Emergency Foster Care in Oregon: What Happens in the First 24 Hours

Emergency placements are how most foster care actually starts — not with a scheduled, comfortable introduction, but with a phone call at 9 p.m. asking if you can take a 4-year-old tonight. Oregon's child welfare system operates around the clock, and certified resource parents who are "placement-ready" become the safety net when a child cannot safely remain in their home.

Understanding how emergency placements work — what to expect, what you are legally entitled to know, and what practical preparations make the difference — is as important as any other part of the certification process.

When ODHS Makes an Emergency Removal

Most emergency foster placements follow a child's emergency removal from their home by an ODHS worker or law enforcement officer under ORS 419B.150. Emergency removal is authorized when there is probable cause to believe the child faces imminent danger and there is no time to pursue a court order first.

After removal, Oregon law requires a shelter care hearing within one business day. At the shelter care hearing, the court determines whether continued removal is warranted, whether the child should be returned home with safety services, and whether there is an appropriate relative or preferred placement available.

During the hours between removal and the shelter care hearing, the child is in shelter care — placed with an available certified resource home that ODHS's placement unit contacts. That may be you.

The After-Hours Call

ODHS operates after-hours placement lines in each district. If you are certified and have indicated placement availability, you may receive calls during evenings, weekends, and overnight. The call will typically include:

• The child's approximate age and sex
• The general reason for removal (not always fully detailed — confidentiality limits what is shared by phone)
• Any immediately critical medical or behavioral information
• When the child will arrive and how (often within 2-4 hours of the call)

Under ORS 418.648, you have the right to receive information about a child's behavioral history and needs before or at the time of placement. In practice, emergency placements move fast, and comprehensive disclosure sometimes follows placement rather than preceding it. Document what you were and were not told, and follow up with the caseworker and your certifier for a full disclosure as soon as the next business day.

You also have the right to decline a placement based on your current household capacity. You will not lose your certification for declining a placement you genuinely cannot safely accommodate.

What to Have Ready: The Welcome Box

Experienced Oregon foster parents consistently describe the same preparation: a "Welcome Box" kept stocked and ready for a child who arrives with nothing. The contents that come up most often in resource parent discussions:

• Toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, shampoo (child-appropriate)
• A few changes of clothes in a range of sizes (children often arrive in the clothes they were wearing)
• Pajamas
• A comfort item — a stuffed animal or simple toy — that belongs to the child from the moment they arrive
• Snacks and a simple meal that can be prepared at any hour
• A nightlight
• Age-appropriate entertainment for the first night (a tablet with downloaded movies or books if you have one)

Oregon provides a clothing voucher of up to $600 per child per year through the certification process — this covers ongoing clothing needs, but it takes a few days to access after a new placement. Having basics on hand bridges that gap.

What Happens During the Shelter Care Hearing

The shelter care hearing is the child's first contact with the Oregon dependency court system. Resource parents are generally not required to attend, but you may attend and can provide a brief written statement about the child's adjustment during the hours since placement if you have relevant observations.

At the hearing, the court will:

• Determine whether emergency removal was legally justified
• Order either return home (with or without safety services) or continuation in foster care
• Review whether any relative or tribally-preferred placement is available (tribal children are subject to ICWA/ORICWA placement preference requirements)
• Set initial visitation arrangements between the child and birth parents

If the child remains in shelter care, the case proceeds toward a jurisdiction hearing within 60 days.

Shelter Care Rates

Emergency placements during the first 20 days of shelter care are reimbursed at a daily shelter care rate rather than the standard monthly maintenance amount:

• Ages 0–5: $39.38 per day
• Ages 6–12: $39.55 per day
• Ages 13–20: $41.49 per day

After day 20, reimbursement transitions to the standard monthly base rate for the child's age group. CANS level-of-care assessments that generate supplemental payments typically occur after the initial shelter care period.

Respite Foster Care: A Related Entry Point

Some certified resource parents choose to begin their foster care involvement as respite providers — certified only to provide short-term relief care to full-time foster families, not to take primary placements. Oregon's standard respite reimbursement is $55 per day.

Respite certification requires the same home inspection and background check as full certification, but the scope of care is more limited. For households that want to contribute to Oregon's foster care system but are not ready for primary placements, respite care is a meaningful and practical entry point.

For a complete guide to the certification process that gets you placement-ready, including what to prepare before your first call and how to navigate the first 90 days of a placement, see the Oregon Foster Care Licensing Guide.

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