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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES - FLOOR VERSION
STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 60th Legislature (2025)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
HOUSE BILL NO. 1863 By: Roberts of the House
and
Rader of the Senate
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
An Act relating to children; amending 10A O.S. 2021,
Sections 1-6-107 and 1-9-102, which relate to the
Oklahoma Children's Code; modifying fine amount and
imprisonment duration; directing the
multidisciplinary child abuse team to review cases;
modifying team functions; directing the team to use a
secure database and report data; directing certain
protocol to be initiated; directing the Oklahoma
Commission on Children and Youth to create and
maintain certain database; providi ng data the
database shall collect; providing requirements
related to data; providing purpose; directing the
Commission to promulgate rules; providing for
codification; and providing an effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 10A O.S. 2021, Section 1 -6-107, is
amended to read as follows:
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Section 1-6-107. A. The reports required by Section 1 -2-101 of
this title and all other information acquired pursuant to the
Oklahoma Children’s Code shall be confidential and may be disclosed
only as provided by this Code, applicable state or federal law,
regulation, or court order.
B. The confidential records and information that are authorized
to be disclosed pursuant to this Chapter shall remain confidential
and the use of such information shall be limited to the purposes for
which disclosure is authorized. Persons or agencies obtaining
records pursuant to this Chapter are prohibited from disclosing the
contents of such records to another person or agency unless
specifically authorized to do so by law or by the terms of a court
order.
C. The disclosure of any confidential records or information
made by the Department of Human Services pursuant to law or court
order shall not be deemed a waiver of confidentiality or privileg e,
and any recipient of such records or information shall protect them
against unauthorized disclosure and maintain them confidentially and
in compliance with state and federal law.
D. Any person or agency who knowingly permits, assists, or
encourages the release, disclosure, or use of confidential records
or information for any commercial, political, or unauthorized
purpose may be prosecuted for contempt of court or for a
misdemeanor, which shall, upon conviction, be punishable by up to
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six (6) twelve (12) months in jail, by a fine of Five Hundred
Dollars ($500.00) Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) , or by both such
fine and imprisonment.
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 10A O.S. 2021, Section 1 -9-102, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 1-9-102. A. 1. In coordination with the Oklahoma
Commission on Children and Youth, each district attorney shall
develop a multidisciplinary child abuse team in each county of the
district attorney or in a contiguous group of counties.
2. The lead agency for the team shall be chosen by the members
of the team. The team shall intervene in reports review cases
involving child sexual abuse or child physical abuse or neglect.
B. The multidisciplinary child abuse team members shall
include, but not be limite d to:
1. Mental health professionals licensed pursuant to the laws of
this state or licensed professional counselors;
2. Police officers or other law enforcement agents with a role
in, or experience or training in child abuse and neglect
investigation;
3. Medical personnel with experience in child abuse and neglect
identification;
4. Child protective services workers within the Department of
Human Services;
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5. Multidisciplinary child abuse team coordinators , or Child
Advocacy Center personnel; and
6. The district attorney or assistant district attorney.
C. 1. To the extent that resources are available to each of
the various multidisciplinary child abuse teams throughout the
state, the functions of the team shall include, but not be limited
to, the following specific functions:
a. whenever feasible, law enforcement and child welfare
staff shall conduct joint investigations in an effort
to effectively respond to child abuse reports,
b. develop a written prot ocol for investigating the joint
investigation of child sexual abuse and child physical
abuse or neglect cases by law enforcement and child
welfare staff and for professionals interviewing child
victims. The purpose of the protocol shall be to
ensure coordination and cooperation between all
agencies involved so as to increase the efficiency in
handling such cases and to minimize the stress created
for the allegedly abused child by the legal and
investigatory process. In addition, each team shall
develop confidentiality statements and interagency
agreements signed by member agencies that specify the
cooperative effort of the member agencies to the team,
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c. increase communication and collaboration among the
professionals responsible for the reporting,
investigation, prosecution and treatment of child
abuse and neglect cases,
d. eliminate duplicative efforts in the investigation and
the prosecution of child abuse and neglect cases,
e. identify gaps in service or all untapped resources
within the community to i mprove the delivery of
services to the victim and family,
f. encourage the development of expertise through
training. Each team member and those conducting child
abuse investigations and interviews of child abuse
victims shall be trained in the multidisciplinary team
approach, conducting legally soun d and age-appropriate
interviews, effective investigation techniques and
joint investigations as provided through the State
Department of Health, the Commission on Children and
Youth, or other resources, and
g. formalize a case review process that includes the use
of a secure database provided for in Section 3 of this
act and provide report program data as requested to
the Commission for freestanding teams, and
h. standardize investigative procedures for the handling
of child abuse and neglect cases .
