Oregon to pay $2 million in abuse case

The Associated Press

SALEM, Ore. — The Oregon Department of Human Services has agreed to pay $2 million for the future care of twins allegedly abused by their foster parents to the point that they will need care for the rest of their lives.

According to a 2007 federal lawsuit, Kaylie and Jordan Collins were kept in cribs covered with chicken wire secured by duct tape in a darkened bedroom known as "the dungeon."

The lawsuit said the brother and sister often were without food, water or human touch. The boy, who had a shunt put into his head at birth to drain fluid, didn't receive medical attention and hit his head against his crib to relieve the pressure. When police and child welfare workers rescued the twins from the Gresham foster home, he was nearly comatose.

Jordan, now 6 1/2, has brain damage, still wears a diaper and can't talk. Kaylie can say 25 to 50 words. Both are in the bottom 1 percent developmentally of children their age.

The Oregonian said the twins are among about 100 Oregon foster children who are abused or neglected each year while under the supervision of the state, according to DHS. But few suits are filed because the children's injured or dead children's parents are often out of the picture.

"I don't think many of these kids have a champion," said Greg Kafoury, a prominent civil attorney in Portland. Kafoury said that without the threat of legal action, the state agency has little incentive to change.

Attorney David Paul sued on behalf of the twins' adoptive mother in Michigan, seeking $12.8 million.

Paul said the twins, who were born prematurely in August 2002, arrived at the foster home of Gail and Marvin Thompson and stayed about three years.

The Thompsons, both in their 60s, had successfully fostered scores of children, the state says. Since March 2004, state policy has required caseworkers to have face-to-face contact with children at least once a month, but Paul said they often skipped visits, sometimes phoning instead.

Paul said that, according to police reports, the floor of the children's room was covered in garbage and their sheets were saturated in dried excrement and urine. The windows of the room were blacked out.

One caseworker noted that while visiting the home, the children were brought into a common room where they squinted at the daylight. State workers also didn't make sure the Thompsons were regularly taking Jordan to the neurologist, according to Paul.

Paul said the Thompsons were getting up to $90,000 a year tax-free for caring for up to six children at a time.

In 2004, Gov. Ted Kulongoski ordered DHS to explain what went wrong whenever a child dies or is seriously injured under state supervision or after abuse was reported. DHS has issued 16 such reports, but not one for Kaylie and Jordan Collins.

The child welfare division of DHS is understaffed by 19 percent and faces more cuts. The state would need to add 407 employees to adequately take care of the current caseload, according to a state analysis.

The neglect came to light after three 2005 Thanksgiving dinner guests including at least two relatives reported the Thompsons to authorities.

The Multnomah County district attorney's office, citing privacy laws, declined to say why they didn't prosecute.

Marvin Thompson, reached by phone, said the allegations are almost entirely false.

He said he and his wife didn't keep the children in a darkened room, but covered the cribs with a mesh, not chicken wire, for the children's safety.

But DHS said the Thompsons deceived child welfare workers. "The family went to elaborate lengths to hide the abuse, including having a fake nursery on display to deceive visitors and DHS caseworkers," said Patty Wentz, a department spokeswoman.

The state is not admitting any wrongdoing. The caseworkers for the twins, Elisa Deserano and Tammy Stanfill, still work for the agency.

Wentz said caseworkers saw the children 39 times over three years but that it was not clear how many of those visits were in the home and not at a state office.

Wentz said her office has created new policies and clarified existing ones to require case workers to visit homes every two months and see children face to face at least once a month.

If the settlement is approved by a judge, Paul's law firm will collect 33 percent of the $2 million for its two years of work and $500,000 will be immediately available for Kaylie and Jordan's benefit.

The rest will go into a fund that is expected to grow to $4 million over the children's lifetimes.

Paul said the twins are thriving in their new lives, on a farmhouse and land in Michigan.