[{"_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",6229860,"mediaKeyId","3446193-33845b089aa7a9077b69b1279ac636b0","parentId",3446193,"title","Committee adopts amendment to SB 736A clarifying parental immunity and requiring DHS brochure disclosure","audioSeconds",758,"startMs",1015000,"endMs",257000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3446193-33845b089aa7a9077b69b1279ac636b0&start=1015&end=257","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3446193-33845b089aa7a9077b69b1279ac636b0/thumbnail_1015000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6229860/Oregon/Committee-adopts-amendment-to-SB-736A-clarifying-parental-immunity-and-requiring-DHS-brochure-disclosure","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6229860-d954cf9ed38539d286a11f8347d07d8d/orig.mp4?Expires=1770487122&Signature=FFGor2Uy75fAn7Aed1VclUtcCBuAgx~hDhzRaA-tmXrCNI87vjfmKBGzm2BKiw3NCvamGsc3PICuSMYfp9q8QRtCIYzUGjLRjOe-7QQtapik6JS8YwjRg3TbEb7M70gBUEUw~2ai443tzh9ozmpft44~w6OGLaNrsIHOdrG64jKgS~njEe-lXAPZyn7678DSsdH7gWfWAzABJQfXMwsFgrjWZAR7QLueUT7gWRshldFL5UNkj2pEt4YhVxGxN5CmzBwYyfDG5Ox8ofXdvEg9g9kWRsySr2PSIAlt2-NHs4IzoYBU~vETjf8UG0heE6IGko6Aa-WD9EKRQS8onuL7gA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Oregon Legislature","date","2025-05-22T00:00:00Z","article","The House Committee on Early Childhood and Human Services on May 22 adopted an amendment to Senate Bill 736A that clarifies parents are not to be treated as perpetrators under the statute governing abuse of a child in care and requires the Department of Human Services (DHS) to include a written disclosure in materials provided to parents stating that a DHS representative \"is not an attorney and cannot provide legal advice.\"

The amendment (dash A6) removes a prior requirement that DHS provide specified written notice before the first face-to-face meeting in a child abuse investigation, but retains Section 1 clarifying that a parent is not considered the accused under the abuse-in-care definition. The committee recorded that the amendment declares an emergency and that the Legislative Fiscal Office lists no revenue impact and a minimal fiscal impact.

Sen. Sarah Gelser Bluhin, who spoke to the committee about the amendment, said the retained language was the central goal: \"The primary thing that we need is to pass the part in the in section 1, which is retained in this amendment that makes it clear that a parent is never, investigated under the definition of abuse for a child in care.\"

Taylor, the committee staff member who summarized the bill, told members that the amendment also requires DHS to add a disclosure to written materials provided to parents: \"the department shall include a disclosure that the representative of the department is not an attorney and cannot provide legal advice to the parent or guardian.\" That disclosure replaces an earlier requirement that staff provide written notice before the first face-to-face interview.

Sen. Gelser Bluhin described outreach with district attorneys and with youth-rights advocates, saying DAs raised concerns about co-occurring law enforcement investigations and that stakeholders plan to work together to revise the brochure language to avoid misleading families. Committee members and legislative counsel said that the amendment was intended to spur a collaborative process among DHS, district attorneys, and advocates to rewrite the pamphlet and that the brochure will be reprinted to include the disclosure.

Vice Chair Walters moved to adopt the dash A6 amendment; the motion passed on a roll call. Walters then moved SB 736A, as amended, to the floor with a due-pass recommendation; the committee passed that motion and appointed Chair Hartman to carry the bill to the floor. Committee members noted the intent to follow up with a work group to clarify procedures where DHS and law enforcement investigations overlap and to involve district attorneys and youth-justice advocates in brochure revisions.

The committee did not adopt any additional statutory changes during the work session. The amendment and the committee's action were recorded as emergency and effective on passage.

