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Bill would make DHS an automatic party in certain juvenile dependency cases; committee asks for follow-up details
Summary
Senate Bill 815 would change statutory party status rules so the Oregon Department of Human Services is a named party in juvenile dependency cases when it files a petition or otherwise holds custody, to enable the agency to litigate petitions without depending on another party to request custody.
Senate Bill 815 would modify when the Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS) is a party to juvenile dependency proceedings. Under the bill summary read to the committee, DHS would be a party when the department is the petitioner, has taken a child into protective custody, has been granted temporary custody, a child has been committed to the legal custody of the department, or a child-caring agency has temporary custody. The proposal also removes child-caring agencies as automatic parties in some proceedings; the bill takes effect Jan. 1, 2026.
April Flint Garner, child welfare director at DHS, described the measure as a technical fix to ensure the department has party status at the time it files a dependency petition so it can litigate petitions for both tribal and non-tribal children. "The proposed solution ... grant[s] ODHS party status at the time it files a dependency petition rather than only when it has protective or temporary custody of the child," Garner said, noting the current requirement can force DHS to depend on another party to seek temporary custody and could heighten safety risks if no party acts promptly.
Committee members asked technical questions about when a child-caring agency would hold temporary custody and whether tribes and other parties currently step forward to request custody; DHS said it would provide follow-up answers in writing. No amendment or vote was taken during the hearing.
