State investigates response to child abuse in Oregon

State investigates response to child abuse in Oregon
Reported by: The Associated Press
Published: 11/26 1:25 pm
Last Update: 11/26 1:28 pm

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — A top Oregon child welfare official wants to expand the use of a special team to investigate foster care abuse.

The Oregon Critical Incident Response Team was created six years ago at the state Department of Human Services.

So far, it has launched 26 investigations, targeting cases where children died or were severely injured in the hands of their biological parents.

But The Register-Guard reports that Assistant DHS Director Erinn Kelley-Siel, who runs the agency's Children, Adults and Families Division, wants to add discretionary investigations into foster care abuse as a prevention tool.

She told the Eugene newspaper the state child welfare agency should have a regular system to review foster care abuse and possibly avoid future tragedies.

Being an Oregonian myself, I look skeptically at anything this evil agency says.