Oregon
Oregon lawmaker, advocates comment on foster care after FOX 12 investigation
PORTLAND, Ore. (KPTV) – FOX 12 Investigates has obtained data showing that state investigators rule abuse and neglect allegations from foster children as “unfounded” in nearly all cases.
Through a public records request, the FOX 12 Investigates team learned that from 2019-2023, there were 2,415 Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) investigations into alleged abuse and neglect by foster parents towards their foster children. Of all those investigations, over 88% of those allegations were determined to be unfounded, and just about 12% founded.
In emotional stories from former foster youth who FOX 12 spoke with, all say this trend does not surprise them.
Oregon state senator, Sara Gelser Blouin (D-Corvallis), who also chairs the Senate Human Services Committee, has worked on child welfare legislation for years, specifically trying to improve the quality of foster care in Oregon. FOX 12 Investigates presented our findings to the senator showing that even after a thorough audit of ODHS and the foster care system in 2018, abuse and neglect allegations by children in foster care went unfounded nearly all the time.
“There has been tremendous resistance from the agency and providers to look at, whether it’s abuse data or licensing data, through a lens of curiosity, to find out how do we make these services better,” said Gelser Blouin.
The senator has helped pass legislation in the past designed to improve how ODHS to conduct abuse and neglect investigations within the foster care system. Gelser Blouin says despite changes she pushed for, there are still gray areas in these investigations.
“Just because something is unfounded doesn’t mean that the child was not accurate in what they reported,” she said. “It could be that there was conflicting information and therefore they couldn’t come to a substantiated finding.”
Gelser Blouin says abuse and neglect investigations specifically look for evidence needed to prove an allegedly abusive foster parent broke the law.
“The question isn’t was the child mis-treated? Was the child harmed? Is the child uncomfortable? The question is: did this person that’s alleged to have committed the abuse do something that is a violation of what is explicitly written in the statute?”
In response to FOX 12′s reporting on the ODHS data on abuse and neglect investigations in foster care, an ODHS spokesperson sent the following statement:
“The data provided to KPTV is not troubling – instead, it shows that the vast majority of resource (foster) parents in Oregon provide safe and supportive homes to children experiencing foster care. In Oregon, cases of abuse by foster parents are rare…
We feel empathy and compassion for the traumas experienced by children in foster care, and ODHS is committed to listening and responding to the concerns they have…
Oregon has made significant progress since the 2018 Secretary of State audit…. including in child safety, resource (foster) parent recruitment and support, and using data to improve outcomes for children.”
The FOX 12 Investigates team also shared our findings with Hannah Royal, another former foster youth. In the past, Royal has testified on behalf of the organization, Oregon Foster Youth Connection, in front of Oregon state lawmakers in Salem with the hopes of improving the quality of foster care. She says foster children’s complaints leading to unfounded investigations is nothing new.
“I think that there’s a stigma against foster youth for being like just untruthful people in general,” said Royal. “And so the fact that so many of them went unfounded doesn’t really surprise me.”
Royal feels a critical solution is improving the staffing of DHS case workers, who are supposed to be assigned to each foster child and check in with them regularly. Royal also feels more guidance is needed for foster children on recognizing what abuse looks like.
“I think the biggest trend is, a lot of them don’t even feel comfortable reporting that sort of abuse or like, they’re not even sure what is the line between the normal treatment of (a) parent to child, and where’s the line of that actual abuse and neglect.”
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Oregon
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.
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.
Oregon
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.
“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.
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.
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Oregon
Oregon women’s basketball playing for March Madness seeding vs. Purdue
Hear Oregon women’s Graves, Etute and Fiso after loss to Washington
The Oregon Ducks women’s basketball team finishes the regular season with a March 1 home loss to Washington.
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).
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.
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.
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.
| 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.
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