What is more important to have documented: Court-ordered Conditions for Return or Expected Outcomes? Court-ordered services ordered by the judge using OSM?
There is little value in debating which of these is more important. They each serve a very important, and unique purpose and should be included in the orders of the Court whenever possible. That said, we are fully aware that DHS staff, Judges and other community partners involved in the juvenile dependency system currently do not necessarily understand how the OSM can positively impact the functions of the Court. The OSM is fairly commonly viewed as simply new ways for DHS to say things that have nothing to do with the court processes. Nothing could be further from the truth. To that end, there is currently a Legal Issues Workgroup, with members representing DHS, the Attorney General’s office, District Attorneys, Juvenile Department, the Juvenile Court Improvement Project, parent and child attorneys and others. The intent of the group is to provide tools and training to move all of Oregon’s child safety partners (DHS, courts, CRBs, CASA’s, attorneys, etc.) toward the best practices in
