The following definitions apply to OAR Chapter 413, Division 200.

1. (1) "Adoptive resource" means an individual or individuals selected by the Department, another public child welfare agency, or a licensed adoption agency as the adoptive family for a child where no administrative review was requested within the timeframe allowed for such a request, or if a review was requested, the selection has been sustained by that review and the review is complete.
2. (2) “Adult” means an individual 18 years of age or older who is not a child as defined in these rules.

3. (3) "Age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate activities" means:

   1. (a) Activities or items that are generally accepted as suitable for children or young adults of the same chronological age or level of maturity or that are determined to be developmentally appropriate for a child or young adult, based on the development of cognitive, emotional, physical, and behavioral capacities that are typical for an age or age group; and
   2. (b) In the case of a specific child or young adult, activities or items that are suitable for the child or young adult based on the developmental stages attained by the child or young adult with respect to the cognitive, emotional, physical, and behavioral capacities of the child or young adult.

4. (4) "Applicant" means any individual who applies:

   1. (a) To become or remain a certified resource parent;
   2. (b) To change certification type; or
   3. (c) For approval through the Department as a potential adoptive resource.
5. (5) "Certificate of Approval" means a document the Department issues to a certified resource parent to approve the operation of a home to provide care for a child in the care or custody of the Department.
6. (6) "Certification supervisor" means an employee of the Department, designated as a supervisor, supervising staff responsible for certification, training, and monitoring homes certified by the Department.
7. (7) “Certified Respite Care” means respite care provided by a Certified Respite Provider or a resource parent that has been issued a two-year certificate of approval.
8. (8) “Certified Respite Provider” means an individual certified by the Department to provide certified respite care to a child being served in their home through an open child welfare case or a child in the care or custody of the Department.

9. (9) "Certifier" means a Department employee who:

   1. (a) Conducts assessments of applicants, members of the household, home and surroundings;
   2. (b) Determines whether to recommend issuance of a Respite Certificate of Approval, Temporary Certificate of Approval, Certificate of Approval, Relative Temporary Certificate of Approval, Relative Certificate of Approval, Child-Specific Certificate of Approval, or approval as an adoptive resource; and
   3. (c) Monitors the compliance and ongoing assessment of a resource parent, relative resource parent, or certified respite provider, as required by OAR 413-200-0301 to 413-200-0396, OAR 413-203-0000 to 413-203-0145 and OAR 413-205-0000 to 413-205-0085.

10. (10) Child means a person who:

    1. (a) Is a person under 18 years of age; or

    2. (b) Is a child in care, as defined in ORS 418.257 as a person under 21 years of age residing in or receiving care or services from:

       1. (A) A child-caring agency or proctor foster home;
       2. (B) A foster home certified by the Department; or
       3. (C) A developmental disabilities residential facility; unless
       4. (D) The care is being provided to the child by child's parent (ORS 418.257).
11. (11) "Child care" means the supervision of a child in the care or custody of the Department by a licensed, approved, or listed provider required due to the employment or educational program of the resource parent.

12. (12) "Child Care Facility" means each of the following:

    1. (a) A Registered Family Child Care Home, which is the residence of a provider who has a current Family Child Care Registration at that address and who provides care in the family living quarters.
    2. (b) A Certified Family Child Care Home, which is a child care facility located in a building constructed as a single-family dwelling that has certification to care for a maximum of 16 children at any one time.
    3. (c) A Certified Child Care Center, which is certified to care for 13 or more children, or a facility that is certified to care for 12 or fewer children and located in a building constructed as other than a single-family dwelling.
    4. (d) A Listed Facility, which is a child care provider who has been approved by the Department Self-Sufficiency Program for child care on behalf of clients of the Department.
13. (13) "Child protective services assessment" (CPS assessment) means an investigation into a report of abuse pursuant to ORS 419B.020 or ORS 418.257 that includes activities and interventions to identify and analyze safety threats, determine if there is reasonable cause to believe abuse occurred, and assure safety through protective action plans, initial safety plans, or ongoing safety planning.
14. (14) "Child-Specific Non-Relative Certificate of Approval" means a document the Department issues to a resource parent to approve the operation of a home to provide care for a specific child in the care or custody of the Department and for whom the Department determines a placement is needed.
15. (15) "Cohabitating" means the act of adults, unmarried to each other, living together in an intimate relationship.
16. (16) "CPS worker" means an employee of Child Welfare who has completed the mandatory Child Welfare training for CPS workers

