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Senate committee hears study bill to explore relocation grants for parents of abused children
Summary
A public hearing on Senate Bill 1063 focused on directing the Department of Human Services to study a grant program that could fund relocation and other supports for parents whose children were victims of abuse; proponents cited gaps in rural services and delays in investigations.
The Senate Committee on Human Services held a public hearing March 6 on Senate Bill 1063, a study bill that would direct the Oregon Department of Human Services to explore creating a grant program to provide resources, including relocation assistance, to parents of children who have been victims of abuse.
State Sen. David Brock Smith, sponsor of the bill, told the committee the measure grew from a constituent’s experience and is intended to identify options to help families leave dangerous situations. “This is truly a study bill so that we can try to see what we can do to set up these grant programs for assistance for these serious cases,” Sen. Brock Smith said.
The bill would require the Department of Human Services to report to interim legislative committees by Sept. 15, 2026, and contains a sunset date of Jan. 2, 2027. Brock Smith said the study would review existing services provided by child protective services, DHS and local child advocacy centers and consider what grant-funded relocation and supports might look like in communities where shelter and other resources are limited.
A constituent who testified, Valerie Vauclair, described delays in the investigative and judicial process in her case and said she lacked the funds to move away from her children’s abuser. “Had I had the funds to relocate because I live paycheck to paycheck … my children wouldn’t have been further traumatized by seeing their abuser,” Vauclair said.
Committee members questioned how the program would be administered and where services would be located, particularly for rural areas. Sen. Pruzanski, speaking as a former prosecutor, raised enforcement concerns where restraining orders continued to be violated and asked who would administer and station services in frontier areas.
Brock Smith and witnesses said the hearing is intended to surface those implementation questions in the study phase. Brock Smith noted related legislation in the committee aimed at strengthening restraining order enforcement and technology to issue alerts when orders are violated.
No committee action or vote was recorded during the hearing; the public hearing was subsequently closed. The bill’s report date and sunset remain as introduced.
The committee will retain the testimony for its record as it considers whether to move the bill forward for amendment or referral.
