Okla. Stat. tit. 10A, § 10A-1-2-105

of family – Immediate removal of child - Report – Voluntary services

- Temporary restraining order - Investigation by State Bureau of

Investigation – Child with complex medical needs.

A. 1. Any county office of the Department of Human Services

receiving a child abuse or neglect report shall promptly respond to

the report by initiating an investigation of the report or an

assessment of the family in accordance with priority guidelines

established by the Department. The Department may prioritize

reports of alleged child abuse or neglect based on the severity and

immediacy of the alleged harm to the child. The Department shall

adopt a priority system pursuant to rules promulgated by the

Department. The primary purpose of the investigation or assessment

shall be the protection of the child. For investigations or

assessments, the Department shall give special consideration to the

risks of any minor, including a child with a disability, who is

unable to communicate effectively about abuse, neglect or other

safety threat or who is in a vulnerable position due to the

inability to communicate effectively.

2. If an investigation or assessment conducted by the

Department in response to any report of child abuse or neglect shows

that the incident reported was the result of the reasonable exercise

of parental discipline involving the use of ordinary force,

including, but not limited to, spanking, switching, or paddling, the

investigation or assessment will proceed no further and all records

regarding the incident shall be expunged.

B. 1. The investigation or assessment shall include a visit to

the home of the child, unless there is reason to believe that there

is an extreme safety risk to the child or worker or it appears that

the referral has been made in bad faith. The visit shall include an

interview with and examination of the subject child and may be

conducted at any reasonable time and at any place including, but not

limited to, the child’s school. The Department shall notify the

person responsible for the health, safety, and welfare of the child

that the child has been interviewed at a school. The investigation

or assessment may include an interview with the parents of the child

or any other person responsible for the health, safety, or welfare

of the child and an interview with and examination of any child in

the home.

2. The investigation or assessment may include a medical,

psychological, or psychiatric examination of any child in the home,

and may include an interview conducted by appropriate personnel

using the protocols and procedures specified in Section 1-9-102 of

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this title. If admission to the home, school, or any place where

the child may be located cannot be obtained, then the district court

having jurisdiction, upon application by the district attorney and

upon cause shown, shall order the person responsible for the health,

safety, or welfare of the child, or the person in charge of any

place where the child may be located, to allow entrance for the

interview, the examination, and the investigation or assessment.

The court may order that the child be transported to a location

approved by the court for the interview or examination and designate

an appropriate person or persons to transport the child. Such

persons may include but are not limited to: a relative of the child;

a person responsible for the child’s health, safety, or welfare; law

enforcement personnel; employees of the Department of Human

Services; or employees of the Office of Juvenile Affairs if the

child is in the custody of the Office of Juvenile Affairs. When

making this determination, the court shall consider safety protocols

based on the gender of the child. If the person responsible for the

health, safety, or welfare of the child does not consent to a

medical, psychological, or psychiatric examination of the child that
Services; or employees of the Office of Juvenile Affairs if the

child is in the custody of the Office of Juvenile Affairs. When

making this determination, the court shall consider safety protocols

based on the gender of the child. If the person responsible for the

health, safety, or welfare of the child does not consent to a

medical, psychological, or psychiatric examination of the child that

is requested by the Department, the district court having

jurisdiction, upon application by the district attorney and upon

cause shown, shall order the examination to be made at the times and

places designated by the court.

3. The investigation or assessment may include an inquiry into

the possibility that the child or a person responsible for the

health, safety, or welfare of the child has a history of mental

illness. If the person responsible for the child’s health, safety,

or welfare does not allow the Department to have access to

behavioral health records or treatment plans requested by the

Department, which may be relevant to the alleged abuse or neglect,

the district court having jurisdiction, upon application by the

district attorney and upon good cause shown, shall by order allow

the Department to have access to the records pursuant to terms and

conditions prescribed by the court.

4. a. If the court determines that the subject of the

behavioral health records is indigent, the court shall

appoint an attorney to represent that person at the

hearing to obtain behavioral health records.

b. A person responsible for the health, safety, or

welfare of the child is entitled to notice and a

hearing when the Department seeks a court order to

allow a psychological or psychiatric examination or

access to behavioral health records.

c. Access to behavioral health records does not

constitute a waiver of confidentiality.

5. The investigation of a report of sexual abuse or serious

physical abuse or both sexual abuse and serious physical abuse shall

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 10A. Children and Juvenile Code Page 58

be conducted, when appropriate and possible, using a

multidisciplinary team approach as provided by Section 1-9-102 of

this title. Law enforcement and the Department shall exchange

investigation information.

