Oregon human services budget hearing spotlights $2.5 billion current‑service growth and safety concerns for stabilization units

Co‑chairs Campos and Valderrama opened a March 5 informational hearing on Senate Bill 55 26, the governor’s recommended budget for the Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS), which staff said includes a $2.5 billion increase in the 2025–27 current‑service level (CSL) compared with the 2023–25 legislatively adopted budget.

The CSL increase — described in the hearing as the cost of maintaining existing programs under current law — totals about $2,500,000,000 in total funds and about $1,300,000,000 in general fund. Gregory Jolivette, a staff member who summarized the CSL, told the subcommittee that roughly 46% of that growth is attributable to caseload and per‑case cost adjustments, about 30% to inflation, about 20% to employee compensation, and another portion to changes in the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP).

The governor’s recommended budget also includes policy investments and program changes delivered by ODHS leadership and Department of Administrative Services staff. Mike Striepe of the Department of Administrative Services summarized emerging issues and said Aging and People with Disabilities (APD) and the Office of Developmental Disability Services (ODDS) are the primary drivers of CSL growth because of rising caseloads and service costs. Striepe said the CSL numbers reflect the end of pandemic enhanced FMAP rates and other shifts that moved costs to general fund.

Why it matters: The CSL growth establishes a baseline the legislature must fund before…