foster parents
deserve higher compensation
to cover their costs. And the
state’s supposedly state-of-
the-art foster care computer
system, like other IT projects,
is a frustrating mess.
Meanwhile, Texas has a
real-time system for tracking
available placements for foster
children, whereas Oregon
too often houses children in
hotels while caseworkers send
emails desperately seeking an
available family.
Oregon state Rep. Knute
Buehler, the Bend Republican
who is running for governor,
responded to the audit by
calling for a special bipartisan
commission to recommend
specific reforms that could be
implemented within 90 days.
That is a good idea,
even though Pakseresht has
accepted the audit report’s
recommendations and vowed
to follow through. But during
the 35-day legislative session
that begins Monday, Oregon
lawmakers need not wait —
they dare not wait — to add
caseworkers and help foster
children.
This audit report belongs on
every legislator’s desk, not on
the shelf.
If you think you might be
willing to help fill the gap
in foster care, call 800-331-
0503. A foster care specialist
will answer initial questions
and provide a contact name
of a Department of Human
Services worker.
The foster parent is given
a stipend and must provide
food, shelter, clothing, a
sleeping area and other basic
necessities. He or she serves
as the primary contact for
the child’s school, makes day
care arrangements, schedules
extracurricular activities
and drives them to their
medical, counseling and court
appointments.
It is a brilliant opportunity
to help children in need of
compassion and care.
G UEST C OMMENT
The myths of sex abuse
By Jim Carpenter
and Mara Houck
To the Blue Mountain Eagle
The intense media coverage of
Larry Nassar, former physician for
USA Gymnastics recently sentenced
to up to 175 years in prison, raises
the question: How could Nassar get
away with abusing so many vic-
tims for so long? Victims reported
the abuse to authorities as early
as 1997. Below we address some
widespread myths about sexual
abuse, which make victims reluc-
tant to come forward and cases dif-
ficult to prosecute.
“There’s no evidence. It’s just
he said/she said.” The testimony
of a victim is the most fundamental
form of evidence. In the vast major-
ity of cases, only the victim and the
abuser know what really happened.
It is obvious abusers choose to
abuse their victims in secret. Jurors
are instructed “the testimony of any
witness whom you believe is suffi-
cient to prove any fact in dispute.”
Why do we believe, without any
physical evidence or other witness,
a victim of a mugging, who says he
was held at gunpoint and forced to
hand over his cash, and not a victim
of sexual assault?
Dr. Peter Palacio, of VIVA!GYN
in Bend, stated 85 percent to 95 per-
cent of examinations performed on
children after a sexual assault have
no abnormal physical findings.
The American Journal of Obstet-
ric Gynecology reported findings
suspicious or diagnostic of abuse
occurred in less than 5 percent of
abused children and concluded,
“The genital examination of the
abused child rarely differs from that
of the nonabused child.”
Dr. Lauren O’Sullivan, an OB/
GYN in Bend, agreed there is no
“virgin test” to definitively prove
whether a female has had inter-
course. According to Archives of
Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine,
DNA evidence left by an abuser is
unlikely to be found more than 24
hours after an incident of rape, and
extremely rare past 72 hours.
“Even a kid would say no to
that.” Abusers groom their victims.
Most sexual abuse is perpetrated by
someone the victim trusts. Abusers
often start with something less se-
rious, like a touch they can pass off
as accidental or innocent, to see how
the victim will react, and gradually
escalate the abuse. Children are pre-
disposed to trust and defer to their
parents, church leaders, coaches and
other elders. Abusers build an envi-
ronment where a child may not even
realize what is happening is wrong,
or think nobody would do anything
to help if they told.
“(S)he took it all back or didn’t
report it right away.” Studies
show recantation — taking accu-
sations back and claiming it was
all made up — occurs in well over
half of child sex abuse cases. When
the full impact on the victim’s life
is felt, he or she frequently makes
an emotional decision that returning
to the way things were, even with
continued abuse, might be prefera-
ble to the stress of seeing a sexual
abuse case through investigation
and prosecution. Recantation rates
are higher when the abuser is a
close family member, or when the
victim’s family is unsupportive and
takes the abuser’s side. The journal
Child Maltreatment found 66 per-
cent of children recanted when at
least one family member expressed
disbelief of the child’s experienc-
es. The journal Child Abuse Re-
view determined children who are
abused by a family member are
less likely to disclose at all, and
more likely to delay disclosure,
than children who are abused by a
non-relative.
