Oregon Department of Human Services

Check out this conversation about sharing power with community on the Community In-Site podcast, featuring ODHS Child Welfare Family Preservation Manager Jennifer Holman and Senior Advisor and lived expert at Foster America Jeanine Morales. This episode, titled Breaking Old Habits: The Tension and Promise of Shifting Power, explores the challenges and opportunities around engaging people with lived experience in child welfare system transformation. "While there is a lot of interest and focus on lived expertise, the truth is that working with the community is critical, but agencies often lack the skills and experience to do this well. It’s easy for leaders to fall back on old ways of thinking, outdated power dynamics, and entrenched incentives." Thank you to Foster America and Jeanine Morales, and hosts Elliot Hinkle and Tecoria Jones for your focus on the family well-being movement! Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gfvu2k9E #Podcast #ChildWelfare #FamilyWellBeing #TeamODHS

Today the Coquille Indian Tribe is hosting our ODHS Office of Resilience and Emergency Management (OREM), state legislators and other leaders from the southern Oregon coast for an emergency preparedness exercise. We’re demonstrating Evacuation Assembly Point (EAP) equipment – vital resources ready to support 100 people for two weeks with food, water, tents, and medical supplies. This EAP equipment will be stored with the Coquille Indian Tribe. It’s one of three OREM has placed on the Oregon Coast, alongside Tillamook and Newport. These are pre-planned locations for people to be transported out of the immediate disaster area after the Cascadia earthquake and tsunami. Today's highlights include: - Search and Rescue: U.S. Coast Guard medical extractions. - Triage Demonstrations: Oregon National Guard CERFP medical team mass casualty capabilities. (CERFP is a U.S. National Guard initiative that responds to chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive disasters in the United States) - Disaster Tech: SCAPPOOSE RURAL FIRE DISTRICT's drone response. Huge thanks to our hosts, the Coquille Indian Tribe, and all our partners working to keep Oregon safe and resilient! Deployed Logix Representative Paul Evans #EmergencyManagement #TeamODHS

Meet Mandy and Thom Augsburger – a Salem area couple with a mission to make a difference. After volunteering at a camp for kids in foster care and becoming resource (foster) parents, the couple dreamed of creating a program in their home that could help teen boys dealing with the effects of trauma. To make their dream a reality, the Augsburgers sold their house in 2016, tapped their savings to buy a home in Salem that they renovated to accommodate up to 14 teenagers in a family-like environment, and named the nonprofit program Affect Youth Services. The home includes a lower level for the boys with four bedrooms, a rec center and movie theater in a converted red barn, a nearby music room, and a small hobby farm. The teens can volunteer to care for the rescue animals, which include pigs, alpacas, goats, chickens, a rooster, two ponies and two dogs. The Oregon Department of Human Services was on board to assist with the Augsburgers’ mission. In the face of provider shortages and complex challenges serving children with higher levels of trauma, ODHS has encouraged new approaches, partnering to help ensure rules and regulations are in place for licensure. Affect Youth Services is licensed as a Child-Caring Agency (CCA) to provide a higher level of care. It is one of 29 CCAs contracted with us to provide care across the state, but is the only family-based residential program of its kind in Oregon. As of this year, more than 800 teens have lived with the Augsburgers. Many have called their experience “life-changing,” and some even work for the nonprofit now. “Teenage boys get a bad rap. They’re just young men trying to figure it out. They might come from a trauma background. They want to do well. They want adults in their lives to feel proud of them.” – Mandy Augsburger ODHS is proud to partner with Affect Youth Services to give young people hope and stability. Want to read more? Check out this blog post: https://lnkd.in/g-Sggfz3

Today and every day, we honor the veterans who have served our state and nation, including members of our Veterans Employee Resource Group (VERG). Veterans at ODHS bring unique experiences, skills, and values that help us fulfill our mission of supporting health, safety, and well-being for all Oregonians. Thank you, veterans, for your dedication and service!

