Connect with us

Oregon

Oregon Department of Human Services’ internal review validates concerns about the care of vulnerable children

Published

on

Oregon Department of Human Services’ internal review validates concerns about the care of vulnerable children


Nine months after it was revealed the state of Oregon was paying millions of dollars to an unlicensed, religious nonprofit to watch some of the state’s most vulnerable children, an internal review by the Oregon Department of Human Services validated concerns from those outside of the agency that there was a lack of oversight and children’s safety and well-being could not be assured.

The internal audit is noteworthy in how rudimentary the recommendations are. The report suggests ODHS officials run background checks on providers before they are placed in homes to watch over vulnerable children. The audit also states more fiscal oversight over such contracts is needed, highlighting one instance where a provider overcharged the state by more than $88,000.

In November, OPB first reported Oregon child welfare officials signed a contract with a Keizer-based nonprofit, Dynamic Life, paying them up to $2,916 per day, for every child or teenager placed in their care. It was a shocking amount, especially compared to the $795 per month the state pays a foster parent.

After OPB wrote about the state’s arrangement in November, the state canceled the contract with Dynamic Life and the arrangement was the subject of legislative hearings.

Advertisement

People who’ve been through foster care systems, like the Oregon Department of Human Services, are more likely to suffer from chronic health conditions later in life, according to a new study.

Bradley W. Parks / OPB

The recent audit, released at the end of June, found that the invoicing for the contracts was often muddled. In one instance, Dynamic Life overbilled the state by $19,236. In another, they overcharged by $88,200. The state paid millions of dollars to Dynamic Life in a short period of time. And they weren’t the only organization the state was partnering with to help kids at risk of being placed in hotels. Another one of the providers, LC Beach House, which has ties to Dynamic Life, overbilled by $4,032 and charged the state $45,000 for services that did not appear to be included in any contract, according to the internal audit.

Here is one of the audit’s big takeaways: “Without sufficient oversight of contracts there is no assurance providers can meet the needs of the children in care and ensure their safety,” it states. “In addition to potential harm to children, the agency may continue to suffer reputational harm if these conditions are not corrected. There are also legal and financial risks associated with the lack of oversight for the children in the care of contracted providers.”

Sen. Sara Gelser Blouin, D-Corvallis, who held legislative hearings on the matter, said the audit confirmed what many outside of the agency, including her, had been saying for months, but didn’t answer any of the big questions about accountability or how the misspent money would be recouped.

Advertisement

“So much missing money,” Gelser Blouin said in an interview on Thursday. “Where is the big outrage we had over designated bottles of Pappy van Winkle?” she added, citing the scandal at the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission with hard-to-buy liquor.

“The lack of energy around this is incredibly concerning.”

Long-term care struggles

Oregon’s struggling child welfare system has been under the spotlight for years. The state recently settled a class-action lawsuit that aimed to improve its trouble-ridden foster care system days before a high-profile trial was set to begin. More recently, its senior services program has been garnering headlines.

After a woman wandered away from a long-term care facility and died of hypothermia, nobody from the ODHS licensing team immediately visited the facility. Finally, after 28 days, they went to inspect the now-shuttered Sandy facility in light of Ki Soon Hyun’s death. When they did, a litany of concerns prompted them to immediately close the facility. They moved 13 of the remaining residents to other facilities ill-equipped to care for them late on a dark, rainy night.

The woman’s death and the state’s poor treatment of the remaining vulnerable residents highlighted systemic failures in how the state cares for vulnerable adults. The governor’s office has called for an independent audit into what led to her death.

Advertisement

But the governor is trusting that the state’s Department of Human Services will both identify a third-party entity to do the work and pay for it, essentially making them the auditor’s client.

State Rep. David Gomberg, D-Otis, who sits on the governor’s commission on senior services, said he’s in favor of an independent audit, but has several questions.

“Who is doing the audit? What’s the oversight? How are we assured it’s going to be independent? I can’t answer those but I can ask the questions,” he said.

