The Ashley and Miranda report
08/01/03
A year ago this month, investigators searching for two missing Oregon City girls recovered the remains of the two middle-schoolers -- Ashley Pond, 12, and Miranda Gaddis, 13 -- in the back yard of a friend's father. This man, Ward Weaver, will be tried in 2004.
Near the anniversary of this gruesome discovery, we find that two child-protection workers who mishandled allegations that Weaver abused Ashley -- allegations that could have triggered closer scrutiny of Weaver -- are being treated with TLC.
The state tried to fire both workers, but a judge ruled that demotion was more suitable for one. So the state has decided to demote both. In our view, this is a mighty soft landing.
At least it's not the end of the story.
The state is working to build more redundancy into the child-protective system. It has beefed up training, reorganized and added more supervisers. Even some discarded complaints are now being double-checked to make sure something wasn't missed.
Other reforms include tightened timelines and a new triage system that classifies complaints as "immediate" or needing a same-day response; "impending," needing a response within 24 hours; or "required," needing a response within five days. And instead of requiring face-to-face meetings with children every 90 days, they'll be seen every 30 days. That's much better.
What's still needed is an annual look at the agency to ensure these reforms are truly working. Spur employees to spot holes, speak out, add their ideas and help strengthen the system to protect Oregon's children.
Call it the "Ashley and Miranda" report.
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