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Good morning, Northwest.

For years, Oregon’s child welfare system surpassed national averages for how often kids in state custody are mistreated.

State officials have explained the disparity by noting Oregon’s data set is more inclusive than other states. But OPB’s Lauren Dake dug into state data from previous years, and found that their explanation doesn’t hold up against the numbers.

In other news, OPB’s Winston Szeto unveils how an Oregon entrepreneur helped shape modern frozen food.

Here’s your First Look at Wednesday’s news.

— Sukhjot Sal

Top Story

Abuse in Oregon’s foster care reaches all-time high. State vows to figure out why and improve

In 2025, the rate of children in Oregon’s child welfare system being seriously harmed — physically, emotionally or sexually — reached an all-time high.

That’s noteworthy since it came on the heels of a long-running class-action lawsuit, which was settled in May 2024 on the eve of a trial. The primary goal of the lawsuit: to reduce the rate of children being abused in care. The state spent millions of taxpayer dollars defending itself.

There are about 4,600 kids total placed in foster care in the state. The rate of mistreatment is the number of reported incidents per 100,000 care days, according to state records. Oregon’s rate has increased by 21.3% since 2022.

In response to questions from OPB about the data, agency officials said they are working to better understand what is causing the increase. (Lauren Dake)

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3 Things to Know

1. Data centers and other large industrial power users in Oregon will soon pay more to access electricity through Portland General Electric. This comes after state utility regulators issued an order last week under Oregon’s POWER Act, which creates a new rate class for these large energy users requiring them to pay for their share of electricity usage. (Monica Samayoa)
2. Later this month, former Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office deputy Tyler Anderson will face a state review over allegations of misconduct and dishonesty on the job. That process could lead to the state stripping Anderson of his credentials to serve in Oregon law enforcement, a requirement for sheriffs. (Jen Baires)
3. Over the last three years, Portland Public Schools has had to cut about $115.5 million dollars from its budget. But as the district has cut costs across more than 80 schools in the state’s largest district, one line item has jumped: “purchased services,” or spending. (Elizabeth Miller)

Northwest Headlines

• Rekindled Portland Fire show ‘something special’ in buzzer-beating win over NY Liberty (Kyra Buckley)

• Why did Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek call GOP candidate Chris Dudley? (Lauren Dake)

• Portland could close more than 950 shelter beds under mayor’s budget (Alex Zielinski)

• 3 Seattle area residents being monitored for hantavirus (Sami West, KUOW)

• Eugene police chief identifies officer in bodycam video, acknowledges public outrage (Brian Bull, KLCC)

• Jackson County welcomes Oregon’s first floating solar project (Justin Higginbottom, JPR)

Think Out Loud

Listen in on OPB’s daily conversation.

Noon and 8 p.m. weekdays on OPB Radio, opb.org and the OPB News app.

Today’s planned topics:

Topics subject to change.

• DA races in Oregon go uncontested for the first time in decades

• Former timber town in rural Oregon faces extreme debt

• Two perspectives on Southern Oregon University’s latest financial crisis

One More Look

How this Oregon entrepreneur helped shape the modern frozen food industry

Daria Loy-Goto has been a lawyer for more than three decades and now serves as the deputy auditor for the state of Hawaii. She still remembers her first-ever part-time job at her father’s business in Oregon, work that had nothing to do with law or accounting.

“Dad said I was maybe five or six years old. They would put me on a stool, and my job was to push the button that would turn the conveyor belt on and off. At one point, somebody said: ‘Boy, you’re really good at that.’ And I reportedly said: ‘Great, now I’m gonna have to do this for the rest of my life,’” said Loy-Goto, 60. “Dad just thought that was really delightful.”

Her father, Percy Loy, was the co-founder of the now-defunct frozen food manufacturer Kubla Khan. The company’s food processing plant, located at 3617 SE 17th Ave. in Portland, was sold in 2001 as the business wound down.

At its peak, however, the plant produced thousands of frozen meals — such as chicken fried rice, chop suey and sukiyaki — that revolutionized how millions of Americans ate and thought about Asian cuisines. (Winston Szeto)

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News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/05/13/opbs-first-look-oregon-foster-care-abuse-at-its-peak/