Miami takes on Ole Miss in the Fiesta Bowl 🔥
Oregon
Oregon lawmakers consider sending kids in foster care out of state, again. Only this time, with less transparency
Six years ago, Oregon quietly started sending children in foster care to locked residential treatment facilities in other states.
When they got to those facilities, many kids were abused.
At one facility where Oregon children were sent, a child from another state was restrained for so long that he died. Staff restrained him after he threw a sandwich in the cafeteria. At another, a SWAT team arrived to break up a riot at the converted hotel in Utah where the majority of Oregon’s out-of-state foster kids were sent. The Oregon foster kids had semi-automatic rifles pointed at them. The stories of mistreatment were widespread. After intense scrutiny, Oregon eventually stopped the practice.
The Oregon Department of Human Services building is pictured in Salem on Sept. 26, 2019. Bradley W. Parks / OPB
Now, the state’s Department of Human Services would like the ability to send children across state borders once again.
This time, they say, will be different.
Oregon lawmakers are considering a wide-ranging measure, House Bill 3835, that would simplify what is investigated as child abuse in both schools and foster homes. The measure would also give the state’s child welfare officials the ability to send kids across state lines. It has prompted intense debate between lawmakers, nonprofit advocates for children and health providers.
Some advocates have warned that the bill limits what is considered abuse at a time when the state is under intense scrutiny for its high rates of maltreatment of children in state custody. Others have noted that too many kids are lingering in emergency rooms and hotel rooms because there is a lack of appropriate health and foster care in Oregon. They blame the systemic failures on government overreach. They argue too many regulations have created a “culture of fear” among caretakers.
State Rep. Rob Nosse, a Portland Democrat, is sponsoring the bill. He testified Thursday to the House Committee on Early Childhood and Human Services that the current regulatory environment in Oregon is making it hard for providers to serve children. The state continually ranks poorly for its ability to provide behavioral health treatment to kids. Oregon has about 4,450 kids placed in child welfare custody.
“We must vehemently advocate for children to get the care they need wherever it is available, including having to go out of state if the care that is needed by the child is better provided in the facility that is located out of state,” Nosse said.
He called the measure “one of the most important bills” state legislators will deal with this legislative session.
Emily Cooper, Legal Director, Disability Rights Oregon, in an undated, provided photo.
Courtesy of Disability Rights Oregon
Emily Cooper, an attorney with Disability Rights Oregon who was part of the class-action lawsuit against the Oregon Department of Human Services that was recently settled, also said the measure is worrisome.
“There aren’t sufficient guardrails in this bill to prevent us from going back in time,” Cooper said.
Less transparency than before
At the urging of Gov. Kate Brown in 2019, in the wake of the out-of-state and hoteling crisis, the state Legislature created what is called the “system of care advisory council.” The idea was to get a group of people together from child welfare, juvenile justice and education to plan for more children’s services outside of institutional settings.
That council is now suggesting Oregon needs the ability to send kids out of state with more ease. State law currently does allow officials to send kids out of state, but the facility where they are being sent must first go through a licensing process and meet certain standards.
“I want to be clear, we don’t want to go back to the bad old days where caseworkers were pushing kids out of state because cases were too high and it was an easy way to, ‘oh get this kid off my caseload,’” Anna Williams, the executive director of the council and a former Democratic lawmaker, said in a legislative hearing.
Anna Williams, pictured in 2019 when she was a Democratic state Rep. from Hood River.
Bradley W. Parks / OPB
But a side-by-side comparison of what happened six years ago and what is being proposed today doesn’t offer much clarity over how the current legislation would ensure the same mistakes are not repeated.
Williams told lawmakers during a legislative hearing there would be “significant oversight and accountability” this time.
Six years ago, before a kid was sent to an out-of-state facility, a team at the state child welfare’s central office had to sign off. A judge had to also give the go-ahead. The state hired a third-party consultant to visit the kids in the facilities. Sometimes, the state would send its own staff to inspect a facility.
Once, Oregon child welfare officials visited a facility over a period of three days and wrote a glowing review of the yoga and meditation possibilities at the Red Rock Canyon School. A day later, the state of Utah published its own report citing a list of violations, including staff degrading residents and one youth being put in a chokehold until they were unconscious. It was the same facility where A SWAT team showed up to break up a riot.
