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Panel advances bill tightening child-abuse definition, raises standard for ODHS investigations

House Committee on Early Childhood and Human Services · February 12, 2026
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

The committee adopted the dash-3 amendment to HB 4059, which narrows when ODHS must investigate alleged abuse, raises the standard for substantiation, and adds that causing a child to witness abuse is child abuse; the bill was amended and sent to the House Committee on Rules.

On Feb. 12 the House Committee on Early Childhood and Human Services adopted the dash-3 amendment to House Bill 4059 and voted to refer the measure to the House Committee on Rules with a 'do pass' recommendation. Committee staff summarized the amendment as modifying the definition of child abuse, specifying when ODHS is required to investigate, and raising the standard to substantiate a child-abuse finding.

Taylor, the…

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