17. (17) "Criminal records check" means obtaining and reviewing criminal records as required by these rules and includes any or all of the following:

    1. (a) An Oregon criminal records check where criminal offender information is obtained from the Oregon State Police (OSP) using the Law Enforcement Data System (LEDS). The Oregon criminal records check may also include a review of other criminal records information obtained from other sources.
    2. (b) A fingerprint based national criminal records check where records are obtained from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The national criminal records check may also include a review of other criminal records information.
    3. (c) A state-specific criminal records check where records are obtained from law enforcement agencies, courts, or other criminal records information sources located in, or regarding, a state or jurisdiction outside Oregon.
18. (18) "Denial" means “The refusal of the Department to approve an application and issue a Respite Certificate of Approval, Temporary Relative Certificate of Approval, Temporary Certificate of Approval, Certificate of Approval, Child-Specific Non-Relative Certificate of Approval, Relative Certificate of Approval or approve renewal of a Child-Specific Certificate of Approval or Certificate of Approval."
19. (19) "Department" means the Oregon Department of Human Services.
20. (20) "Designee" means a person whom the designator directly and immediately supervises, or a person with equal or greater management responsibility than the designator.
21. (21) "Discipline" means a training process a family uses to help a child develop the self-control and self-direction necessary to assume responsibilities, make daily living decisions, and learn to conform to accepted levels of social behavior.
22. (22) "Disqualifying condition" means any information or circumstance related to a person or to the home that does not meet one or more of the requirements in OAR 413-200-0301 to 413-200-0396.
23. (23) "Home study" means a document containing an analysis of the ability of the applicant to provide safe and appropriate care of a child in the care or custody of the Department.
24. (24) "Impending danger safety threat" means a family behavior, condition, or circumstance that meets all five safety threshold criteria. When it is occurring, this type of threat is not immediate, obvious, or occurring at the onset of the CPS intervention. This threat is identified and understood more fully by evaluating and understanding individual and family functioning.
25. (25) "Inactive Referral Status" means a period of time, not to exceed 12 months, during which neither the Department nor any other agency may place an additional child with a resource parent, relative resource parent, or utilize a certified respite provider.
26. (26) “Informal Respite Care” means respite care provided by an individual known to the resource parent or relative resource parent and/or the child in care when that individual is not a certified respite provider or a resource parent.
27. (27) "Member of the household" means any adult or child living in the home excluding a child in the care or custody of the Department.
28. (28) “Orientation” means a training provided by the Department to prospective and current resource parents, relative resource parents, potential adoptive resources, and certified respite providers that includes information about the certification and approval processes, an overview of the Oregon child welfare system, and expectations of a resource parent, relative resource parent, potential adoptive resource, and certified respite provider.

29. (29) "Personal care services plan" means a written plan to provide personal care services for the child documenting:

