 |
|
|
Reporter Tools - Program descriptions To help you describe selected DHS programs and services in news and feature stories, here are summaries for the following:
These programs were selected based on the frequency of reporter inquiries, not on program size. Many of these descriptions have Web links to further information. News releases and guest opinions for this year and the previous calendar year are on the DHS Web site, as well. For more information, or for programs and services not presented here, please call (503) 947-5050. Back to top The Director's Office provides agency leadership including ensuring that DHS achieves program outcomes, manages money responsibly and complies with state and federal laws. The DHS director coordinates relations with the Governor's office, Legislature, other state agencies, local governments, advocacy groups, the private sector and others. Key parts of this office are policy analysis, internal audits, legislative and intergovernmental relations, tribal liaison, and the Governor's Advocacy Office, which also includes Oregon's Pain Management Program. Administrative Services provides consistent agency-wide support in human resources, information services, contracts and procurement, communication, facilities management, financial services, and forms and document management. The group also manages department-wide administrative initiatives such as implementing the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Finance and Policy Analysis staff provide accurate and timely caseload cost-per-case forecasting and develop and manage the DHS budget. Staff members also provide fiscal and policy analysis on issues related to DHS budget and operations. Governor's Advocacy Office was established in DHS in 1993. It accepted the role of Children's Ombudsman in 1996. Staff evaluate every citizen complaint they receive and recommend improvements in DHS policies and procedures. Toll-free phone: (800) 442-5238. Email: dhs.info@state.or.us Pain management program was created by the 1999 Oregon Legislature to coordinate and present information about management of intractable pain for Oregonians. SB 888 (2001) created a 19-member Pain Management Commission whose membership includes providers, consumers, pain management advocates, legislators and others. Back to top Adoption services include guardianships and adoptions. The goal is to provide a safe and permanent homes to children who cannot safely be returned to their biological families. Nearly all children adopted from DHS foster care in 2001 and 2002 had one or more medical, emotional, mental, physical or sensory diagnoses. Some 1,118 adoptions were completed in 2002. The 1997 federal Adoption and Safe Families Act increased the demand for adoptions by limiting the amount of time children could remain in foster care. Child protective services responds to reports of child abuse and neglect, collaborating with local law enforcement, courts and treatment providers. It receives oversight from judges, court-appointed special advocates, Citizen Review Board, district attorneys and defense attorneys. Community Safety Net is a free, voluntary local service that links community resources with families of children and teens at risk of abuse and neglect. Among the resources are parenting education, mental health services, housing assistance and family counseling. DHS provides a small grant to each of Oregon's 36 counties to coordinate the program and a state coordinator who oversees the statewide network and provides technical assistance. Out-of-home care provides a safe, temporary place for an abused or neglected child to stay while the parent(s) receives support services from the child welfare agency and other treatment providers. Out-of-home care includes relative care, foster care, residential care and the independent living program. System of Care involves an interdisciplinary team approach to crafting plans tailored to the unique strengths and needs of each child in a family. It is a result of an eight-year agreement, entered into in lieu of litigation, among the Juvenile Rights Project, the National Center for Youth Law, and DHS. The Child Welfare Partnership at Portland State University monitors and evaluates outcomes, such as the percentage of children not subject to repeated abuse and neglect. Back to top DHS financially supports county mental health programs to deliver local services to people with mental illness or addictions. The county programs, which receive advice from local alcohol/drug and mental health advisory boards, either provide services directly or contract with private treatment programs. About 6 percent of Oregon adults have severe mental disorders, and about 7 percent of Oregon children have serious emotional disturbances. About 6 percent of Oregon adults have a diagnosis of alcohol or other drug dependency, while another 9 percent are diagnosed as abusing alcohol or other drugs. About 3 percent of the state's adult population has a problem with gambling. The number of people receiving alcohol and drug treatment in 2001 was 67,077, a nearly 20 percent increase from 1998. The number receiving mental health treatment in 2001 was 127,216, a 40 percent increase from 1998. Back to top
The Medicaid part of the Oregon Health Plan is managed by the DHS Office of Medical Assistance Programs. The February 1994 Medicaid expansion delivered health care to as many as 130,000 additional low-income Oregon adults; these are people who earn too much to qualify for traditional Medicaid but nevertheless fall below the federal poverty level. Covered health-care services are based on a prioritized list of medical conditions and treatments.