“(S)he changed the story.” In-
complete reporting is common in
sex abuse cases. Victims often dis-
close part of, or a less serious ver-
sion of, the actual abuse to gauge
the reaction from the person who
hears it. An unsupportive reaction
will frequently result in recantation.
A supportive reaction results in a
more complete disclosure when the
victim is believed. Material changes
in a victim’s story are the result of
how the human brain reacts to trau-
ma. The Journal of Traumatic Stress
compared children’s memories of
traumatic events to those of positive
experiences and discovered mem-
ories of trauma, especially sexual
trauma, often contain less sensory
detail and coherence.
“(S)he’s lying to get attention.”
Dr. Palacio recently stated the rate
of children false reporting is be-
tween just 2 percent and 8 percent.
In a study of 2,059 reports of sexual
assault in eight U.S. communities,
only 7 percent were classified as
false. The attention an abuse victim
receives is negative. Families are
torn apart as members decide whose
side to take. Victims are publicly
ridiculed, judged and called liars.
Every unrelated bad decision a vic-
tim has ever made is spun to paint
the victim as willing, as deserving
or as untrustworthy. However un-
justly, the victim, not the abuser, is
made to bear most of the burden of
blame, guilt, fear and humiliation.
Nassar’s victims gained credibil-
ity by sheer force of numbers, with
more than 150 brave young women
eventually speaking out. Most sex-
ual assault is not perpetrated by the
hundreds, but by ones and twos —
committed by parents, parental fig-
ures, relatives, family friends and
other trusted individuals. It is time
to believe those survivors too, even
if their experiences don’t match up
with the “myths” of sex abuse.
To learn more, visit rainn.org or
rapevictimadvocates.org.
Jim Carpenter is the Grant
County district attorney. Mara
Houck is the Grant County chief
deputy district attorney.
L ETTERS TO THE E DITOR
Will Walden co-
sponsor HB 4760?
W HERE TO W RITE
GRANT COUNTY
• Grant County Courthouse — 201
S. Humbolt St., Suite 280, Canyon City
97820. Phone: 541-575-0059. Fax: 541-
575-2248.
• Canyon City — P.O. Box 276, Canyon
City 97820. Phone: 541-575-0509. Fax:
541-575-0515. Email: tocc1862@centu-
rylink.net.
• Dayville — P.O. Box 321, Dayville
97825. Phone: 541-987-2188. Fax: 541-
987-2187. Email:dville@ortelco.net
• John Day — 450 E. Main St, John Day,
97845. Phone: 541-575-0028. Fax: 541-
575-1721. Email: cityjd@centurytel.net.
• Long Creek — P.O. Box 489, Long
Creek 97856. Phone: 541-421-3601. Fax:
541-421-3075. Email: info@cityoflong-
creek.com.
• Monument — P.O. Box 426, Monument
97864. Phone and fax: 541-934-2025.
Email: cityofmonument@centurytel.net.
• Mt. Vernon — P.O. Box 647, Mt.
Vernon 97865. Phone: 541-932-4688. Fax:
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
P UBLISHED EVERY
W EDNESDAY BY
541-932-4222. Email: cmtv@ortelco.net.
• Prairie City — P.O. Box 370, Prairie
City 97869. Phone: 541-820-3605. Fax:
820-3566. Email: pchall@ortelco.net.
• Seneca — P.O. Box 208, Seneca
97873. Phone and fax: 541-542-2161.
Email: senecaoregon@gmail.com.
SALEM
• Gov. Kate Brown, D — 254 State
Capitol, Salem 97310. Phone: 503-378-
3111. Fax: 503-378-6827. Website: www.
governor.state.or.us/governor.html.
• Oregon Legislature — State Capitol,
Salem, 97310. Phone: (503) 986-1180.
Website: www. leg.state.or.us (includes
Oregon Constitution and Oregon Revised
Statutes).
