Gov. Kate Brown, other state leaders gather input at foster care forum
Connor Radnovich
Updated: A previous version of this article attributed a quote and paraphrased section to an incorrect Secretary of State employee.
It was a common refrain Monday evening: Tell us what's wrong, and then help us fix it.
"We want to do better, and we can do better, but we can only do that with you," Ormond Fredericks, district manager of the Marion County Child Welfare Office, said to a crowded room at an Oregon Department of Human Services office in northeast Salem.
Joined by Gov. Kate Brown, Secretary of State Dennis Richardson, DHS Director Fariborz Pakseresht and other state staff, nearly 120 community members and advocates shared concerns and brainstormed solutions for the state's troubled foster care system.
Suggestions included sharing successful practices and making sure foster parents have the necessary resources for placements coming on short notice. Among the most pressing imperatives mentioned was reducing the caseload for DHS social workers.
This was the 10th such event DHS has hosted this year across the state, with Monday's the largest so far and including the most state officials.
Also present, sitting at a table in the back of the room near the free sandwiches, wraps and bags of chips, were the Secretary of State auditors whose report is at least partially to thank for the increased focus on the system's problems.
Among the audit's key findings were "chronic and systemic management shortcomings" leading to a poor workplace culture and lack of accountability, overwhelming caseloads due to understaffing and high turnover, and an underwhelming foster parent recruitment system.
DHS officials agreed with the audit's findings and said that none of the shortcomings identified came as a surprise. What the audit did was bring the issue to the surface, they said.
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"We really appreciate the work you're doing," Brown told Richardson during her comments to the crowd.
After brief remarks from a few individuals, including Brown, the crowd separated to sit at tables with different areas of focus, such as community relationships or foster parent training and resources.
Brown spent her time listening at the community relationships table. One suggestion that emerged from the group was sharing more positive stories of foster care to combat a stigma that persists around the system.
Shaney Starr, executive director of CASA of Marion County, said that it's important foster parents and CASA volunteers feel supported — that they know what they're doing is beneficial and people value it.
Negative connotations around the foster care system hurt foster parents and stay with children who are in the system, she said. She said it's also important to stop referring to them as "foster kids," rather as "kids in foster care" — similar to how homeless advocates now prefer the phrase "person experiencing homelessness" as opposed to "homeless person."
"At the end of the day, they’re children. They’re our kids," she said. "I don’t want them to think of themselves as 'foster kids.'"
At the Secretary of State's table, community members had the opportunity to ask questions of the auditors themselves, but many just wanted to show appreciation.
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One woman called the audit "one of the most accurate reports I've seen." Another described it as "harshly accurate, but not unfair."
Audits Director Kip Memmott said this audit was particularly difficult because of the scope and the lack of data to actually audit. Ultimately they decided to use a story to drive the audit and put a face to the issue.
"Elected officials can ignore words. It's hard to ignore faces," he said.
At the end of the two hours, what many took away was that they had access to top government officials who are interested in fixing the foster care system.
"Having those entities and people in the same room working on the same issue, to me, was really inspiring and I hope other people felt the same," Starr said. "We’re all part of ‘team kid.'"
Contact the reporter at cradnovich@statesmanjournal.com or