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2. All investigations of child sexual abuse and child physical
abuse or neglect and interviews of child abuse or neglect victims
shall be carried out by appropriate personnel using the protocols
and procedures specified in this section.
3. If trained personnel are not available in a timely fashion
and, in the judgment of a law enforcement officer or the Department
of Human Services, there is reasonable cause to believe a delay in
investigation or interview of the child victim could place the child
in jeopardy of harm or threatened harm to a the child's health or
welfare, the investigation may proceed without full participation of
all personnel, provided all reasonable efforts have been made to
facilitate the use of a trained investigator or interviewer . This
authority applies only for as long as reasonable danger to the child
exists. A reasonable effort to find and provide a trained
investigator or interviewer shall be made As soon as possible
thereafter, the joint investigation protocol shall be initiated .
4. Freestanding multidisciplinary child abuse teams shall be
approved by the Commission. The Commission shall conduct direct an
annual review of freestanding multidisciplinary teams to ensure that
the teams are functioning effectively , and staff shall condu ct on-
site compliance reviews as necessary . Teams not meeting the minimal
standards as promulgated by the Commission shall be removed from the
list of functioning teams in the state.
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D. 1. A multidisciplinary child abuse team may enter into an
agreement with the Child Death Review Board within the Oklahoma
Commission on Children and Youth and, in accordance with rules
promulgated by the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth,
conduct case reviews of deaths and near deaths of children within
the geographical area of that multidisciplinary child abuse team.
2. Any multidisciplinary child abuse team reviewing deaths and
near deaths of children shall prepare and make available to the
public, on an annual basis, a report containing a summary of the
activities of the team relating to the review of the deaths and near
deaths of children and a summary of the extent to which the state
child protection system is coordinating with foster care and
adoption programs and whether the state is efficiently discharging
its child protection responsibilities. The report shall be
completed no later than December 31 of each year.
E. Nothing in this section shall preclude the use of hospital
team reviews for client -specific purposes and multidisciplinary
teams, either of which were in existence prior to July 1, 1995;
provided, however, such teams shall not be subject to the provisions
of paragraph 1 of subsection A of this section.
F. 1. Child advocacy centers shall be classifi ed, based on the
child population of a distric t attorney's district, as follows:
a. nonurban centers in districts with child populations
that are less than sixty thousand (60,000),
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b. midlevel nonurban centers in districts with child
populations equal to or greater than sixty thousand
(60,000), but not including Oklahoma and Tulsa
Counties, and
c. urban centers in Oklahoma and Tulsa Counties.
2. The multidisciplinary child abuse team used by the child
advocacy center for its accreditation shall meet the cr iteria
required by a national association of c hild advocacy centers and, in
addition, the team shall:
a. choose a lead agency for the team,
b. intervene in reports involving child sexual abuse and
may intervene in child physical abuse or neglect,
c. promote the joint investigation of child abuse repor ts
between law enforcement and child welfare staff, and
d. formalize standardized investigative procedures for
the handling of child abuse and neglect cases.
G. Multidisciplinary child abuse teams and child ad vocacy
centers shall have full access to any s ervice or treatment plan and
any personal data known to the Department which is directly related
to the implementation of this section.
H. Each member of the team shall be responsible for protecting
the confidentiality of the child and any information mad e available
to such person as a member of the team. The multidisciplinary team
and any information received by the team shall be exempt from the
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requirements of Sections 301 through 314 of Title 25 of the Okla homa
Statutes and Sections 24A.1 through 24A.3 1 of Title 51 of the
Oklahoma Statutes.
SECTION 3. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 1 -9-102a of Title 10A, unless
there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. The Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth shall provide
for the creation and maintenance of a secure database to be utilized
by freestanding multidisciplinary child abuse teams during case
review.
B. The database shall collect case information and shall
maintain strict security of all information. The database and its
use shall be subject to the confidential records requirements
established pursuant to Sections 1 -6-102 and 1-6-107 of this title
and penalties for violations established pursuant to Section 1-6-107
of this title.
C. The purpose of the database shall include, but not be
limited to:
1. Facilitating case management;
2. Providing for appropriate and uniform collection and
reporting of case informat ion by all freestanding multidisciplinary
child abuse teams;
3. Enabling Commission staff to conduct programmatic
evaluations; and
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4. Identifying trends to make recommendations for improving the
children and youth service system.
D. The Commission shall promulgate rules necessary to implement
the provisions of this section.
SECTION 4. This act shall become effective November 1, 2025.
COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS AND BUDGET , dated
02/26/2025 - DO PASS, As Amended and Coauthored.