State Senator Sara Gelser of Corvallis has proposed legislation that would require out-of-state foster care programs to meet the same standards as those in Oregon.
For some time, Gelser has been monitoring Sequel Youth and Family Services, an Alabama-based company that is the sole outside foster care contractor for Oregon’s Department of Human Services. As of last December, 20 Oregonian foster children were under the care of Sequel facilities located in Idaho, Iowa, Michigan and Utah.
After spending much of the previous year investigating the company’s practices and touring their facilities, Gelser has introduced Senate Bill 1566, which would implement a licensing system with stringent requirements for out-of-state care providers.
Facilities would be forbidden from employing extreme discipline, which Gelser told The Oregonian is “a place right now where we have some disconnects.” They would also be required to use a child’s preferred pronouns.
Furthermore, the bill requires the DHS to verify that a child is in need of intensive care before committing them to a psychiatric residential treatment facility, such as Sequel’s Northern Illinois Academy, which Gelser found was rife with abuse.
Finally, foster care contractors would need to permit the DHS to investigate child abuse allegations on-site. Any violations uncovered would then be reported to other states.
“That’s a big blind spot in these programs,” Gelser said. “There’s no regulator who really has a full picture of what’s really happening in a facility.”
Sequel has not yet commented on HB 1566, but earlier in January their chief executive Chris Roussos wrote an opinion piece for the Oregonian addressing her criticisms, which stated “We will not be distracted by political campaigns that use misleading information or fail to provide the proper context around what are extraordinarily difficult and sensitive issues.”
By Brandon Urey
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