Human Services committee delays action on HB 3795A amendment after DHS raises concerns

The Senate Committee on Human Services opened a work session on May 15 to discuss a dash-3 amendment to House Bill 3795A, which the chair said adds the phrase "a report of suspected abuse" to clarify when a CERT review is triggered; the committee agreed to hold a public hearing on the amendment on Tuesday and to post a separate work session on Thursday as a backup.

The clarification concerns when a CERT review — originally established by Governor Ted Kulongoski by rule in 2005 and later placed in statute after 2007’s Carly’s Law — is required for serious child-welfare injuries and deaths. Chair Gelserbloemen said the amendment "just adds the word a report of suspected abuse, which is not a policy change. It is a clarification such that there is no confusion." She said Legislative Counsel’s written opinion on the amendment is included in the meeting materials and has been shared with the Department of Human Services (ODHS).

Committee members heard that ODHS had emailed the legislature with concerns about the dash-3 amendment. The department told legislators it feared the change would increase its workload and noted there had not yet been a public hearing. Chair Gelserbloemen said she asked ODHS how many children would be newly covered by the proposed clarification and was told, "they said there were 2 last year." The chair said she would schedule a public hearing Tuesday so the department and other interested parties could comment.

Committee members and staff reviewed the statutory history the chair outlined during the session: CERT reviews were created to allow public access to child-welfare records in high-profile fatalities and near-fatalities; statutory language was expanded after a 2007 case brought forward by "Carly's Law" to cover children who had open assessments within the prior 12 months; a later amendment widened eligibility to include deaths where there had been hotline calls or law-enforcement contacts within 12 months even if cases were screened out.

No formal action or vote was taken on the dash-3 amendment during the May 15 meeting. The chair closed the work session and said the item will be rescheduled for a public hearing on Tuesday, with a work session posted for Thursday as a contingency.

Next steps: the committee will take public testimony at the scheduled hearing and may hold a work session afterward; ODHS’s written concerns and Legislative Counsel’s opinion will be part of the record.