On July 29, Kevin Ryan, the Neutral appointed as part of the settlement of the Wyatt B. v. Kotek lawsuit, provided the U.S. District Court and the parties with his “Initial Review” as outlined in the settlement agreement. The review identifies measures that will be used to track Oregon’s progress related to six areas in Child Welfare noted in the settlement agreement.
“We are pleased to be at this point in the Wyatt B. v. Kotek settlement and appreciate Kevin Ryan’s expertise in improving outcomes for children and young adults,” said Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) Director Fariborz Pakseresht. “We are carefully reviewing the initial report, including assessing the feasibility of the reporting expectations defined. We look forward to continued collaboration to make improvements that better the lives of children in foster care.”
Over the past nine months, Ryan reviewed Oregon’s child welfare data and worked with the ODHS and the plaintiffs in the lawsuit to determine the most appropriate measures to track improvement around the six items noted in the lawsuit. These areas include:
- Reducing the number of children and young adults who are harmed after they enter foster care.
- Improving communication with state courts, attorneys, children and young adults, and their families when harms do occur.
- Making sure children and young adults get medical and mental health assessments, and timely referrals for medical and mental health care.
- Improving the quality of placements and services for children and young adults.
- Lowering the number of children and young adults who come back into foster care.
- Improving how quickly children and young adults get case plans after entering care. Case plans outline the expectations for the child's parents and other family members, services and referrals Child Welfare will provide, routine contact with the child's parents, preparation of reports to the court and other service providers, and timelines for each part of the plan.
ODHS worked with Ryan to identify 14 measures that Oregon will report on regularly to show progress toward goals specified in the report.
“Keeping children safe and supporting families and communities is our top priority, and I look forward to the work ahead,” said Interim Child Welfare Director Rolanda Garcia.
