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 of the same chronological age or level of maturity or that are determined to be developmentally appropriate for a child 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, activities or items that are suitable for the child based on the developmental stages attained by the child with respect to the cognitive, emotional, physical, and behavioral capacities of the child.
4. (4) "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.
5. (5) “Certified Respite Care” means respite care provided by a Certified Respite Provider or a certified resource family that has been issued a certificate of approval.
6. (6) “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.

7. (7) "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 Non-Relative Certificate of Approval, or approval as a potential 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 413-205-0000 to 413-205-0085 and OAR 413-203-0000 to 413-203-0145.

8. (8) "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, which is 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 the child’s parent (ORS 418.257).
9. (9) "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 certified resource family.

10. (10) "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.
11. (11) "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.
12. (12) "Cohabitating" means the act of adults, unmarried to each other, living together in an intimate relationship.
13. (13) "CPS worker" means an employee of Child Welfare who has completed the mandatory Child Welfare training for CPS workers.

14. (14) "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.
15. (15) "Denial" The refusal of the Department to approve an application and issue a Respite Certificate of Approval, Relative Temporary Certificate of Approval, Temporary Certificate of Approval, Relative Certificate of Approval, Certificate of Approval, Child-Specific Non-Relative Certificate of Approval, Relative Certificate of Approval or approve renewal of a Child-Specific Non-Relative Certificate of Approval or Certificate of Approval.
16. (16) "Department" means the Oregon Department of Human Services.
17. (17) "Designee" means a person whom the designator directly and immediately supervises, or a person with equal or greater management responsibility than the designator.
18. (18) "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.
19. (19) "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 413-203-0000 to 413-203-0145.
20. (20) "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.
21. (21) "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.
22. (22) “Informal Respite Care” means respite care provided by an individual known to the certified resource parent or relative resource parent and/or the child in care when that individual is not a Certified Respite Provider or a certified resource parent.
23. (23) "Member of the Household" means any adult, or child living in the home. "Member of the household" means any adult or child living in the home excluding a child in the care or custody of the Department.
24. (24) “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.

25. (25) "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.
26. (26) "Placement Support Plan" means a documented set of actions or resources that is developed to assist a certified resource family to maintain conditions that provide safety and well-being for a child.
27. (27) "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.
28. (28) "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.
29. (29) "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.

30. (30) "Relative" means any of the following:

    1. (a) An individual with one of the following relationships to the child or young adult through the parent of the child or young adult unless the relationship has been dissolved by adoption of the child, young adult, or parent:

       1. (A) Any genetic relative of preceding generations denoted by the prefixes of grand, great, or great-great.
       2. (B) An aunt, uncle, nephew, niece, first cousin, and first cousin once removed.
       3. (C) A spouse of anyone listed in paragraphs (A) to (C) of this subsection, even if a petition for annulment, dissolution, or separation has been filed or the marriage is terminated by divorce or death. To be considered a "relative" under this paragraph, the child or young adult must have had a relationship with the spouse prior to the most recent episode of Department custody.

    2. (b) An individual with one of the following relationships to the child or young adult:

       1. (A) A sibling, also to include an individual with a sibling relationship to the child or young adult through an alleged genetic parent.
       2. (B) An individual defined as a relative by the law or custom of the Tribe of the child or young adult if the child or young adult is an Indian child under the Indian Child Welfare Act or in the legal custody of a Tribe.
       3. (C) An individual defined as a relative of a refugee child or young adult under OAR 413-070-0300 to 413-070-0380.
       4. (D) A stepparent or former stepparent if the child or young adult had a relationship with the former stepparent prior to the most recent episode of Department custody; a stepsibling.
       5. (E) A registered domestic partner of the parent of the child or young adult or a former registered domestic partner of the parent of the child or young adult if the child or young adult had a relationship with the former domestic partner prior to the most recent episode of Department custody.
       6. (F) The adoptive parent or an individual who has been designated as the adoptive resource of a sibling of the child or young adult.
       7. (G) An unrelated parent of a half-sibling of the child or young adult when the half-sibling of the child or young adult is living with the unrelated parent.
    3. (c) An individual identified by the child or young adult or the family of the child or young adult, or an individual who self-identifies, as being related to the child or young adult through the parent of the child or young adult genetically or by adoption or marriage to a degree other than an individual specified as a "relative" in paragraphs (A) to (C) of subsection (a) of this section unless the relationship has been dissolved by adoption of the child, young adult, or parent.

