Oregon
Oregon foster care class action lawsuit headed to trial after settlement offer rejected
Oregon’s child welfare agency has been in and out of court since 2019, defending against a class action lawsuit brought on behalf of every child in foster care in the state. The suit was filed by Disability Rights Oregon and the national advocacy group A Better Childhood.
The Oregon Department of Human Services building is pictured in Salem, Ore., on Sept. 26, 2019. Beleaguered and increasingly desperate child welfare workers trusted the private, for-profit Sequel Youth and Family Services with the state’s most vulnerable children, despite allegations of abuse.
Bradley W. Parks / OPB
Marcia Robinson Lowry is the lead attorney in the class action lawsuit and the director of A Better Childhood. On Monday, she announced that her organization was rejecting a settlement offer from Oregon’s Department of Human Services. The case is now expected to go to trial on May 13.
Child advocacy groups have brought similar class actions in other states including in Tennessee, where a settlement led to reforms that improved outcomes for children and youth in foster care. Oregon’s Department of Human Services told us they cannot provide comment on this ongoing litigation. Robinson Lowry recently spoke with “Think Out Loud” to talk about the lawsuit and what’s at stake.
The following excerpts have been edited for clarity and brevity:
Why the class action lawsuit was filed against the state
“The more we looked at data, the more we heard heartbreaking children’s stories, the more convinced we were that we needed to organize a lawsuit in this state. In Oregon, the maltreatment rate for children in the foster care system is almost twice the national average. The average length of time that children spend in the foster care system in Oregon is 21 months as compared to the average in the country nationally, which is about 17 [months]. The placement stability rate — the number of times a kid moves from one place to another — is 5.3, compared to the national average, which is only 4.1.
And also very significantly, children are not supposed to stay in the system too long. But when children are returned home by the state of Oregon, they are much more likely to reenter the foster care system because the state has not done a good job of deciding whether it’s now safe for children to return home. And so the reentry rate into foster care in Oregon is 14.4%, as compared to a national average of 8.3%.
So when you look both at the national data and see how other systems are doing, and you see how poorly Oregon compares to that, it was clear that a class action lawsuit was necessary.”
Why the state’s settlement offer was rejected
“The settlement offer that we received was totally unsatisfactory. It will not protect the children that we represent and will not give the state the opportunity to be responsible for making things better.
We’ve said this from the beginning, we think that the state gets better by doing better for the kids it serves. And the way you measure whether the state is doing better for the kids that it serves is by having better outcomes: by getting children back home or into another permanent living situation as soon as possible, by not having children harmed or abused while they’re in state custody, and by not having kids move from one place to another. That’s just devastating for a kid.”
The kinds of reforms Lowry is seeking for foster care children and youth
“The way you do it is not by just changing your policies, but it’s by changing your practice. It’s by having enough case workers so that caseworkers can spend time on individual children’s individual cases. It’s by having enough places for children to go when they need to be housed outside their homes. It’s by having the special services. The kids need therapeutic foster homes of specially supported services for kids. And looking for placements for children of all of those kinds of things and not making decisions just based on a policy but making decisions about whether to return a kid home or not based on the individual circumstances of the individual child and the family. We all certainly believe that children are best raised by families, not by institutions.”
Improving the system is not just about money, Lowry says
“Look at Oklahoma, which is also doing an incredibly strong job in providing additional placements for children. And Oklahoma provides additional services for kids in both foster homes and in kinship homes. But the services that the kids need are what the state is providing. And Oklahoma is not a wealthy state at all. It’s not a matter of money. It’s a matter of making a commitment to doing better and really looking and seeing what you’re doing.
Oregon, for example, does not get children assessed in a timely manner. You can’t provide services for a child if you don’t understand what the child needs. That’s not something we say. It’s in fact a matter of federal law and the state is supposed to do it, but they’re not.”
Marcia Robinson Lowry spoke to “Think Out Loud” host Dave Miller. Press the play arrow above to listen to the conversation.
Oregon
Timeline video traces SB 1008’s impact on Oregon juvenile justice, viewers can watch now
Oregon’s juvenile justice system has been reshaped in recent years by a sweeping reform law that changed how the state handles minors accused of serious crimes.
Senate Bill 1008, which took effect in 2020, ended automatic transfers of juveniles into adult court and eliminated life without parole sentences for juveniles. The law also created “second-look” hearings and established parole eligibility after 15 years for certain offenders who committed crimes before turning 18.
To help explain the law and its impact, KVAL’s Frannie Pedersen put together a timeline video tracing the history of Senate Bill 1008, from the passage of Measure 11 in 1994 to the reforms that later reshaped Oregon’s juvenile justice system.
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The video breaks down how the law changed, why lawmakers pushed for reform, and how SB 1008 continues to influence Oregon’s justice system today. Viewers can watch the full video for a detailed timeline and explanation of the changes.
Oregon
New Jersey man sentenced in Oregon federal court for conspiring to distribute fentanyl
PORTLAND, Ore. — A New Jersey man was sentenced to federal prison last Friday for conspiring to distribute fentanyl, announced U.S. Attorney Scott E. Bradford for the District of Oregon.
