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Committee hears bill to remove National CASA Association by name from Oregon statute
Summary
Lawmakers heard House Bill 2,582, a sponsor-described technical change to untether Oregon’s CASA funding language from a single national organization and instead require adherence to nationally recognized CASA standards.
The House Committee on Early Childhood and Human Services opened a public hearing Tuesday on House Bill 2,582, which would remove references to the National CASA Association from state statute and instead require Oregon CASA programs to follow nationally recognized CASA standards.
Representative Neron, the bill sponsor, told the committee HB 2,582 is a narrow technical fix intended to preserve Oregon funding for court-appointed special advocate (CASA) programs if the National CASA Association were to experience long-term federal funding problems. “With a small language fix, we keep the intention of past legislation while proactively ensuring funding will not be delayed by naming an organization rather than a standard,” Rep. Neron said.
The bill’s backers pointed to 2021 legislation, House Bill 2738, which transferred financial and program oversight for CASA from the Department of Administrative Services to the Oregon CASA Network (OCN) and increased statewide CASA funding from $2,700,000 to $5,900,000. Rep. Neron said HB 2738 established OCN as the statewide coordinating entity and enshrined the network’s role in recruiting and training culturally responsive volunteers. She told lawmakers the proposed language change in HB 2,582 would preserve OCN’s responsibilities while avoiding reliance on any single national organization.
Vice Chair Anna Scharf, who said she has worked on child welfare after joining the legislature in 2021, emphasized the bill is not a statement about federal action or a reaction to pending federal decisions. “This is simply to clarify that the Oregon CASA Network will not be required to be a member of the National CASA Association, but will still be required to follow the guidelines and standards,” Scharf said.
Committee members did not debate the bill at length during the hearing. The committee chair opened and then closed the public hearing; no committee vote or formal action on the measure was recorded during the meeting.
Why it matters: Sponsors said the change is intended to prevent administrative confusion or delays in state funding distribution if the National CASA Association’s federal funding status were to change, while retaining state-level oversight through the Oregon CASA Network.
Next steps: The bill was taken under public hearing; committee members asked no substantive questions that altered the bill’s language during the session. Additional committee work or scheduling for a vote was not recorded during the meeting.
