| From the HSLDA E-lert Service: |
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| Date: From: Subject: | 3/31/2011 3:17:00 PM Home School Legal Defense Association Oregon--Calls Needed to Oppose DHS Pilot Program |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== Oregon--Calls Needed to Oppose DHS Pilot Program! Dear HSLDA Members and Friends, We need your calls to help stop House Bill 2858. This bill would create a pilot program to refer Lane County families with unsubstantiated reports of abuse and neglect, and who have children from newborns to age 5, for further assessment. Both children and adults in these families would be considered for additional evaluation. Caseworkers would also make recommendations for appropriate interventions such as "parental education and support." We have been closely tracking House Bill 2858 and working with OCEANetwork to oppose this pilot program. Your calls are needed now to help defeat this legislation while it is assigned to an unofficial workgroup that is being held on the bill. We ask that you contact the House Human Services Committee members listed below and urge them to oppose this bill. REQUESTED ACTION (1) If you have not already done so, please call and/or email the members of the House Human Services Committee listed below with the following message in your own words: "Please oppose House Bill 2858. Parents who have already been through a DHS investigation and have had no indication of abuse or neglect should not be referred for additional scrutiny and government involvement. Additionally, since this pilot program's purpose is to report the effectiveness of providing services to these families, I am concerned that undue pressure will be placed on these parents to participate in this third-party referral plan." If your representative is on this committee, please let him or her know that you are a constituent. Please let committee members know if you live in Lane County. To find the name of your representative, use HSLDA's Legislative Toolbox at http://www.hslda.org/toolbox . You do not need to tell the committee members that you are a homeschool parent. House Human Services Committee: Rep. Vic Gilliam (R), Co-Chair Phone: 503-986-1418 Email: rep.vicgilliam@state.or.us Rep. Carolyn Tomei (D), Co-Chair Phone: 503-986-1441 Email: rep.carolyntomei@state.or.us Rep. Lew Frederick (D), Co-Vice Chair Phone: 503-986-1443 Email: rep.lewfrederick@state.or.us Rep. Jim Thompson (R), Co-Vice Chair Phone: 503-986-1423 Email: rep.jimthompson@state.or.us Rep. Mitch Greenlick (D) Phone: 503-986-1433 Email: rep.mitchgreenlick@state.or.us Rep. Chris Harker (D) Phone: 503-986-1434 Email: rep.chrisharker@state.or.us Rep. Julie Parrish (R) Phone: 503-986-1437 Email: rep.julieparrish@state.or.us Rep. Jim Weidner (R) Phone: 503-986-1424 Email: rep.jimweidner@state.or.us BACKGROUND Under the Lane County pilot program proposed by House Bill 2858, families whose 30-day Department of Human Services (DHS) investigations had been completed and closed without any evidence of abuse or neglect would still be referred to a third-party organization for additional review. All cases that are considered "founded" for abuse and neglect already receive additional attention. Under the pilot program, any family referred would be subject to a determination of what services might be available and appropriate for the child and parents. An assessment of the needs and resources available to the family would also be done along with a recommendation for appropriate "interventions" into the family's life. The recommendations could include parental education and support, mental health services, or other interventions. According the DHS, 67,885 allegations of abuse and neglect were made in 2009. Of those allegations, only 28,584 actually were investigated. Thus, only 42.1% of all allegations met the threshold for abuse and neglect and were referred to social workers for investigation. While House Bill 2858 would only deal with those reports actually investigated, nearly 75% of all reports actually investigated Oregon in 2009 were determined to be completely unfounded or closed without being able to determine any abuse or neglect. In Lane County, the pilot program would cause the referral of 1,231 reports/families that were unfounded and 411 reports/families that were closed as unable to determine for additional scrutiny. Of the 2,324 investigations for abuse and neglect in Lane County, 29.3% were founded, 53% were unfounded and 17.7% were classified as unable to determine. To see the annual reports on abuse and neglect statistics in Oregon you can go to: http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=10784 To see more information on this and other bills HSLDA is monitoring in Oregon, visit our website at: http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=10785 . If you are not already a member, please consider joining HSLDA and help support home education freedom in Oregon and beyond. You can join online at: http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=10786 . Sincerely, Thomas J. (Tj) Schmidt HSLDA Staff Attorney ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> Will your children's inheritance retain its value? If you pass on a legacy of freedom, your children and their children's children will thank you. But freedom is never secure; it must always be guarded. Membership with HSLDA is an investment in the future that can be passed on to future generations of families wanting to teach their children at home. 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Thank you for your cooperation. ====================================================================== | |
