Bill Text: OR SB964 | 2011 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Relating to child welfare services; appropriating money; and declaring an emergency.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2011-06-30 - Effective date, June 28, 2011. [SB964 Detail]
Download: Oregon-2011-SB964-Enrolled.html
76th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2011 Regular Session
Enrolled
Senate Bill 964
Sponsored by Senator BATES, Representatives BUCKLEY, ESQUIVEL,
RICHARDSON; Senators DEVLIN, KRUSE, MONNES ANDERSON, MORSE,
SHIELDS, VERGER, WINTERS, Representatives FREEMAN, GREENLICK,
THATCHER, THOMPSON
CHAPTER ................
AN ACT
Relating to child welfare services; creating new provisions;
amending ORS 418.480, 418.485 and 418.495; appropriating money;
and declaring an emergency.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1. { + Sections 2 to 8 of this 2011 Act are added to
and made a part of ORS chapter 418. + }
SECTION 2. { + As used in sections 2 to 8 of this 2011 Act:
(1) 'Child' means a child who qualifies for child welfare
services provided by the Department of Human Services.
(2) 'Client-focused functional outcome measures' means
objective, observable measures of outcomes for services provided
to a child and a child's family under sections 2 to 8 of this
2011 Act, including but not limited to measures relating to
permanency.
(3) 'County partners' means employees or representatives of the
Department of Human Services, the county, court appointed special
advocates under ORS 419A.170, drug and alcohol treatment
providers, mental health providers, providers of affordable
housing and other persons or entities that provide services to
children and families within a county of this state.
(4) 'Family' means, at a minimum but not to the exclusion of
siblings as defined in ORS 419A.004 or other persons living in
the same household with a child, the child and:
(a) The child's parent as defined in ORS 419A.004;
(b) The child's guardian appointed pursuant to ORS chapter 125;
or
(c) A person who has a caregiver relationship as defined in ORS
419B.116 with the child.
(5) 'Intensive in-home services' means services that keep a
child and family together in the child's and family's home with a
goal of 24-hour on-call support while the child and the child's
family engage in family strengthening activities and receive
appropriate mental health and addiction treatment and other
intensive support interventions.
(6) 'Performance-based contract' means a contract entered into
under section 4 of this 2011 Act that:
(a) Requires a program to demonstrate successful child-driven
outcomes when compared to alternative placement options and
long-term cost savings; and
Enrolled Senate Bill 964 (SB 964-A) Page 1
(b) Bases termination or renewal of the contract on
demonstration of the factors described in paragraph (a) of this
subsection.
(7) 'Program' means a Strengthening, Preserving and Reunifying
Families program described in section 4 of this 2011 Act. + }
SECTION 3. { + The Legislative Assembly finds that:
(1) There is growing empirical evidence that severe trauma may
result when children are removed from their families, and that
this trauma may give rise to negative outcomes that last a
lifetime, cause intergenerational patterns of addiction, abuse
and neglect, and give rise to disrupted and broken families.
(2) Improving permanency outcomes for children is best
accomplished by providing services that allow children to remain
with their families and in their homes when appropriate and safe.
(3) Allowing families to remain intact while parents undergo
mental health or addiction treatment, take steps to move out of
poverty by obtaining employment and housing or receive family
strengthening services preserves child-parent bonds with improved
outcomes for children and families and positive long-term
societal effects.
(4) When placement in foster or substitute care outside the
home must occur, this can be less traumatic and of shorter
duration with the provision of family-focused treatment and
services, and the provision of routine family contact and
visitation as frequently as is appropriate. After children are
returned to the family, they should receive continuing services
to ensure safety and stabilization.
(5) Children should receive continuing services sufficient to
achieve stabilization after returning to the community.
(6) A new systemwide model for providing child welfare services
should be adopted that provides services and supports that have
proved effective in keeping children safely with their parents,
that reduces children's risk of future entry into the criminal
justice and child welfare systems, that lowers the risk of
intergenerational abuse and that decreases the associated human
and economic costs.
(7) The efficacy of programs that allow families to remain
together or that assist families with reunification has been
demonstrated by pilot programs, including one that has operated
in Jackson County since 2007 and other national best practice
models.