• State Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario (Dis-
trict: 60), Room H-475, State Capitol, 900
Court St. N.E., Salem OR 97301. Phone:
503-986-1460. Email: rep.cliffbentz@state.
or.us. Website: www.leg.state.or.us/bentz/
home.htm.
To the Editor:
The U.S. has granted six amnes-
ties since the big Simpson/Mazzoli
amnesty of 1986. In each case, the
federal government has refused to
agree to future immigration enforce-
ment without granting amnesty first.
Then it ignores enforcement. By
now, most citizens know that grant-
ing amnesties so that we can earn
the right to enforce our laws later is
like negotiating with burglars to get
some of their stuff back — someday,
maybe.
HB 4760 would change that. It
ends the visa lottery and chain mi-
gration. It would build a wall and
begin an e-verify program to turn
off the job magnet. The bill would
also reduce legal immigration to
allow our entry-level citizens to get
a first shot at jobs. It even legalizes
675,000 DACA recipients and their
immediate families as a humanitar-
ian gesture.
True to form, Oregon Congress-
man Greg Walden is ignoring it.
His seven-term history is full of lip
service for immigration reform as
long as it doesn’t stand a chance of
passing. But unless our government
finally serves citizens first, it will
only enshrine the precedent of mob
Grant County’s Weekly Newspaper
P UBLISHER ............................... M ARISSA W ILLIAMS , MARISSA @ BMEAGLE . COM
E DITOR .................................... S EAN H ART , EDITOR @ BMEAGLE . COM
R EPORTER ............................... R ICHARD H ANNERS , RICK @ BMEAGLE . COM
C OMMUNITY N EWS .................... A NGEL C ARPENTER , ANGEL @ BMEAGLE . COM
S PORTS ................................... A NGEL C ARPENTER , ANGEL @ BMEAGLE . COM
M ARKETING R EP ....................... K IM K ELL , ADS @ BMEAGLE . COM
O FFICE M ANAGER ..................... L INDSAY B ULLOCK , OFFICE @ BMEAGLE . COM
O FFICE A SSISTANT .................... A LIXANDRA P ERKINS , OFFICE @ BMEAGLE . COM
rule. So, will Congressman Walden
co-sponsor HB 4760?
Lyneil Vandermolen
Powell Butte
Adopted highway
neglected
To the Editor:
Highway 26 west from the old
mill corner in John Day to mile
marker 160 at the turn-off to Mal-
heur Lumber has not been cleaned
up since before it was “adopted” July
1 by a business. The business name
is prominently displayed under an
“Adopt-A-Highway” sign indicating
that the roadside will be kept clean of
litter and trash by that entity. This has
not happened. If you have concerns
about the lack of responsibility, con-
tact Oregon Department of Transpor-
tation, John Eden, permit specialist,
Region 5, District 14, 1390 SE First
St., Ontario, OR 97914, 541-823-
4016, 541-216-1246 (cell).
Louis Crabtree
John Day
Tabloid
sensationalism
To the Editor:
On Jan. 25, a highly inflamma-
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tory article appeared on the front of
The Firehall Press, entitled, “Leave
Boyd Alone!” by Caleb Maplesden.
It certainly was an attention-getting
headline.
I imagine copies flew off counters
in every business. It was also an ex-
tremely misleading headline worthy
of tabloid sensationalism. Most dis-
turbing were allegations that “some
of the radicals in Grant County”
were behind “threats of full-on vio-
lence” toward Commissioner Boyd
Britton. A horrifying lynch-mob type
scenario was used to help the reader
“visualize” the threats. I’m certain
the sheriff’s department would have
been notified of any violent threats.
It appears now that this over-blown
article was written after a couple
hang-up calls. I get computer gen-
erated calls that result in hang ups
all the time. The editor of the Fire
Hall Press appears to have used this
“rumor” to smear certain individuals
within the county. It is, at the very
least, irresponsible reporting. It also
begs the question, why has Boyd
Britton not responded to this article
in order to lay to rest the rumors? No
apologies have been forthcoming
from the editor or Britton.
Patti Yellow Hand Bull
Monument
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