Gov. Brown forces child welfare director’s ouster

SALEM, Ore. (AP) – The head of Oregon’s troubled child welfare agency is retiring — effective immediately.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that Gov. Kate Brown forced the ouster of Marilyn Jones, who was in charge of improving safety for Oregon’s most vulnerable children, saying Jones had not made enough progress turning around the struggling child welfare division at the Department of Human Services.

Jones had held the job of state child welfare director for 18 months when the governor declared in April that Oregon’s child welfare system was still in “crisis.”

Brown installed an oversight board and hired a team of outside consultants to hold the agency accountable.

On Wednesday, the same day that the oversight board convened for its twice-monthly meeting, Brown said progress was not happening fast enough under Jones’ leadership.

Jones, who declined an interview request from the newspaper, left her position Wednesday.