6. The investigation or assessment shall include an inquiry

into whether the person responsible for the health, safety or

welfare of the child is an active duty service member of the

military or the spouse of an active duty service member. The

Department shall collect and report information related to the

military affiliation of the person or spouse responsible for the

health, safety or welfare of the child to the designated federal

authorities at the federal military installation where the service

member is assigned as provided by paragraph 4 of subsection A of

Section 1-2-102 of this title.

C. 1. Every physician, surgeon, or other health care provider

making a report of abuse or neglect as required by this section or

examining a child to determine the likelihood of abuse or neglect

and every hospital or related institution in which the child was

examined or treated shall provide copies of the results of the

examination or copies of the examination on which the report was

based and any other clinical notes, x-rays, photographs, and other

previous or current records relevant to the case to law enforcement

officers conducting a criminal investigation into the case and to

employees of the Department conducting an assessment or

investigation of alleged abuse or neglect in the case.

2. As necessary in the course of conducting an assessment or

investigation, the Department may request and obtain, without a

court order, copies of all prior medical records of a child

including, but not limited to, hospital records, medical, and dental

records. The physician-patient privilege shall not constitute

grounds for failure to produce such records.
ged abuse or neglect in the case.

2. As necessary in the course of conducting an assessment or

investigation, the Department may request and obtain, without a

court order, copies of all prior medical records of a child

including, but not limited to, hospital records, medical, and dental

records. The physician-patient privilege shall not constitute

grounds for failure to produce such records.

D. 1. The Department shall engage in a collaborative decision-

making process to address each child’s needs related to safety and

whether the child’s condition warrants a safety intervention

including but not limited to a change in placement, and:

a. those involved in the collaborative decision-making

process shall include at a minimum appropriate

Department staff, the parents of the child and, if the

parent requests, an advocate or representative,

b. to protect the safety of those involved and to promote

efficiency, the Department may limit participants as

determined to be in the best interests of the child,

c. the Department shall make reasonable efforts to

provide a trained facilitator to guide the decision-

making process, and

d. any determination that a collaborative decision-making

process is not possible or is unnecessary shall

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 10A. Children and Juvenile Code Page 59

require supervisor approval and documentation of the

reasons supporting the determination.

2. If, before the assessment or investigation is complete, the

Department determines that immediate removal of the child is

necessary to protect the child from further abuse or neglect, the

Department shall recommend that the child be taken into custody and,

if feasible, utilize the collaborative decision-making process

provided by paragraph 1 of this subsection prior to the emergency

custody hearing.

E. The Department shall make a complete written report of the

investigation. The investigation report, together with its

recommendations, shall be submitted to the appropriate district

attorney’s office. Reports of assessment recommendations shall be

submitted to appropriate district attorneys.

F. The Department, where appropriate and in its discretion,

shall identify prevention- and intervention-related services

available in the community and refer the family to or arrange for

such services when an investigation or assessment indicates the

family would benefit from such services, or the Department may

provide such services directly. The Department shall document in

the record its attempts to provide, refer or arrange for the

provision of voluntary services and shall determine within sixty

(60) days whether the family has accessed those services directly

related to safety of the child. If the family refuses voluntary

services or does not access those services directly related to

safety of the child, and it is determined by the Department that the

child’s surroundings endanger the health, safety, or welfare of the

child, the Department may recommend that the child be placed in

protective or emergency custody or that a petition be filed.

G. If the Department has reason to believe that a person

responsible for the health, safety, and welfare of the child may

remove the child from the state before the investigation is

completed, the Department may request the district attorney to file

an application for a temporary restraining order in any district

court in the State of Oklahoma without regard to continuing

jurisdiction of the child. Upon cause shown, the court may enter a

temporary restraining order prohibiting the parent or other person

from removing the child from the state pending completion of the

assessment or investigation.

H. The Director of the Department or designee may request an

investigation be conducted by the Oklahoma State Bureau of

Investigation or other law enforcement agency in cases where it

reasonably believes that criminally injurious conduct including, but
ng order prohibiting the parent or other person

from removing the child from the state pending completion of the

assessment or investigation.

H. The Director of the Department or designee may request an

investigation be conducted by the Oklahoma State Bureau of

Investigation or other law enforcement agency in cases where it

reasonably believes that criminally injurious conduct including, but

not limited to, physical or sexual abuse of a child has occurred.

I. Child Welfare Services, in collaboration with the

Developmental Disabilities Services Division, shall implement a

protocol to be used in cases where the subject child is a child with

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 10A. Children and Juvenile Code Page 60

a disability who has complex medical needs, and the protocol shall

include, but not be limited to: resource coordination, medical

consultation or medical evaluation, when needed.