Okla. Stat. tit. 10A, § 10A-1-9-112

A. 1. The State Commissioner of Health shall establish the

Office of Client Advocacy within the State Department of Health and

shall employ personnel necessary to carry out the provisions of this

section.

2. The head of the Office of Client Advocacy shall be the

Advocate General. The duties and responsibilities of the Advocate

General are to:

a. supervise personnel assigned to the Office of Client

Advocacy,

b. monitor and review grievance procedures and hearings,

c. establish and maintain a fair, simple, and expeditious

system for resolution of grievances of:

(1) all children in the custody of the Department of

Human Services regarding:

(a) the substance or application of any written

or unwritten policy or rule of the

Department or agent of the Department, or

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(b) any decision or action by an employee or

agent of the Department, or of any child in

the custody of the Department,

(2) foster parents relating to the provision of

foster care services pursuant to this section and

Section 1-9-117 of this title, and

(3) all persons receiving services from the

Developmental Disabilities Services Division of

the Department of Human Services,

d. investigate allegations of abuse, neglect, sexual

abuse, and sexual exploitation, as those terms are

defined in the Oklahoma Children’s Code, by a person

responsible for a child, regardless of custody:

(1) residing outside his or her own home other than

children in foster care or children in the

custody of the Office of Juvenile Affairs and

placed in an Office of Juvenile Affairs secure

facility,

(2) in a day treatment program as defined in Section

175.20 of Title 10 of the Oklahoma Statutes, and

submit a report of the results of the

investigation to the appropriate district

attorney and to the State Department of Health,

(3) receiving services from a community services

worker as that term is defined in Section 1025.1

of Title 56 of the Oklahoma Statutes, and

(4) residing in a state institution listed in Section

1406 of Title 10 of the Oklahoma Statutes,

e. establish a system for investigating allegations of

misconduct, by a person responsible for a child, not

rising to the level of abuse, neglect, sexual abuse,

or sexual exploitation with regard to any child or

resident listed in subparagraph d of this paragraph,

f. coordinate any hearings or meetings of departmental

administrative review committees conducted as a result

of unresolved grievances or as a result of

investigations,

g. make recommendations to the State Commissioner of

Health, who shall then make recommendations to the

Director of Human Services, and provide regular or

special reports regarding grievance procedures,

hearings and investigations to the Director, the

Commissioner, the Office of Juvenile System Oversight,

and other appropriate persons as necessary,

h. forward to the Office of Juvenile System Oversight,

for the information of the Director of that office, a

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copy of the final report of any grievance which is not

resolved in the favor of the complainant,

i. perform the duties imposed on the Office of Client

Advocacy under the Protective Services for Vulnerable

Adults Act when the Office is the appropriate state

entity as defined in Section 10-103 of Title 43A of

the Oklahoma Statutes,

j. perform such other duties as required by the State

Commissioner of Health, and

k. develop policies and procedures as necessary to

implement the duties and responsibilities assigned to

the Office of Client Advocacy.

B. The Office of Client Advocacy shall make a complete written

report of its investigations. The investigation report, together

with its recommendations, shall be submitted to the appropriate

district attorney’s office.

C. 1. Except as otherwise provided by the Oklahoma Children’s
procedures as necessary to

implement the duties and responsibilities assigned to

the Office of Client Advocacy.

B. The Office of Client Advocacy shall make a complete written

report of its investigations. The investigation report, together

with its recommendations, shall be submitted to the appropriate

district attorney’s office.

C. 1. Except as otherwise provided by the Oklahoma Children’s

Code, the reports required by Section 1-2-101 of this title or any

other information acquired pursuant to the Oklahoma Children’s Code

shall be confidential and may be disclosed only as provided in

Section 1-2-108 of this title and the Oklahoma Children’s Code.

2. Except as otherwise provided by the Oklahoma Children’s

Code, any violation of the confidentiality requirements of the

Oklahoma Children’s Code shall, upon conviction, be a misdemeanor

punishable by up to six (6) months in jail, by a fine of Five

Hundred Dollars ($500.00), or by both such fine and imprisonment.

3. Any records or information disclosed as provided by this

subsection shall remain confidential. The use of any information

shall be limited to the purpose for which disclosure is authorized.

Rules promulgated by the State Commissioner of Health shall provide

for disclosure of relevant information concerning Office of Client

Advocacy investigations to persons or entities acting in an official

capacity with regard to the subject of the investigation.

4. Nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting

the Office of Client Advocacy or the Department of Human Services

from disclosing such confidential information as may be necessary to

secure appropriate care, treatment, or protection of a child alleged

to be abused or neglected.

D. 1. The Office of Client Advocacy shall investigate any

complaint received by the Office of Juvenile System Oversight

alleging that an employee of the Department of Human Services or a

child-placing agency has threatened a foster parent with removal of

a child from the foster parent, harassed a foster parent, or refused

to place a child in a licensed or certified foster home, or

disrupted a child placement as retaliation or discrimination towards

a foster parent who has:

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a. filed a grievance pursuant to Section 1-9-120 of this

title,

b. provided information to any state official or

Department of Human Services employee, or

c. testified, assisted, or otherwise participated in an

investigation, proceeding, or hearing against the

Department of Human Services or child-placing agency.

2. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to any

complaint by a foster parent regarding the result of a criminal,

administrative, or civil proceeding for a violation of any law,

rule, or contract provision by that foster parent, or the action

taken by the Department of Human Services or a child-placement

agency in conformity with the result of any such proceeding.

3. The Office of Client Advocacy shall at all times be granted

access to any foster home or any child-placing agency which is

certified, authorized, or funded by the Department of Human

Services.