(8) Foster care savings that are reinvested can enhance and
expand child welfare services.
(9) Housing is essential to the safe reduction of the number of
children in foster care. Partnerships between affordable housing
providers and nonprofit service agencies must be formed where
possible. Tenancy requirements and exclusion criteria related to
criminal, credit and tenant histories, particularly when
associated with substance abuse, must be reevaluated and modified
where possible. + }
SECTION 4. { + (1) By October 1, 2012, and to the extent
practicable using available resources, the Department of Human
Services and county partners shall implement Strengthening,
Preserving and Reunifying Families programs as described in this
section. County partners are encouraged to form collaborations
with programs to design, oversee and participate in program
development and implementation as appropriate. The department
shall be the lead agency in efforts undertaken pursuant to this
section, but all officers, boards, commissions and other agencies
of the State of Oregon shall cooperate with the department to
Enrolled Senate Bill 964 (SB 964-A) Page 2
accomplish the duties imposed on the department by sections 2 to
8 of this 2011 Act and to allocate services provided by programs
as described in this section.
(2)(a) The Director of Human Services or the director's
designee, the Director of the Oregon Health Authority or the
director's designee or the Director of the Housing and Community
Services Department or the director's designee shall enter into a
contract with, and make reasonable payment for services provided
by, a program in accordance with sections 2 to 8 of this 2011
Act, and shall, where necessary, enter into contracts with a lead
agency or with county and community entities that have been
designated by the county partners to coordinate services provided
under this section.
(b) A contract entered into under this subsection shall require
only those services that are reasonably available in the county
or region where the program is or will be providing services.
Services may or may not be located in a given county or region.
(c) At the election of any director or director's designee, a
contract entered into under this subsection may be a
performance-based contract.
(3) The programs implemented under this section shall provide
an array of services. Depending on resources and availability,
the services provided may include but are not limited to the
following:
(a) Front end intervention services that include alcohol and
drug treatment providers or mental health providers accompanying
department caseworkers on initial calls and visits in response to
allegations or reports of abuse or neglect. County partners shall
participate in assessments to determine the appropriateness and
level of program services required for a child and the child's
family, the creation of safety plans to enable the provision of
in-home services if appropriate and the development of family
preservation and reunification plans for presentation to the
juvenile court.
(b) Residential treatment whereby a member of a child's family
with care, custody or control of the child enters a treatment
facility accompanied by the child with 24-hour supervision while
the child and the member of the child's family engage in family
strengthening activities and receive appropriate mental health
and addiction treatment support and services.
(c) Supervised housing whereby a child and the child's family
remain together in program housing while they participate in
family strengthening activities, receive mental health and
addiction support and services and have the appropriate level of
supervision to ensure the physical health, care and safety of the
child.
(d) Family-centered day and outpatient treatment services,
either after completion of residential treatment or in lieu of
residential treatment, designed specifically for
substance-abusing parents of children involved in the child
welfare system.
(e) Intensive in-home services while the child and family
engage in family strengthening activities.
(f) Facilitation of regular contact between a child and the
child's family, if separation has occurred, to facilitate an
easier, quicker and more successful transition of the child back
into the family home.
(g) Case managers who provide child and family supervision,
assistance identifying and accessing needed services, observation
and monitoring of parenting behavior, assistance with life skills
Enrolled Senate Bill 964 (SB 964-A) Page 3
development and assistance in removing barriers to system
independence.
(h) Immediate access to supervised drug-free emergency and
short-term housing.
(i) Access to permanent, drug-free housing with on-site case
managers and access to supportive services that increase
stability for a child and the child's family.
(j) Family finding services to identify extended family members
to provide additional support, resources and alternative
placement options if necessary.
(k) Services of a court appointed special advocate appointed
pursuant to ORS 419A.170 where available.
(L) Other services and interventions as programs evolve,
research develops and funding becomes available.
(4) The services provided by programs must be culturally
competent and include evidence-informed or evidence-based
practices.
(5) The department shall establish by rule client-focused
functional outcome measures for programs implemented under this
section.
