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Michael Dunne: I'm Michael Dunne. Holt International, based in Eugene, is a globally recognized adoption organization that helps families find children all over the world. The service it offers can help build families and make the dreams of some parents come true. But as you'll hear, for one family, their interaction with Holt International was a nightmare. Today on the show, you'll hear from a reporter at The Register-Guard who broke the story of what happened when a family found out that the child they were adopting through Holt had undisclosed mental health challenges of such a nature that the parents feared for her safety and their own. Then, in the second part of the show, our own Zac Ziegler will join us to talk about several interesting stories that give a reading on the housing and real estate market in our community. Haleigh Kochanski is a breaking news and public safety reporter for The Register-Guard. Haleigh, great to see you. Thanks so much for coming in.
Haleigh Kochanski: Happy to be here.
Dunne: A very large and exhaustive piece that you did involving Eugene's Holt International and a family. Let's start here. For folks who may not know, remind them what Holt International is and what it does.
Kochanski: Holt International is a locally based international adoption services agency founded in 1956 by Harry and Bertha Holt in the wake of the Korean War.
Dunne: OK, so they're one of the biggest names in global adoption, right?
Kochanski: Right.
Dunne: Yeah. So why don't you tell the audience who the Irwins and the Colasantis are?
Kochanski: Right. Benjamin Irwin and Angela Colasanti are a Pennsylvania family who sued Holt International in 2025, alleging they were coerced into adopting a child from Thailand with severe psychiatric and behavioral health needs beyond what they could reasonably accommodate.
Dunne: Take us through their allegations, how this could happen. Maybe set up the process by which they engaged with Holt International to adopt a child, and take us through what, according to their allegations, went wrong.
Kochanski: Right. Irwin and Colasanti were matched with a then-7-year-old girl identified in court documents as K.R. in 2021 through the Holt Thailand Special Needs Program, where children are labeled as having minor to moderate physical and developmental needs. They engaged with this process having had experience with international adoption, through their daughter from China.
Dunne: So it sounds like, correct me if I'm wrong, there were different levels or degrees of challenge here. This child was identified as having some special needs, but the family alleges it was a lot more severe than they were led to believe. Is that the crux of it?
Kochanski: Right. The parents were first told that the child had ADHD, which would resolve or improve with medication. However, through multiple hospital visits, they came to learn that she had Turner syndrome, hyperlipidemia, an intellectual and developmental disability, an anxiety disorder, a latent tuberculosis infection, Hashimoto's disease and several other conditions.
Dunne: So a whole list of really challenging diagnoses, as best you were able to determine. Was there a process by which the family could see for themselves what this child might be experiencing before they adopted her?
Kochanski: Right. The family did travel to Thailand in 2023 to meet the child at an orphanage, and they were able to take her to a hotel and engage with her to see if it was the right match and how comfortable she was. But the child began to exhibit concerning behaviors, like attempting to jump off an 11-story hotel terrace and banging her head against a wall. The family brought those concerns to Holt's attention but was told, "You're her last chance. You're her last hope."
Dunne: And I think that gets into what they're alleging here: coercion. If I'm hearing you right, the family alleges Holt told them that if they didn't take this child, she had no hope.
Kochanski: Correct, according to the complaint.
Dunne: OK. So the family went ahead based on what they had seen and what Holt had told them, and they adopted this child. Given that, and I know you were able to review the legal complaint, what did the parents say about their life with this child?
Kochanski: The child arrived in Pennsylvania with the family in May 2023 and was hospitalized within two days of her arrival. She would continue to be hospitalized over the course of six months at multiple hospitals across Pennsylvania. She was aggressive physically with the family, and the complaint says the child hit, kicked and bit family members, threw furniture, sought weapons in the household, attacked family members while they were sleeping and attempted to escape on numerous occasions.
Dunne: Wow, so much more than they bargained for. Given all this, what has Holt said? I know it's a lawsuit and sometimes companies can't say much, but is there anything in the public domain that you've been able to find where Holt is defending what it did?
Kochanski: No. Holt did not respond to a request for comment.
Dunne: OK. So where does the lawsuit stand now? It's been filed. What happens next?
Kochanski: Right. The lawsuit was first filed Sept. 5, 2025, in Pennsylvania and was transferred to Eugene on July 22.
Dunne: All right. And I think it's being heard in federal court, is that right?
Kochanski: It is.
