Oregon Youth Authority budget hearing spotlights investigative failures, funding for safety and facility upgrades

Co-chair Bridal opened the March 24 Public Safety Committee informational hearing on House Bill 5,041, saying: "I will open the informational meeting on House Bill 5,041, Oregon Youth Authority." The subcommittee began a phase 1 review of OYA's 2025-27 primary budget and heard agency and state fiscal office overviews; public testimony is scheduled for Thursday and additional phase 2 accountability hearings were announced.

The Legislative Fiscal Office presented an overview showing OYA's all-funds current service level at about $517,000,000 for the 2025-27 biennium, with roughly 90% of that expected to be general fund. Allison Daniel of the Department of Administrative Services Chief Financial Office summarized the governor's recommended budget and highlighted specific investments, including $5 million for modernization of the juvenile justice information system (JAGES), $3.2 million to remodel and expand the infirmary and pharmacy at McLaren Youth Correctional Facility, $27 million earmarked for deferred maintenance across close-custody facilities (including $6.8 million to upgrade CCTV systems), and smaller allocations for interpreter services and Medicaid support staffing.

Jana McClellan, interim director of the Oregon Youth Authority, told the committee she had been in the interim director role for "7 business days. Today is number 8." McClellan described the agency's response to an internal review and outside findings in a Department of Administrative Services (DAS) investigative report dated March 13, which the committee was told found significant failures in the agency's Professional Standards Office (PSO). McClellan said those findings led to the resignation of OYA's chief investigator and the governor's removal of the agency director.

McClellan outlined immediate steps OYA has taken: hiring a new chief investigator, adding four temporary investigators to nearly double investigative capacity, instituting a new prioritization and tracking system for open or suspended investigations, and meeting weekly with the governor's public safety advisor, Valerie Colas, to provide progress updates. She said the agency is assembling a safety oversight task force that would include legislative and judicial members, local juvenile departments, district attorneys, law enforcement and advocacy partners. She also said OYA will create "a youth advocate position modeled after the ODHS children's advocate role," temporarily housed in the governor's office to provide external transparency and to build the model.

Agency presenters and DAS staff reiterated that OYA is a caseload-driven agency serving over 900 youth across closed custody, transition programs and community programs. Slides shown to the committee stated OYA is budgeted for 407 close-custody beds and had 376 youth in close custody as of the most recent count; the agency described roughly 990 staff and a governor-recommended 973 FTE (about a 2% increase over the 2023-25 LAB). The presenters said the agency's budget composition is about 85% general fund, 8% federal funds and just under 7% other funds.

OYA officials and presenters highlighted operational challenges that informed budget priorities: rising youth acuity (higher rates of mental health diagnoses, substance use, trauma and co-occurring conditions), workforce recruitment and retention, aging facilities, the need to finish the McLaren clinic and infirmary upgrades, increased litigation against the agency, and delays or complexity in the JAGES modernization effort. Director McClellan and other agency staff emphasized that many youths in OYA custody have high needs and that some would be better served by community behavioral health resources; agency leaders urged continued partnerships with county juvenile departments and community residential providers.

Committee members asked for additional details the agency said it would provide later, including counts of partnerships across camps and a response on gang-affiliation data. The committee was told the subcommittee will continue OYA's testimony the next day and that hard-copy materials shared in the hearing will be posted to OLIS.

The hearing produced no formal committee action or vote. The record shows only the opening of an informational hearing on HB 5041; public testimony and subsequent accountability hearings were scheduled but no budget decisions or votes were taken at this session.