(6) Client-focused functional outcome measures may be used as a
basis for funding programs and entering into or renewing
contracts with programs.
(7) Programs shall develop and implement training and
continuing education curricula for persons delivering program
services and, when adequate funding exists, sponsor the
attendance of service providers at state or national training
programs, conferences or other similar events.
(8) Programs may seek funds from public and private sources to:
(a) Meet match requirements for state or federal grants to
support the provision of program services;
(b) Implement and operate the training and educational
requirements of subsection (7) of this section; and
(c) Provide financial resources for the hiring of personnel and
the provision of existing or enhanced program services.
(9) The department, in consultation with programs, shall report
annually to the Governor and the appropriate interim committees
of the Legislative Assembly that address child welfare issues on
the progress toward and projected costs of full implementation of
sections 2 to 8 of this 2011 Act. + }
SECTION 5. { + (1) There is established in the State Treasury,
separate and distinct from the General Fund, the Strengthening,
Preserving and Reunifying Families Program Fund. Interest earned
by the Strengthening, Preserving and Reunifying Families Program
Fund shall be credited to the fund. The fund consists of:
(a) Moneys received by the Department of Human Services under
section 6 of this 2011 Act;
(b) Amounts donated to the fund;
(c) Amounts appropriated or otherwise transferred to the fund
by the Legislative Assembly;
(d) Investment earnings received on moneys in the fund; and
(e) Other amounts deposited in the fund from any source.
(2) Moneys in the fund are continuously appropriated to the
Department of Human Services for the purposes of sections 2 to 8
of this 2011 Act.
(3) Moneys in the fund supplement existing funds used for child
welfare services and shall not be used in lieu of these existing
funds. Other state agencies and entities shall continue to
provide funds and services, including but not limited to housing,
Enrolled Senate Bill 964 (SB 964-A) Page 4
alcohol and drug treatment and mental health treatment as
required under existing law.
(4) Moneys in the fund may be invested and reinvested as
provided in ORS 293.701 to 293.820.
(5) The department may not expend more than 15 percent of
moneys available in the fund for administrative costs and
expenses of the department incurred in implementing sections 2 to
8 of this 2011 Act. + }
SECTION 6. { + (1) The Department of Human Services shall seek
federal approval, renewal of an existing waiver of federal
requirements or a new waiver of federal requirements as necessary
to access federal savings that have accrued to the state as a
result of a reduction in the cost of foster and substitute care
for children in the legal custody of the department.
(2) The department shall:
(a) Create a plan for reinvesting federal savings into the
provision of services through Strengthening, Preserving and
Reunifying Families programs under sections 2 to 8 of this 2011
Act; and
(b) Combine state, federal and private resources to support
implementation of a statewide system of programs at the local
level as provided under sections 2 to 8 of this 2011 Act. + }
SECTION 7. { + (1) In considering what constitutes reasonable
or active efforts or whether reasonable or active efforts have
been made under ORS 419B.185, 419B.337, 419B.340, 419B.470,
419B.476, 419B.498 and 419C.173, the Department of Human Services
and the juvenile court shall consider whether placement of a
child and referral of a child and the child's family to a
Strengthening, Preserving and Reunifying Families program is or
was in the child's best interests and the action most likely to
prevent or eliminate the need for removal of the child from the
child's home or the action most likely to make it possible for
the child to safely return home.
(2) If the department or juvenile court determines that
placement of the child and referral of the child and the child's
family to a program would not prevent or eliminate the need for
removal of the child from the child's home or be the action most
likely to make it possible for the child to safely return home,
the department shall, in any description or documentation of its
reasonable or active efforts, include a written explanation of
the reasons why the department did not believe the placement of
the child and referral of the child and the child's family to the
program was in the child's best interests and the course most
likely to prevent placement or effect the return of the child to
the child's family. + }
SECTION 8. { + (1) The Department of Human Services shall
adopt rules to implement the provisions of sections 2 to 8 of
this 2011 Act.
