A lawsuit filed this week in federal court alleges that Oregon's foster care system has failed to protect the children in DHS care from abuse and further neglect. The federal court said Oregon's Department of Human Services violated federal and state law by not providing foster kids with permanent, long-term homes. DHS has had a difficult time at finding children homes, and has been housing children in hotels, homeless shelters and refurbished jail cells. The director of DHS said to lawmakers that he recognizes the agency has made mistakes but said the slip-ups don't constitute a system that is already broken. An attempt to contact the La Grande DHS on a local comment was unsuccessful.