Protecting children in Oregon
Oregon's Child Welfare Division is committed to the safety of every child in foster care and those who come to our attention through the Oregon Child Abuse Hotline. Through our safety initiative, we're working to improve how we protect the safety of these children.
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Child safety is the highest priority for The Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) Child Welfare.
Over the past year, several trends have emerged related to child and family safety. These trends are part of challenging social, economic and health issues that affect families and put children at risk of neglect and abuse.
Nationally and in Oregon, child fatalities have increased due to complex interrelated factors. Poverty, substance use disorder, housing insecurity and lack of access to mental health services are examples of stressors affecting family stability and child safety. These trends require new approaches to keep children safe across the child welfare system, from screening to permanency.
Focus areas
The Oregon Child Abuse Hotline is responsible for screening all calls to determine whether they require a Child Protective Services assessment of child abuse allegations. Consistent, equitable and accurate screening practices will improve identification of safety risks.
Timely CPS assessments (investigations) of child abuse allegations and comprehensive child safety assessments reduce the time children are in potentially unsafe situations due to maltreatment or family safety needs.
When Child Welfare is involved with a child and family, our primary responsibility is to ensure child safety. Clear decision-making standards and processes around risk and safety ensure the well-being for children in our care, both in-home with family and in foster care.
Critical incident reviews help improve child welfare practice and identify gaps in the system. The review process is a structured way to learn from tragedies to reduce child fatalities and maltreatment.
ODHS is actively working with the neutral expert hired as part of the
Wyatt v. Kotek settlement.
Neutral Kevin Ryan published his
Initial Review on July 29, 2025. This report details measures and outcomes ODHS will use to measure progress in areas noted in the lawsuit. Read the
Oregon Newsroom story about the Initial Review.
This work is focused on:
- Reducing the number of children and young adults who are harmed after they enter foster care. Improving communication with state courts, attorneys, children and young adults, and their families when harms do occur.
- Making sure children and young adults get medical and mental health assessments, and timely referrals for medical and mental health care.
- Improving the quality of foster care homes and services for children and young adults.
- Lowering the number of children and young adults who come back into foster care.
- Improving how quickly children and young adults get case plans after entering care. Case plans outline the expectations for the child's parents and other family members, services and referrals Child Welfare will provide, routine contact with the child's parents, preparation of reports to the court and other service providers, and timelines for each part of the plan.
Expected outcomes
- Fewer child abuse reports while children are in foster care
- Increased timeliness of complete, quality and sufficient child protective services assessments
- Increased staff skill, confidence and competence in building safety practices
- Progress made toward ultimate outcomes in the class-action lawsuit collaborative agreement