SALEM, Ore. (AP) - Oregon's foster care system has failed to shield children from abuse and they are sometimes forced to stay in refurbished jail cells and homeless shelters, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday.
The 77-page complaint filed in U.S. District Court details stories of foster children being neglected or harmed while under Department of Human Services care, including a 16-year-old girl sent to a juvenile jail after she had previously tried to kill herself.
The agency has weathered years criticism over the way it treats children and has paid out tens of millions of dollars to settle previous complaints.
The lawsuit also comes as the state agency fights off criticism from lawmakers over a recent news report that found a 9-year-old girl had been placed in an out-of-state residential facility in Montana, where she was injected with Benadryl to control her behavior and went without visits from a caseworker for six months. More than 80 children are housed outside Oregon.
To read the full article, written by Sarah Zimmerman, click HERE
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