Children in Oregon's rural counties are more likely to spend at least one day in the foster care system than those living in urban areas. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Associated Press.
According to an InvestigateWest analysis of public data from the state's child welfare agency, since at least 2020, rural counties have consistently accounted for the highest rates of foster care involvement in Oregon. Some southeastern communities see rates three times higher than Multnomah County, the state's most populous county. Though the total number of kids in foster care statewide has fallen during this time, rural counties saw a slightly slower decline than urban ones.
InvestigateWest analyzed five years of state data on the number of children from each county who spent time in the foster care system, calculating rates based on each county's population ages 17 and under. The analysis found that on average, rural counties placed kids in foster care at almost double the rate of urban areas.
The analysis tracks with recent research nationwide, which has suggested rural children are more likely to enter foster care than kids in urban areas, and that their parents were reported to child welfare for mistreatment at higher rates. Though the research focused on rural children is limited, experts and providers say their disproportionate representation in foster care reflects broader obstacles that families face in connecting to health care and social safety net services, despite having similar levels of need.
Behavioral health care, financial aid and childcare access have been shown to prevent child maltreatment, or help parents reunite with their kids after removal, by addressing the root cause. When these services are unavailable, concerned neighbors, doctors or teachers can more quickly turn to child welfare to try to help a child and their family. And caseworkers are left with few alternatives to the intervention of last resort — removal and placement in foster care.
"Rural areas have a harder time keeping kids out of the foster care system because of the lack of support," said Jeremy Harle, executive director of Kairos NW, a youth mental health provider that also runs foster care programs in rural communities along the Oregon coast. "Removal becomes the default response because the community lacks the resources at home."
Oregon's Department of Human Services, which oversees child welfare, has tried to expand access to such services as part of a 2024 settlement in a class action lawsuit over alleged mistreatment of kids in foster care. Among the changes, the state has rolled out new financial assistance and intensive support programs aimed at helping families avoid foster care placement, both before a child welfare case is opened and afterwards.
For advocates and providers who work in rural areas, questions remain about whether these efforts to keep families together are reaching their corner of the state. A May report to Gov. Tina Kotek noted that some of these newly expanded prevention programs are currently only available in a handful of counties — mostly along the Interstate 5 corridor.
Emily Cooper, legal director at Disability Rights Oregon, one of the groups that sued, said the state officials are taking the right steps to improve Oregon's child welfare system. But with services mostly concentrated on the western side of the state, there are still obstacles for struggling families in rural Oregon to get the assistance they need.
"There's a real promise that kids shouldn't have to leave their homes and communities to get the services they need," Cooper said.
Last year, more than 6,900 kids across Oregon spent at least one day in the foster care system, according to InvestigateWest's analysis of Department of Human Services data. This total includes kids who were only briefly in foster care, as well as those who have been in the system for several years.
The number has fallen considerably in recent years. In 2020, nearly 10,000 children spent time in foster care. The Department of Human Services has credited this decline to expanded preventative services and programs focused on keeping families together.