ORS 419B.443
Time and content of reports
(1)
An agency described in ORS 419B.440 (Circumstances requiring reports) shall file the reports required by ORS 419B.440 (Circumstances requiring reports) (1)(b) at the end of the initial six-month period and no less frequently than each six months thereafter. The agency shall file reports more frequently if the court so orders. The reports must include, but not be limited to:(a)
A description of the problems or offenses that necessitated the placement of the child or ward with the agency;(b)
A description of the type and an analysis of the effectiveness of the care, treatment and supervision that the agency has provided for the child or ward;(c)
A list of all placements made since the child or ward has been in the guardianship or legal custody of an agency and the length of time the child or ward has spent in each placement;(d)
For a child or ward in substitute care, a list of all schools the child or ward has attended since the child or ward has been in the guardianship or legal custody of the agency, the length of time the child or ward has spent in each school and, for a child or ward 14 years of age or older, the number of high school credits the child or ward has earned;(e)
A list of dates of face-to-face contacts the assigned case worker has had with the child or ward since the child or ward has been in the guardianship or legal custody of the agency and, for a child or ward in substitute care, the place of each contact;(f)
For a child or ward in substitute care, a list of the visits the child or ward has had with the child’s or ward’s parents or siblings since the child or ward has been in the guardianship or legal custody of the agency and the place and date of each visit;(g)
For a child or ward in substitute care, the steps the Department of Human Services is taking to ensure that:(A)
The child’s or ward’s substitute care provider is following the reasonable and prudent parent standard; and(B)
The child or ward has regular, ongoing opportunities to engage in age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate activities, including consultation with the child or ward in an age-appropriate manner about the opportunities the child or ward has to participate in the activities;(h)
A description of agency efforts to return the child or ward to the parental home or find permanent placement for the child or ward, including, when applicable, efforts to assist the parents in remedying factors which contributed to the removal of the child or ward from the home;(i)
A proposed treatment plan or proposed continuation or modification of an existing treatment plan, including a proposed visitation plan or proposed continuation or modification of an existing visitation plan and a description of efforts expected of the child or ward and the parents to remedy factors that have prevented the child or ward from safely returning home within a reasonable time;(j)
If continued substitute care is recommended, a proposed timetable for the child’s or ward’s return home or other permanent placement or a justification of why extended substitute care is necessary;(k)
If the child or ward has been placed in foster care outside the state, whether the child or ward has been visited not less frequently than every six months by a state or private agency; and(L)
If the child or ward is placed in a qualified residential treatment program:(A)
A determination that the strengths and needs of the child or ward cannot be met through placement in a foster home, that the placement in a qualified residential treatment program provides the least restrictive setting to provide the most effective and appropriate level of care for the child or ward, and that the placement is consistent with the short-term and long-term goals for the child or ward, as specified in the permanency plan for the child or ward;(B)
Documentation of the specific treatment or service needs that will be met for the child or ward in the placement and the length of time the child or ward is expected to need the treatment or services; and(C)
Documentation of the efforts made by the agency to prepare the child or ward to return home or be placed with a fit and willing relative, a legal guardian, an adoptive parent or in a less restrictive foster home setting.(2)
In addition to the information required in a report made under subsection (1) of this section, for a ward who is in the legal custody of the department pursuant to ORS 419B.337 (Commitment to custody of Department of Human Services) but who will be or recently has been placed in the physical custody of a parent or a person who was appointed the ward’s legal guardian prior to placement of the ward in the legal custody of the department, a report required under ORS 419B.440 (Circumstances requiring reports) (1)(a) shall include:(a)
A recommended timetable for dismissal of the department’s legal custody of the ward and termination of the wardship; and(b)
A description of the services that the department will provide to the ward and the ward’s physical custodian to eliminate the need for the department to continue legal custody.(3)
In addition to the information required in a report made under subsection (1) of this section, if the report is made by the department under ORS 419B.440 (Circumstances requiring reports) (1)(b)(C), the report shall include:(a)
A recommended timetable for dismissal of the department’s legal custody of the ward and termination of the wardship; and(b)
A description of the services that the department has provided to the ward and the ward’s physical custodian to eliminate the need for the department to continue legal custody.(4)
Notwithstanding the requirements of subsection (1) of this section, reports need not contain information contained in prior reports. [1993 c.33 §130; 2001 c.686 §22; 2003 c.396 §75; 2007 c.610 §2; 2007 c.611 §6; 2007 c.806 §8; 2015 c.254 §3; 2015 c.795 §8; 2019 c.619 §13; 2020 s.s.1 c.19 §§18a,18b]
Source:
Section 419B.443 — Time and content of reports, https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors419B.html.
Notes of Decisions
Under former similar statute
Even when child is ward of court, preference for placement with natural parents is still recognized, therefore standard is compelling circumstances for removal rather than best interest of child. State ex rel Juv. Dept. v. Lauffenberger, 308 Or 159, 777 P2d 954 (1989)
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