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Committee reviews SB 15‑34 rewrite; bill narrows child‑in‑care abuse investigations and adds licensing discretion
Summary
SB 15‑34 (dash‑3) reorganizes child‑care licensing statutes, narrows the scope of who can be investigated under the 'child in care' abuse definition, adds reporting on restraints and temporary lodging, and would allow provisional licenses and limited extensions for some older youth in temporary placements.
The Senate Committee on Human Services on Feb. 5 received detailed briefing and public testimony on Senate Bill 15‑34 and its dash‑3 amendment, a broad rewrite intended to reorganize statute language and narrow the definition of abuse for children in care.
The amendment limits investigations under the child‑in‑care abuse statute to people who have a duty of care and whose failure to fulfill that duty creates a substantial risk of harm. Presenter testimony said that the rewrite keeps investigations for imposed types of abuse (for example, physical assault) when committed by those with a nexus to the child, and expands coverage to household members and anyone with access to the child. The dash‑3 amendment removes adjudicated youth foster homes from the introduced bill and reorganizes definitions to reduce cross‑statute jumping.
The amendment also seeks to give the Department of Human Services more graduated enforcement tools for licensing violations, such as requiring additional education or oversight rather than immediately suspending or revoking a license. Presenter testimony said the bill establishes criteria that must be met before revocation and adds children's advocate notifications in certain cases.
On reporting and service availability, the dash‑3 would add quarterly reporting on children in care, including those in temporary lodging, and expand reporting on restraints to better understand frequency and prohibited uses. The amendment clarifies certain placement categories, notes that psychiatric residential treatment facilities are treated distinctly under federal Family First rules, and would allow, with Oregon Health Authority approval and court safeguards, medically necessary placement of 16‑ and 17‑year‑olds in some adult substance use treatment settings when no appropriate pediatric option exists.
Hans Bernard of Disability Rights Oregon told the committee his organization supports SB 15‑34 and encouraged the committee to move the bill forward. Committee members asked for clarification on dash‑6 and dash‑7 amendments: dash‑6 clarifies that a properly used car seat is not a mechanical restraint and raises the number of approved hands‑on restraint trainings from three to four; dash‑7 would authorize provisional licenses of up to six months for facilities that demonstrate they are likely to meet licensing standards.
A drafting concern was raised about whether the parent exemption in the child‑in‑care definition could unintentionally exempt some DHS employees; presenters said they would double check drafting to avoid creating unintended employee immunity. The committee closed the public hearing and scheduled the bill for work session consideration.
What’s next: Work session materials and amendments were posted for the committee’s next meeting, and members were asked to submit questions to staff ahead of Tuesday’s work session.
