2025 Oregon Revised Statutes
Volume : 11 - Juvenile Code, Human Services
Chapter 421 - Department of Corrections Institutions; Compacts
Section 421.520 - Family Sentencing Alternative Program; rules.

(2) A defendant is eligible for the Family Sentencing Alternative Program if:

(a) The defendant’s presumptive sentence under the sentencing guidelines of the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission is a term of imprisonment in the legal and physical custody of the Department of Corrections of at least one year; and

(b) The defendant is pregnant at the time of sentencing or is the parent or legal guardian of a minor child and at the time of the offense or sentencing had physical custody of the child.

(3)(a) If the defendant meets the eligibility requirements described in subsection (2) of this section and is eligible for a downward dispositional departure under the rules of the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission, the court may order that the defendant sign a release authorizing the Department of Human Services to provide the community corrections agency with written confirmation of, and consultation concerning, any open or current juvenile dependency proceeding or any prior substantiated allegation of abuse or neglect involving the defendant and a minor child.

(b) The court may consider eligibility in the Family Sentencing Alternative Program as a mitigating factor when determining whether to sentence the defendant to probation, with a requirement that the defendant participate in the program as a condition of probation, as a downward dispositional departure under the rules of the commission.

(4) After receipt of the information described in subsection (3) of this section, the community corrections agency, in consultation with the Department of Human Services, shall determine if the Family Sentencing Alternative Program is an appropriate program for the defendant and, if the program is appropriate and the defendant is sentenced to a term of probation, require participation in the program for the probationary sentence. In addition to the conditions of probation ordered under ORS 137.540, the defendant may be required to comply with any additional conditions related to the program, including but not limited to:

(a) Geographical restrictions, including house arrest and electronic surveillance;

(b) Participation in vocational training; and

(c) Completion of:

(A) Parenting skills classes;

(B) Drug or alcohol treatment;

(C) Mental health treatment; or

(D) Life skills classes.

(5) The Department of Human Services and community corrections agencies shall cooperate with the Department of Corrections in implementing the Family Sentencing Alternative Program described in this section.

(6) The Department of Human Services and the Department of Corrections shall jointly submit a report concerning the Family Sentencing Alternative Program, which must include program outcomes and data related to the efficacy of the program, and which may include recommendations for legislation, in the manner provided by ORS 192.245, to the interim committees of the Legislative Assembly related to the judiciary no later than January 1 of each year.

(7) The Department of Corrections shall establish a process for selecting counties to participate in the Family Sentencing Alternative Program.

(8) The Department of Corrections and the Department of Human Services may adopt rules to carry out the provisions of this section.

(9) Services provided under the Family Sentencing Alternative Program must be culturally specific and gender-responsive whenever possible. [2025 c.484 §1]

Note: 421.520 was enacted into law by the Legislative Assembly but was not added to or made a part of ORS chapter 421 or any series therein by legislative action. See Preface to Oregon Revised Statutes for further explanation.