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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023)
HOUSE BILL 1047 By: Lawson
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to children; amending 10A O.S. 2021,
Section 1-2-109, which relates to relinquishment of a
child; modifying age of chil dren for relinquishment
purposes; amending 21 O.S. 2021, Section 851, which
relates to abandonment or neglect; modifying age of
children for abandonment purposes; and providing an
effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLA HOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 10A O.S. 2021, Section 1 -2-109, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 1-2-109. A. A parent subject to the provisions of this
act shall not be prosecuted for child abandonment or child neglect
under the provisions of any st atute which makes child abandonment or
child neglect a crime, when the allegations of child abandonment or
child neglect are based solely on the relinquishment of a child
thirty (30) sixty (60) days of age or younger to a medical ser vices
provider or a child rescuer as defined in this section.
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B. The following entities shall, without a court order, take
possession of a child thirty (30) sixty (60) days of age or younger
if the child is voluntarily delivered to the entity by the paren t of
the child and the parent did no t express an intent to return for the
child:
1. A medical services provider; or
2. A child rescuer.
C. Delivery of the child may be effectuated by an in -person
transfer of the child to the medical services provider or child
rescuer or by leaving the chi ld in a newborn safety device that is:
1. Voluntarily installed by the medical services provider o r
child rescuer;
2. Physically located inside a police station, fire station,
child protective services agency, hospital or other medical
facility; and
3. Located in an area that is conspicuous and vi sible to the
employees of the police station, fire sta tion, child protective
services agency, hospital or other medical facility.
D. A medical services provider or child resc uer that installs a
newborn safety device shall:
1. Be responsible for the cost of the installation; and
2. Install an adequate dual alarm system connected to the
physical location of the newborn safety device that is:
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a. tested at least one time per wee k to ensure the alarm
system is in working order, and
b. visually checked at leas t two times per day to ensure
the alarm system is in w orking order.
E. Any entity identified in subsection B of this section to
which a parent seeks to relinquish a child pur suant to the
provisions of this sect ion may:
1. Request, but not demand, any inf ormation about the child
that the parent is willing to share. The entity is encouraged to
ask about, but not demand, the details of any relevant medical
history relating to t he child or the parents of the child . The
entity shall respect the wish of the p arent if the parent desires to
remain anonymous; and
2. Provide the parent with printed information relating to the
rights of the parents, including both parents, with respec t to
reunification with the child an d sources of counseling for the
parents, if desired.
F. Once a child has been relinquished to any entity identified
in subsection B of this section, the entity receiving the child
shall:
1. Perform or provide for the p erformance of any act necessary
to protect the physical health or safety of the c hild; and
2. Notify the local office of the Departmen t that a parent of a
child thirty (30) sixty (60) days of age or younger, in the best
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judgment of the receiving entity, h as relinquished such child and
that the entity has taken possession of the child.
G. Upon being made aware that a medical services pro vider or
child rescuer has possession of a child under the provisions of this
section, the Department of Human Services s hall immediately check
with law enforcement authorities to determine if a child has been
reported missing and whether the missing child could be the
relinquished child.
H. The Department shall design and disseminate:
1. A simplified form for the recordin g of medical or other
information that a relinquishing p arent wishes to share with the
entity to whom the child is being relinquished;
2. Easily understood printed materials that give information
about parents' rights with regard to reunification with a c hild
including, but not limited to, information on how a parent can
contact the appropriate entity regarding reunification, and
information on sources of counseling for relinquishing parents; and
3. Media information including printed material that create s
public awareness about the provisi ons of this act.
I. For purposes of this section:
1. "Medical services provider" means a person authorized to
practice the healing arts including a physician 's assistant or nurse
practitioner, a registered or practical nurse and a nurse aide; and
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2. "Child rescuer" means any employee or other designated
person on duty at a police station, fire statio n, child protective
services agency, hospital or other medical facility.
J. A medical services provider or child rescuer with
responsibility for performing duties pursuant to t his section shall
be immune from any criminal liability that might otherwise re sult
from the actions of the entity, if acting in good faith in receiving
a relinquished child. In addition, such medica l provider or child
rescuer shall be immune from any civil liability that might
otherwise result from merely receiving a relinquished c hild.
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 21 O.S. 2021, Section 851, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 851. A. Any parent of any child or children under the
age of ten (10) years, and every person to whom such child or
children have been confided for nurture or education, who deserts
such child or children within this state, or tak es such child or
children without this state, with the intent wholly to abandon it
the child or children shall be deemed guilty of a felony and upon
conviction thereof shall be punis hed by imprisonment in the State
Penitentiary custody of the Department of Corrections for any period
of time not less than one (1) year nor more than ten (10) years.
B. It is an affirmative defense to a prosecution under this
section that a parent voluntarily delivered a child under the age of
thirty (30) sixty (60) days to and left the child with, or
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voluntarily arranged for another person to deliver a child to and
leave the child with, a medical services provider or child rescuer
as provided in Section 1 -2-109 of Title 10A of the Oklahoma
Statutes.
SECTION 3. This act shall become ef fective November 1, 2023.
59-1-5227 CMA 12/29/22