We're hiring a Child Welfare Supervisor 2! Salary range: $ 5,676.00 - $8,793.00 Post-closing: 12/08/2024   We are recruiting for a Child Welfare Supervisor 2 position. Step into a leadership position where your decisions shape the future of child welfare, ensuring that every child receives the care and support they deserve! In this pivotal role, you will be entrusted with the responsibility of guiding strategic initiatives that directly impact the lives of children and families in your community. Your insights and expertise will inform critical policies and practices, allowing you to advocate for resources and services that address the unique challenges faced by those in need.   Are you ready to join #TeamODHS? Apply here: https://bit.ly/40CnFfK

For the third year, the ODHS District 16 Certification Unit in Washington County held a Trunk-or-Treat event for kids in ODHS care! ODHS staff and community partner Every Child Oregon decorated and set up 16 trunks with things like hot chocolate, games, temporary tattoos, face painting, candy and more to give to over 75 kids. Despite the chilly weather, smiles were everywhere! One resource parent shared that they were so grateful for the opportunity to visit with caseworkers and other resource parents. Thank you to all the ODHS staff who made this safe and fun event possible. And thank you to Every Child for joining us!

November is American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month! What started as a day of recognition has evolved into a month-long celebration of Indigenous history, culture, and resilience. At ODHS, we honor our government-to-government partnerships with the Nine Tribes of Oregon, uphold the Indian Child Welfare Act, and celebrate the voices of our Tribal employees and the families we serve. Join us this month in learning about our land's history and amplifying Native Pride!

It was inspiring to see our President & CEO Reggie Bicha lead a panel on passion and persistence at the 2024 Human Services Summit at Harvard University this past weekend. Hosted by Leadership for a Networked World and the Change & Innovation Agency, a vimo company, the Summit brought together more than 60 leaders from human services agencies across the country. Joined by Raquel Hatter of The Kresge Foundation, Fariborz Pakseresht of the Oregon Department of Human Services, and Jodi Harpstead of the Minnesota Department of Human Services, Reggie's panel focused on how human services leaders navigate political demands, secondary trauma, and critical incidents while continuing to deliver essential services to our nation’s children and families. It also provided practical recommendations on leading through times of struggle, and how to draw energy and hope from the mission of human services to make the lives of the people we serve better. **APHSA creates a network of peers for state, county, and city human services leaders to come together to learn and support one another. Reggie was joined at the Summit by additional APHSA leaders, Sheila Poole, Natalie Williams, and Marci McCoy-Roth.**

Good jobs change lives! All workers, including those with disabilities, deserve the chance to succeed. Learn about resources for job seekers with disabilities this month during National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) at bit.ly/OregonNDEAM

Statement from ODHS Director Fariborz Pakseresht on President Biden’s apology for the U.S. Federal Indian Boarding School policies: On Friday, President Joe Biden delivered a formal apology at the Gila River Indian Community in Arizona, acknowledging the painful legacy of the federal Indian boarding school system, which forcibly removed Indigenous children from their families for over 150 years. At the Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS), we have supported our Office of Tribal Affairs in their important work to honor and remember those children, as well as the survivors of this era. The observance of Orange Shirt Day has emerged as a vital initiative, fostering conversations centered on truth, honesty, and reconciliation regarding the profound impacts of this history on our Native employees and Tribal partners throughout Oregon. I am deeply grateful for the discussions we have been having as this formal apology from President Biden is made. I can only begin to comprehend the significance of this moment for the Nine Tribes of Oregon, our Tribal employees, and the families and survivors across our state. This apology is a direct result of the diligent efforts of Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland (Pueblo of Laguna), who initiated an investigation into the boarding school system shortly after becoming the first Native American to lead the agency. Her investigation revealed that at least 18,000 children, some as young as four, were taken from their families and forced into schools designed to assimilate them, all while federal and state authorities sought to dispossess Tribal nations of their land. In Oregon, we have felt the impact of this legacy as we strive to build respectful government-to-government relationships with the Nine Tribes, uphold the Indian Child Welfare Act, and humbly acknowledge our state’s past. Our commitment to reconciliation is focused on fostering a future that honors Tribal sovereignty. ODHS remains dedicated to supporting all Oregon Tribal communities in achieving holistic well-being—mentally, physically, spiritually, and emotionally. It is important to acknowledge that no apology can make up for what was lost and the ongoing trauma that was caused in Tribal communities. However, this formal apology, alongside our ongoing efforts to promote healing, will enhance our understanding of the history of our Tribal partners and help us approach our shared future with honesty and integrity.