Dunne: OK, and that's because it's a federal statute when you're talking about international adoption, or something like that.
Kochanski: Correct.
Dunne: Haleigh, are there other allegations the family is making about this whole process?
Kochanski: Before adopting the child, the family signed a placement agreement stating that Holt would explore other placement options and treatment for the child, including foster and institutional care, if the adoption were to be disrupted, which the family did do two months after K.R. arrived in the U.S. However, Holt is not licensed to provide foster care or institutional care services in Pennsylvania.
Dunne: Where is the child now?
Kochanski: We don't know the answer to that. The family's attorneys declined to comment on the child's current placement or other matters beyond the allegations set forth in the complaint.
Dunne: In addition to your conversations with the attorney, what are they seeking here? Is it monetary damages? What does the lawsuit ask for?
Kochanski: The family has experienced a lot of financial and social strain because of the effort and treatment they've had to provide the child. What they're really hoping for is an ethical placement for her. They just want the best for her, according to the lawsuit.
Dunne: There are some monetary figures in there, but it's not entirely clear on the total amount. It sounds like what they're looking for is that this child is going to need permanent, advanced care, which of course is expensive.
Kochanski: Yes.
Dunne: I don't know if you had the opportunity to look into this, but is this the first lawsuit of its kind against Holt International? Have there been any other complaints of a similar nature, as far as you can tell?
Kochanski: There have been similar complaints in the past. However, I'm not at liberty to comment because I have much more research to do.
Dunne: I see. Well, it's a very challenging, very sad story, and I really appreciate you bringing it to us. We've been talking with Haleigh Kochanski, breaking news and public safety reporter for The Register-Guard, about her story on the lawsuit against Eugene-based Holt International. Haleigh, thanks so much for coming in and talking with us.
Kochanski: Thank you for having me.
Dunne: Let's bring in KLCC's Zac Ziegler to talk about some interesting housing and real estate happenings in the community. Zac, always great to see you in studio. Thanks so much for coming in.
Zac Ziegler: Yeah, sure thing.
Dunne: I think we're going to have to expand your already expansive portfolio of stories to include housing and real estate. You've done three pieces recently that I want to talk about, because it's such a vital issue for Eugene and the overall community. Talk about what you found out about the housing market in Lane County.
Ziegler: Yeah, one handy thing you get from local Realtor associations is that they put together monthly statistics, and a big one they often look at is a statistic called inventory. The idea is: given the number of houses on the market at any time, how many months would it take to sell off that number of houses? It's a good measure because it lets you compare a smaller market, say Cottage Grove, with a bigger market, like Portland, on equal terms. Here in the Eugene-Springfield market, it's held at about, well, they just published new numbers I can tell you about, too. The numbers stayed right around two and a half months of inventory. What I've always been told is that a balanced market between buyers and sellers is around four months. But the person I spoke with, one of the heads of the Springfield Realtors Association, said two and a half months isn't bad. There have been times this market has been below one month's worth of inventory, which really tilts things in favor of the seller, because a house will be snapped up quickly and buyers don't have much time to decide.
Dunne: So are we still in a seller's market?
Ziegler: Yeah, things are still very much in favor of sellers, though it's getting a little more balanced than it's been in the past. It's not the days when you'd put your house on the market, have one open house, and by the end of that weekend have a stack of offers all over asking price. Those days really aren't happening as much now.
Dunne: When you talk to these experts and look out a bit at both the national and state economy, there's a lot of concern about whether things will cool. Any sense of what they're watching, what might be good or bad depending on what happens with inflation or otherwise?
Ziegler: Yeah, that's always the trick, because with inflation going up, house prices continue to increase, mostly because of the rates you have to pay in interest when you're borrowing. That's the big issue. So while the median price may be down a bit from this time last year, what you'd pay per month is still going up, because you're paying more to the bank.
Dunne: Let's switch gears to the interview you did for your Rainmakers podcast. You talked with Daniel Neal, founder of Paradigm Properties in Eugene. Tell us what's going on there. What is he seeing as a major developer for the downtown area?
Ziegler: Dan's big upcoming project is a spot called the Butterfly Lot. It's about two-thirds of an acre that sits directly north of the Farmers Market Pavilion, and he and the city are working together to put up 100 units with a first floor of retail. Given the size of that lot, that's going to mean quite a bit of upward building.