Those are particularly important questions given ODHS leadership has historically pushed back when confronted with problems. After the state ombudsman released a report highlighting that the state missed numerous red flags leading to Hyun’s death, ODHS head Fariborz Pakseresht returned a three-page leader noting they didn’t “agree with many of the report’s statements or its representation of the agency’s options.” And after reports of Dynamic Life became public, the head of the state’s Child Welfare program, Aprille Flint-Gerner, told lawmakers the story was factually incorrect, according to multiple sources. When OPB reached out to the state to see if anything needed to be corrected, a Human Services spokesman answered no.

In an email, the governor’s spokeswoman said she trusts that the agency can identify an appropriate entity to offer an independent review. Gov. Tina Kotek said the agency should be “continuously identifying ways to improve the services they provide” and that she has confidence in the agency’s leadership.

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Oregon

Where Oregon Ducks rank in industry recruiting rankings for 2027 class

Published

on

Where Oregon Ducks rank in industry recruiting rankings for 2027 class


With the winter evaluation period of high school football recruiting now behind us, we’ve seen some of the top recruiting sites update their rankings over the past few weeks and start to reset their boards for the 2027 class. In February, On3 shifted players around after getting fresh looks at the class, and 247Sports did the same earlier this week.

So with Oregon’s handful of commits getting new ratings, where does the Ducks’ class rank nationally in this cycle?

If you look at sites individually, it looks different, with 247Sports having Oregon sitting at No. 13 in the nation. At Rivals, though, they take the industry ranking, which factors in their own rankings, plus an average from 247Sports and ESPN.

In the industry rankings, Oregon sits at No. 9 in the nation, with five commitments.

Advertisement

Going into the summer months, the Ducks are in a great spot, leading or among the top schools for a handful of the top prospects in the nation, like 5-star QB Will Mencl or 5-star WR Dakota Guerrant. We will see what movement Oregon can make in the coming months after official visits take place early in the summer.

Contact/Follow @Ducks_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinions. 



Source link

Continue Reading

Oregon

New Data Shows Oregon E-Scooter Injuries on the Rise

Published

on

New Data Shows Oregon E-Scooter Injuries on the Rise


Data released by the Oregon Health Authority this week suggests Oregonians are getting hurt on electric scooters more every year.

In recent years, according to OHA, an “e-scooter-specific code” was developed for health care tracking purposes.

From 2021 to 2024, annual injury reports under this code from Oregon hospitals and emergency departments jumped from 211 to 418.

And in just the first nine months of 2025, there had been 509 such reports.

Advertisement

“These injuries are not minor scrapes,” said Dagan Wright, an OHA epidemiologist, in a written statement. “They often involve head injuries, broken bones, and other serious trauma that requires emergency or inpatient care.”

The city of Portland signed contracts with three e-scooter rental companies in 2018, as the transportation craze spread across the country. But e-scooter injury diagnosis codes are relatively new in health care reporting, Wright said in the OHA statement.

“While the overall numbers remain smaller than for other transportation-related injuries, the rapid increase over a short period of time is a clear safety signal,” OHA added.

The agency highlighted the story of Portland e-scooter commuter Daniel Pflieger, who it says was riding a scooter home when he reportedly slid on ice. He bruised several ribs.

Sometimes outcomes are worse. OHA identified 17 deaths linked to electric or motorized scooters since 2018, and seven of those occurred in 2025.

Advertisement

OHA says that e-bikes raise many similar safety concerns as e-scooters. The first full year for which e-bike injuries were coded for reporting was 2023. State data shows 392 reported e-bike injuries that year, 683 in 2024, and 760 in the first nine months of 2025.

“Injuries involving e-bikes and e-scooters share common risk factors—speed, lack of helmet use, roadway design, and interactions with motor vehicles,” Wright said.

Oregon E-Scooter Injuries on the Rise (Source: Oregon Health Authority)

Willamette Week’s reporting has concrete impacts that change laws, force action from civic leaders, and drive compromised politicians from public office.

