[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6106844,"mediaKeyId","2779266-a4a2423498f84d7d1e8fe54742cfadcb","parentId",2779266,"title","Oregon Youth Authority says 733 investigations were open or suspended and more than 3,000 cases unsigned; backlog shrinking to 523, director says","audioSeconds",285,"startMs",4548000,"endMs",4833000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2779266-a4a2423498f84d7d1e8fe54742cfadcb&start=4548&end=4833","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2779266-a4a2423498f84d7d1e8fe54742cfadcb/thumbnail_4548000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6106844/Oregon/Oregon-Youth-Authority-says-733-investigations-were-open-or-suspended-and-more-than-3000-cases-unsigned-backlog-shrinking-to-523-director-says","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6106844-4660d8f102070f9cc13a25f9ca333a6a/orig.mp4?Expires=1770562314&Signature=CIudc7x0l07LxiMEFKBkKdUxxNSPHtN-EO9ViUjdwhxFZo2kW0bs~SJbjh8QnPp8yMaajr-Jk92BS3xgF-G2UPltEgOgBIRjsClC7kbrj3CiMnafouPb7yfDIIzTWDNlAA2GMor3gAUHZuLEER9hfve9wG4ouEU2F65kRm7--kpL1DUxXTavLJBRVH7FBQXeUmd~Il33WTC7~gAdz7v-2RynsBO9slH0S0AvFF8lZ92dkCWA8eMi-s6MlPvNtjTh-hNd2zG6mCI1OkxjZHpYkoD26s6FattVvrGms4ptJdpJpUNjRIqBywEvbl2M1tQHOgdPuZkDE~ld1k45~AzSrg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Oregon State Legislature","date","2025-03-26T00:00:00Z","article","Interim Oregon Youth Authority Director Jana McClellan told the Public Safety Committee on March 26 that a January report produced by the Department of Corrections found two troubling case counts in the agency's Professional Standards Office: \"One was 733 and one was over 3,000,\" she said, referencing, respectively, the number of cases that were open or suspended and the number of closed cases that had not been signed off by the chief investigator.

McClellan said the agency has since moved to address the backlog. \"That number was 733. That number's going to change up and down because as we go in and look at cases ... we are reopening them for a complete investigation,\" she told the committee, and later reported the current open and suspended total as 523.

The two figures carry distinct meanings, McClellan explained. The 733 represented cases that were either open or suspended; \"suspended\" means the agency referred the investigation to another entity — for example, the Oregon Department of Human Services or the Oregon State Police — and OYA had left the case in an open/suspended status. The 3,000 figure referred to closed investigations that had not been reviewed and signed by the unit's chief investigator, which McClellan said left uncertainty about whether those investigations were reviewed properly.

McClellan told the committee the agency has doubled investigative resources for the Professional Standards Office, separated staff into a backlog team and a current‑work team, and increased supervision and reporting frequency. She said the interim chief investigator who is leading the unit previously served in that role and that leadership is holding daily check‑ins. \"The extra resources that we've brought on ... are starting to look at those 3,000 cases and those 733 cases,\" she said.

On internal controls and timeliness, McClellan said the PSO maintains policies intended to limit investigation timelines (typically 60 days, with 90 days allowed in cases that are suspended). She told the committee the agency is building weekly trackers — referred to in testimony as a \"blue sheet\" — and is working with its research team to create automated reports to monitor open, pending and suspended cases and to flag trends. She said the unit's chief investigator has split staff into two teams to pursue backlog and current complaints and emphasized the intensive supervision now in place.

Representative Lewis asked whether any backlog cases may be PREA (Prison Rape Elimination Act) violations and asked about PREA compliance schedules. McClellan said PREA audits are conducted on a rolling schedule and that the next PREA audit was set for June and would cover McLaren, Oak Creek and Jackie Winters transition units. On the question of how many backlog cases constitute alleged PREA violations, McClellan said the backlog team is triaging cases for priority (a red/yellow/green review) and that the agency would provide counts for committee members as it completes the triage.

