Title 18, Executive Branch; Organization

When used in ORS 179.010 to 179.495, unless the context otherwise requires, “superintendents” means the executive heads of the institutions listed in ORS 179.321.

(1) The Oregon Health Authority shall operate, control, manage and supervise the Oregon State Hospital campuses. (2) The Department of Corrections shall operate, control, manage and supervise those institutions defined as Department of Corrections institutions in ORS 421.005. [19…

(1) The Department of Human Services may order the change, in all or part, of the purpose and use of any state institution being used as an institution for the care and treatment of persons with developmental disabilities in order to care for persons committed to its custody when…

(1) The superintendents shall be appointed and, whenever the public service requires such action, may be removed, suspended or discharged, as follows: (a) The superintendent of the Oregon State Hospital, by the Director of the Oregon Health Authority. (b) The superintendents of D…

(1) The annual salaries of the superintendents shall be fixed, within the respective appropriations therefor and the limitations otherwise fixed by law by their respective appointing authorities. (2) The superintendents shall receive no fees, emoluments or compensation other than…

(1) Each superintendent shall: (a) Have custody of the residents of the institution under jurisdiction of the superintendent. (b) Direct the care, custody and training of the residents unless otherwise directed by law or by rule. (c) Adopt sanitary measures for the health and com…

The Director of the Department of Corrections or the Director of the Oregon Health Authority may require that a superintendent reside in state-provided housing at the institution under the jurisdiction of the superintendent. The rental shall be determined pursuant to ORS 182.425.…

(1) The Department of Corrections and the Oregon Health Authority shall ensure that adequate chaplaincy services, including but not limited to Protestant and Roman Catholic, are available at their respective institutions. (2) Chaplains serving the various institutions shall, with…

(1) The Department of Corrections and the Oregon Health Authority shall authorize the employment of all necessary physicians, attendants, nurses, engineers, messengers, clerks, guards, cooks, waiters and other officers and employees not specifically authorized by law and necessar…

The Department of Corrections and the Oregon Health Authority, respectively, may establish scholarship programs to provide assistance in securing qualified personnel at state institutions governed by them. Scholarships authorized by this section shall be granted in accordance wit…

(1) The superintendent of an institution within the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections shall, subject to the approval of the Director of the Department of Corrections, appoint in the manner provided by law all assistants, officers and other employees at the institution…

The superintendent of an institution may rent state-provided housing located at the institution under the jurisdiction of the superintendent to state officers and employees or others. The rental shall be determined pursuant to ORS 182.425. [Amended by 1977 c.583 §2]

A Department of Corrections institution or a youth correction facility as defined in ORS 420.005 may not employ persons regularly as teachers who are not licensed. [Formerly 342.174; 2001 c.295 §16; 2013 c.36 §47] Note: 179.405 was added to and made a part of ORS chapter 179 by l…

In order to minimize the cost of maintaining the institutions, all wards of the state who are capable of a reasonable amount of work without physical or mental injury to themselves shall be used as fully as possible in the production and manufacture of articles for the use of the…

The Department of Corrections and the Oregon Health Authority may direct the employment of able-bodied persons at the agencies’ respective institutions, in the performance of useful work upon land owned by the state if it does not compete with free labor. Work may not be performe…

(1) In order to encourage industry and thereby increase productiveness in the institutions, the Department of Corrections and the Oregon Health Authority shall prescribe rules and regulations for the sale and exchange of surplus products of each. (2) The funds derived from the sa…

As used in ORS 179.473 and 179.478, unless the context requires otherwise: (1) “Adjudicated youth” has the meaning given that term in ORS 419A.004. (2) “Youth correction facility” has the meaning given that term in ORS 420.005. [1999 c.110 §1; 2021 c.489 §18] Note: 179.471 was en…

(1) Whenever the health and welfare of the person and the efficient administration of the institution require the transfer of an adult in custody in a Department of Corrections institution or an adjudicated youth in a youth correction facility to another institution or facility: …

(1) If an adult in custody or adjudicated youth, a relative, guardian or friend of an adult in custody or adjudicated youth, or institution staff have probable cause to believe that an adult in custody or adjudicated youth is a person with an intellectual disability to such a deg…

(1) The superintendent or other chief executive officer of an institution described in ORS 179.321 may, when authorized by regulation or direction of the Department of Corrections or the Oregon Health Authority, convey an adult in custody to a physician, clinic or hospital, inclu…

Any time spent by an adult in custody in a Department of Corrections institution pursuant to a transfer or conveyance shall be counted as part of the sentence being served by the adult in custody. [1957 c.160 §4; 1987 c.320 §131; 2019 c.213 §50]

Persons transferred to a state institution for persons with mental illness or intellectual disabilities under ORS 179.473, 179.478 and 420.505 shall be entitled to the same legal rights as any other persons admitted to those institutions. [1977 c.601 §6; 2007 c.70 §45; 2011 c.658…

(1) The institution from which a transfer or conveyance is made shall pay from its appropriation the cost of such of the following items as may be incurred in a particular case: (a) Transportation and other expenses incidental to the transfer or conveyance, including the expenses…

