Juvenile Code: Dependency

ORS 419B.015
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(1)(a) A person making a report of child abuse, whether the report is made voluntarily or is required by ORS 419B.010 (Duty of officials to report child abuse), 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. 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 that the person making the report believes might be helpful in establishing the cause of the abuse and the identity of the perpetrator.
(b)(A) When a report of alleged child abuse is received by the department, the department shall notify a law enforcement agency within the county where the alleged abuse occurred or, if that county is unknown, the county where the child resides or, if that county is unknown, the county where the reporter came into contact with the child or the alleged perpetrator of the abuse.

(B)

When a report of alleged 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 alleged abuse occurred or, if that county is unknown, the county where the child resides or, if that county is unknown, the county where the reporter came into contact with the child or the alleged perpetrator of the abuse.

(C)

When a report of alleged child abuse is received by a law enforcement agency, the agency shall notify the department by making a report of the alleged child abuse to the child abuse reporting hotline.

(c)

When a report of alleged child abuse is received by the department or by a law enforcement agency, the department or law enforcement agency, or both, may collect information concerning the military status of the parent or guardian of the child who is the subject of the report and may share the information with the appropriate military authorities. Disclosure of information under this paragraph is subject to ORS 419B.035 (Confidentiality of records) (7).

(2)

When a report of alleged 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 ORS 419B.017 (Time limits for notification between law enforcement agencies and Department of Human Services).
(3)(a) When a report alleging that a child or ward in substitute care may have been subjected to abuse is received by the department, the department shall notify the attorney for the child or ward, the child’s or ward’s court appointed special advocate, the parents of the child or ward and any attorney representing a parent of the child or ward that a report has been received.

(b)

The name and address of and other identifying information about the person who made the report may not be disclosed under this subsection. Any person or entity to whom notification is made under this subsection may not release any information not authorized by this subsection.

(c)

The department shall make the notification required by this subsection within three business days of receiving the report of alleged child abuse.

(d)

Notwithstanding the obligation imposed by this subsection, the department is not required under this subsection to notify the parent or parent’s attorney that a report of alleged child abuse has been received if the notification may interfere with an investigation or assessment or jeopardize the child’s or ward’s safety. [1993 c.546 §15; 1993 c.734 §1a; 2005 c.250 §1; 2007 c.237 §1; 2017 c.210 §1; 2019 c.181 §1]

Notes of Decisions

Report of child abuse refers only to report made in accordance with reporting procedure set forth in statute and not to every document, including one generated in investigation, that includes information related to abuse. Pamplin Media Group v. City of Salem, 293 Or App 755, 429 P3d 1019 (2018), Sup Ct review denied

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Last accessed
Mar. 11, 2023

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