The Oregon Department of Human Services has agreed to a historic settlement in a class action lawsuit filed on behalf of the state’s foster children that will hold state agencies more accountable to improve care for Oregon’s most vulnerable young people.
The state agency, which is responsible for caring for more than 4,600 foster children, agreed to work with outside experts to improve areas such as placing children in appropriate homes, preventing mistreatment and abuse, and ensuring quality medical and mental health care. The work will take several years. The outside experts’ role at the agency could last up to 10 years, with the possibility of being extended, according to the agreement.
The settlement marks the latest chapter in years of scrutiny of Oregon’s embattled foster care system, which has come under fire for transferring vulnerable children to questionable out-of-state facilities, placing them in hotels and hiring outside contractors like Dynamic Life without adequate vetting. Advocacy groups representing the children and state government agencies announced the settlement on Friday.
“This lawsuit has always been about providing children in foster care with what they need to recover from trauma and thrive: stability, safety and care from the adults in their lives,” Jake Cornett, executive director and CEO of Disability Rights Oregon, said in a statement. “Now, more than five years later, we’re grateful that Gov. Tina Kotek and the Department of Human Services see the potential in working together to improve Oregon’s foster care system.”
The agreement ends a five-year litigation by lawyers from the advocacy group Disability Rights Oregon and the national nonprofit A Better Childhood who represented foster children in a 2019 lawsuit against the state in U.S. District Court in Eugene.
The lawsuit alleges that the Oregon Department of Human Services, Director Fariborz Pakselesht and Child Welfare Commissioner Apryl Flint Garner failed to keep foster children safe and protect them from trauma, including frequent transfers between foster homes and a lack of adequate medical care and other services.
“I appreciate all those involved in this litigation working together to find a way to achieve our shared goal of improving conditions for Oregon’s children and families,” Pakseresht said in a statement. “This agreement is a testament to the progress we’ve made in child welfare over the past few years and allows us to focus on the important work ahead.”
The lawsuit was initiated based on the records of 10 children who are currently or formerly in foster care. A federal judge granted the lawsuit class-action status in 2022 on behalf of all foster children in Oregon.
Children suffering under the state system
The stories of children in the system are at the heart of this case.
The lawsuit’s initial allegations focused in part on the records of Wyatt, then 3, and his brother Noah, then 18 months old. The brothers were moved between facilities six times within three weeks, and eventually the facilities moved them to different homes. The frequent moves and separations took their toll on the children. Wyatt had fits of kicking, punching and screaming; Noah had night terrors and needed constant attention.
The other, Norman, was 17 when the lawsuit began. By that time, he had been transferred to at least 50 facilities, including one in Idaho where he was restrained by staff, beaten by other youths and had his nose broken, denied necessary mental health services and was not allowed to practice his Native American cultural traditions or grow his hair long, according to the lawsuit.
Naomi, who was 16 at the time, had been in and out of shelters for homeless youth because authorities couldn’t find her anywhere else to take her.
To prevent others from having the same experience, lawyers for the advocacy groups have sued the Oregon Department of Human Services.
Emily Cooper, legal director for Disability Rights Oregon, said five of the original 10 children have now turned 18 and are no longer in the system, four have been adopted and one is still in the system.
But they still see value in sharing their stories: Cooper said one of them cried all night after reading a copy of the settlement and learning that if the agreement’s promises had been fulfilled as a child, she would not have been so traumatized.
“It was a really moving reminder that the legal system is really tricky and that not only do you get a victory like this, but it takes a long time for that victory to actually come to fruition,” Cooper said in an interview.
Pakseresht declined an interview request from Capital Chronicle.
Rather than seeking a financial settlement for the children, the lawsuit pressured the state to make systemic changes to help Oregon better support young people in the midst of traumatic experiences.
Lawyers representing the state fought the effort in court for five years, paying up to $18 million in legal fees with taxpayer money, primarily from the Portland law firm Markowitz Herbold, in an effort to have the case dismissed.
The agreement comes months after the state settled another major lawsuit brought by former foster children. In December, the Oregon Department of Human Services agreed to pay $40 million to settle a separate lawsuit brought by four former foster children who said they were physically and sexually abused in the home.
Jake Sunderland, a spokesman for the Oregon Department of Human Services, said it will take five years for Oregon to ensure the program remains in place, which focuses on supporting families and preventing children and youth from entering foster care in the first place.
“Our focus on prevention and protecting families is consistent with national best practices and will improve equity,” Sunderland said in an email. “This is not an overnight job.”
Payment details
Under the agreement, the Oregon Department of Human Services and lawyers for the plaintiffs have until May 31 to select a neutral, outside expert to guide the state’s activities over the next few years.
The state will contract with experts to work on meaningful improvements in areas such as reducing the rate at which children are abused in foster care, improving quality foster care, and ensuring that children receive timely medical, dental, and mental health screenings after they are placed in state care. The state and experts will also work together to reduce the rate at which children leave and re-enter the foster care system.
The first expert review is scheduled to occur by April 20, 2025. Annual reviews will continue annually until experts determine the Oregon Department of Human Services is in compliance with the standards or after 10 years, whichever comes first. Experts may then recommend an extension for up to two years.
The Oregon Department of Human Services also agreed to enter into mediation to determine the amount of attorneys’ fees it owes to the plaintiffs for the duration of the litigation, and the state also agreed to pay up to $150,000 per year in attorneys’ fees to Disability Rights Oregon and A Better Childhood for the duration of the settlement.
Cooper said the settlement allowed the state to avoid further legal costs in court.
Facing a class action lawsuit, the Oregon Department of Homeland Security sent out email subpoenas before the senators were due to testify.
A long-running incident
Earlier this month, the case was set to go to trial May 13 in federal court in Eugene, with testimony expected from Pakseresht, other agency administrators and outside experts.
On May 10, the court gave both sides an additional week to reach a settlement agreement before the trial begins.
By then, the case had taken an unusual turn when the Oregon Department of Human Services subpoenaed Sarah Gelser Bruin, a Democratic senator from Corvallis, for nine years of emails and other communications with foster children and advocates. The subpoena was so extensive it even sought communications from celebrity Paris Hilton, who had testified before Gelser Bruin’s Senate Human Services Committee on child issues.
The subpoenas came as lawyers for the plaintiffs planned to have Gelser Bruin, the chair of the Senate Human Resources Committee, testify at the trial. The Oregon Disability Rights Coalition criticized the move as a state targeting Gelser Bruin, who has called for reforms to the agency.
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