Oregon’s new proposal says the child welfare director must personally approve child movements out of state, along with approval from the Oregon Health Plan Medicaid director. The bill was recently amended to also require court approval before sending a kid out of state.
“We aren’t just basing it on other state’s much lower standards,” Williams said. “We want to go see it ourselves and make sure the kid is safe.”
Under the past guidelines, when kids were sent out of state, the child welfare agency initially tried to cite child privacy laws for keeping the information secret. Eventually, more information emerged, and so did the terrible stories. Ultimately, the agency started sharing a public dashboard that showed in real-time where kids were.
This map from 2019 shows the number of times children in foster care were placed in residential treatment facilities out-of-state at the height of the program. Some children went to more than one out-of-state facility. In 2020, Oregon removed all the foster youth it sent to for-profit facilities in other states.
Source: Oregon Department of Human Services / OPB
The current bill would require the agency to alert the governor’s office, the foster care ombudsman (who works inside the agency), and the systems of advisory care panel as soon as possible when a child is moved. It would require quarterly and annual reports sent to the Legislature, but does not require a dashboard. Essentially, a child could be moved to a facility for weeks or months without the public’s knowledge.
There are some instances where kids benefit from care that Oregon can’t provide. Recently, a youth with an eating disorder who also needed care in a gender-affirming placement received care in Arizona.
But Cooper, the disability rights attorney, said it should be evident that the facility where the kids are being sent meets Oregon standards and offers therapeutic care.
“We will (once again) end up sending kids to out-of-state facilities regardless of how good they are,” Cooper said.
Cooper, who also sits on the state’s system of care advisory council with Williams, said the state’s focus should be on finding solutions where children can stay in their communities.
But, she noted, state child welfare officials have struggled to have adequate oversight over providers in their own backyard. For example, they recently placed kids in foster care in unlicensed short-term rentals with people who failed to background check. After an OPB investigation, Oregon canceled the contract with the provider.
Two years ago, a U.S. District Court appointed a special master to help the agency steer toward creating more placements in Oregon. This was in response to the state’s continued reliance on placing children in hotels, which cost upwards of $25 million. At the time, Judge Michael McShane wrote that Oregon’s defense of its practices had “become nothing more than a stale mantra and the Court has lost faith in ODHS’ ability to end this entrenched policy on its own.”
Riley Thomas, a former kid placed in foster care, submitted testimony to the Legislature on the current bill. Restrictions on out-of-state placements came after someone finally listened to the kids who shared their stories, she said.
“It was stated that only youth that would be sent out of state were kids who were rare exceptions and were children that were hard to control,” Riley wrote. “That didn’t last long before a large amount of kids were being shipped out of state and placed in for-profit facilities, kids as young as nine years old.”
Restraints and seclusions
Another large component of this wide-ranging measure aims to clarify what is considered wrongful use of restraint and seclusion for children, both in public schools and child welfare settings.
The measure would narrow the definitions of both to say that any restraint or seclusion for discipline, punishment, retaliation or convenience purposes is “wrongful.”
Jamie Vandergon, the CEO of Trillium Family Services, which provides care for kids ages 5-24 throughout the state, wrote in testimony that past laws had “unintended consequences” that created a culture of fear and constant reporting.
Some school district officials applauded the efforts to clarify rules around restraint.
“We have had multiple occurrences where staff members have been accused of child abuse as they work with students,” Charan Cline, the superintendent of the Redmond School District, wrote to lawmakers. Cline said most investigations don’t confirm the abuse allegations. “During the investigation, our people are put on administrative leave, thus causing students to be served by less qualified substitute teachers.”
But a parent, Eriko Ono, who has a disabled child in the public school system, felt very differently.
“I do not support a more relaxed definition of restraints and isolation. I also do not support less oversight when either of these strategies are used,” Ono said. “Oversight is already difficult in many school settings.”
The Oregon Criminal Defense Lawyers Association noted they also strongly opposed the bill, saying it would lower the standards for keeping kids safe in numerous ways.