McClellan acknowledged that the backlog represents an important accountability problem and described additional reporting and oversight steps the agency has begun to implement, including weekly aggregate reporting to agency leadership and plans to provide tracking tools for an oversight committee the agency expects to convene.

Committee members pressed for assurance the backlog cannot recur. McClellan said she receives weekly reports and will seek to automate reporting to provide trend alerts, but added \"each case takes as long as each case takes,\" emphasizing that complex investigations cannot be rushed. She offered to provide committee members follow‑up materials and specific counts as the backlog triage proceeds.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Joint Committee On Ways and Means Subcommittee On Public Safety 03/26/2025 8:00 AM","oneSentenceSummary","Interim Oregon Youth Authority Director Jana McClellan told the Public Safety Committee on March 26 that a January report found two troubling case counts in the agency's Professional Standards Office: \"One was 733 and one was over 3,000,\" referring to open/suspended cases and closed cases that lacked chief‑investigator sign‑off.","taxTitle","Public Safety, Ways and Means, Joint, Committees, Legislative, Oregon","taxId",18852,"location","Oregon","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6106849,"Oregon Youth Authority asks Legislature to fund $551 million budget, prioritize McLaren clinic, JAGES modernization and facilities",4657,47000,4704000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2779266-a4a2423498f84d7d1e8fe54742cfadcb&start=47&end=4704","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2779266-a4a2423498f84d7d1e8fe54742cfadcb/thumbnail_47000.jpg","/articles/6106849/Oregon/Oregon-Youth-Authority-asks-Legislature-to-fund-551-million-budget-prioritize-McLaren-clinic-JAGES-modernization-and-facilities","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6106849-cb11d229ba7d8580b7fd28645b384516/orig.mp4?Expires=1770562314&Signature=D-UuzsgHdMOmgnuNHU5oWqaAKMEKm6TQxiNZbKXKDu2XjCtxTqj1gw8GzpwrmaI6thghU~U2-EVRHb6m~~R~-1A4S91YOrCjQOCVsRa-m6gtH-a2sa-ZAgtjSD6EH09XRLqRPXk2IIQ0cSrJN1EfnqcNrM7Nr8aWi5QgtYOy~y0U3IArpsj3SsmJcTfqSgH7u-zZqRriTMvGOXaBjvqIw~7P6bk3zro5198hVJf0ZhSW8v0h5oLXCiZiyxCJ1t9q8C7ibOTLbIv36bOvt2Ns9wpjU4Q1wDjP415xmFQv~tnqKpC~-4kdHHISyaCC3psX8hSNmPcQA~URDVeQLK-OVw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Oregon Youth Authority told the Legislature's Public Safety Committee on March 26 that it is seeking to maintain current service levels in the 2025–27 budget and is asking lawmakers to fund priority projects including completion of the McLaren Youth Correctional Facility infirmary and pharmacy, modernization of the statewide juvenile justice database known as JAGES, and implementation support for a Medicaid 1115 waiver.

\"Today we continue with House Bill 5041, the primary budget bill for the Oregon Youth Authority,\" interim assistant director for business services Katie Hudson told the committee as she opened the agency's budget presentation.

The request matters because most OYA spending supports direct care for youth and because the agency is managing rising costs tied to youth mental and medical needs, staffing shortages and deferred facility maintenance. Hudson said the agency's legislatively approved 2023–25 budget was about $500 million, with roughly $400 million in general fund, $46 million in federal funds and $35 million in other funds. The agency said the governor's recommended budget for the next biennium is about $551 million and estimated it would need roughly $517 million to maintain current service levels without cutting core operations.

Agency officials said roughly 72% of current spending goes directly to youth services. Hudson told the committee that almost 87% of the agency's cost‑per‑day for a youth covers core staffing required for direct care and supervision, with the remainder covering nutrition, education, medical care and facility maintenance.