Mark T. Eager, 34, was sentenced to 135 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release.
“This defendant showed a blatant disregard for human life by trafficking fentanyl across the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Bradford. “My office will continue to pursue those who profit from poisoning our communities, and we will use every available resource and partnership to combat fentanyl trafficking and keep Oregonians safe.”
“This investigation brought together law enforcement agencies from across the nation,” said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Seattle acting Special Agent in Charge April Miller. “Homeland Security Investigations special agents from Portland, Newark, and Houston contributed to the case, along with the Portland Police Bureau and HIDTA HIT officers, who were instrumental in identifying Eager. His 11-year sentence sends a clear message: no matter where you are in the country or the world, if you attempt to sell narcotics online to Americans, we will find you.”
“Fentanyl trafficking poses a grave threat to communities across the United States, and Homeland Security Investigations is committed to working with our partners to disrupt and dismantle the criminal networks responsible,” said HSI Houston Special Agent in Charge Lucia Cabral-DeArmas. “This case demonstrates the power of interagency collaboration under the Homeland Security Task Force initiative, leveraging resources from across the country to hold traffickers accountable and protect the American people. We will continue to pursue those who endanger lives through the distribution of dangerous synthetic opioids, and we remain steadfast in our mission to safeguard our communities from the violence and instability caused by transnational criminal organizations.”
“By following this offender’s digital trail, Homeland Security Investigations and our law enforcement partners nationwide executed federal search warrants, dismantled an active dark web fentanyl packaging operation and recovered deadly amounts of fentanyl, thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency, and a trove of electronic devices and packaging materials,” said HSI Newark Acting Special Agent in Charge Spiros Karabinas. “This case is a powerful example of how coordinated, data-driven investigations can disrupt dangerous networks and help protect our communities from lethal synthetic opioids.”
According to court documents, from November 2023 through June 2024, Eager and his co-conspirator sold fentanyl on the Dark Net and Telegram. Eager operated as the vendor WRSEH10 and marketed the fentanyl as “China White Synthetic Heroin.”
In June 2024, HSI agents executed search warrants on two residences associated with Eager in Kearny, New Jersey, and seized over 360 grams of powdered fentanyl, counterfeit M30 pills, drug ledgers, cellular phones, two computers, and drug packaging consistent with three deliveries that were sent to Oregon.
On September 4, 2024, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a four-count indictment charging Eager with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and distribution of fentanyl.
On February 4, 2026, Eager pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl.
HSI Portland and HSI Houston investigated this case with assistance from HSI Newark, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) and the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Interdiction Task Force (HIT). Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Kerin prosecuted the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey assisted the U.S. Attorney’s in Oregon in obtaining the search warrants that were executed in Kearny.
Oregon
4 Takeaways From Oregon State Baseball’s Run At The Eugene Regional
Oregon State’s season came to an end in Eugene on Sunday evening, after a rocky 7th inning doomed them against the 11th-ranked Oregon Ducks. The Beavers put up a valiant effort to try and fight their way back from the loser’s bracket, but they couldn’t accomplish this incredible feat that they pulled off in 2025.
A Bad Start Changed Everything
Winning the first game of a regional is almost a must if you want to advance, and this is where things started to go south.
After a nearly two-week layoff (since they didn’t have a conference tournament), OSU’s bats were rusty against a very solid left-hander in WSU’s Nick Lewis. Though the Beavers were able to put up a run early on, Lewis rolled with the punches and ended up throwing a complete game against the country’s seventh-ranked team. Though their bats came to life the next day, the uphill climb proved to be too much.
Pitching Wasn’t the Issue
Oregon State came into this tournament with the nation’s best ERA, and their starting rotation was exactly as advertised.
After a good outing from Kleinschmit on Friday afternoon, Eric Segura threw a 6.2 inning gem in an elimination game against Yale. True freshman Trey Morris threw 117 pitches in the rout of WSU early Saturday, and Wyatt Queen was excellent against the Ducks off of short rest later that evening.
The Power Just Wasn’t There
In today’s era of baseball where starting pitchers are so talented, it’s crucial to have guys that can get you runs with just one swing of the bat, especially when the man on the hill is striking a lot of people out.
Throughout the entirety of this season, the Beavers have not been a club that hits for much power, and this makes things difficult in the postseason. In four games across the Eugene regional, Oregon State didn’t hit a single ball out of the park. In 2026 they only hit a total of 55 homers, a stark contrast from the 107 of 2025’s Omaha year.
They Ran into a Good Team With a Deep Pitching Staff
In Mark Wasikowski’s tenure with the Ducks, his team’s pitching has often been a crutch that holds them back from big postseason runs. This certainly doesn’t seem to be the case this year.
Throughout the regional that they hosted, Oregon starters looked nearly untouchable. Will Sanford struck out 14 batters and didn’t allow a run against Washington State. Yesterday against the Beavers, left-hander Miles Gosztola was phenomenal, bouncing back after allowing a run in the second inning. The Ducks also have great relievers in guys like Tanner Bradley and Devin Bell. With a lot of reliable arms to go to, it would’ve been difficult to beat Oregon twice.
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