ORS 109.270: Rules regarding home studies and placement reports.

(1) Rules adopted by the Department of Human Services for home studies and placement reports under ORS 109.276 (7) and (8) must, at a minimum, require the department to:

      (a) Consider each prospective adoptive parent on the basis of the prospective adoptive parent’s ability to meet the individual needs of the child for safety, attachment and well-being;

      (b) Safeguard a child’s rights under ORS 419B.090 (3) by, except as provided in ORS 419B.654 (2), considering the current caretaker and relatives to have equal status and priority as prospective adoptive parents under ORS 419B.192;

      (c) Give a child’s relatives and current caretaker a greater weight in the consideration of suitability as prospective adoptive parents as compared to the department’s consideration of other persons seeking to adopt a child who are not relatives or current caretakers; and

      (d) If an adoption is disrupted, consider any relative or current caretaker who was not initially selected by the department as the prospective adoptive parent as an adoptive resource.

      (2) For purposes of this section, “current caretaker” has the meaning given that term in ORS 419A.004.