InvestigateWest对俄勒冈州儿童福利机构公开数据的分析显示，自2020年以来，该州农村县的儿童寄养参与率持续位居全州最高，其平均比例几乎是城市地区的两倍 1。2025年，俄勒冈州有超过6900名儿童在寄养系统中度过至少一天，较2020年的近10000名有所减少 1。2022年至2025年间，全州寄养儿童总数下降约11%，其中城市县下降12%，农村县下降约9% 1。具体到各县，2025年马尔赫尔县的儿童寄养率最高，约为每35名儿童中有1名，莱克县和格兰特县分别为每36名和每42名儿童中有1名 1。相比之下，人口最多的马尔特诺马县寄养率约为每122名儿童中有1名，部分东南部社区的寄养率甚至达到该县的三倍 1。莱恩县则是唯一寄养率与农村县相当的城市县，约为每72名儿童中有1名 1。同年，48%进入寄养系统的儿童（约3310名）来自波特兰都会区三县、莱恩县和马里恩县 1。
在2025年进入寄养系统的儿童中，约56%因疏忽被移出家庭 1。专家指出，农村家庭在获取医疗、心理健康、经济援助和儿童保育等社会服务方面面临更大障碍，导致寄养成为默认干预手段 1。为应对这一问题，俄勒冈州人力服务部在2024年集体诉讼和解后，推出了新的经济援助和密集支持项目 1。然而，目前的预防项目仅在I-5走廊沿线和俄勒冈海岸的少数县开展，农村地区的覆盖依然有限 1。
An analysis by InvestigateWest of public data from the Oregon child welfare agency reveals that children in the state's rural counties enter the foster care system at significantly higher rates than those in urban areas 1. Since 2020, rural counties have consistently maintained the highest foster care participation rates statewide, with an average entry rate nearly double that of urban regions 1. The disparity is particularly stark in certain southeastern communities, where foster care rates are three times higher than in Multnomah County, the most populous county in the state 1. In 2025, Malheur County recorded the highest foster care rate at approximately one in 35 children, followed by Lake County at one in 36 and Grant County at one in 42 1. By comparison, the rate in Multnomah County was about one in 122 children, while Lane County was the only urban county with a rate comparable to rural areas, at roughly one in 72 1.
Although the overall number of children in the system has decreased, the gap between rural and urban areas persists 1. In 2025, more than 6,900 children spent at least one day in Oregon's foster care system, a decrease from nearly 10,000 children in 2020 1. Between 2022 and 2025, the statewide foster care population dropped by approximately 11%, with urban counties seeing a 12% decline and rural counties experiencing a 9% reduction 1. Of the children entering the system in 2025, 48%—roughly 3,310 youths—came from the three Portland metropolitan counties, Lane County, and Marion County 1. Additionally, about 56% of the children entering foster care in 2025 were removed from their homes due to neglect 1.
Experts note that rural families face substantial obstacles in accessing vital social services such as healthcare, mental health treatment, financial assistance, and childcare, often making foster care the default intervention 1. Following a class-action lawsuit settlement in 2024, the Oregon Department of Human Services launched new economic assistance and intensive support programs aimed at prevention 1. However, these initiatives are currently restricted to a few counties along the I-5 corridor and the Oregon coast, leaving rural areas with limited access to these preventive services 1.
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