    4. (d) An individual meeting the requirements of at least one of the following:

       1. (A) An individual not related to the child, young adult, or parent genetically or by adoption or marriage:

          1. (i) Who is identified as a member of the family by the child or young adult or by the family of the child or young adult; and
          2. (ii) Who had an emotionally significant relationship with the child or young adult or the family of the child or young adult prior to the most recent episode of Department custody.
       2. (B) An individual who has a genetic relationship to the child or young adult as described in paragraphs (A) to (C) of subsection (a) of this section through the genetic parent of the child or young adult, but the prior legal relationship has been dissolved by adoption of the child, young adult, or genetic parent, and who is identified as a member of the family by the child or young adult or who self-identifies as a member of the family.

    5. (e) For eligibility for the guardianship assistance program:

       1. (A) A stepparent is considered a parent and is not a "relative" for the purpose of eligibility for guardianship assistance unless a petition for annulment, dissolution, or separation has been filed, or the marriage to the parent of the child has been terminated by divorce or death.

       2. (B) A resource parent may only be considered a "relative" for the purpose of eligibility for guardianship assistance when:

          1. (i) There is a compelling reason why adoption is not an achievable permanency plan;
          2. (ii) The resource parent is currently caring for a child, in the care or custody of the Department or a participating tribe, who has a permanency plan or concurrent permanent plan of guardianship;
          3. (iii) The resource parent has cared for the child for at least 12 of the past 24 months; and
          4. (iv) The Department or Tribe has approved the resource parent for consideration as a guardian.

31. (31) "Relative Applicant" means any individual who is defined as a "relative" under OAR 413-203-0000 who applies:

    1. (a) To become a Relative Resource Parent; or
    2. (b) For approval through the Department as a potential relative adoptive resource
32. (32) “Relative Certificate of Approval” means a document the Department issues to a relative resource parent to approve the operation of a home to provide care for a relative child and for whom the Department determines a placement is needed.
33. (33) “Relative Home Study” means a document containing an analysis of the ability of the relative applicant to provide safe and appropriate care of a relative child in the care or custody of the Department.
34. (34) "Relative Resource Parent" means a person defined as a "relative" under OAR 413-203-0000 who operates a home that has been approved by the Department to provide care for a related child in the care or custody of the Department. A “relative resource parent” is a “relative caregiver” as that term is used in ORS chapter 418.
35. (35) "Relative Temporary Certificate of Approval" means a document the Department issues to a certified relative resource parent to approve the operation of a home to provide care for a relative child in the care or custody of the Department for no longer than 60 days unless extended under OAR 413-203-0025.
36. (36) "Resource Parent" means a person who operates a home that has been approved by the Department to provide care for an unrelated child placed in the home by the Department.
37. (37) "Respite Care" means an arrangement to relieve a family with an open child welfare case or a resource parent, or relative resource parent of their responsibilities by a person temporarily assuming responsibility for the care and supervision of a child.
38. (38) "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.
39. (39) “Screener" means a Department employee with training required to provide screening services.
40. (40) “Skills enhancement” means an educational resource that helps a relative resource parent learn and develop skills to assist them in meeting the needs of the relative child in the care or custody of the Department.
41. (41) "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.
42. (42) “Tangible goods” means child safety items, clothing, furniture, utilities, transportation or anything that may be provided to a family to maintain child safety and to remove barriers to placement or to maintain a placement.

Statutory/Other Authority

ORS 418.005 & ORS 409.050

Statutes/Other Implemented

ORS 409.050

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, adopt filed 08/07/2025, effective 08/11/2025
CWP 3-2025, temporary adopt filed 02/14/2025, effective 02/17/2025 through 08/15/2025