Committee hears bill requiring race- and geography-disaggregated child-welfare data from DHS

The Senate Committee on Human Services held a public hearing April 15 on House Bill 3,003, which would direct the Oregon Department of Human Services to include additional disaggregated data, including by race and geography, in its biennial child-welfare report.

Representative Travis Nelson, R-House District 44, told the committee the measure is the product of work following House Bill 4052 (2022) and is intended to provide the “additional data and transparency needed to address the systemic challenges that many foster youths face.” Nelson said the expanded reporting will allow legislators and child-welfare professionals to track placement stability, length of stay in care, and disparities across race and county.

“House Bill 3,003 helps to change that. It directs the Department of Human Services to expand its reporting so we can see the full picture,” Nelson said. He argued that disaggregated data would make it easier to craft targeted, evidence-based solutions for children in care.

Nelson acknowledged prior privacy concerns and said the Department of Human Services has confirmed that the data required in “subsection 13” would not be personally identifiable, describing the requested outputs as averages disaggregated by race and county rather than individual records.

Committee members praised the bill’s intent and discussed the practical challenge of turning reporting into usable analysis. Senator Bill Serboin commented, “I’m surprised it's not already happening,” and committee members asked who within state government would have capacity to analyze the increased reporting.

The committee closed the public hearing on House Bill 3,003 and noted the bill will come back for a work session. No committee vote occurred during the hearing.