State hides from public more deaths of children on its watch as lawmakers plan reforms

Oregon child welfare officials concealed reviews into the deaths of two children on its watch, including one girl shot and killed in foster care, by claiming their deaths fell through a loophole in public reporting laws.

The Department of Human Services insisted in December that it had no obligation to tell the public about the 2017 deaths of Payshience “Tia” Adams or Colin Valencia, because case workers had concluded neither child died by neglect or abuse -- despite criminal charges of aggravated murder in both cases.

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