American Indian and Alaska Native children are six times more likely to be placed in Oregon foster care than white children, according to a report from Portland State University.

Based on child abuse reports from 2008, along with data on children in foster care between October 1, 2008, and March 31, 2009, researchers found that abuse cases involving Native families were less likely be investigated than those involving black or white families. Native children stayed in foster care for years, much longer than most other groups.

Overall, Native children accounted for 10 percent of foster care cases in the state. Yet they represent just 1.3 percent of Oregon's child population.

Get the Story:
Blacks, Native Americans more likely to go to foster care (The Oregonian 9/29)

Portland State University Report:
DOC: Disproportionality and Disparities in Oregon’s Child Welfare System (September 2009)