(2) Rules adopted by the department under subsection (1) of
this section may not require reporting and compilation of data
that exceed the minimum required for the department to comply
with sections 2 to 8 of this 2011 Act and federal laws or
regulations. + }
SECTION 9. ORS 418.480 is amended to read:
418.480. As used in ORS 418.480 to 418.500, 'purchase of care'
includes the purchase of institutional and foster family care and
services, adoptive services, { + services provided by
Strengthening, Preserving and Reunifying Families programs under
sections 2 to 8 of this 2011 Act, + } services to the unwed
mother and her child and such other care and services as the
Enrolled Senate Bill 964 (SB 964-A) Page 5
Department of Human Services shall determine to be necessary to
carry out the policy stated in ORS 418.485.
SECTION 10. ORS 418.485 is amended to read:
418.485. It is the policy of the State of Oregon to strengthen
family life and to { - insure - } { + ensure + } the
protection of all children either in their own homes or in other
appropriate care outside their homes. In affording such
protection, the Director of Human Services shall { + , + } in
cooperation with public and private child-caring agencies
{ + and with Strengthening, Preserving and Reunifying Families
programs under sections 2 to 8 of this 2011 Act, + } develop a
set of short-range and long-range priorities for the development
of needed child care and services, such priorities to be
periodically reviewed and revised as necessary. Such priorities
are to be set out in a form enumerating the number of children in
each category of need, the type of child care and services
needed, the areas of the state where such care and services are
needed, and the projected costs. The State of Oregon hereby
commits itself to the purchase of care and services for children
who need care and to encourage private child-caring agencies
{ + and Strengthening, Preserving and Reunifying Families
programs under sections 2 to 8 of this 2011 Act + }to develop
programs required to meet the needs of the children of this state
and money may be appropriated therefor. In developing programs
necessary to meet the needs of the children of this state, the
Director of Human Services shall make every attempt feasible to
develop { + local, + } community { + and county-based + }
organizations. { - Such efforts to develop community
organizations are to be documented and presented to the next
session of the Legislative Assembly. - } { + The Department of
Human Services shall document and present an annual report to the
committees of the Legislative Assembly that address efforts taken
under this section. + }
SECTION 11. ORS 418.495 is amended to read:
418.495. (1) Within the limits of funds available therefor, the
Department of Human Services may enter into agreements { + and
contracts + } with licensed child-caring agencies { + ,
Strengthening, Preserving and Reunifying Families programs under
sections 2 to 8 of this 2011 Act + }and other appropriate
facilities, including youth care centers, for the purchase of
care for children who require and are eligible for such care,
regardless of whether the children are wards of the state or
whether the department is their guardian or has their custody or
whether the children are surrendered to a child-caring agency
{ + or to a Strengthening, Preserving and Reunifying Families
program under sections 2 to 8 of this 2011 Act + } or committed
thereto by order of a court under ORS chapter 419B or 419C. The
agreement shall prescribe the procedures for payment { - , - }
{ + and + } the rate of payment and may contain such other
conditions as the department and the agency { + , + }
{ - or - } facility { + or program + }may agree.
(2) The department shall by rule adopt payment standards for
foster care. In establishing standards, the department may take
into account the income, resources and maintenance available to
and the necessary expenditures of a foster parent who is a
relative, as defined by rule, of the child placed in care.
SECTION 12. { + This 2011 Act being necessary for the
immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety, an
emergency is declared to exist, and this 2011 Act takes effect on
its passage. + }
Enrolled Senate Bill 964 (SB 964-A) Page 6
----------
Passed by Senate June 14, 2011
.............................................................
Robert Taylor, Secretary of Senate
.............................................................
Peter Courtney, President of Senate
Passed by House June 20, 2011
.............................................................
Bruce Hanna, Speaker of House
.............................................................
Arnie Roblan, Speaker of House
Enrolled Senate Bill 964 (SB 964-A) Page 7
Received by Governor:
......M.,............., 2011
Approved:
......M.,............., 2011
.............................................................
John Kitzhaber, Governor
Filed in Office of Secretary of State:
......M.,............., 2011
.............................................................
Kate Brown, Secretary of State
Enrolled Senate Bill 964 (SB 964-A) Page 8
