Oregon child welfare director resigns

SALEM, Ore. (AP) – The child welfare director of the Oregon Department of Human Services has resigned after less than a year on the job.

The Statesman Journal reports (https://goo.gl/mDmwxr ) that Lena Alhusseini’s resignation comes just weeks after she outlined her vision for the state’s child welfare system.

Alhusseini moved from New York to take the job after Lois Day was fired in 2016. In a news release, department director Clyde Saiki said that he respects her vision for child welfare, but that the agency had not been able to achieve the results it wanted.

Gov. Kate Brown requested an audit of the department in 2016. It found there was a rush to certify foster homes – a move that was scrutinized for being a safety concern for children. Agency reports that found foster children in Oregon were being abused nearly double the national median rate.