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Senate Bill 1557 (2024) Implementation

Ensuring Appropriate Services and Supports for Children and Youth under Age 21

Senate Bill 1557 (2024) seeks to ensure appropriate access to Home and Community-Based Services and supports for children and youth under age 21. Section 4 of the bill requires Oregon Health Authority (OHA) to investigate the supports provided to individuals under the age of 21 years to avoid placement in:

  • Hospitals,
  • Nursing homes,
  • Intermediate Care Facilities, or
  • Inpatient facilities providing psychiatric treatment. 

To complete this work, OHA will work with:

  • Oregon Department of Human Services and
  • Youth and families with lived experience.

OHA must present the following reports to the Oregon Legislature:

  • A preliminary report due Oct. 1, 2024, and
  • A final report due March 1, 2025.

View the final report (English)   View the executive summary (English)

View the final report (Spanish)   View the executive summary (Spanish)

Project Timeline

Project TImeline

Engagement Opportunities

Currently, Oregon provides psychiatric services in hospitals and programs licensed as Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities (PRTF) for children and youth under 21 years of age. OHA is developing a standardized set of eligibility standards to support the determination of whether a youth meets Psych Under 21 criteria. This will establish consistent and transparent eligibility standards across all Psych Under 21 services, including those that may be provided in a home and community-based setting through the appropriate Medicaid authority or authorities. 

Future work and collaboration will be needed to develop these processes for implementation.

We are seeking input from our current PRTF providers, coordinated care organizations (CCOs), behavioral health partners, providers, other internal and external partners, and families and youth. If you are interested, please join us on one of the following dates.

Opportunities for input:

  • Wednesday, June 4, 2 to 3:30 p.m. Pacific Time
  • Monday, June 9, 3:30 to 5 p.m. Pacific

Use this Zoom link to join both meetings

Meeting ID: 161 4387 7475, Phone: 1-669-254-5252

Alternatively, you can provide written input on this survey. 


Communications

Memo to behavioral health system partners (7/19/2024): This memo explains Section 5 of SB 1557. 

Under Section 5 of the bill, organizations and licensed practitioners may not deny children or youth under age 21 access to mental health assessment, treatment or services based on their intellectual or developmental disability. 

Reports

Preliminary report (Oct. 1, 2024):

Youth and Family Engagement Report (December 2024)

Progress Reports: These reports outline OHA's progress in completing the investigation required by Section 4 of the bill.

To Learn More:

View past issues of Holding Hope, OHA's newsletter about children's behavioral health in Oregon.

Email kids.team@oha.oregon.gov