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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 58th Legislature (2021)
SENATE BILL 978 By: Dugger
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to the Oklahoma Children ’s Code;
amending 10A O.S. 2011, Section 1 -1-102, as amended
by Section 1, Chapter 105, O.S.L. 20 14 (10A O.S.
Supp. 2020, Section 1 -1-102), which relates to
duties, rights and interests; prohibiting certain
legal preference or presumption in proceedings under
the Oklahoma Children’s Code; and providin g an
effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 10A O.S. 2011, Section 1 -1-102, as
amended by Section 1, Chapter 105, O.S.L. 2014 ( 10A O.S. Supp. 2020,
Section 1-1-102), is amended to read as follows:
Section 1-1-102. A. For the purposes of the Oklahoma
Children’s Code, the Legislature recognizes that:
1. Parents have a natural, legal , and moral right, as well as a
duty, to care for and support their children and such rights are
protected by state and federal laws as w ell as the Constitution. To
that end, it is presumed that the best interests of a chi ld are
ordinarily served by leaving the child in the custody of the
parents, who are expected to have the strongest bon d of love and
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affection and to be best able to prov ide a child those needed
qualities that make a child ’s life safe and secure. Nevertheless,
this presumption may be rebutted where there is evidence of abuse
and neglect or threat of harm;
2. A child has a right to be raised by the mother and father of
the child as well as a right to be raised free from physical and
emotional abuse or neg lect. When it is necessary to remove a child
from a parent, the child is entitled to a permanent home and to be
placed in the least restrictive environment to meet the ne eds of the
child; and
3. Because the state has an interest in its present and future
citizens as well as a duty to protect those who, because of age, are
unable to protect themselves, it is the policy of this state to
provide for the protection of childre n who have been abused or
neglected and who may be further threatened by the conduct of
persons responsible for the health, safety , and welfare of such
children. To this en d, where family circumstances t hreaten the
safety of a child, the state ’s interest in the welfare of the child
takes precedence over the natural right and authority of the parent
to the extent that it is necessary to protect the child and assure
that the best interests of the child are met. For any proceeding
under the Oklahoma Chil dren’s Code, there shall be neither a legal
preference nor a presumption for or against a parent because of the
gender of that parent.
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B. It is the intent of the Legislature that the Oklahoma
Children’s Code provide the foundation and process for state
intervention into the parent -child relationship whenever the
circumstances of a family th reaten the safety of a child and to
properly balance the interests of the parties stated herein. To
this end, it is the purpose of the laws relating to children alleged
or found to be deprived to:
1. Intervene in the family only when necessary to protect a
child from harm or threatened harm;
2. Provide expeditious and timely judicial and agency
procedures for the protecti on of the child;
3. Preserve, unify, and strengthen the family ties of the child
whenever possible when in the best interests of the c hild to do so;
4. Recognize that the right to family integrity, preservation
or reunification is limited by the right of the child to be
protected from abuse and neglect;
5. Make reasonable efforts to prevent or eliminate the need for
the removal of a child from the home and make reasonable efforts to
return the child to the home unless otherwise prescribed by the
Oklahoma Children’s Code;
6. Recognize that permanency is i n the best interests of the
child;
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7. Ensure that when family rehabilitation and r eunification are
not possible, the child will be placed in an adoptive home or other
permanent living arrangement in a ti mely fashion; and
8. Secure for each child the perm anency, care, education , and
guidance as will best serve the spiritual, emotional, mental and
physical health, safety , and welfare of the child.
C. Whenever it is necessary for a child to be placed outsi de
the home pursuant to the Oklahoma Children ’s Code, it is the intent
of the Legislature that:
1. Each child shall be assured the car e, guidance, and
supervision in a permanent home or foster home that will serve the
best interests of the child including , but not limited to, the
development of the moral, emotional, spiritual, mental, social,
educational, and physical well-being of the child;
2. When a child is placed in foster care, the foster parent
shall be allowed to consider the child as part of the family;
3. Whenever possible siblings shall be plac ed together and when
it is not possible efforts shall be made to preserve the
relationships through visitation and other methods of communication;
and
4. Permanent placement is achieved as soon as possib le.
D. A foster parent or group home where a child is placed has a
recognizable interest in the familial relationship that the foster
parent or group home establishes with a foster child and shall
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therefore be considered an essential participant with rega rd to
decisions related to the care, supervision, gu idance, rearing, and
other foster care services to the child.
E. It is the intent of the Legislature that the paramount
consideration in all proceedings within the Oklahoma Children ’s Code
is the best interests of the child.
SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2021.
58-1-836 TEK 1/21/2021 8:03:40 PM