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Foster care ombudsman tells committee one-person office is stretched thin
Summary
Alexis Amorelli, Oregon’s foster care ombudsman, told the House Committee on Early Childhood and Human Services she is the lone person in the role, described triage practices that prioritize youth voice and said she is open to coordinating with a neutral investigator appointed under a recent settlement.
At the committee’s informational meeting, Alexis Amorelli, who identified herself as Oregon’s foster care ombudsman, told members she is the sole staff person handling the position after a predecessor served for 10 years.
"I agree that it is a lot for one human," Amorelli told the committee. She described triage procedures that prioritize calls from youth and urgent safety matters. Amorelli said she fields calls statewide, attempts to return youth calls promptly by phone, email or text, and tries to keep calls about foster-care concerns within her office rather than diverting them elsewhere. She said the governor’s advocacy office maintains generalist ombuds staff who can provide backup in some cases.
Representative McIntyre asked whether Amorelli had interacted with the neutral investigator named in a recent settlement; Amorelli said she had not yet met Kevin Ryan but would be open to sharing information. Committee members expressed appreciation for the office’s work and acknowledged that a single staff person faces a heavy workload.
Amorelli said she seeks to increase outreach to hear youth voices directly and that doing so would require additional staffing and time for in-person engagement. She said she triages requests based on current child safety concerns and the urgency of issues and noted that reassignment or escalation occurs when immediate safety concerns are present.
