Oregon DHS Halts ‘Differential Response’ Roll-Out

The Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS) is temporarily halting its roll-out of differential response for child welfare safety assessments. DHS currently uses differential response in 12 Oregon counties. The pause will halt the planned roll-out to additional counties. Differential response is a child protective service (CPS) practice that allows the state to offer services to at-risk children without finding the family guilty of child maltreatment.

In the counties using differential response, families involved with child welfare receive a comprehensive safety assessment by DHS child welfare staff. In cases where the safety assessment indicates that the family . . .