“Oregon’s kids need better protections from abuse, not worse,” Mae Lee Browning, the legislative director for the group, wrote.
The bill is scheduled for another public hearing on Tuesday.
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ATLANTA — Oregon’s options for who to rotate in at safety and nickel in the Peach Bowl are finite, but not inexperienced.
Peyton Woodyard has 22 tackles and an interception as a backup this season. The sophomore is the next player behind starting deep safeties Dillon Thieneman and Aaron Flowers and could also play nickel behind Jadon Canady in the Peach Bowl against No. 1 Indiana.
Woodyard was UO’s only freshman defensive player not to redshirt last season. Though he fell behind Flowers and Lopa prior to the season, he’s still prepared to play a significant role, which could come in Friday’s College Football Playoff semifinal.
“You’d have more concern if you had a guy that wasn’t preparing like he wasn’t a starter,” defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi said. “But that’s the way he prepares. I’ve got the faith that we’re not going to put somebody out there that we don’t trust. … I don’t think if he’s out there competing for us, I wouldn’t hesitate one bit to put (him) out there.”
No. 5 Oregon lost Kingston Lopa and Daylen Austin to the transfer portal since the start of the playoff.
Walk-on Zach Grisham (44) and Woodyard (30) have the most snaps at nickel behind Canady and Austin. Woodyard has played 171 snaps this season, but just one in the Orange Bowl when Canady came out for a play. He played three snaps at deep safety during the October 11 game against Indiana.
Grisham has nine tackles in 11 games, splitting time between defense and special teams. He came in for the last defensive play in the Orange Bowl.
Lupoi called Grisham “an absolute baller” for the effort he brings to the field.
The Ducks may need to rely on one or both for a few snaps in the biggest game of the season.
“(Woodyard) brings a lot of range and he’s really smart,” Flowers said. “A really vocal leader. Great tackler. I feel super comfortable playing out there with him. Zach, he’s a man of the game. He knows every position; he knows star, safety. He’s really quick, really good man coverage.”
No. 1 Indiana (14-0) vs. No. 5 Oregon (13-1)
- When: Friday, January 9
- Time: 4:30 p.m. PT
- Where: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
- TV: ESPN
- Stream: You can watch this game on DIRECTV (free trial) or with Sling (a Sling day pass to watch this game and more is just $4.99). Streaming broadcasts for this game will be available on these streaming services locally in Oregon and Washington, but may not be available outside of the Pacific Northwest, depending on your location.
Two powerhouse matchups. One step away from the national championship.
After a longer wait between games in the first two rounds of the College Football Playoff, we should have two fantastic games in the semifinals, and Vegas thinks so, too.
Miami (Fla.) and Ole Miss go head-to-head fresh off their stunning upsets over Ohio State and Georgia, respectively, in the quarterfinals. Indiana and Oregon, meanwhile, will meet up in the Peach Bowl in a game that I’m really excited about.
So, let’s dive into what I think will happen in each game, and who I have winning to advance to the national championship game.
Fiesta Bowl: No. 10 Miami (Fla.) vs. No. 6 Ole Miss
When I first started watching film of this matchup, the first thing I thought of — and Miami fans are going to love this, because the last thing they want is me picking Miami after picking against the Hurricanes in the first two rounds — is that this Ole Miss team resembles the SMU team it lost to.
By the way, it’s an SMU team I just spent time around during the Holiday Bowl and I had a conversation with SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee about Miami. We both talked about how dominant Miami is on the offense and defensive lines — that defensive line is excellent. But one thing SMU was able to do was utilize tempo on offense. So, a quicker tempo to try and tire those pass rushers while getting the ball on the perimeter as much in the first half as possible. Once the pass rushers got tired in the second half, it was easier for SMU to play offense and and it took advantage of that.
Well, Ole Miss can do that. I think Trinidad Chambliss is a better quarterback than SMU’s Kevin Jennings. Ole Miss can run the ball with Kewan Lacy. The Rebels can get on the perimeter and Chambliss can create. He’s wonderful at creating. He was so good against Georgia, buying time, showing off his strong and accurate arm.