    1. (a) The determination that the individual is a qualified provider;
    2. (b) The frequency or intensity of each personal care service to be provided; and
    3. (c) The date personal care services begin.
30. (30) "Placement support plan" means a documented set of actions or resources that is developed to assist a resource parent to maintain conditions that provide safety and well-being for a child in the care or custody of the Department.
31. (31) "Present danger safety threat" means an immediate, significant, and clearly observable family behavior, condition, or circumstance occurring in the present tense, already endangering or threatening to endanger a child. The family behavior, condition, or circumstance is happening now, and it is currently in the process of actively placing a child in peril.
32. (32) "Psychotropic medication" means medication, the prescribed intent of which is to affect or alter thought processes, mood, or behavior, including but not limited to antipsychotic, antidepressant, and anxiolytic medication and behavior medications. The classification of a medication depends upon its stated intended effect when prescribed because it may have many different effects.
33. (33) "Reasonable and prudent parent standard" means the standard, characterized by careful and sensible parental decisions that maintain the health, safety, and best interests of a child while encouraging the emotional and developmental growth of the child, that a substitute care provider must use when determining whether to allow a child in substitute care to participate in extracurricular, enrichment, cultural, and social activities.
34. (34) "Relative resource parent" means a person defined as a "relative" under OAR 413-070-0000 who operates a home that has been approved by the Department to provide care for a related child placed in the home by the Department. A “relative resource parent” is a “relative caregiver” as that term is used in ORS chapter 418.
35. (35) "Resource parent" means a person who operates a home that has been approved by the Department to provide care for an unrelated child in the care or custody of the Department.
36. (36) "Respite care" means an arrangement to relieve a family with an open child welfare case or a resource parent of their responsibilities by a person temporarily assuming responsibility for the care and supervision of a child.
37. (37) "Revocation" means an administrative act by the Department that rescinds an existing Certificate of Approval, Child-Specific Non-Relative Certificate of Approval, Temporary Certificate of Approval, Relative Certificate of Approval, Relative Temporary Certificate of Approval or Respite Certificate of Approval.
38. (38) "Screener" means a Department employee with training required to provide screening services.
39. (39) "Surrogate" means an individual who has been appointed to safeguard a child's rights in the special education decision-making process. The individual may be appointed pursuant to applicable Department of Education administrative rules and statutes or by the juvenile court.
40. (40) "Temporary Certificate of Approval" means a document the Department issues to a resource parent to approve the operation of a home to provide care for a specific child in the care or custody of the Department. The "Temporary Certificate of Approval" is valid for up to 180 days unless an extension is granted under OAR 413-200-0276 (3).

Statutory/Other Authority

ORS 409.050, ORS 418.005 & ORS 418.640

Statutes/Other Implemented

ORS 418.625, ORS 409.050, ORS 418.005, ORS 409.010, ORS 418.015, ORS 418.027, ORS 418.285, ORS 418.315, ORS 418.470, ORS 418.627, ORS 418.630, ORS 418.635, ORS 418.640, ORS 418.642, ORS 418.643, ORS 418.644, ORS 418.645, ORS 418.647 & ORS 418.648

History

CWP 20-2025, amend filed 12/23/2025, effective 01/01/2026
CWP 14-2025, temporary amend filed 09/10/2025, effective 09/10/2025 through 03/08/2026
CWP 12-2025, amend filed 08/07/2025, effective 08/11/2025
CWP 16-2024, amend filed 05/31/2024, effective 06/03/2024
CWP 90-2023, temporary amend filed 12/21/2023, effective 12/21/2023 through 06/17/2024
CWP 70-2023, amend filed 06/29/2023, effective 06/29/2023
CWP 27-2022, temporary amend filed 12/27/2022, effective 01/01/2023 through 06/29/2023
CWP 14-2022, amend filed 06/23/2022, effective 06/29/2022
CWP 30-2021, temporary amend filed 12/20/2021, effective 01/01/2022 through 06/29/2022
CWP 9-2021, amend filed 03/26/2021, effective 04/15/2021
CWP 121-2020, temporary amend filed 04/01/2020, effective 04/01/2020 through 09/27/2020
CWP 53-2019, amend filed 12/23/2019, effective 01/01/2020
CWP 54-2018, amend filed 06/29/2018, effective 06/29/2018
CWP 2-2018, temporary amend filed 01/01/2018, effective 01/01/2018 through 06/29/2018
CWP 9-2017, f. 8-5-17, cert. ef. 8-6-17
CWP 2-2017(Temp), f. & cert. ef. 2-7-17 thru 8-5-17
CWP 20-2015, f. & cert. ef. 10-1-15