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DHS front-line staff tell Senate committee heavy caseloads, tech problems and understaffing delay services

3205358 · May 6, 2025
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

In an informational session following the bill hearing, about 10 front-line DHS workers and contractors described heavy caseloads, safety concerns, and slow eligibility systems that they say delay care and increase staff burnout.

After the public hearing on House Bill 3224 A, the Senate Committee on Human Services heard from front-line employees and contractors who deliver services across Oregon. Ten speakers described high caseloads, staffing shortages, outdated technology and safety concerns that they said are delaying services to vulnerable Oregonians.

Case managers and investigators from child welfare, adult protective services, developmental disability programs and eligibility teams described situations in which lengthy processing times and staff turnover reduced the attention each client received. “I currently have about over 100 consumers on my caseload,” Esperanza Khamis, a bilingual case manager at Northwest Senior and Disability Services, told the committee. Michael McNeil, an Adult Protective Services…

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