Chapter 250 Oregon Laws 2005

AN ACT

SB 94

Relating to child abuse reporting; creating new provisions; amending ORS 419B.015; and declaring an emergency.

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

SECTION 1. ORS 419B.015 is amended to read:

419B.015. (1)(a) A person making a report of child abuse, whether voluntarily or pursuant to ORS 419B.010, shall make an oral report by telephone or otherwise to the local office of the Department of Human Services, to the designee of the department or to a law enforcement agency within the county where the person making the report is located at the time of the contact. [Such reports] The report shall contain, if known, the names and addresses of the child and the parents of the child or other persons responsible for care of the child, the child’s age, the nature and extent of the abuse, including any evidence of previous abuse, the explanation given for the abuse and any other information [which] that the person making the report believes might be helpful in establishing the cause of the abuse and the identity of the perpetrator.

(b) When a report of child abuse is received by the department, the department shall [immediately] notify a law enforcement agency within the county where the report was made. When a report of child abuse is received by a designee of the department, the designee shall notify, according to the contract, either the department or a law enforcement agency within the county where the report was made. When a report of child abuse is received by a law enforcement agency, the agency shall [immediately] notify the local office of the department within the county where the report was made.

(2) When a report of child abuse is received under subsection (1)(a) of this section, the entity receiving the report shall make the notification required by subsection (1)(b) of this section according to rules adopted by the department under section 3 of this 2005 Act.

SECTION 2. Section 3 of this 2005 Act is added to and made a part of ORS 419B.005 to 419B.050.

SECTION 3. (1) The Department of Human Services shall adopt rules establishing:

(a) The time within which the notification required by ORS 419B.015 (1)(a) must be made. At a minimum, the rules shall:

(A) Establish which reports of child abuse require notification within 24 hours after receipt;

(B) Provide that all other reports of child abuse require notification within 10 days after receipt; and

(C) Establish criteria that enable the department, the designee of the department or a law enforcement agency to quickly and easily identify reports that require notification within 24 hours after receipt.

(b) How the notification is to be made.

(2) The department shall appoint an advisory committee to advise the department in adopting rules required by this section. The department shall include as members of the advisory committee representatives of law enforcement agencies and multidisciplinary teams formed pursuant to ORS 418.747 and other interested parties.

(3) In adopting rules required by this section, the department shall balance the need for providing other entities with the information contained in a report received under ORS 419B.015 with the resources required to make the notification.

(4) The department may recommend practices and procedures to local law enforcement agencies to meet the requirements of rules adopted under this section.

SECTION 4. The Department of Human Services shall adopt the rules required by section 3 of this 2005 Act no later than January 1, 2006, and shall ensure that the rules take effect no later than January 1, 2006.

SECTION 5. The amendments to ORS 419B.015 by section 1 of this 2005 Act become operative on January 1, 2006.

SECTION 6. This 2005 Act being necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety, an emergency is declared to exist, and this 2005 Act takes effect on its passage.

Approved by the Governor June 20, 2005

Filed in the office of Secretary of State June 21, 2005

Effective date June 20, 2005

__________