The Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) today released the first of several reviews under way to examine contracts with child welfare providers.
Contracted providers play a critical role in supporting children and families and have been used to a greater extent recently by the Child Welfare Division to help avoid the use of “temporary lodging” – which is when hotels are used as an emergency placement for children. With concerns raised in recent months about a particular contractor, Dynamic Life, ODHS began examining how such contracts are managed. The Legislature also has required ODHS, through a budget note, to provide updates on the topic.
An After-Action Review was completed in March 2024 by the ODHS Office of Resilience and Emergency Management (OREM). The purpose of this review was to provide a neutral evaluation of the department’s contractual relationship with Dynamic Life, which served as a provider for temporary lodging supervision and prevention. After-Action Reviews are commonly used in emergency management to conduct relatively quick reviews of events and make recommendations. You can download the report at this link: Child Welfare After-Action Report
“After reviewing the After-Action Report, I have directed leaders of the involved programs to develop an implementation plan for needed improvements,” said Fariborz Pakseresht (he/him), ODHS director. “We take seriously any concerns brought forward about those who serve children in our care and are committed to continuous improvement.”
Several improvement efforts are already under way, including:
- Centralizing the management of temporary lodging contracts. These contracts previously were managed by local offices; managing them centrally will provide more consistent oversight and accountability.
- Developing a consistent statement of work and contract template for temporary lodging providers, including areas like safety intervention and training.
- Increased mandatory training for contract administrators.
- Reviewing contract requests for child welfare client services to ensure background check language is included all contracts.
In addition, ODHS has several other reviews under way related to this topic:
- ODHS internal audits team is auditing our child welfare contracting processes and regulatory controls over contractors and providers supporting children in or at risk of temporary lodging. This audit is expected to be completed by late spring.
- The Oregon Department of Justice is completing a review of concerns related to Dynamic Life contracts.
- A personnel investigation has been opened.
Finally, in accordance with the budget note from the February session, ODHS will report to the Emergency Board and interim committees of the Legislative Assembly related to human services in September and December 2024, on the status of temporary lodging and temporary lodging diversion services.
“Children and families deserve access to high-quality, appropriate services and supports to help them thrive,” Pakseresht said. “We appreciate the interest and support of the Legislature in helping us find both short-term and long-term solutions in serving children who need the highest levels of care.”
Oregon Department of Human Services
503-877-0170
https://www.oregon.gov/odhs/
