ORS 418.240: Licensing, certification and authorization criteria; duration; fees; rules.

(1) All child-caring agencies shall obtain from the Department of Human Services a license, certificate or other authorization to provide care or services to children under ORS 418.205 to 418.327, 418.470, 418.475 or 418.950 to 418.970. The criteria for issuance, renewal, suspension or revocation of, or for placing conditions on, a license, certificate or authorization under this section must: (a) Be set forth in rules adopted by the department; (b) Include the full compliance requirements set forth in subsection (2) of this section; and (c) Include, but are not limited to, the following: (A) The fitness of the child-caring agency. (B) The employment of capable, trained or experienced staff that meet minimum staffing requirements. (C) Sufficient financial backing to ensure effective operations. (D) The probability of permanence in the child-caring agency. (E) The care and services provided to the children served will be in their best interests and that of society. (F) That the child-caring agency is or will be in compliance with the standards of care and treatment established in rules adopted by the department. (2)(a) The department may not issue or renew a license, certificate or other authorization to a child-caring agency unless the department finds the agency is or will be in full compliance with all of the following: (A) The agency ensures child and family rights. (B) The agency complies with abuse reporting and investigation requirements. (C) The agency engages in and applies appropriate behavior management techniques. (D) The agency provides adequate furnishings and personal items for children. (E) The agency provides appropriate food services. (F) The agency ensures the safety of children. (G) The agency utilizes approved procedures and protocols for use of medications for children receiving care or services from the agency. (H) The agency or the agency’s employees or agents have not engaged in financial mismanagement. (I) The agency fully and timely corrects violations and maintains standards in accordance with any plan of correction imposed by the department. (J) The agency provides access as required under ORS 418.305 to a child or the agency’s premises to the department or the department’s employees, investigators, court appointed special advocates, attorneys for a child or other authorized persons or entities. (K) The agency provides the department with true copies of records relating to incidents involving the restraint or involuntary seclusion of children in care as required under ORS 418.526 (2). (b) The department may suspend, revoke or place conditions on a license, certificate or authorization of a child-caring agency if the department finds the agency is not in full compliance with any one or more of the full compliance requirements listed in paragraph (a) of this subsection. (c) The department must take immediate steps to suspend or revoke the license, certificate or other authorization of a child-caring agency, if any of the following are found to exist: (A) There has been the death of a child as a result of abuse or neglect on the part of the agency or any of the agency’s employees or agents. (B) There has been sexual or physical abuse or neglect of a child in the agency’s care or custody that was known to the agency and the agency did not take immediate steps to report the abuse or neglect and to ensure the child’s safety. (C) The agency failed to cooperate fully with any local, state or federal regulatory entity’s investigation of the agency or the agency’s operations or employees. (D) The agency failed to provide financial statements as required under ORS 418.255. (d) If any of the circumstances described in paragraph (c) of this subsection exists, the department may immediately place conditions on the license, certificate or authorization of the child-caring agency prior to a hearing if, consistent with ORS 183.430, the department finds there is a serious danger to the public health or safety and sets forth specific reasons for such findings. (e) It is grounds to deny issuance or renewal, suspend, revoke or place conditions on a license, certificate or other authorization if the department becomes aware that a child-caring agency, or the owner or operator of the agency, has been found by other state or federal entities to have engaged in financial, civil or criminal misconduct. (3)(a) If the Director of Human Services has taken action under subsection (2)(c) of this section to suspend or revoke a license, certificate or other authorization, the notice of intent to suspend or revoke may be rescinded if the director determines that the concerns regarding the health and safety of the children in the child-caring agency’s care or custody have been ameliorated and any conditions placed on the license, certificate or other authorization of the child-caring agency have been resolved. (b) Fourteen days before rescinding a notice of intent to suspend or revoke, the Director of Human Services must provide written notice regarding the intent to rescind to the Governor. The notice of intent to rescind is a public record and open for inspection by any person without order of a court. The notice of intent to rescind must include the following information: (A) The circumstances that led to the notice of intent to suspend or revoke; (B) The actions taken by the child-caring agency, the Department of Human Services, the Attorney General, the Oregon Youth Authority and the Oregon Health Authority in response to the circumstances leading to the notice of intent to suspend or revoke; (C) Any penalties, fees or charges made or levied against the child-caring agency; and (D) A complete description of changes that were made at the child-caring agency and the reasons for the determination that the concerns regarding the health and safety of children in the child-caring agency’s care or custody have been ameliorated or that any conditions placed on the license, certificate or other authorization of the child-caring agency have been resolved. (c) In making a decision to rescind a notice of intent to suspend or revoke under this subsection, the decision must be based solely on the health and safety of the children served by the child-caring agency. Systemwide capacity of the child welfare system may not be considered as an element of the decision. (d) For three years after a notice of intent to suspend or revoke is rescinded under this subsection, the child-caring agency must apply for a renewal of the child-caring agency’s license, certificate or other authorization on an annual basis. (e) The department must provide the following with copies of a notice of intent to rescind within five business days of issuing the notice: (A) The Governor; and (B) The committees of the Legislative Assembly relating to child welfare. (4) The department may immediately place conditions on any license, certificate or authorization issued under this section, including but not limited to placing full or partial restrictions on admission of children, temporary suspension, limitation of operations subject to an intent to revoke and limitation of operations subject to correction of violations as specified in a plan of correction imposed by the department. The department shall immediately notify any state or governmental agency or unit that has a contract with the child-caring agency to provide care or services to a child, and the governing board, trustees, owners, managers, operators or other appropriate authorities responsible for the child-caring agency, of conditions placed by the department on the child-caring agency’s license, certificate or authorization under this section. (5) If applicable, an applicant shall submit written proof of compliance with the notification requirements in ORS 336.575. (6) The department may not charge a fee for inspections leading to decisions regarding, and issuance of, licenses, certifications or authorizations under this section, but may impose fees to cover costs of related inspections done for the department by other governmental agencies. (7) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, a license, certificate or authorization issued by the department under this section shall be valid for a period of two years, unless suspended or revoked sooner by the department. However, the department at any time may require amendments to an existing license, certificate or authorization to accommodate changes in the factors upon which the issuance was based. (8) When a condition exists that seriously endangers or places at risk the health, safety or welfare of a child who is receiving care or services at a child-caring agency: (a) The director shall issue an interim emergency order without notice, or with reasonable notice under the circumstances, requiring the agency to correct the conditions and ensure the safety of children in the care of the agency. The interim emergency order shall remain in force until a final order, after a hearing, has been entered in accordance with ORS chapter 183. (b) The director may commence an action to enjoin operation of a child-caring agency: (A) If the agency is being operated without a valid license, certificate or other authorization issued under this section; or (B) If the agency fails to comply with a plan of correction imposed by the department or to correct conditions not in conformity with standards as set out in an order issued under paragraph (a) of this subsection, within the time specified in the order. (9) If the director, the director’s designee or the department becomes aware through any means that a child-caring agency, or an owner, operator or employee of a child-caring agency, is the subject of an investigation by another state agency, law enforcement agency or federal agency, the director or director’s designee shall take immediate steps to cause an investigation to take place into the circumstances surrounding the investigation and whether there is a threat to a child, or whether a child is at risk, at the child-caring agency. Upon determination of the level of threat or risk to children at the agency, the director shall take appropriate steps to protect and ensure the health, safety and welfare of children as necessary under the circumstances. Failure to comply with the requirements of this subsection constitutes grounds for a charge of official misconduct in the second degree under ORS 162.405. (10) If the Department of Justice or Bureau of Labor and Industries commences an investigation of a child-caring agency or an owner, operator or employee of a child-caring agency, the Department of Justice or Bureau of Labor and Industries shall notify, inform and regularly update the director, the director’s designee or such other personnel in the Department of Human Services designated to receive such information regarding the investigation. The director and the department shall immediately undertake the responsive action required by subsection (9) of this section upon receiving such notification. Interference with, discouragement of or impediment to the receipt of the notification, information and updates required under this subsection constitutes official misconduct in the second degree under ORS 162.405. (11) The Department of Human Services shall adopt rules to implement the provisions of this section. [Formerly 419.116; 1971 c.401 §17; 1983 c.510 §7; 1985 c.264 §2; 1987 c.94 §132; 2016 c.106 §4; 2017 c.138 §§1,2; 2023 c.204 §2]