Department of Human Services
Child Welfare Programs - Chapter 413
Division 15
INTRODUCTION TO CPS RULES
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. 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 includes each of 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 substance that subjects a child to severe harm to the child's health or safety. When the CPS worker is making a determination of physical neglect based on severe 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 or young adult when the child or young adult 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 or young adult, or the withdrawal or neglect of duties and obligations owed a child or young adult 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 or young adult.
(ii) Alarming a child or young adult by conveying a threat to wrongfully take or appropriate moneys or property of the child or young adult if the child or young adult 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 or young adult.
(iv) Failing to use the income or assets of a child or young adult effectively for the support and maintenance of the child or young adult.
(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 or young adult alone in a room or an enclosed space from which the child or young adult is prevented from leaving by any means. A resource parent or respite provider certified by Child Welfare may not put a child or young adult into involuntary seclusion.
(i) Involuntary seclusion includes:
(I) Involuntary seclusion of a child or young adult for the convenience of a resource parent or respite provider certified by Child Welfare.
(II) Involuntary seclusion of a child or young adult to discipline the child or young adult.
(III) Involuntary seclusion of a child or young adult as a form of punishment.
(IV) Involuntary seclusion of a child or young adult 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 or young adult 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 or young adult; 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 or young adult from abuse.
(d) Physical abuse, which includes:
(A) Any physical injury to a child or young adult 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 or young adult.
(e) Sexual abuse, which includes:
(A) Sexual harassment.
(B) Sexual exploitation.
(C) Exposing a child or young adult 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 or young adult, including, but not limited to:
(i) Any sexual contact between a child or young adult 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 or young adult;
(iii) 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
(VI) Incest (ORS 163.525).
(ii) 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 or young adult 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 or young adult.
(A) Wrongful restraints do not include:
(i) Holding the child or young adult’s hand or arm to escort the child or young adult safely and without the use of force from one area to another; or
(ii) Assisting the child or young adult to complete a task if the child or young adult 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
(ii) The physical intervention is not a prohibited restraint described in ORS 418.519 and 418.523.
Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 409.050 & ORS 418.005
Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 409.185, ORS 419B.005 - 419B.050, ORS 418.205 - 418.327 & ORS 418.519 - 418.523
History:
CWP 2-2024, amend filed 01/29/2024, effective 02/01/2024
CWP 1-2024, minor correction filed 01/10/2024, effective 01/10/2024
CWP 95-2023, amend filed 12/22/2023, effective 01/01/2024
CWP 83-2023, temporary amend filed 09/20/2023, effective 09/20/2023 through 03/17/2024
CWP 10-2022, amend filed 06/23/2022, effective 07/01/2022
CWP 5-2022, amend filed 03/28/2022, effective 03/28/2022
CWP 20-2021, temporary amend filed 09/30/2021, effective 09/30/2021 through 03/28/2022
CWP 7-2021, amend filed 03/01/2021, effective 03/01/2021
CWP 108-2020, minor correction filed 02/18/2020, effective 02/18/2020
CWP 98-2018, minor correction filed 07/09/2018, effective 07/09/2018
CWP 51-2018, adopt filed 06/29/2018, effective 06/29/2018
CWP 24-2017, temporary adopt filed 12/29/2017, effective 01/01/2018 through 06/29/2018