Acute and communicable disease program controls the spread of infectious disease by monitoring trends, investigating disease outbreaks, providing technical information to county health departments and private health providers. The program is highly visible through involvement in both traditional and new infections such as SARS and West Nile Virus. It is a key component of Oregon's bioterrorism preparerdness effort, and oversees the state's smallpox-vaccination program. Bioterrorism preparedness efforts began in 2002, when Oregon received federal funds to prepare for bioterrorism or other public health emergency anywhere in the state. State and county public health officials are using federal dollars to improve emergency response procedures, strengthen communicable disease identification and investigation capability, improve the state public health laboratory's testing capabilities, enhance public health communication, and deliver communicable disease investigation training, including how to recognize a bioterrorist attack. Oregon Death With Dignity Act became a legal medical option for terminally ill Oregonians in 1997. On October 27, 1997 Oregon enacted the Death with Dignity Act which allows terminally ill Oregonians to end their lives through the voluntary self-administration of lethal medications, expressly prescribed by a physician for that purpose. The Act requires that DHS monitor compliance with the law, collect information about the patients and physicians who participate, and provide an annual statistical report to the public. Oregon Medical Marijuana Program was authorized by voters in November 1998. DHS manages the mandated registry identification system that grants protections to qualified people who meet requirements for growing and using marijuana as medicine. Program applicants, patients and their designated primary caregivers are protected from civil and criminal penalties for marijuana possession, manufacture and use. Applications must be signed by a primary care physician. Participants pay a $150 annual fee, after which they are issued a registry identification card. Oregon Public Health Laboratory performs newborn screening, communicable disease testing and ensures laboratory compliance and quality assurance. In 1962 Oregon became the first state to do statewide screening on newborns for phenylketonuria (PKU), a genetic disorder that causes brain damage in newborns if untreated; the state now tests for 26 such diseases. During the 2001-03 biennium the laboratory helped prevent and control infectious diseases by testing 252,000 specimens and 8,100 water samples. The Public Health Laboratory licenses more than 1,900 medical laboratories and certifies all private environmental labs that perform community drinking-water testing. Vital records are managed by the DHS Center for Health Statistics, which maintains birth, death, marriage, divorce, abortion and other records. This DHS Web site also reports popular baby names. Women, Infants and Children (WIC) is a federally funded program that provides nutrition counseling, health and social service referrals, breastfeeding promotion and supplemental nutritious foods. Recent enrollment was 104,000. In 2002, Oregon grocers received more than $54.3 million from WIC sales. Back to top Emergency Assistance delivers one-time cash benefits to help low-income families with short-term emergency needs. Benefits are limited to $100 annually, except for domestic-abuse victims who can receive up to $1,200 to help them leave abusive situations. Employment Related Day Care services help low-income working families pay child-care bills. The program supports families who are moving from welfare to work, as well as helping other working families, in not losing employment because of child-care issues. Families continue to qualify as long as they remain employed and meet income limits. Food Stamps is a federal program that promotes good nutrition for low-income people. Benefits are paid for by the federal government; program administration costs are divided equally between federal and state governments. Food-stamp benefits are delivered electronically through the Oregon Trail card. The average monthly benefit is about $150 per participating Oregon household. To increase access to the program, Oregon has shortened its application form, provided a toll-free information line (800 SAFENET), lengthened DHS office hours and offered after-hours appointments for working people. Data on recipient households, people and benefits are available. JOBS (Job Opportunity and Basic Skills) program was created by the 1988 federal Family Support Act to offer employment, training and workplace services to cash-assistance recipients. Besides employment services, JOBS offers family-stability, mental health, alcohol and drug, and domestic-violence services. States were permitted to design their own JOBS programs within certain guidelines, and Oregon contracted for services with Workforce Investment Act agencies, community colleges and the state Employment Department. Refugee Program is a collaborative effort of DHS and its partners to provide financial, employment and acculturation services to help refugees successfully resettle in this country. Cash assistance is available for the first eight months of residence in this country, employment services for up to 60 months. Oregon has the nation's 13th highest number of refugees. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families provides monthly cash assistance for low-income families. To qualify, a family of 3 must have an income less than $616 a month and cash resources of less than $2,500 (or $10,000 if the family participates in the JOBS program). The maximum monthly benefit for an Oregon family of 3 is $498. Combined with food stamps, TANF brings families to 71 percent of the federal poverty level. Recipients have decreased from a high of 43,400 households in early 1994 to about 18,900 in March 2003. TANF replaced the former Aid to Dependent Children (ADC) program in 1996. Back to top Seniors and People with Disabilities Activities of daily living are mobility, eating, using the toilet, cognition, bathing and personal hygiene, and dressing and grooming. Based on a person's ability, she or he is classified by level (1 is most impaired) for purposes of services. Client Employed Providers (CEPs) are caregivers for seniors and people with disabilities who live on their own. CEPs are actually employed by the senior or person with disability and paid by DHS using federal and state Medicaid funds. Community protective services protects vulnerable seniors, adults with disabilities, and children and adults with development disabilities from physical and mental abuse and from fraudulent practices. These include abandonment, financial exploitation, neglect, self-neglect, and physical, sexual and psychological abuse. DHS and local partners investigate allegations of abuse, including those by care providers and that occur in long-term care settings. People with developmental disabilities served by DHS have intellectual impairments resulting from conditions such as mental retardation, cerebral palsy, Down Syndrome, autism and traumatic brain injury. People with developmental disabilities frequently have physical limitations such as sight, hearing, language and motor functions; have limited ability to perform activities of daily living; have limited ability to perform complex jobs; and require life-long care or support. Disability Determination Services, on contract with the U.S. Social Security Administration, annually determines about 43,000 Social Security disability claims in compliance with federal law and regulations. General Assistance program provided cash assistance of $314 a month to low-income people with disabilities waiting for determination of their Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) claim. These are individuals who are expected to be disabled for at least a year. Funding for this program was eliminated in 2003 to balance the state budget. Estate Administration staff implement federal and state laws requiring DHS to collect from the estates of deceased clients up to the amount of care and public assistance paid on their behalf. Recoveries reduce DHS' dependence on state general funds. Estates Administration employees recover funds amounting to 10 times the cost of their positions. Lifespan Respite program helps counties develop and implement community-based respite-care networks. These are designed to provide temporary short-term breaks to 24-hour family caregivers to attend to their own needs. Relief from caregiving promotes family stability and the health of caregivers. Each county has a Lifespan Respite program that local residents may contact for assistance. Long-term care assistance is arranged and paid for by DHS for eligible low-income seniors and people with disabilities. Long-term care is provided in a number of settings: in the individual's own home, adult foster home, residential care, assisted living facility, or nursing home. Oregon pioneered delivery of long-term care services in home- and community-based settings in 1981, giving seniors and people with disabilities the option to live in less-costly settings that they preferred. More than 80 percent of Oregon's Medicaid-eligible long-term care clients are served outside of nursing facilities. Beyond traditional regulation for fire and safety, DHS is working with the industry to focus on care outcomes and consumer satisfaction. Inspection reports are available to the public from the facility or from DHS. A comparison of various facilities' features is also available.
Oregon Project Independence is a state-financed program that provides in-home supports for age-60 and older individuals or people with dementia who need assistance with activities of daily living, but who do not qualify for Medicaid services. The intent is to delay these individuals' need for costlier publicly financed care in a 24-hour facility. Services include home-delivered meals, respite and adult day care, in-home chore services, case management and transportation. Senior Prescription Drug Assistance Program was authorized by the 2001 Oregon Legislature to permit eligible low-income seniors to buy prescription drugs at the state's reduced Medicaid price. Low-income seniors pay an annual fee of $50, the program is self-supporting, and Oregon pharmacies participate voluntarily. Service priority levels 1-17 define an individual's ability to perform common everyday tasks: mobility, eating, using the toilet, cognition, bathing and personal hygiene, and dressing and grooming. To be eligible for Medicaid-paid long-term care services, an individual must be both financially eligible and have impairments limiting ability to perform one or more of these tasks. Back to top Blue Mountain Recovery Center in Pendleton delivers mental health services for about 60 patients. Eastern Oregon Training Center in Pendleton is an intermediate-care facility for people with mental retardation or developmental disabilities. It serves about 45 people over age 18 who need daily supervision. EOTC has 22 buildings with 154,538 square feet on 21 acres. Fairview Training Center in Salem, opened in 1908 for residents with mental retardation and developmental disabilities, closed in 2000. Oregon State Hospital, which has campuses in Salem and Portland, has 1.13 million square feet in 70 buildings on 149 acres. It provides mental health treatment to about 220 civilly committed and 375 criminally committed patients. The hospital's 1958 peak census was more than 5,000 patients. Back to top |
|