Support WW





Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Oregon

Oregon women’s basketball playing for March Madness seeding vs. Purdue

Published

on

Oregon women’s basketball playing for March Madness seeding vs. Purdue


play

At times, the Oregon women’s basketball team has certainly made things much harder on themselves than it needs to be. The team has also produced some miraculous comeback victories, putting itself in position to make women’s March Madness for the second straight season.

March 1, in their final regular season game, the Ducks (20-11, 8-10 Big Ten) finished on the wrong end of yet another tight game to Washington, 70-69. It’s the second time this season Oregon has come back from a double-digit deficit, but ended up losing to the Huskies (20-9, 10-8).

Advertisement

Those aren’t the only times Oregon has come back from a double-digit deficit, like it did in wins vs. Nebraska and USC. The No. 11-seed Ducks are hoping they won’t need heroics in a Big Ten tournament first-round game against No. 14 Purdue this Wednesday.

Watch Oregon basketball on Peacock

“I think our biggest weakness this year has been our inconsistency,” coach Kelly Graves said, “something we’ve battled all year. The great thing is our kids know, regardless of the score, we’ve got a chance. We’ll make it a game at some point. As a coach, it drives you nuts. Hopefully we can figure it out and play more consistent basketball.”

Oregon’s volatility has seen it earn three double-digit comeback wins this year, but also blow several games in the final moments.

Advertisement

Against Wisconsin, the Ducks held a 6-point lead with less than a minute remaining, but lost in overtime. Against Illinois, Oregon held a 21-point lead at halftime, blew it in the third quarter, trailed by eight with minutes to play and somehow eked out a win.

That makes UO somewhat of a wild card heading into the conference tournament this week at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

“It’s definitely (been) a rollercoaster,” guard Katie Fiso said. “A lot of highs and a lot of lows. But one thing that I try to see through all games is our grittiness and our toughness. One thing that stays consistent throughout the season is our toughness and our grittiness. The game isn’t over until the last bell rings.”

The Ducks will be taking on a Boilermakers (13-16, 5-13) team that has struggled against most of the top competition in the league, but played Oregon tight in a Feb. 25 Ducks win.

Advertisement

Graves said when the Ducks went throughout the postgame handshake line after, the Boilermakers felt like their season would end after the regular season. Thanks to some upsets, Purdue is in the Big Ten Tournament as the No. 14 seed.

“We’re playing a team that probably feels like it’s playing with house money,” Graves said. “We’ve got to pick ourselves back up and get it done.”

What channel is Oregon vs. Purdue on today in Big Ten tournament?

Oregon will tip off vs. Purdue on Peacock, with no TV option to watch the game.

Oregon vs. Purdue start time in Big Ten tournament

  • Date: Wednesday, March 4
  • Time: Around 5:30 p.m. PT

Oregon and Purdue will play around 5:30 p.m. PT at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The first game of the day begins at 12:30 p.m. PT, with the next game 25 minutes after the first game ends, and so on. The Ducks play in the third game of the day, so no official tip time is listed.

Oregon women’s basketball schedule 2025-26

Below are the past five games of Oregon’s 2025-26 basketball season. For the full schedule, click here.

Advertisement
Feb. 15 Washington 51, Oregon 43
Feb. 19 Oregon 80, Nebraska 76
Feb. 22 Indiana 72, Oregon 65
Feb. 25 Oregon 71, Purdue 65
March 1 Washington 70, Oregon 69
March 4 Oregon vs. Purdue (Big Ten tournament)

Purdue women’s basketball schedule 2025-26

Below are the past five games of Purdue’s 2025-26 basketball season. For the full schedule, click here.

Feb. 14 Purdue 72, Rutgers 57
Feb. 19 Iowa 83, Purdue 74
Feb. 22 Maryland 99, Purdue 66
Feb. 25 Oregon 71, Purdue 65
March 1 Purdue 67, Northwestern 62
March 4 Oregon vs. Purdue (Big Ten tournament)

Alec Dietz covers University of Oregon football and women’s basketball for The Register-Guard. You may reach him at adietz@registerguard.com.



Source link

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending