Chapter 624 Oregon Laws 2001

AN ACT

HB 2950

Relating to juveniles; creating new provisions; and amending ORS 137.303, 418.746, 418.751, 418.780, 418.784, 418.786, 418.788, 418.790, 418.796 and 419B.115.

Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:

SECTION 1. ORS 419B.115 is amended to read:

419B.115. (1) Parties to proceedings in the juvenile court under ORS 419B.100 and, except as provided in paragraph (g) of this subsection, under ORS 419B.500 are:

(a) The minor child. [;]

(b) The legal parents or guardian of the child. [;]

(d) The juvenile department. [;]

(e) A court appointed special advocate, if appointed. [;]

(f) The State Office for Services to Children and Families or other child-caring agency if the agency has temporary custody of the child. [; and]

(g) An intervenor who [petitions or files a motion on the basis of a child-parent relationship under ORS 109.119.] is granted intervention under section 3 of this 2001 Act. An intervenor under this paragraph is not a party to a proceeding under ORS 419B.500.

(h) An Indian tribe that has intervened in the case under the Indian Child Welfare Act, 25 U.S.C. 1901 to 1923.

(2) The rights of the parties include, but are not limited to:

(a) The right to notice of the proceeding and copies of the pleadings;

(b) The right to appear with counsel and, except for intervenors under subsection (1)(g) of this section, to have counsel appointed as otherwise provided by law;

(d) The right of appeal; and

(e) The right to request a hearing.

(3)(a) The court may grant rights of limited participation to persons who are not parties under subsection (1) of this section.[may petition the court for rights of limited participation. The petition must be filed and] A person seeking rights of limited participation must file a motion for limited participation and an affidavit. The affidavit must be served on all parties no later than two weeks before a proceeding in the case in which participation is sought. The [petition] affidavit must state:

(A) The reason the participation is sought;

(B) How the person’s involvement is in the best interest of the child or the administration of justice;

(D) What specific relief is being sought.

(b) If the court [finds that the petition is well founded, the court may grant] grants the motion, the rights of limited participation [as] are those specified [by] in the court order.

(c) Persons [petitioning] moving for rights of limited participation are not entitled to court-appointed counsel but may appear with retained counsel.

(4) If a foster parent, preadoptive parent or relative is currently providing care for a child, the State Office for Services to Children and Families shall give the foster parent, preadoptive parent or relative notice of a hearing concerning the child and the court shall give the person an opportunity to be heard. Except as provided in subsection (1) of this section, the foster parent, preadoptive parent or relative providing care for the child [shall] is not [be] considered a party to the juvenile court proceeding solely because of notice and an opportunity to be heard.

(5) When a legal grandparent of a child requests in writing and provides a mailing address, the State Office for Services to Children and Families shall give the legal grandparent notice of a hearing concerning the child and the court shall give the legal grandparent an opportunity to be heard. Except as provided in subsection (1) of this section, a legal grandparent is not considered a party to the juvenile court proceeding solely because of notice and an opportunity to be heard.

SECTION 2. Section 3 of this 2001 Act is added to and made a part of ORS chapter 419B.

SECTION 3. (1)(a) As used in this section, “caregiver relationship” means a relationship between a person and a child:

(A) That has existed:

(i) During the year preceding the initiation of the dependency proceeding;

(ii) For at least six months during the dependency proceeding; or

(iii) For half of the child’s life if the child is less than six months of age;

(B) In which the person had physical custody of the child or resided in the same household as the child;

(C) In which the person provided the child on a daily basis with the love, nurturing and other necessities required to meet the child’s psychological and physical needs; and

(D) On which the child depended to meet the child’s needs.

(b) “Caregiver relationship” does not include a relationship between a child and a person who is the nonrelated foster parent of the child unless the relationship continued for a period exceeding 12 months.

(2) A person asserting that the person has a caregiver relationship with a child may file a motion for intervention in a juvenile dependency proceeding.

(3) Filing a motion under subsection (2) of this section is the sole means by which a person may intervene in a juvenile dependency proceeding. An order granting intervention under this section is exclusively for juvenile dependency proceedings and does not confer standing or rights of intervention in any other action. Intervention is not allowed in proceedings under ORS 419B.500.

(4) A motion for intervention must state:

(a) The person’s relationship to the child and the person’s involvement in the child’s life;

(b) The reason that intervention is sought;

(c) How the person’s intervention is in the best interests of the child and aids the court in carrying out the purposes of ORS chapter 419B;

(d) Why the existing parties cannot adequately present the case; and

(e) What specific relief is being sought.

(5) A person moving to intervene in a case must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that:

(a) A caregiver relationship exists between the person and the child;

(b) The intervention is in the best interests of the child;

(c) Intervention aids the court in carrying out the purposes of ORS chapter 419B;

(d) The reason for intervention and the specific relief sought are consistent with the best interests of the child; and

(e) The existing parties cannot adequately protect the best interests of the child without the intervention.

(6) If the court finds that the motion for intervention is well founded, the court may grant the intervention or may grant rights of limited participation.

(7)(a) A person granted intervention is a party to the case and, except as provided in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this subsection, may be granted such relief as the court determines to be appropriate and in the best interests of the child.

(b) At any time, a person granted intervention or a person with rights of limited participation may move to be considered a temporary placement or visitation resource for the child.

(c) At any time after a court has determined at a permanency hearing that the permanent plan for the child should be something other than to return home, a person granted intervention may move to be considered the permanent placement resource for the child.

(8) The court may modify or set aside any order granting intervention or limited participation as provided in ORS 419B.420, 419B.423 and 419B.426.

SECTION 4. ORS 418.746 is amended to read:

418.746. (1) The Child Abuse Multidisciplinary Intervention Account is established separate and distinct from the General Fund. Interest earned, if any, shall inure to the benefit of the account. All moneys deposited in the account are continuously appropriated to the [State Office for Services to Children and Families] Department of Justice for the purposes of ORS 418.751 and this section.

(2) [By January 1, 1995, and by January 1 of each year thereafter, the State Office for Services to Children and Families] The department, with the advice of the Advisory Council on Child Abuse Assessment, created by ORS 418.784, [and the advisory council on child abuse created pursuant to the requirements of the Children’s Justice Act (Public Law 99-401, Title I),] shall disburse moneys from the Child Abuse Multidisciplinary Intervention Account to eligible county multidisciplinary child abuse teams formed under ORS 418.747 and public and private agencies serving the counties from which the moneys were collected. The Attorney General or the Attorney General’s designee is the administrator of the Child Abuse Multidisciplinary Intervention Account. The moneys shall be allocated by the same formula as, or [similar] a formula similar to, the formula used by the Attorney General for equitable distribution of the fund for victim’s assistance programs under ORS 147.227 (1). Moneys allocated under this subsection may not be used as replacement revenues for currently available funds previously allocated by the county for child abuse intervention.

(3) The [State Office for Services to Children and Families] department shall determine eligibility of the applicants and:

(a) Allocate funds if the program is deemed eligible;

(b) Conditionally allocate funds, with appropriate conditions, when necessary to establish eligibility; or

(4) In making the eligibility determination, the [State Office for Services to Children and Families] department shall consider the following nonexclusive list of factors:

(a) Whether the program substantially furthers the goals and purposes of ORS 418.747, 418.790 and 418.792;

(b) Whether the county multidisciplinary child abuse team has properly allocated other available funds;

(d) The extent to which the county’s coordinated child abuse multidisciplinary intervention plan provides for comprehensive services to the victims of child abuse; and

(e) Whether the funds are being used as replacement revenues as prohibited by subsection (2) of this section.

(5)(a) Each year, the county multidisciplinary child abuse team shall submit to the [State Office for Services to Children and Families] department a coordinated child abuse multidisciplinary intervention plan. The plan must:

(A) Describe all sources of funding, other than moneys that may be distributed from the Child Abuse Multidisciplinary Intervention Account, and including in-kind contributions that are available for the intervention plan;

(B) Describe how the plan provides for comprehensive services to the victims of child abuse, including assessment, advocacy and treatment; and

(b) When submitting the intervention plan, the county multidisciplinary child abuse team shall also submit:

(A) Those applications for funding received from public and private agencies under subsection (6) of this section that the team determines best meet the needs of the county’s intervention plan and a recommendation that the applications for funding be granted; and

(B) If the team is seeking funding from the Child Abuse Multidisciplinary Intervention Account, an application setting forth such information as is required by rule of the [State Office for Services to Children and Families] department.

(6) A public or private agency wishing to apply for funding from the Child Abuse Multidisciplinary Intervention Account shall submit an application to the county multidisciplinary child abuse team for the county in which the public or private agency proposes to provide services. The application shall:

(a) Describe the program offered by the agency and the anticipated outcomes in terms of benefits to children and families; and

(b) Indicate how the program furthers the goals and purposes of ORS 418.747, 418.790 and 418.792.

(7)(a) An agency that is awarded money under this section shall submit an annual report to the county multidisciplinary child abuse team and to the [State Office for Services to Children and Families] department. A county multidisciplinary child abuse team that is awarded money under this section shall submit an annual report to the [State Office for Services to Children and Families] department.

(b) The reports must document how the money was utilized and describe to what extent the program was able to meet anticipated outcomes in terms of benefits to children and families.

(c) A county multidisciplinary child abuse team receiving a report from an agency under this section shall use the report in making future recommendations regarding allocation of moneys.

(d) The [State Office for Services to Children and Families] department shall use reports received under this section to make future eligibility and allocation decisions and to evaluate programs funded under this section.

(8) Two or more county multidisciplinary child abuse teams may join together to develop joint child abuse multidisciplinary intervention plans. The joint plans shall be submitted as provided in subsection (5) of this section.

[(9) The administrative costs of this program may not exceed five percent of the revenues deposited in the Child Abuse Multidisciplinary Intervention Account annually.]

[(10)] (9) The [State Office for Services to Children and Families] department may adopt rules necessary to carry out the provisions of ORS 418.751 and this section including, but not limited to, the following:

(a) Notices and time limits for applications;

(b) Method of review and the role of advisory bodies; and

[(11)] (10) Notwithstanding subsection (2) of this section, of the moneys received by the Child Abuse Multidisciplinary Intervention Account under ORS 137.303, an amount equal to .9989 percent of all moneys distributed from the Criminal Fine and Assessment Account to any recipients under ORS 137.303 shall be transferred to the account created under ORS 418.796 and expended to create a statewide system of regional assessment centers as provided under ORS 418.780 to 418.796.

SECTION 5. ORS 418.751 is amended to read:

418.751. (1) The State Office for Services to Children and Families, as provided in ORS 418.749, and the Department of Justice shall [insure] ensure that training and education are provided for persons, other than law enforcement officers, who are required to investigate allegations of child abuse. The State Office for Services to Children and Families and the Department of Justice shall consult with the State Commission on Children and Families in assessing the grant funding that might be distributed to enhance and support training and continuing education for the multidisciplinary teams.

(2) The State Office for Services to Children and Families and the Department of Justice shall work with the Board on Public Safety Standards and Training to [insure] ensure that the training that is offered to persons under subsection (1) of this section and ORS 418.749 is coordinated with the training given to law enforcement officers.

SECTION 6. ORS 418.780 is amended to read:

418.780. The Legislative Assembly recognizes a serious need for the adequate assessment of children who are victims of child abuse. No child in this state should be denied access to a complete child abuse medical assessment because of an inability to pay. The cost of not assessing and treating abused children thoroughly is too high. The purpose of ORS 418.780 to 418.796 is to establish and maintain sufficient regional assessment centers and community assessment services in Oregon to ensure that every child reasonably suspected to have been subjected to child abuse receives a skilled, complete and therapeutic child abuse medical assessment.

SECTION 7. ORS 418.784 is amended to read:

418.784. (1) There is created the Advisory Council on Child Abuse Assessment, consisting of at least nine members appointed by the Assistant Director for Health, who shall serve as an ex officio member of the council. The council shall direct the administrator of the Child Abuse Multidisciplinary Intervention Account on administering funds to establish and maintain regional assessment centers or community assessment services under ORS 418.780 to 418.796.

(2) Of the members appointed to the council:

(a) One member shall be an employee of the State Office for Services to Children and Families;

(b) One member shall be a physician licensed to practice medicine in Oregon and who specializes in children and families;

(d) One member shall be a district attorney or the designee of a district attorney;

(e) One member shall be an employee of a law enforcement agency, in addition to the member who is a district attorney or the designee of a district attorney;

(f) One member shall be from an operating regional assessment center; and

(g) At least three members shall be citizens with appropriate interest in advocating for the medical interest of abused children.

(3) The members of the council are not entitled to compensation or expenses.

(4) The council shall elect one of its members to serve as chairperson, for such terms and with such duties and powers as the council determines.

(5) The council shall meet at least once every three months at a place, day and hour determined by the council.

(6) A majority of the members of the council constitutes a quorum for the transaction of business.

SECTION 8. ORS 418.786 is amended to read:

418.786. To accomplish the purpose described in ORS 418.780, with the assistance of the Advisory Council on Child Abuse Assessment, the administrator of the Child Abuse Multidisciplinary Intervention Account shall develop and administer a grant program to establish and maintain regional and community assessment centers under ORS 418.780 to 418.796.

SECTION 9. ORS 418.788 is amended to read:

418.788. (1) Subject to the availability of funds under the provisions of ORS 418.796, the administrator of the Child Abuse Multidisciplinary Intervention Account shall make grants for the establishment and maintenance of community or regional assessment centers.

(2) The governing body of a county may apply to the administrator of the Child Abuse Multidisciplinary Intervention Account for a grant to establish and maintain a community or regional assessment center under ORS 418.780 to 418.796. In the absence of an application by the governing body of the county, application may be made by any public or private entity in the county. The administrator of the Child Abuse Multidisciplinary Intervention Account may consolidate applications from more than one county or may return the application with the recommendation that the application be consolidated.

(3) The administrator of the Child Abuse Multidisciplinary Intervention Account shall by rule establish criteria for awarding grants to establish and maintain community or regional assessment centers under ORS 418.780 to 418.796, including but not limited to:

(a) Expenses eligible for reimbursement from funds under ORS 418.796;

(b) The extent to which the applicant’s proposed assessment center will best accomplish the purposes of ORS 418.780 to 418.796;

(c) The extent to which an applicant meets criteria for receiving a grant to establish and maintain community or regional assessment centers;

(d) For regional assessment centers, geography, population and proximity to major transportation routes; and

(e) Availability of sufficiently trained staff and state-of-the-art equipment to complete child abuse assessments.

(4) The administrator of the Child Abuse Multidisciplinary Intervention Account shall not be required to fund any grant in the total amount requested in the application.

SECTION 10. ORS 418.796 is amended to read:

418.796. [(1)] The Advisory Council on Child Abuse Assessment may solicit and accept contributions of funds and assistance from the United States, its agencies or from other sources, public or private, and agree to conditions thereon not inconsistent with the purposes of ORS 418.780 to 418.796. All such funds are to aid in financing the functions of the advisory council and the purposes of ORS 418.780 to 418.796 and shall be deposited in the General Fund of the State Treasury to the credit of a separate account and shall be disbursed by the administrator of the Child Abuse Multidisciplinary Intervention Account created under ORS 418.746 for the purposes of ORS 418.780 to 418.796 in the same manner as funds otherwise appropriated.

[(2) The administrative cost chargeable against the account created under this section may not exceed five percent of the revenues deposited in that account annually.]

SECTION 11. Section 12 of this 2001 Act is added to and made a part of ORS 418.780 to 418.796.

SECTION 12. Once each year, a community or regional assessment center established under ORS 418.780 to 418.796 shall submit a report to the Department of Justice describing how the center has met the purposes of ORS 418.780 to 418.796. The department may prescribe by rule a form for the report.

SECTION 13. ORS 137.303 is amended to read:

137.303. (1) The Department of Revenue is responsible for ensuring that moneys in the Criminal Fine and Assessment Account are properly distributed and shall distribute the moneys monthly according to the following formula:

(a) 15.0949 percent of moneys in the account shall be transferred to the Police Standards and Training Account established under ORS 181.690.

(b) 8.4537 percent of moneys in the account shall be transferred to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Account established under ORS 147.225.

(c) 4.0834 percent of moneys in the account shall be transferred to the Intoxicated Driver Program Fund established under ORS 813.270.

(d) 46.9869 percent of moneys in the account shall be transferred to the General Fund to be used for general governmental expenses.

(e) 2.2640 percent of the moneys in the account shall be reserved to be distributed as provided in ORS 137.305.

(f) 2.6652 percent of the moneys in the account shall be transferred to the Department of State Police and is continuously appropriated to the department.

(g) 0.7597 percent of moneys in the account shall be transferred to the Department of State Police and is continuously appropriated to the department for the purpose of enhanced enforcement of traffic laws against drivers of commercial motor vehicles.

(h) 8.4537 percent of the moneys in the account shall be transferred to the Child Abuse Multidisciplinary Intervention Account established in ORS 418.746.

(i) 0.8515 percent of the moneys in the account shall be transferred to the Domestic Violence Fund established under ORS 108.660.

(j) 3.3388 percent of the moneys in the account shall be transferred to the Department of State Police and is continuously appropriated to the department for the purpose of performing forensic laboratory analyses and maintaining the forensic services implied consent unit.

(k) 1.1599 percent of the moneys in the account shall be transferred to the Domestic Violence Fund established under ORS 108.660 and is continuously appropriated for the purposes of ORS 108.620 (1)(a) to (c).

(L) 0.4352 percent of the moneys in the account shall be transferred to the Safety Education Fund created by ORS 802.155.

(m) 1.9896 percent of the moneys in the account shall be transferred to the subaccount established pursuant to section 36 (1), chapter 1084, Oregon Laws 1999, or a successor subaccount, account or fund.

