However, when compared to Oregon counties the prevalence of family factors in Josephine County is less for each of the most common factors. In general, parents with children entering care in Josephine County tend to exhibit fewer problems than parents with a child being removed elsewhere in Oregon. Fewer family factors are often associated with higher proportions of level 7 children. Subsequent case reviews have shown fewer level 7 children are placed into subsequent care in Josephine County in 1994 and 1995. Family factors, which provide a profile of family problems when a child is placed into foster care, can also be barriers to returning children home.
Barriers are family problems that require some resolution before a child is returned home.
Unlike family factors, barriers in Josephine County ten to be more prevalent than elsewhere in Oregon. Interestingly, children tend to be removed from less vulnerable situations and parents tend to exhibit few problems, yet there are more barriers to returning a child home. Resolving family barriers improves the chances of a child returning home. Services are designed to help families resolve barriers, reduce the potential for subsequent abuse, and minimize the impact of child maltreatment. The service most commonly offered to children in Josephine County is child counseling.