Ending: The committee closed the SB 736A work session after adopting the amendment and forwarding the bill to the floor; members said they expect continued interagency and stakeholder work on brochure language and on clarifying procedures when DHS and law enforcement investigations run concurrently.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","House Committee On Early Childhood and Human Services 05/22/2025 8:30 AM","oneSentenceSummary","The House Committee on Early Childhood and Human Services on May 22 adopted an amendment to Senate Bill 736A that clarifies parents are not to be treated as perpetrators under the child-in-care abuse definition and requires the Department of Human Services to include a written disclosure that its representatives \"are not an attorney and cannot provide legal advice.\"","taxTitle","Early Childhood and Human Services, House of Representatives, Committees, Legislative, Oregon","taxId",17511,"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},6229855,"Committee removes religious-exemption lines from SB 875A, forwards revisions on foster siblings and contact to floor",1346,703000,2049000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3446193-33845b089aa7a9077b69b1279ac636b0&start=703&end=2049","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3446193-33845b089aa7a9077b69b1279ac636b0/thumbnail_703000.jpg","/articles/6229855/Oregon/Committee-removes-religious-exemption-lines-from-SB-875A-forwards-revisions-on-foster-siblings-and-contact-to-floor","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6229855-bfa01481f14bd7b6f20c05834514bb44/orig.mp4?Expires=1770487122&Signature=Tz51FK121BQ8Edv86u1jzimBwiOozgtkmXrNAp9-AL~3HaWuZs3LuzxrJluLG8pRqFvabgk0cuOO-3C4mHgE3IWAat5dxTYKI2pIegP2hLnKJ4PPD-shMBLLe-YDffhHIg~UCXbZ6HJW~bMf6~7Ej1tDhi9O0ZK8xFtlTA7Fl8UTanqwTrgP~7GxFX6vH6ZR-oRerIG78CiFNendBeDg7sTWJ7vtVzoDimqkda5eX-bRjauxJgjDvMxAKGXr4kjCtioY9BuOIDbVDn~DCLPw1J0msCQwLye1-~9G9fEK8ebE-JVDwu7SFWvwYtjlIq0wfXTHAfcRZC58yfeG-vIYxg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The House Committee on Early Childhood and Human Services on May 22 approved changes to Senate Bill 875A that (1) permit a court to limit or prohibit contact between a foster child and a sibling when necessary to ensure safe and appropriate contact, (2) expand the definition of a child in care to include a person age 21 who is in DHS physical or legal custody, and (3) remove two lines from the Oregon Foster Children's Bill of Rights that would have given a foster child an explicit right to decline attendance at religious events that do not align with the child's beliefs. The amendment declares an emergency and was described as having no revenue impact and minimal fiscal impact.

Taylor, the committee staff member summarizing the bill, told members the dash A2 amendment \"remove[s] from the rights enumerated in the Oregon Foster Children's Bill of Rights, the ability for a foster child to decline to attend or participate in religious events, gatherings, camps, and activities that do not align with the child's beliefs.\"

The amendment prompted a robust and personal discussion among committee members. Representative Knowles and others said they wrestled with the balance between honoring foster parents' faith traditions and protecting a child's religious choices, particularly for older children and teens. Representative Knowles described her own experience growing up in a Catholic household and said she could understand teenagers resisting religious attendance: \"I can't figure out how to vote... I just don't know how to vote.\"

Vice Chair Scharf and other members argued the department's existing placement duties and administrative rules require matching children to families as practicable and that removing the two lines reduces the risk that foster families would be investigated or lose approval when a child later declines participation. Legislative counsel Laurie Ann Sills told the committee that administrative rules require foster providers to \"recognize, encourage, and support the religious belief, ethnic heritage, cultural identity, and language of the child and their family\" (OAR reference provided to the committee) and that ORS language requires placement, \"so far as practical, [in] the same religious faith as held by the child and the child's parents,\" as read into the record by committee members.

Committee members discussed several options raised during debate, including placing an age threshold (for example, granting the right only to children over a certain age) and subjecting older children's objections to heightened judicial review; members noted these options would complicate the statutory framework and likely require further work. Several members said they support returning to the issue after litigation currently pending in federal courts is resolved or after interim committee work.

The committee adopted the dash A2 amendment on a roll call and then forwarded SB 875A, as amended, to the House floor with a due-pass recommendation. Representative Scharf and Vice Chair Sharp agreed to co-carry the bill. Members said they expect to continue conversation in a short-session committee bill or interim work group to refine statutory language and placement guidance, and to await court outcomes affecting ongoing litigation mentioned during the hearing.

Ending: The committee closed the SB 875A work session after adopting the amendment and forwarding the bill to the floor; members recorded differing votes on the religious-rights language and committed to further study and possible future legislation.","The House Committee on Early Childhood and Human Services on May 22 adopted dash A2 changes to Senate Bill 875A that clarify courts may limit sibling contact for safety, expand the definition of \"child in care\" to include a person age 21 in DHS custody, and remove two lines from the Oregon Foster Children's Bill of Rights that would have allowed a foster child to decline participation in religious events.","actionData","errors"]

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Committee adopts amendment to SB 736A clarifying parental immunity and requiring DHS brochure disclosure

Committee removes religious-exemption lines from SB 875A, forwards revisions on foster siblings and contact to floor