As reported by Oregonlive, Oregon’s 2025 House Bill 3835 is sparking fierce debate in Salem, with lawmakers, child welfare advocates, and parents deeply divided over its implications for the safety and well-being of the state’s most vulnerable children. At Ross Law, we have represented children in the legal custody of the State of Oregon that were unlawfully restrained in out-of-state facilities or subjected to unsafe treatment. The trauma from untrained and unskilled persons restraining and isolating children for long periods of time can have devastating, long-lasting effects on the child. That is why this legislation is so concerning.
A Dangerous Step Backward for Child Protection
At its core, HB 3835 proposes significant rollbacks to Oregon’s protections for children in care. The bill would narrow the definition of what constitutes abuse when children are restrained, making it easier for staff to physically control kids without triggering investigations. It would also reopen the door for Oregon’s Department of Human Services (DHS) to send foster youth out of state for treatment—despite a documented history of abuse and neglect in such placements.
The proposed changes are not minor tweaks. They would gut key safeguards that prevent vulnerable children from being harmed under the guise of "care." As Disability Rights Oregon aptly put it, HB 3835 is a “blank check” that weakens oversight and makes it “almost impossible to enforce a wide variety of abuse and neglect laws.” The ultimate outcome will be that children are unlawfully restrained and isolated, leading to costly lawsuits against the State and facilities—lawsuits that Ross Law and other Oregon attorneys will bring to hold them accountable. These lawsuits will result in the State of Oregon DHS and CPS and facilities paying significant damages to compensate the children for the harm caused by these unlawful restraints and isolations
The Risk to Children is Real
Ross Law has represented children who were unlawfully restrained, and we know the trauma these practices inflict. Children who have been subjected to unnecessary restraint often suffer lasting physical and psychological harm. That’s why Oregon’s current rules—requiring careful oversight of restraint and seclusion practices—are so critical. They ensure that interventions are truly a last resort, not an easy fallback when staff feel overwhelmed or undertrained.
But HB 3835 threatens to reverse this progress. By loosening definitions of abuse, the bill creates a dangerous gray area where harmful restraint practices could be normalized—and where children may be hurt without accountability.
Out-of-State Placements: A Return to Past Failures
Another deeply troubling aspect of HB 3835 is its push to allow DHS to once again send foster children out of state for care. Oregon previously restricted this practice after horrifying reports of children being mistreated—given drugs like Benadryl as chemical restraints, injured in fights, or assaulted in poorly monitored facilities.
These out of State Facilities have an incentive to pay employees very little and provide little training and supervision in an effort to maximize the profit they receive from each child. When this occurs, children are often subjected to restraint and discipline in an effort to control them with minimal staff being involved. From the facilities’ perspective, it is much easier to isolate and restrain a child rather than spending the time to gain the child’s trust, interact with the child, and work to resolve the issues that are manifesting themselves as behavioral problems.
HB 3835 would allow such placements to resume with little oversight, despite DHS’s own documented failures to protect kids in these settings. Sending children far from their families and communities is not a solution—it is a recipe for more trauma and more lawsuits.
The Push for Change Ignores the Real Problem
Supporters of HB 3835 argue that current laws are too strict and discourage providers from taking on high-needs children. But this argument sidesteps the real issues: a lack of funding for proper training, low pay for frontline staff, and systemic failures within the state’s child welfare system. Loosening protections for kids is not the answer.
As Sen. Sara Gelser Blouin, a longtime champion for children’s rights, has warned, if this bill passes, “harm will occur to kids.” The stakes could not be higher.
Ross Law: Defending Children’s Rights
At Ross Law, we believe that every child deserves safety, dignity, and proper care. We have fought for compensation for children who have been unlawfully restrained and abused—and we stand ready to do so again. Laws like HB 3835 would make it harder to hold bad actors accountable and protect vulnerable kids from harm.
Children in Oregon’s care system have already endured too much. We must not allow the state to retreat from its responsibility to keep them safe. Instead of rolling back protections, Oregon should invest in better training, higher pay, and real reform—not dangerous shortcuts that put children at risk.
If you or someone you know has been abused, neglected, unlawfully restrained, or subjected to isolation while you were in foster care or in custody of the State of Oregon then please call Jeremiah Ross at 503.224.1658 to discuss your options. Please remember that there are time limitations and notices that may be required to be sent out so it is best to contact an Attorney with experience in suing Oregon’s DHS and Oregons CPS immediately.