Dunne: Yeah, and we keep hearing we need more housing, full stop. And certainly in the downtown corridor, where, as I understand it, there isn't as much commercial real estate as there used to be, with the pandemic being a big part of that. Talk about how important a project like this can be for a place like Eugene.
Ziegler: Yeah, the hope is that building this up helps. Dan said this is the first market-rate project in the core of downtown in a long time. There have been some peripheral projects, building along Broadway, not far from our office here, and on Fifth Street. There's also been some affordable housing built in the area, and there will be more, another project on Willamette Street. But a project like this doesn't just add to the housing stock in the area, it also helps bring people back into the downtown core, which is always something that comes up in discussions about the issues that come with an unhoused population looking for a place to be and not be bothered. Isn't that what all of us want in life: a place where we can be and not be bothered? Not just here in the studio.
Dunne: That's another key component here, because obviously it offers more than just housing. Talk about the importance of mixed use in a place like Eugene.
Ziegler: It's common to see people wanting, when you're building with some density, a nice little add-on, being able to hop in the elevator, go down to the first floor and do a little shopping, do what you need. It's something that's becoming more common across the U.S. as you get this denser style of building. People like it, especially in a downtown-adjacent property. It really adds some benefit to where you're living.
Dunne: I wanted to ask about what Neal said about collaboration with the city. I think there are times we've heard that Eugene can be somewhat unfriendly to developers. Talk about what his experience has been.
Ziegler: Yeah, he talked about certain advantages you can get. A main one is what's called the multi-unit property tax exemption. It basically defers your property taxes for about 10 years, covering the span of building and filling up your new development, and often a little on top of that. It can help offset some of the costs that are often high with a project like this. As environmental standards get higher, it gets more and more expensive to build, adding to the cost per unit. This helps defer some of that cost over time.
Dunne: Is he bullish on downtown Eugene, especially with this property he's looking to build? Does he have future plans for similar kinds of properties?
Ziegler: He has worked on other properties around the area, and he does seem pretty bullish. He himself lives in a condo not far from downtown, and he said there are definitely people who want that amenity. Of the two riverfront projects, also downtown-adjacent, one, from what he's heard, is entirely full already. The other is still filling up. There is demand for housing in the area. The one area of concern he mentioned is the amount of student housing going up in the space between downtown and the university, especially as we're seeing enrollment drop across the board at plenty of universities. That means there's not the demand for this kind of housing, and the issue is that it's not very flexible in how it's built. These are often multiple bedrooms leased individually, feeding into a common area. Who has the need for a four-bedroom apartment, unless you're in a large city like New York? Otherwise, in a place like Eugene, if you have a family that needs three or four bedrooms, you're probably looking more at a suburban area.
Dunne: Sure. Speaking of ending up, your last story is about houses that almost ended up at the bottom of a hill but are back on the market. You did some digging and found two properties that were heavily damaged during a landslide. Tell us about this unusual story.
Ziegler: Yeah, back in April 2025, there was a landslide that occurred under three houses total in the Moon Mountain subdivision. One of the houses moved enough that it's been completely removed. I actually went out there to look and take some pictures for the story. There's just this one vacant lot now. On the two houses on either side, the builder has come back and done some mitigation work: put in retaining walls, rebuilt the decks and porches that were there. Those houses are back on the market now. They're off Rock Crest Road, in that subdivision on the southeast end of town.
Dunne: Do you think they can get a good price for them? What do you think, by market standards?
Ziegler: They're actually not asking for much. The average price per square foot for a home in Eugene is $313. They're asking more in the low to mid-$200s, I believe it was $230 or $250. If you want the exact number, go to the story, I have it there. But those numbers tell you that the sellers realize that once a buyer gets the disclosures and sees what happened, there could be some concern, so they have to make it worth the buyer's while. There's also still an ongoing lawsuit from the previous owners regarding these houses, so I'm sure there's plenty of concern there, but they're priced accordingly.
Dunne: We've all heard about a sliding scale, but this is something different. Great stories, great work, Zac Ziegler, who covers so much for us. Thank you for coming in and talking with us.
Ziegler: Yeah, sure thing.
Dunne: That's the show for today. All episodes of Oregon on the Record are available as a podcast at klcc.org. Tomorrow on the show, we talk with a leader at the Oregon Department of Forestry about the changing nature of wildfire in Oregon and how firefighters are being forced to adapt. I'm Michael Dunne, host of Oregon on the Record. Thanks for listening.
