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THREAD: Washington and California this week severed ties with Sequel Youth and Family Services.
I first learned Oregon was sending youth placed in foster care to facilities out of state in February of 2019.
I first learned Oregon was sending youth placed in foster care to facilities out of state in February of 2019.
At the time, Oregon Child Welfare officials would only tell me the states where the children were located. They wouldn’t give me the name of the actual facilities or any other details.
Child Welfare officials hadn’t alerted anyone they were sending kids across state lines, not even lawmakers.
I filed a public records request (which wasn’t fulfilled for months).
But in the interim, I got a call from an anonymous source. I still have no idea the man’s name.
I filed a public records request (which wasn’t fulfilled for months).
But in the interim, I got a call from an anonymous source. I still have no idea the man’s name.
I met him in a coffee shop in NE Portland and he handed me a piece of folded-up paper.
It had a list of all the facilities where the kids were being sent.
It had a list of all the facilities where the kids were being sent.
It took a while to piece it all together, but eventually, over time, it became apparent the majority of the kids were being sent to facilities owned or operated by one company: Sequel Youth and Family Services.
All of this is happening to some of the most vulnerable youth in the country.
Background: https://www.opb.org/news/article/oregon-foster-care-abuse-neglect-sequel/
Background: https://www.opb.org/news/article/oregon-foster-care-abuse-neglect-sequel/
The company operates facilities in states across the country. You could fill a book with the stories of abuse that has now been uncovered at these facilities, from physical violence, to sexual assault to improper restraints. https://www.apmreports.org/story/2020/09/28/for-profit-sequel-facilities-children-abused
After a lot of media and legislative pressure, after a 16-year-old died and after even more alleged sexual abuse against Oregon kids was revealed, Oregon cut ties with Sequel. #orpol #orleg
Earlier this week, Washington state did the same. And now, it looks like Sequel will be losing their biggest customer, the state of California.
Anyway, that gets me back to the beginning of this tweet thread.
Anyway, that gets me back to the beginning of this tweet thread.
When Oregon wouldn’t tell me where they were sending the kids, they cited child privacy laws. It’s incredibly difficult to get information (often for good reason) about kids in the state’s system.
But it’s also an easy way for adults to use those laws - meant to protect children - to instead, protect themselves.
And that is certainly what happened here.
#breakingcodesilence
And that is certainly what happened here.
#breakingcodesilence
