Troubled foster care facility focus of legislative hearing

SALEM, Ore. (AP) – Oregon child welfare officials say foster children kept at a converted juvenile detention center in Klamath Falls were subjected to strip searches and unwanted physical contact.

The Department of Human Services, which oversees the state’s foster care program, said at a legislative hearing Thursday that it will be more selective about who it sends to the Youth Inspiration Program in Klamath Falls.

The facility is the target of a federal lawsuit that alleges children were kept in refurbished jail cells and that staff limited girls’ access to tampons. DHS said it will now only send children to the facility if they have had contact with the juvenile justice system.

The department said it will create a small team dedicated to better matching children to facilities that provide intensive behavioral services.