[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":44,"_46":47,"_48":49,"_50":51,"_52":53,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":59,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":65,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":71,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6277628,"mediaKeyId","2647580-8f84f579d9beb172ecd238eef97c5443","parentId",2647580,"title","Broad Public Testimony Urges Full Funding for Self‑Sufficiency Programs in SB 5526","audioSeconds",0,"startMs",2562000,"endMs","viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2647580-8f84f579d9beb172ecd238eef97c5443&start=2562&end=2562","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2647580-8f84f579d9beb172ecd238eef97c5443/thumbnail_2562000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6277628/Oregon/Broad-Public-Testimony-Urges-Full-Funding-for-SelfSufficiency-Programs-in-SB-5526","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6277628-b6a2dda23897a4be94b07d1c3c0e0c78/orig.mp4?Expires=1771094451&Signature=jc0I36~iC8WfExlZSKkGmD4a8OAtCH1qB6Xu534OKR5~lcR507eVC4vIt3Ju4cuo74X7sdQbFDzGtPGzmdzniK15sg28ntDDgecRVF-2K3s6aWmJc-f4~EFEwBF0K3vwdu1wh2-maFLVJ5gtn-pxA5bRfn5NIeUyAxDYYZqOjzr-kMroezERw4XyFdfz-K1PQXg3fQlV4g3EVISsDsFu0tWABs16eeRDo3VY64CCLaIqFLjv8QP698dEKqVZVSENskPyq00ssISr4AlJ6Mn8MxeZRtjj-s5d7LE~22qCN970-5vshbArmvjbyxViYBpDTNg1pe~PZBtA3CMD90JAvw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Oregon State Legislature","date","2025-03-13T00:00:00Z","article","Salem — During the March 13 public hearing on Senate Bill 5526, dozens of individuals and nonprofit leaders delivered two-minute testimonies urging full funding for self-sufficiency programs that support food access, survivors of domestic violence, refugees and youth experiencing homelessness.

Who spoke and why: Rachel Ward, director of the Farmers’ Market Fund, said the Double Up Food Bucks program matches every dollar of SNAP spent at participating outlets with an additional dollar to buy Oregon-grown fruits and vegetables; she said Double Up operated at 216 farmers markets, farm stands, CSAs and grocery stores and that in 2024 it facilitated about $5,500,000 in produce purchases. Ward and other witnesses asked the committee to continue state funding so that the program can leverage federal SNAP spending and expand reach.

Partners for Hunger Free Oregon (Sarah Weber Ogden and Chris Baker) and Oregon Hunger Task Force representatives testified that SNAP and complementary programs such as Double Up and the Elderly Simplified Application Process help reduce food insecurity, which has risen since federal emergency pandemic benefits ended. Professor Mark Edwards of Oregon State University provided historic context, saying safety‑net investments in prior downturns reduced food insecurity and urging continued state investment.

Nonprofit and business testimony: Melissa Brown, owner of Kiva Grocery & Deli in Eugene, said Double Up serves about 1,600 unique SNAP shoppers per month at her store and brings federal dollars into local economies. Holly Hutchison of the Pacific Northwest CSA Coalition described how Double Up increased CSA participation and farm revenues; she said participating farms saw substantially larger average profits in 2024 compared with 2018.

Survivor and domestic-violence programs: Carrie Moran, director of the Oregon Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, and Ashley Carson of the Center for Hope and Safety supported funding lines in SB 5526 for the Survivor Investment Partnership, co‑located advocacy and the Temporary Assistance for Domestic Violence Survivors (TADVS) grant. Testimony said co‑located advocates work inside ODHS offices to provide confidential safety planning and that in fiscal year 2024 co‑located advocates served 6,297 survivors. Carson and Moran gave examples in which TADVS funds (historically up to $3,200 per eligible family) helped pay deposits, first/last month rent and emergency shelter costs; a witness said FY24 data showed 8,794 families were eligible for TADVS.

