Oklahoma 2025 Regular Session

Oklahoma House Bill HB1863 Latest Draft

Bill / Amended Version Filed 04/15/2025

                             
 
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SENATE FLOOR VERSION 
April 14, 2025 
 
 
ENGROSSED HOUSE 
BILL NO. 1863 	By: Roberts of the House 
 
  and 
 
  Rader of the Senate 
 
 
 
 
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; providing data the 
database shall collec t; 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: 
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.   
 
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B.  The confidential records and information that are a uthorized 
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 Service s pursuant to law or court 
order shall not be deemed a waiver of confidentiality or privilege, 
and any recipient of such records or information shall protect them 
against unauthorized disclosure and maintain them con fidentially 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 o r for a 
misdemeanor, which shall, upon conviction, be punishable by up to 
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:   
 
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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 ea ch 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 limited 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; 
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   
 
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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 protocol 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, 
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,   
 
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e. identify gaps in service or all untapped resources 
within the community to improve 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 ab use 
victims shall be trained in the multidisciplinary team 
approach, conducting legally sound 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 . 
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   
 
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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 traine d 
investigator or interviewer shall be m ade 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 conduct 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. 
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.   
 
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2.  Any multidisciplinary child abuse team reviewing deaths and 
near deaths of children shall prepare and ma ke 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 st ate 
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 classified, based on the 
child population of a district attorney's district, as follows: 
a. nonurban centers in districts with child populations 
that are less than sixty thousand (60,000), 
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.   
 
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2.  The multidisciplinary chil d abuse team used by the child 
advocacy center for its accreditation shall meet the criteria 
required by a national association of child advocacy centers and, in 
addition, the team shall: 
a. choose a lead agency for the team, 
b. intervene in reports involv ing child sexual abuse and 
may intervene in child physical abuse or neglect, 
c. promote the joint investigation of child abuse reports 
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 advocacy 
centers shall have full access to any service or treatment plan and 
any personal data known to the Department which is directly related 
to the implementation of th is section. 
H.  Each member of the team shall be responsible for protecting 
the confidentiality of the child and any information made available 
to such person as a member of the team.  The multidisciplinary team 
and any information received by the team sha ll be exempt from the 
requirements of Sections 301 through 314 of Title 25 of the Oklahoma 
Statutes and Sections 24A.1 through 24A.31 of Title 51 of the 
Oklahoma Statutes.   
 
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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 requireme nts 
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 managemen t; 
2.  Providing for appropriate and uniform collection and 
reporting of case information by all freestanding multidisciplinary 
child abuse teams; 
3.  Enabling Commission staff to conduct programmatic 
evaluations; and 
4.  Identifying trends to make recomme ndations for improving the 
children and youth service system.   
 
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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 HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 
April 14, 2025 - DO PASS