OAR 413-015-1015: Making the CPS Assessment Disposition Determination

(1) Except as provide section (3) of this rule, abuse of a child, for the purpose of determining the CPS assessment disposition, includes, among others, the behavior, conditions, and circumstances described in this section. (a) Abandonment, including parental behavior showing an intent to permanently give up all rights and claims to the child. (b) Child selling, including the selling of a child that consists of buying, selling, bartering, trading, or offering to buy or sell the legal or physical custody of a child. (c) Mental injury (psychological maltreatment), includes only cruel or unconscionable acts or statements made, or threatened to be made, to a child if the acts, statements or threats result in severe harm to the child's psychological, cognitive, emotional, or social well-being and functioning. (d) Neglect, including failure, through action or omission, to provide and maintain adequate food, clothing, shelter, medical care, supervision, protection, or nurturing that is likely to endanger the health or welfare of the child. Chronic neglect is a persistent pattern of family functioning in which the parent or caregiver does not sustain or meet the basic needs of a child resulting in an accumulation of harm that can have long term effect on the child's overall physical, mental, or emotional development. Neglect may include, but is not limited to the following: (A) Physical neglect, which includes each of the following: (i) Failing to provide for the child's basic physical needs including adequate shelter, food, and clothing. (ii) Permitting a child to enter or remain in or upon premises where methamphetamines are being manufactured. (iii) Unlawful exposure of a child to a controlled substance, as defined in ORS 475.005, or to the unlawful manufacturingof a cannabinoid extract, as defined in ORS 475C.009, that subjects a child to a substantial risk of harm to the child's health or safety. When the CPS worker is making a determination of physical neglect based on a substantial risk of harm to the child's health due to unlawful exposure to a substance, this determination must be consistent with medical findings. (B) Medical neglect is a refusal or failure to seek, obtain, or maintain necessary medical, dental, or mental health care. Medical neglect includes withholding medically indicated treatment from infants who have disabilities and life-threatening conditions. However, failure to provide the child with immunizations or routine well-child care alone does not constitute medical neglect. When the CPS worker is making a determination of medical neglect, this determination must be consistent with medical findings. (C) Lack of supervision and protection, including failure to provide supervision and protection appropriate to the child's age, mental ability, and physical condition. (D) Desertion, which includes the parent or caregiver leaving the child with another person and failing to reclaim the child, or parent or caregiver failure to provide information about their whereabouts, providing false information about their whereabouts, or failing to establish a legal guardian or custodian for the child. (E) Psychological neglect, which includes serious inattention to the child's need for affection, support, nurturing, or emotional development. The parent or caregiver behavior must be related to the observable and severe harm of the child's psychological, cognitive, emotional, or social well-being and functioning. (e) Physical abuse, including an injury to a child that is inflicted or allowed to be inflicted by non-accidental means that results in harm. Physical abuse may include injury that could not reasonably be the result of the explanation given. Physical abuse may also include injury that is a result of discipline or punishment. Examples of injuries that may result from physical abuse include: (A) Head injuries; (B) Bruises, cuts, punctures, lacerations; (C) Internal injuries; (D) Burns or scalds; (E) Injuries to bone, muscle, cartilage, and ligaments; (F) Poisoning; (G) Electrical shock; (H) Substantial pain, physical impairment; and (I) Death. (f) Sexual abuse, which includes: (A) A person's use or attempted use of a child for the person's own sexual gratification, the sexual gratification of another person, or the sexual gratification of the child. Sexual abuse includes, but is not limited to, incest, rape, sodomy, sexual penetration, fondling, and voyeurism. (B) Sexual exploitation. (C) Sex trafficking. (g) Threat of harm, including all activities, conditions, and circumstances that place the child at threat of severe harm of physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, mental injury, or other child abuse. (2) Except as provided in section (3) of this rule or when the abuse is familial or third party abuse, abuse of a child in care when the child in care lives with a resource family or receives services from a respite provider certified by Child Welfare includes, among others, the behavior, conditions, and circumstances described in this section. (a) Abandonment, including desertion or willful forsaking of a child in care , or the withdrawal or neglect of duties and obligations owed a child in care by a resource parent or respite provider certified by Child Welfare, a caregiver, or other person. (b) Financial exploitation. (A) Financial exploitation includes: (i) Wrongfully taking the assets, funds, or property belonging to or intended for the use of a child in care . (ii) Alarming a child in care by conveying a threat to wrongfully take or appropriate moneys or property of the child in care if the child in care would reasonably believe that the threat conveyed would be carried out. (iii) Misappropriating, misusing, or transferring without authorization any moneys from any account held jointly or singly by a child in care . (iv) Failing to use the income or assets of a child in care effectively for the support and maintenance of the child in care . (B) Financial exploitation does not include age-appropriate discipline that may involve the threat to withhold, or the withholding of, privileges. (C) Involuntary seclusion. Involuntary seclusion means confinement of a child in care alone in a room or an enclosed space from which the child in care is prevented from leaving by any means. A resource parent or respite provider certified by Child Welfare may not put a child in care into involuntary seclusion. (i) Involuntary seclusion includes: (I) Involuntary seclusion of a child in care for the convenience of a resource parent or respite provider certified by Child Welfare. (II) Involuntary seclusion of a child in care to discipline the child in care . (III) Involuntary seclusion of a child in care as a form of punishment. (IV) Involuntary seclusion of a child in care done in retaliation. (ii) Involuntary seclusion does not include age-appropriate discipline, including, but not limited to, a time-out if the time-out is in a setting from which the child in care is not prevented from leaving by any means. (c) Neglect, which includes: (A) Failure to provide the care, supervision, or services necessary to maintain the physical and mental health of a child in care ; or (B) The failure of a resource parent or respite provider certified by Child Welfare, a caregiver, or other person to make a reasonable effort to protect a child in care from abuse. (d) Physical abuse, which includes: (A) Any physical injury to a child in care caused by other than accidental means, or that appears to conflict with the explanation given of the injury; or (B) Willful infliction of physical pain or injury upon a child in care . (e) Sexual abuse, which includes: (A) Sexual harassment. (B) Sexual exploitation. (C) Exposing a child in care to sexually explicit material or language that does not serve a legitimate medical, scientific, or educational purpose. This also includes any exposure to sexually explicit conduct involving a child. (D) Sexual contact with a child in care , including, but not limited to: (i) Any sexual contact between a child in care and a resource parent or respite provider certified by Child Welfare, a caregiver, or other person responsible for the provision of care or services to a child in care ; (ii) Any sexual contact between a person and a child or young adult that is unlawful under ORS chapter 163 and not subject to a defense under that chapter, including, but not limited to: (I) Rape (ORS 163.355, 163.365, 163.375); (II) Sodomy (ORS 163.385, 163.395, 163.405); (III) Unlawful sexual penetration (ORS 163.408,163.411); (IV) Sexual abuse (ORS 163.415, 163.425, 163.427); or (V) Incest (ORS 163.525). (iii) Any sexual contact that is achieved through force, trickery, threat, or coercion. (E) Private indecency (ORS 163.467). (F) Public indecency (ORS 163.465). (G) Sex trafficking. (f) Verbal abuse. (A) Verbal abuse includes threatening severe harm, either physical or emotional, to a child in care through the use of: (i) Derogatory or inappropriate names, insults, verbal assaults, profanity, or ridicule; or (ii) Harassment, coercion, threats, compelling or deterring conduct by threats, humiliation, mental cruelty, or inappropriate sexual comments. (B) Verbal abuse does not include age-appropriate discipline that may involve the threat to withhold privileges. (g) Wrongful use of restraint. A resource parent or respite provider certified by the Child Welfare or a caregiver may not use a restraint on a child in care . (A) Wrongful restraints do not include: (i) Holding the child in care's hand or arm to escort the child in care safely and without the use of force from one area to another; or (ii) Assisting the child in care to complete a task if the child in care does not resist the physical contact. (B) A resource parent or respite provider certified by Child Welfare may use a physical intervention if: (i) The intervention is necessary to break up a physical fight or to effectively protect a person from an assault, serious bodily injury or sexual contact; (ii) The physical intervention uses the least amount of physical force and contact possible; and (iii) The physical intervention is not a prohibited restraint described in ORS 418.519 and 418.523.