Refugee, immigrant and legal services: Multiple service providers urged continued funding for extended case management (ECM), refugee employment services and immigration legal services that are funded through ODHS. Rebecca Zorn of Lutheran Community Services Northwest and Mohsin Jamal of Salem for Refugees described client outcomes under ECM, including emergency food and cash assistance, health‑plan enrollment and referrals to employment services; Zorn cited an Afghan client who moved from couch‑surfing to part‑time work and vocational training after ECM support.

Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon and SOAR immigration legal services (testified by Mercedes Riggs) urged that ODHS continue to fund immigration legal services and that the Legislature consider SB 703, the Pathways to Protection and Citizenship Act, or a budget note to maintain legal services inside ODHS. Riggs explained that housing legal services within ODHS enables seamless referrals to housing, employment, mental health and other wraparound services and said the program has a long track record and multilingual staff.

Youth experiencing homelessness: Dozens of speakers described the impact of the Youth Experiencing Homelessness program. Doug Riggs and Vera Stolo highlighted that a $19.9 million investment in the previous biennium expanded services from 13 providers in 12 counties to 42 providers in 26 counties and served roughly 6,200 young people. Representatives of Maslow Project and J Bar J Youth Services described individual success stories and said reduced funding would eliminate prevention, host home and rural services and increase the risk that youth homelessness becomes chronic adult homelessness.

Process notes: The subcommittee set a two‑minute limit for public testimony and prioritized in-person speakers; committee chairs said there would be another opportunity to testify the following Thursday and that written testimony would be accepted.

Ending: Witnesses asked lawmakers to fully fund the self-sufficiency budget items in SB 5526 and related proposals (including SB 703 or budget notes) to preserve services that beneficiaries and providers said are essential to stability and public health.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Joint Committee On Ways and Means Subcommittee On Human Services 03/13/2025 1:00 PM","oneSentenceSummary","Dozens of advocates, service providers and clients urged the Joint Subcommittee on Human Services to fully fund Self‑Sufficiency programs in Senate Bill 5526, including Double Up Food Bucks, hunger-response funds, domestic-violence survivor assistance, refugee case management and youth homelessness services.","taxTitle","Human Services, Ways and Means, Joint, Committees, Legislative, Oregon","taxId",18635,"location","Oregon","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_46":81,"_48":82,"_50":83,"_52":84,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":85,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":86,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":71,"_72":73,"_74":73},6277633,"Oregon Vocational Rehabilitation Program Warns of Possible Wait List as Caseloads Rise",2191,81000,2272000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2647580-8f84f579d9beb172ecd238eef97c5443&start=81&end=2272","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2647580-8f84f579d9beb172ecd238eef97c5443/thumbnail_81000.jpg","/articles/6277633/Oregon/Oregon-Vocational-Rehabilitation-Program-Warns-of-Possible-Wait-List-as-Caseloads-Rise","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6277633-6eb943cdcdd041a88b747842deff36f6/orig.mp4?Expires=1771094451&Signature=dBx-LQUDGzRqxfIPi90yMQ3dyOfOu0jTt0RoZKa0jTYonyPmktZ1l14UkoTz1MFBaLeI0Yy7vfdysrOxII3gI8ztdpDdFKaFH4jhkHzK~LbYUrvT7jqRiH4dsoH-2NjzT45kc33cdGugzzFiSeYrK-CPob-49UDsf2xQjxEZscoLJZlQXpPQ-VqYCjugFiWmqBX96-c81LBhHBwGTDJA~F3uXnCKIWeAEV5M4m-oUYLBUMMIxJaXww9oXZ-5pVlM75j6P9e4WlER-SfbOCWBvAbfG~I4JQHSB~lOGBdmg8tAkY~UTvz258KQ1fvmtbnplGPj9Xo3IyVVTIfMsi~xpQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Good afternoon: the Joint Subcommittee on Human Services heard a presentation March 13 from Keith Ozils, director of the Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) program at the Oregon Department of Human Services, who said VR is serving more Oregonians with disabilities while federal funding has not kept pace with inflation.