Debbie Martin, the agency's interim legislative coordinator, framed the OYA budget around three priorities: youth and staff safety, responding to rising youth acuity, and returning to basic, data‑driven operations. On safety, Martin highlighted Senate Bill 813 (described by the agency as aligning OYA staff protections with other public safety workers) and the McLaren infirmary and pharmacy renovations. \"The renovations will ensure that we can keep youth healthy and provide all statutorily required and constitutionally protected healthcare services,\" she said.

The agency described several specific drivers of cost growth: increased youth acuity and mental‑health needs; higher overtime from workforce shortages; rising construction, supply and technology costs; and continuing investments in rate increases for behavioral rehabilitation services (BRS). Hudson said the legislature's 2023–25 biennial investments produced an average 41% increase in BRS rates, intended to improve provider sustainability and expand capacity.

OYA also described its information‑technology priorities. The JAGES modernization project — a web‑based juvenile justice information system intended to serve more than 3,000 juvenile justice partners statewide — was placed on hold in September 2024 by Enterprise Information Services because of project risks. Agency staff told the committee five of the seven EIS‑identified resolution categories have been conditionally accepted or resolved and that application development has resumed with new governance and quality assurance measures in place.

Other priorities in the governor's recommended package include funds for a facilities 10‑year assessment, deferred maintenance, upgrades to CCTV and door access control infrastructure (the agency said it now operates roughly 2,100 cameras and needs updated technical support, not new cameras), a housing and reentry coordinator and a small pool of rental assistance funds, and language changes to expand how the agency uses grant authority created by House Bill 4004 (2022). The agency also requested an ability to designate existing vocational and education funds (VSOY) to permanent juvenile direct‑care positions to stabilize supervision of older youth in vocational programs.

Martin outlined a 10% reduction scenario the agency prepared as part of its budgeting process. That scenario would shutter two youth correctional facilities and two transition facilities, eliminate about 100 of the roughly 407 funded close‑custody beds, and would include line‑item reductions the agency quantified as approximately $22.6 million for reduced close‑custody beds, $10.5 million for reduced community parole and placement beds, $2.7 million in county pass‑through reductions, and $7.6 million in program‑support cuts. Agency staff warned such cuts would significantly affect community diversion funds, grants and the agency's ability to maintain facilities.

Agency leaders told the committee they are pressing equity and culturally responsive services as operating principles, while acknowledging recent reviews of the Professional Standards Office and promising to place greater emphasis on safety investigations and transparency. Deputy Director Fuima Ono described equity work as already embedded in staffing investments and culturally responsive programming that the agency said is designed to reduce disparities in outcomes for youth of color.

The agency said it is tracking vacancy rates and other workforce measures: overall vacancy rates had declined from prior highs, but the agency flagged an almost 40% vacancy rate among qualified mental‑health professionals (QMHPs) and continued difficulty recruiting medical, dental and behavioral health staff. The agency emphasized that workforce shortages and overtime remain key budget pressures.

The presentation concluded with leadership urging lawmakers to fund the current service level and prioritized policy option packages. OYA officials said they will follow up with additional details on specific questions the committee raised, including overtime amounts and any estimated savings from the Medicaid 1115 waiver, which agency staff said were still being calculated.

The committee scheduled a public hearing on HB 5041 the following day.

","The Oregon Youth Authority told the Legislature's Public Safety Committee on March 26 that it is seeking to maintain current service levels in the 2025–27 budget and is asking lawmakers to fund priority projects including completion of the McLaren Youth Correctional Facility infirmary and pharmacy, modernization of the statewide juvenile justice database known as JAGES, and implementation support for a Medicaid 1115 waiver.","actionData","errors"]

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Oregon Youth Authority says 733 investigations were open or suspended and more than 3,000 cases unsigned; backlog shrinking to 523, director says

Oregon Youth Authority asks Legislature to fund $551 million budget, prioritize McLaren clinic, JAGES modernization and facilities