So, at first blush, I liked Ole Miss in this game and the question for me was whether it would be able to hold up at the line of scrimmage. But that’s not the main question for me with this game. The main question of this game is who is coaching for Ole Miss? I cannot believe we’re in this situation where the head coach of a team playing in the semifinal is saying, “Well, I don’t really know what’s going on with the offensive coaching staff.” Are we kidding? What in the world is going on? In what world are we operating?
This is what I find so frustrating about this situation. This moment is meant to be so special for the players. It should be about Chambliss, Lacy and all these players who’ve put themselves in a position to win the national championship. Yet, they’re not being given the best possible opportunity to do that. This is not a coach’s moment.
Now, we’re talking about whether Ole Miss offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. is back to game plan for the offense? I think Weis should’ve stayed at Ole Miss in the first place, but he followed Lane Kiffin to LSU and is still working with the Rebels through the CFP. Weis proved that he can call plays and that he doesn’t need to be under Kiffin in the win over Georgia. But now we’re sitting here and we don’t know what’s going on with Ole Miss’ offensive coaches. They should be there to build, implement, execute and call the game plan. It’s not just about who’s there on Thursday, it’s about who’s there the last seven or eight days. What should’ve happened in this situation was Kiffin allowing those coaches to remain in Oxford in a full capacity until the end of Ole Miss’ CFP run.
Miami takes down Ohio State, Indiana rolls Alabama, Georgia stunned by Ole Miss & Oregon advances
Because of that, it has made me rethink what I believe will take place in this game. What I know about this game is that Miami has something that it can rely on, and it’s at the line of scrimmage on both sides. The offensive line with tackle Francis Mauigoa and the run game with running back Mark Fletcher Jr. have allowed Miami to not put quarterback Carson Beck in a position where he needs to throw the ball on third-and-long. How many times was he able to pick up a first down on a first-and-manageable? He had huge pickups with his feet, and he hasn’t needed to throw the ball 150 yards so far in this playoff. If Miami can control the tempo and line of scrimmage in this game, it’ll have a great chance to win this game.
On the flip side, it’s about corralling Chambliss if you’re Miami’s defense. If he can create, who knows how many points Ole Miss can score? This is a very good Ole Miss offense and it’s led by a quarterback who can force a lot of problems.
What do I think is going to happen? The quickest way to be defeated is to be distracted, and Miami fans, I’m sorry to do this to you, but I’ve got to go with the Canes.
Pick: Miami (Fla.) 30, Ole Miss 24 (Miami -3.5)
Peach Bowl: No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 1 Indiana
This is going to be one heck of a game, and we’ve already seen these two teams go head-to-head. We saw Indiana beat Oregon in Eugene in an incredible game that was tied in the fourth quarter before the Hoosiers pulled away with an incredible drive from Fernando Mendoza.
Let me talk a little bit about Indiana. You’re here because you love this sport like I do, but there are things that can be frustrating and there’s one thing that’s frustrating with this Indiana team. There’s an overlooking of Indiana that’s happening right now across the country. The reason I know that is that Indiana’s résumé is the best résumé in all of college football, without a doubt. Indiana’s the most tested team in the country. The Hoosiers are 14-0 and have handled everybody. They have only given up more than 15 offensive points one time this year, and that was in a game on the road against Penn State. Indiana has only given up more than one touchdown in two games. This is the team that’s so sound, mistake-free and just absolutely bludgeoned Alabama.
Oregon faces Indiana in a Big Ten CFP semifinal 🔥
If you listen to some of the loudest voices, you get a sense that they think anyone can win the national championship. But if this Indiana team had any other logo, we would all be talking about whether this is the best team we’ve ever seen in college football. Yes, I know I’ve been guilty of this as well with the way I talked about Ohio State earlier this season, but no team in the history of our sport has ever gone 16-0. Granted, that’s a scheduling thing, but Indiana has a chance to do that and it’s been one of the great defensive teams we’ve had in a long time.
So no, this isn’t a wide-open playoff. Indiana and Oregon are the odds-on favorites to win it all by a wide margin because of how tested they’ve been. That’s specifically the case for Indiana, which beat three teams that played in the CFP quarterfinals. No other team can say that. This team stands on business as the best team in college football.
