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Senate committee advances bill to prioritize competitive integrated employment for people with IDD
Summary
The Oregon Senate Committee on Human Services on Feb. 6 moved Senate Bill 810 to the floor with a "do pass" recommendation, directing state agencies to prioritize competitive, integrated employment for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and to prohibit sheltered work settings.
The Oregon Senate Committee on Human Services on Feb. 6 moved Senate Bill 810 to the Senate floor with a "do pass" recommendation, endorsing new statutory direction that aims to prioritize competitive, integrated employment for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).
The bill, presented during a work session, directs the Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) and the Oregon Department of Education to convene statewide and regional "Employment First" advisory committees to make recommendations on competitive integrated employment for individuals with IDD. It also requires that employment and vocational rehabilitation programs be designed to help people obtain competitive integrated employment and prohibits the use of sheltered work settings. A fiscal impact statement attached to the measure described the cost as minimal; committee staff said the measure has no revenue impact and no further referral.
Supporters told the committee the bill reflects longstanding state values on deinstitutionalization and inclusion. "This memorializes that expectation that people are going to work," said Chair Sarah Gelser Blouin, recounting personal experience with state reforms and the benefits for her son. She described how vocational supports allowed him to obtain certifications and work in childcare after a prior job at a police department, and shared a message she recently received from him: "Mom, I saved somebody's life today." Gelser Blouin said that personal history reinforced the committee's work to enshrine employment expectations in statute.
Committee staff who introduced the measure said it modifies statutory definitions and provisions related to employment and vocational rehabilitation for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The measure also directs ODHS to collaborate with other state agencies to establish a "state as model employer" program. Committee staff indicated the bill would take effect on the 90th day following adjournment.
Senator Linthicum seconded the motion to move the bill to the floor with a due-pass recommendation. A roll call was taken and the chair announced the motion had "received the required votes" and would go to the floor; the committee chair said she expects to carry the measure on the Senate floor. The transcript does not contain a numerical vote tally.
If approved by the full Senate, the bill would require state agencies and the provider network to orient employment and vocational rehabilitation programming toward competitive integrated work and end use of sheltered workshops for people with IDD, and to establish advisory structures to guide implementation.
The committee closed the work session on Senate Bill 810 and proceeded to an informational hearing on home- and community-based services.
Votes at a glance: the committee recorded a roll-call on Feb. 6; the motion to move SB 810 to the floor with a due-pass recommendation was announced as passed in committee. The transcript does not give a numbered tally.