(n) 2.0781 percent of moneys in the account shall be transferred to the Emergency Medical Services Enhancement Account established under ORS 442.625.

(o) 0.6927 percent of the moneys in the account shall be transferred to the Sexual Assault Victims Fund established under ORS 409.285.

(p) 0.6927 percent of the moneys in the account shall be transferred to the Public Safety Memorial Fund established by ORS 243.950.

(2) The Department of Revenue shall report to the [State Office for Services to Children and Families] Department of Justice monthly on the amount of moneys transferred to the Child Abuse Multidisciplinary Intervention Account under subsection (1)(h) of this section. In making the report, the Department of Revenue shall specify the amount of moneys received from the state courts in each county and from each city court.

SECTION 14. ORS 418.790 is amended to read:

418.790. Each application for funds to establish or maintain a regional assessment center shall include:

(1) A description of how the services of the proposed regional assessment center are to be delivered, including but not limited to:

(a) A coordinated investigation of child abuse allegations;

(b) A child abuse medical assessment;

(c) A neutral, nonintrusive videotaped interview pursuant to interviewing guidelines adopted by the Advisory Council on Child Abuse Assessment;

(d) Mental health treatment or referral for mental health treatment, if indicated as necessary by the assessments; and

(e) A complete written report of the assessment results.

(2) A description of any interagency agreements, as required by ORS 418.747, with the State Office for Services to Children and Families, local law enforcement agencies, other regional assessment centers or other agencies involved in child abuse cases.

(3) A description of procedures to be followed in the proposed regional assessment center, including but not limited to:

(a) The contents, availability and distribution of written reports for each assessment;

(b) The availability of regional assessment center staff to testify in cases involving alleged abuse of children evaluated by the assessment center or service;

(d) The level of support available to the regional assessment center through in-kind contributions from the community.

(4) Evidence indicating that the applicant has state-of-the-art equipment and adequately trained staff to perform child abuse medical assessments and interviews, including but not limited to:

(a) A medical examiner who is trained in the evaluation, diagnosis and treatment of child abuse and who is a physician licensed to practice medicine in Oregon by the Board of Medical Examiners for the State of Oregon; and

(b) An interviewer who has an advanced academic degree in human services or who has comparable training and experience.

(5) A description of where the regional assessment center is to be located, including but not limited to a hospital, medical clinic or other appropriate public or private entity. However, the proposed center shall not be located in an office of the State Office for Services to Children and Families or in the office of any law enforcement agency.

(6) If the applicant is to receive funding as a regional assessment center, the application shall also include:

(a) Evidence of the region to be served and that the center is to be located so as to be reasonably accessible to community assessment services in the region; and

(b) Evidence that the applicant has a sufficiently trained staff to provide education, training, consultation, technical assistance and referral services for community assessment services in the region.

SECTION 15. The amendments to ORS 418.746 by section 4 of this 2001 Act are intended to transfer the responsibilities for the administration of the Child Abuse Multidisciplinary Intervention Account and programs related to the account from the State Office for Services to Children and Families to the Department of Justice.

SECTION 16. The Assistant Director for Services to Children and Families, whose duties, functions and powers related to the Child Abuse Multidisciplinary Intervention Account are transferred by this 2001 Act to the Department of Justice, shall deliver to the Attorney General all records and property within the jurisdiction of the assistant director that relate to the duties, functions and powers so transferred. The Attorney General shall take possession of such property. Any dispute as to transfers of property under this section shall be resolved by the Governor, and the Governor’s decision is final.

SECTION 17. Any proceeding, action, prosecution or other business or matter undertaken or commenced before the effective date of this 2001 Act by the State Office for Services to Children and Families with respect to the duties, functions or powers transferred to the Department of Justice by this 2001 Act, and still pending on the effective date of this 2001 Act, may be conducted and completed by the department in the same manner, under the same terms and conditions and with the same effect as though undertaken, conducted or completed by the state office before the transfer.

SECTION 18. The Department of Justice, to which duties, functions and powers are assigned and transferred by this 2001 Act, is considered to be a continuation of the State Office for Services to Children and Families with respect to such duties, functions and powers, and not a new authority, for the purpose of succession to all rights and obligations of the state office as constituted at the time of such assignment or transfer, except as otherwise provided by this 2001 Act, with the same force and effect as if such duties, functions and powers had not been assigned or transferred.

Approved by the Governor June 26, 2001

Filed in the office of Secretary of State June 26, 2001

Effective date January 1, 2002

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