To that end, there are four tight games Indiana has played this year. If you’re Oregon, you’ve got to mimic those tight games. Oregon understands that blueprint because it played in one of those games. The blueprint isn’t simple, but in every one of those games, a few things happen. One of them is attacking Indiana’s strengths and making it work to succeed. The first area I would go after is Indiana’s run game. In all four of its close matchups, Indiana ran for less than 4 yards per carry. You have to do that just to remain in the game. When Indiana is able to run the ball efficiently, it’s almost unstoppable on third down. Indiana had the No. 1 third-down offense in college football because it’s in short-yardage situations.
Second, Oregon has to find a way to score in the red zone, and I’m not talking about field goals. One of the things that goes unnoticed with Indiana is how elite its defense has been and how strong its red zone defense is. Indiana is No. 1 in the country in red zone touchdown percentage against at 26%. It’s a low number that we haven’t seen in several years. Oregon was 0-for-3 in scoring red zone touchdowns in the first matchup.
Indiana adds Josh Hoover and Nick Marsh from the transfer portal 👏
Lastly, Oregon has to play cleanly against this Indiana team. Indiana plays clean and doesn’t make mistakes. Indiana is ice-cold, no mistakes, to quote Ice Man from “Top Gun.” Maybe we should start calling Curt Cignetti Ice Man because Indiana is phenomenal at limiting penalties and turnovers. Indiana posted the third-fewest penalties per game this season and has only committed eight turnovers so far. Indiana’s turnover margin is plus-18, which is tied for first in the nation.
Those are three things Oregon needs to do just to be in the game late. Even then, that might not be enough because Indiana might be the most clutch team in college football. The Heisman Trophy winner, Fernando Mendoza, was clutch in all four of Indiana’s tight wins this year.
This Oregon team is no slouch, though. What Dan Lanning has built at Oregon can’t be overstated. Oregon is 38-4 in the last three years, losing to Washington twice (played for national championship in 2023), Ohio State (won national championship in 2024) and Indiana earlier this year. This is a great program that’s deep and strong at almost every position. It just happens to be going against a team that’s suffocatingly good.
Indiana dominates Alabama, Are they the new powerhouse of college football?
When Oregon’s offense gets its chances, quarterback Dante Moore has got to capitalize. Oregon can’t have mistakes and miscues. Lanning is going to have to manage a really great game because if you miss a chance against Indiana, there’s a good chance the Hoosiers are going to win the game.
If there’s one team that can do it, though, it would be Oregon. If you take away sacks, Oregon ran the ball for 4.8 yards per carry in its first matchup against Indiana. That’s the best way to protect Moore. We saw Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin and Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson struggle against Indiana when their respective teams didn’t run the ball efficiently and early in down sets.
I can talk all day about this game, but I’ve got to make a pick. I’ve got Indiana winning and covering, although this will be a phenomenal game.
Pick: Indiana 27, Oregon 21 (Indiana -4.5)
Joel Klatt is FOX Sports’ lead college football game analyst and the host of the podcast “The Joel Klatt Show.” Follow him @joelklatt and subscribe to “The Joel Klatt Show” on YouTube.
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Ehis Etute scored a career-high 17 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, and Oregon scored the last 14 points to beat No. 21 Southern California 71-66 on Tuesday night.
Oregon (14-3, 2-2 Big Ten) scored the first 12 points of the fourth quarter but USC answered with a 8-0 spurt and led 66-57 with 4:46 to play. Etute scored the next three points and Ari Long then hit three straight 3s. Katie Fiso capped the scoring with a pair of free throws with 17 seconds left. Londynn Jones missed a 3-pointer for the Trojans to end it.
Long and Fiso combined for 17 fourth-quarter points and Etute added seven points to go with five boards.
Fiso finished with 14 points. Long and Mia Jacobs chipped in with 11 apiece for the Ducks.
Kara Dunn scored 21 points for USC (10-5, 2-2). Jazzy Davidson added 14 points, 13 rebounds and five assists.
Dunn scored 12 points with a pair of 3s in the first quarter as the Trojans jumped out to a 23-9 lead and led 37-21 at the break.
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Oregon: Hosts No. 15 Michigan State on Sunday.
USC: At Minnesota on Sunday.
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