Ozils told members the governor’s recommended budget for the program is about $160,000,000, and that most of that funding goes directly to clients and field staff who deliver services. He said VR had 286 positions statewide and that roughly 96% of those positions provide direct services to job seekers with disabilities.

The agency told the subcommittee that in state fiscal year 2024 VR served 14,253 job seekers and that 2,052 moved into competitive integrated employment. Ozils described other program achievements: the Inclusive Career Advancement Program (ICAP), a federal disability innovation grant run with community colleges, reached 500 enrolled participants ahead of its 2026 target; VR expanded its youth counseling team by hiring six youth counselors; and VR is recognized among the top-performing state VR programs nationally on placement metrics.

Why it matters: Ozils said VR faces three converging pressures — rising caseloads, inflation-driven increases in the cost per plan and essentially flat federal grant funding. He explained that because the program has exhausted the federal funds available to it, VR is proactively preparing to implement an \"order of selection,\" a federally permitted mechanism that creates a wait list and prioritizes services for people with the most significant disabilities when resources are insufficient.

What the presentation said about the order of selection: Ozils described the order of selection as a legal tool already in federal guidance to be used when programs lack resources to serve all eligible applicants. He said students would be exempt — VR still must spend 15% of its budget on pre-employment transition services for youth. Ozils estimated a potential reduction in direct services of about 27% under an order of selection and projected that about 2,580 individuals could be placed on a wait list while funding remained constrained.

Budget details and cost controls: Ozils said VR’s mix of funding is predominantly federal and that the program’s federal match rate is approximately 78.7%. He said VR applied in August 2024 for an additional $5,000,000 in federal funds and received $2,300,000. He listed cost-control steps the agency has already taken or is considering, including bringing some contracted services in-house, reducing some temporary positions, revising or allowing certain contracts to expire, consolidating offices where feasible, limiting travel and office expenditures, and improving contract oversight. Ozils described a proposed budget request (POP 105) to add four positions for contract and fiscal compliance, quality assurance and training to strengthen vendor oversight after a 2023 review found insufficient contract monitoring.

Services and outcomes: Ozils summarized core services — counseling, assistive technology, rehabilitation technology, training and job placement supports including job coaching — and provided line items he said were in recent spending: about $6,000,000 for pre-employment transition services, $3,400,000 for rehabilitation technology, $2,900,000 for training, $2,000,000 for medical and psychological evaluations and $854,000 for transportation. He emphasized VR’s role as a dual-customer program serving both employers and job seekers and highlighted partnerships with Centers for Independent Living, nine Oregon tribes (five of which run VR programs), WorkSource centers and 170 contracted small businesses and 57 school districts.

Personal stories and outreach: The presentation included short videos and client testimonials. One client, Justin, described how a power chair obtained with VR support lets him travel sites and continue working: \"My new chair is like a tractor. It goes everywhere. It takes me downhills, uphills, through water. It gets me where I need to go so I can do my job correctly.\" Ozils also highlighted examples of youth (\"Rose\" and \"Logan\") who received paid work experiences, training and certificates through VR-supported programs and later found employment or started businesses.

Questions and next steps: Committee members asked clarifying questions about Centers for Independent Living and what having a local VR office means in rural places; Ozils said offices vary from co-located WorkSource sites to standalone VR brick-and-mortar offices and that many staff are mobile and meet clients in community settings. He said the agency would notify the federal Rehabilitation Services Administration, revise the state plan to include order-of-selection procedures, hold public meetings, train staff and partners, and implement the wait list if required.

Ending: Ozils closed by emphasizing partnerships and process improvements — including an electronic filing transition and contract oversight investments — as his recommended near-term steps while the agency seeks funding to avoid or minimize an order of selection.","The Oregon Department of Human Services’ Vocational Rehabilitation program told the joint subcommittee it faces rising caseloads, flat federal funding and higher per-case costs and is preparing an \"order of selection\" that would place some applicants on a wait list.","actionData","errors"]

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Broad Public Testimony Urges Full Funding for Self‑Sufficiency Programs in SB 5526

Oregon Vocational Rehabilitation Program Warns of Possible Wait List as Caseloads Rise