Oregon DHS faces lawsuit over boy’s abuse

GRESHAM, Ore. (AP) – The Oregon Department of Human Services faces a $1.5 million lawsuit filed on behalf of a 7-year-old boy who was placed in his father’s care despite a court order banning the man from seeing his two younger sons.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reports Robert A. Lamb of Gresham is charged with six felony counts for the alleged abuse of his son.

The lawsuit alleges a background check on Lamb should have turned up a conviction in 2008 for strangling his girlfriend and a 2016 restraining order involving his other children.

Christine Stone, a DHS spokeswoman, says a child is never placed in care before a background check is done.

The agency is clearing a backlog of 15,000 unprocessed background checks.

Twenty-four workers have been hired to do that and six more will be added.

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Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com