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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 58th Legislature (2021)
HOUSE BILL 1797 By: Miller
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to child care facilities ; amending 10
O.S. 2011, Section 406, as last amended by Section 1,
Chapter 368, O.S.L. 2019 (10 O.S. Supp. 2020, Section
406), which relates to investigations of child care
facilities; requiring notification when there is a
substantiated finding of heinous and shocking abuse ;
prescribing method and timing for notification ;
prohibiting suspected perpe trator from certain
employment pending a final determination; and
providing an effective date .
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 10 O.S. 2011, Section 406, as last
amended by Section 1, Chapter 368, O.S.L. 2019 (10 O.S. Supp. 2020,
Section 406), is amended to read as follows:
Section 406. A. 1. Except as provided in paragraph 2 of this
subsection, the Department of Human Services shall have authority at
any reasonable time to investigate and examine the conditions of any
child care facility in which a licensee or applicant hereunder
receives and maintains children, and shall have authority at any
time to require the facility to provide information pertaining to
children in its care.
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2. When the Department of Human Services is reviewing the star
rating of a child care program with a capacity of fifty or more, the
comprehensive visit to inspect and examine the program shall be
scheduled with the administration of the program at l east one (1)
week in advance of the visit, if requested by the child care
facility.
B. 1. The State Department of Health may visit any licensee or
applicant at the request of the Department to advise on matters
affecting the health of children and to ins pect the sanitation of
the buildings used for their care.
2. The State Fire Marshal may visit any licensee or applicant
at the request of the Department to advise on matters affecting the
safety of children and to inspect the condition of the buildings
used for their care.
C. 1. Upon receipt of a complaint against any child care
facility alleging a violation of the provisions of the Oklahoma
Child Care Facilities Licensing Act, or any licensing standard
promulgated by the Department, the Department shall conduct a full
investigation. If upon investigation, it is determined that there
are reasonable grounds to believe that a facility is in violation of
the Oklahoma Child Care Facilities Licensing Act or of any standard
or rule promulgated pursuant thereto , the Department shall:
a. document the complaint,
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b. provide the complaint allegations in writing to the
facility involved and, upon written request by the
child care facility, provide a summary of the facts
used to evaluate the completed complaint, and
c. document the facility 's plan for correcting any
substantiated violations.
2. If the Department determines there has been a violation and
the violation has a direct impact on the health, safety or well -
being of one or more of the children cared for by th e facility, the
Department shall notify the facility and require correction of the
violation.
3. The Department shall notify the facility that failure to
correct the confirmed violation can result in the revocation of the
license, the denial of an applica tion for a license, the issuance of
an emergency order or the filing of an injunction pursuant to the
provisions of Section 409 of this title.
4. If the facility refuses to correct a violation or fails to
complete the plan of correction, the Department ma y issue an
emergency order, revoke the license, or deny the application for a
license. Nothing in this section or Section 407 of this title shall
be construed as preventing the Department from denying an
application, revoking a license, or issuing an emer gency order for a
single violation of this act, or the rules of the Department as
provided in Section 404 of this title.
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5. If the Department determines there has been a substantiated
finding of heinous and shocking abuse by a person responsible for
the health, safety and welfare of a child, as defined in Section 1 -
1-105 of Title 10A of the Oklahoma Statutes, the Department shall
notify the child care facility owner or operator and the child care
resource and referral organization in writing immediately or not
later than one (1) business day after the substantiated finding.
The facility owner or operator shall notify parents or legal
guardians of children attending the facility by certified mail
within one (1) business day of notice of the substantiated finding.
The Department shall develop a process by which the suspected
perpetrator of substantiated heinous and shocking abuse is unable to
be employed in a child care facility pending the final determination
of placement on the Child Care Restricted Regist ry.
D. Upon the completion of the investigation of a complaint
against any child care facility alleging a violation of the
provisions of the Oklahoma Child Care Facilities Licensing Act or
any licensing standard promulgated thereto by the Department, the
Department shall clearly designate its findings on the first page of
the report of the investigation. The findings shall state whether
the complaint was substantiated or unsubstantiated.
E. Information obtained by the Department or Oklahoma Child
Care Services concerning a report of a violation of a licensing
requirement, or from any licensee regarding children or their
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parents or other relatives shall be deemed confidential and
privileged communications, shall be properly safeguarded, and shall
not be accessible to anyone except as herein provided, unless upon
order of a court of competent jurisdiction. Provided, however, this
provision shall not prohibit the Department from providing a summary
of allegations and findings of an investigation involving a child
care facility that does not disclose identities but that permits
parents to evaluate the facility.
F. The Department shall promulgate rules to establish and
maintain a grievance process that shall include an anonymous
complaint system for reporting and investigating complaints or
grievances about employees of the Department who retaliate against a
child care facility or facility employee.
SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2021.
58-1-5896 EK 01/18/21