The state of Oregon has given three brothers $750,000 in damages after placing them in a foster home where the parents only spoke Spanish.

The three English-speaking brothers lived in the house in Portland in 2012 when they were four, six and seven.

They had been removed from their mother's care because they were at risk of someone she was associated with who she failed to protect them from.

Soon after arriving in the house, two of the three boys were sexually abused by another child in the home.

They could not report it to the foster parents because they spoke English and everyone else in the home spoke in Spanish.

They were also deprived of the chance to tell authorities about what was happening because no one from the state visited as they should have, their lawyer said.

The settlement was awarded this week at Multnomah County Courthouse in Portland, Oregon

'There was a shocking lack of face-to-face visits with the children.

'They can't complain and they can't speak candidly to their foster parents because they don't speak the same language. And then they can't reach out to DHS, because DHS isn't visiting them,' their attorney, David Paul, told Oregon Live on Thursday.

The boys, who have all since been removed from the house and are now living with their mother again, sued the state and were granted $750,000 this week which they will split evenly.

It remains unclear why they were given back to their mother, who initiated the lawsuit and what has come of the Spanish-speaking foster parents.

The boys' lawyer said that by the time they were removed from the house, they were a 'shadow' of their former selves.

The sexual abuse was carried out by one older child who, it was claimed, had also molested other children in the home before the three brothers arrived.

David Paul, the brothers' lawyer, said Oregon's Department of Human Services visited the home before they even arrived and ignored evidence of the sexual abuse.

During their year in the home, the three brothers were still allowed supervised visits with their mother.

She said she became concerned when they started placing dolls they were playing with into sexual positions and forcing them to kiss.