Committee hears bill to set uniform payment method for independent living program

The Senate Committee on Human Services on Feb. 20 heard testimony on Senate Bill 911, a measure that would require the Oregon Department of Human Services to adopt rules establishing a uniform payment methodology for providers of Independent Living Program (ILP) transition services for foster youth aging out of care.

The bill’s sponsors and provider witnesses told the committee the current payment structure is administratively burdensome and does not reflect the true cost of service. Andrew Grover, executive director of Youth Villages, said ILP workers meet with most youth at least once a month and that about 20% of participants need weekly contact. “The system is very unstable. It’s been dramatically underfunded for many years,” Grover said, adding that Youth Villages’ tracking shows “well over 80 percent” of youth they serve are in safe, stable housing and in school or employed one year after services.

The bill as described during the hearing would require the payment methodology to account for the number of in‑home service hours provided, the time spent on outreach to youth who are difficult to reach, and adequate capacity and staffing levels based on average monthly population served. Kelly McKnight, chief executive officer of Options Counseling and Family Services, testified that current contracts commonly limit most youth to one hour of in‑person contact per month and allow extended time for only up to 20% of a provider’s caseload. “We continue to expend more on ILP than the revenue supports,” McKnight said, citing rural challenges for group payments and staffing turnover.

Simon Fulford, executive director of Parrott Creek Child and Family Services, told the committee his program is paid roughly half of the actual cost of service delivery. Providers and advocates described service tasks that include housing supports, employment help, parenting assistance, transportation, securing identification documents and coordination with medical providers. Several witnesses described gaps that emerge when a provider reduces service or closes a contract: Project Lemonade reported stepping in temporarily in summer 2024 to serve youth when another Multnomah County provider closed.

Members pressed for clarification about the bill’s scope. Chair Gelser said the committee understands three related pieces in play: (1) the overall funding ask (the chair referenced an example figure of $10,000,000 as a separate budget request), (2) the statutory change Senate Bill 911 would make about how costs are determined and (3) a planned rate‑model study to develop an appropriate reimbursement structure. “What will be built into that is the recognition that kids need more than an hour a month,” Chair Gelser said.

Former and current program participants also testified. Camilla Durham, who said she has been an ILP participant for about seven years and is now a mother and student, described weekly contact with a long‑term ILP worker and credited the program with help finding childcare, school support and employment. Natalie Delgado, a Portland State University student and former foster youth, described ILP assistance with enrollment, housing navigation and transportation funding for a driver’s license.

Witnesses urged the committee to support the bill to build a stable, sustainable provider network and avoid losing providers and geographic coverage. Testimony cited roughly 15 providers statewide serving an estimated 600–700 youth at a given time, with perhaps 1,200 eligible individuals in total. Providers said the existing compensation structure (including a reported $100 per participant group payment that pays nothing for groups under four participants) is particularly challenging in rural areas.

The committee held the public hearing and did not take a vote on SB 911 at the session. Staff and providers noted a separate, collaborative rate‑model study is expected to follow the policy changes the bill would authorize.

The committee’s record will include written materials from the Department of Human Services and provider groups; senators said they expect further briefings and budget testimony as the bill advances.