In the case of a necessary or emergency operation requiring the services of a specialist, and where the relatives or guardians, in the judgment of the Department of Corrections or the Oregon Health Authority, are unable to pay a part or the whole cost of the operation, the agenci…

(1) The Department of Corrections, the Department of Human Services or the Oregon Health Authority shall dispense as written a prescription for a brand-name mental health drug prescribed for a person while the person is in the custody of an institution described in ORS 179.321 or…

(1) Written accounts of the adults in custody of any Department of Corrections institution as defined in ORS 421.005, maintained in the institution by the officers or employees of the institution who are authorized to maintain written accounts within the official scope of their d…

(1) As used in this section: (a) “Disclosure” means the release of, transfer of, provision of access to or divulgence in any other manner of information outside the health care services provider holding the information. (b) “Health care services provider” means: (A) Medical perso…

(1) Any individual, a person appointed as a personal representative under ORS chapter 113 or the legal guardian of the individual may commence an action for equitable relief in the circuit court for the county in which the individual resides or in which the written accounts refer…

(1) The Department of Corrections may disclose individually identifiable health information without obtaining an authorization from an adult in custody or a personal representative of the adult in custody if disclosure of the information is necessary for: (a) The provision of hea…

(1) The superintendent of each state institution shall submit quarterly reports on the number of deaths, including the ages of the deceased, the causes of death and the disposition of the remains, within the institution to the Department of Corrections or the Oregon Health Author…

(1) The superintendent or state agency that possesses or controls funds that are the property of the residents of such institutions or that have been deposited for their use or for expenditure in their behalf shall deposit such funds, as they are received, together with any such …

The superintendent or state agencies are authorized to receive any of the funds referred to in ORS 179.510 to 179.530. The State Treasurer shall carry such funds in separate accounts for such institutions, or in a single account for all institutions operated by a single state age…

Disbursements from the accounts for the purposes for which the contributions or payments were made, and for payment to persons lawfully entitled thereto, may be made by the superintendent of the institution by which the funds were deposited, or by the state agency having jurisdic…

(1) There is established in the Oregon Health Authority the Oregon State Hospital Advisory Board, consisting of 16 members. Two nonvoting members shall be from the Legislative Assembly, one appointed by the President of the Senate and one appointed by the Speaker of the House of …

The Oregon State Hospital Advisory Board established by ORS 179.560: (1) Shall periodically conduct a comprehensive review of federal and state laws concerning, and administrative rules, policies, procedures and protocols of the Oregon State Hospital related to, the safety, secur…

(1) The Oregon State Hospital Advisory Board may establish ad hoc committees to aid and advise the board in the performance of its functions. The chairperson of the board shall appoint the chairperson of each committee. Each committee shall include no more than one less than a qu…

As used in ORS 179.610 to 179.770, unless the context requires otherwise: (1) “Authorized representative” means an individual or entity appointed under authority of ORS chapter 125, as guardian or conservator of a person, who has the ability to control the person’s finances, and …

(1) A person and the personal estate of the person, or a decedent’s estate, is liable for the full cost of care. Full cost of care is established according to ORS 179.701. (2) While the person is liable for the full cost of care, the maximum amount a person is required to pay tow…

(1)(a) The Department of Corrections and the Oregon Health Authority shall establish rules for determining ability to pay for persons in their respective institutions. The rules adopted by each agency shall require, in addition to other relevant factors, consideration of the pers…

(1) If any person or authorized representative refuses to pay for the cost of care as ordered by the Department of Corrections or the Oregon Health Authority under ORS 179.640, the amount unpaid plus interest shall be a lien in favor of the State of Oregon. The lien shall arise a…

(1) If any amount due the Department of Corrections or the Oregon Health Authority for the cost of care of a person is not paid within 30 days after it becomes due, and no provision is made to secure the payment by bond, deposit or otherwise, pursuant to rules adopted by the appr…

If the Department of Corrections or the Oregon Health Authority believes a person at one of its state institutions needs a guardian or conservator, or both, and one has not been appointed, the agency may request that the district attorney institute proper proceedings for this app…

(1)(a) The cost-of-care rates for a person who is or was in a state institution described in ORS 179.321 shall be determined by the Department of Corrections or the Oregon Health Authority, as appropriate. The rates established shall be reasonably related to current costs of the …

(1) Remittance of amounts due for care of persons at state institutions as provided in ORS 179.610 to 179.770 shall be made to the Department of Corrections or the Oregon Health Authority, as appropriate. (2) The agency shall refund any unearned payment for the care of a person a…

If the Department of Corrections or the Oregon Health Authority determines that collection of the amount payable under ORS 179.610 to 179.770 for the cost of care of a person would be detrimental to the best interests of the person or the agency, the agency may waive the collecti…

(1) The Department of Corrections, the Department of Human Services or the Oregon Health Authority, as appropriate, may file a claim against the decedent’s estate for any unpaid charges under ORS 179.620 (3). This shall be done in the same manner as claims of creditors and with t…