Committee removes religious-exemption lines from SB 875A, forwards revisions on foster siblings and contact to floor

The House Committee on Early Childhood and Human Services on May 22 approved changes to Senate Bill 875A that (1) permit a court to limit or prohibit contact between a foster child and a sibling when necessary to ensure safe and appropriate contact, (2) expand the definition of a child in care to include a person age 21 who is in DHS physical or legal custody, and (3) remove two lines from the Oregon Foster Children's Bill of Rights that would have given a foster child an explicit right to decline attendance at religious events that do not align with the child's beliefs. The amendment declares an emergency and was described as having no revenue impact and minimal fiscal impact.

Taylor, the committee staff member summarizing the bill, told members the dash A2 amendment "remove[s] from the rights enumerated in the Oregon Foster Children's Bill of Rights, the ability for a foster child to decline to attend or participate in religious events, gatherings, camps, and activities that do not align with the child's beliefs."

The amendment prompted a robust and personal discussion among committee members. Representative Knowles and others said they wrestled with the balance between honoring foster parents' faith traditions and protecting a child's religious choices, particularly for older children and teens. Representative Knowles described her own experience growing up in a Catholic household and said she could understand teenagers resisting religious attendance: "I can't figure out how to vote... I just don't know how to vote."

Vice Chair Scharf and other members argued the department's existing placement duties and administrative rules require matching children to families as practicable and that removing the two lines reduces the risk that foster families would be investigated or lose approval when a child later declines participation. Legislative counsel Laurie Ann Sills told the committee that administrative rules require foster providers to "recognize, encourage, and support the religious belief, ethnic heritage, cultural identity, and language of the child and their family" (OAR reference provided to the committee) and that ORS language requires placement, "so far as practical, [in] the same religious faith as held by the child and the child's parents," as read into the record by committee members.

Committee members discussed several options raised during debate, including placing an age threshold (for example, granting the right only to children over a certain age) and subjecting older children's objections to heightened judicial review; members noted these options would complicate the statutory framework and likely require further work. Several members said they support returning to the issue after litigation currently pending in federal courts is resolved or after interim committee work.

The committee adopted the dash A2 amendment on a roll call and then forwarded SB 875A, as amended, to the House floor with a due-pass recommendation. Representative Scharf and Vice Chair Sharp agreed to co-carry the bill. Members said they expect to continue conversation in a short-session committee bill or interim work group to refine statutory language and placement guidance, and to await court outcomes affecting ongoing litigation mentioned during the hearing.

Ending: The committee closed the SB 875A work session after adopting the amendment and forwarding the bill to the floor; members recorded differing votes on the religious-rights language and committed to further study and possible future legislation.