SECTION 340:75-1-113. Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) or Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) requirements related to the child in Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) custody

(a)   Care and treatment for the child in OKDHS custody diagnosed with AIDS or HIV.

(1)   The child in OKDHS custody has special needs when the child is:

(A)   at risk forHIV;

(B)   seropositive forHIV; or

(C)   medically diagnosed to have AIDS.

(2)   The principles of care and treatment include:

(A)   providing education regarding the transmission of HIV and precautions exercised to prevent transmission;

(B)   providing therapeutic intervention for the child found at risk of exposure to HIV;

(C)   protecting persons by universal application of infection control procedures; and

(D)   protecting the child's right to privacy.

(b)   Legal authority to provide care for the child in OKDHS custody with HIV or AIDS.

(1)   Sections 1-7-102 and 1-7-103 of Title 10A of the Oklahoma Statutes (10A O.S. §1-7-102 and 1-7-103) require OKDHS to provide care and treatment of thechild in OKDHS custody.

(2)   Per 10A O.S. § 1-7-104, OKDHS provides the child's placement provider with sufficient medical information to enable the placement providers to care for the child safely and appropriately. The placement provider for the child in OKDHS custody may request OKDHS to provide:

(A)   contagious or infectious screening examinations or tests of the child; and

(B)   the results of the child's examinations or tests to the placement provider.

(c)   Definitions. The following words and terms, when used in Part 9 of this Subchapter, shall have the following meaning, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

(1)   "Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS)" means a condition caused by a virus, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), that attacks the body's natural immune system, reducing the ability to fight off infections and diseases.

(2)   "AIDS counseling" means counseling provided by a designated person who:

(A)   is trained and certified by Oklahoma State Department of Health or American Red Cross in the health implications of HIV/AIDS; and

(B)   offers supportive services for a person dealing with suspected or actual HIV infection or HIV/AIDS.

(3)   "Confidential Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-related information" means information:

(A)   obtained pursuant to a release of confidential HIV-related information;

(B)   regarding a person who:

(i)   is the subject of an HIV-related test; or

(ii)   has HIV infection, HIV-related illness, or AIDS; or

(C)   that identifies or may identify a person with one or more such conditions, including information pertaining to the person's contacts.

(4)   "Exposure to HIV" means the blood, semen, vaginal fluids, breast milk, or other bodily fluid of an HIV infected person comes in contact with the blood stream or a mucous membrane of an uninfected person.

(5)   "High risk behaviors" means activities or conditions that place a person at risk of exposure to HIV due to contact with certain bodily fluids of a person who is infected with HIV, such as:

(A)   unprotected sexual contact between such persons;

(B)   sharing syringe needles among such persons;

(C)   perinatal transmission when the mother is HIV infected; and

(D)   breast feeding when the mother is HIV infected.

(6)   "HIV" means the virus that causes AIDS.

(7)   "HIV test" means a blood test used to detect the presence of antibodies to HIV.

(8)   "Informed consent" means consent obtained from a person who:

(A)   understands and is competent to make an intelligent decision about the request for consent and any resulting consequences;

(B)   understands any risk involved and the procedures to be undertaken; and

(C)   volunteers to consent.

(9)   "Need-to-know" means a person who needs to be informed about the HIV status of a child due to the person's direct responsibility or accountability for the child's care.

(10)   "Reduction of risk to HIV exposure" means reduced exposure to HIV through universal application of infection control procedures. Exposure occurs when fluids such as, semen, blood, vaginal fluids, breast milk, or other bodily fluids from an infected person comes in contact with the bloodstream or a mucous membrane of an uninfected person.

(11)   "Release of confidential HIV-related information" means disclosure through written authorization, including informed written consent for testing and release of HIV test results, that is signed by the person who has the authority to consent.

(12)   "Serologic testing and screening" means blood tests used to detect antibodies to HIV, including Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) and Western Blot.

(13)   "Seronegative" means a blood test indicates a negative result for the presence of a disease such as AIDS.

(14)   "Seropositive" means the result of a blood testindicates the presence of a disease such as AIDS.

(15)   "Specialized AIDS trainer" means a person who:

(A)   is trained by Oklahoma State Department of Health or American Red Cross in the health implications of HIV and AIDS; and

(B)   provides AIDS-related training.

(16)   "Transmission of HIV" means passing or spreading HIV infection through:

(A)   sexual contact, including oral, vaginal, or anal contact, with an infected person's blood, semen, vaginal secretions, or other bodily fluids;

(B)   exposure to infected blood or blood products through needles, occupational exposure, or transfusions; or

(C)   exposure from a mother, at or around the time of birth, who is HIV infected, to her fetus or newborn.

(17)   "Universal precautions" means an approach to infection control in which all human blood and certain human body fluids are treated as infected with bloodborne pathogens, such as bacteria, HIV, or other viruses or disease.

(d)   Required AIDS and HIV educational training for CW staff and placement providers. Educational training regarding AIDS and HIV infection is required for Child Welfare (CW) staff and placement providers.

(e)   Certified HIV/AIDS counselor role. OKDHS provides trained certified HIV/AIDS counselors who participate in HIV pre-test and post-test activities.

(f)   HIV confidentiality.

(1)   Per 63 O.S. § 1-502.2, except as otherwise provided by law, all information and records concerning any person who may have a communicable or noncommunicable disease required to be reported by Oklahoma statuteare confidential. 10A O.S. §1-6-101 defines agency records as records prepared, obtained, or maintained by the agency and would include the medical records of a child in OKDHS custody, including information regarding any communicable or sexually transmitted disease, pertaining to a child. 10A O.S. § 1-6-103 provides OKDHS records may be inspected and contents disclosed without a court order to certain persons showing proper credentials and pursuant to their lawful duties. HIV-related information about the child, or any person who is a member of the child's case record, may be disclosed to:

(A)   the court having the child currently before it in any proceeding pursuant to Title 10A of the Oklahoma Statutes;

(B)   a district attorney (DA) or employee of the DA's office in the course of his or her official duties pursuant to Title 10A of the Oklahoma Statutes;

(C)   the attorney representing a child who is the subject of a proceeding pursuant to Title 10A of the Oklahoma Statutes;

(D)   others entitled to access CW records without a court order, per 10A O.S. §1-6-103; and

(E)   per 10A O.S. §1-7-104, the placement provider, if this information is known to OKDHS.

(2)   Disclosure of the child's HIV serological status is limited to the child's placement provider, court, DA, and child's attorney. OKDHS consults with the judge and DA to determine the appropriate method of disclosure of HIV-related information to the court and DA to prevent inadvertent disclosure by inclusion of the information in the court file regarding the child. Others entitled to access to CW records without a court order, per OAC 340:75-1-44, are provided communicable disease information on a need-to-know basis.

(3)   A person advised of another person's HIV status, with the exception of the court, DA, or child's attorney, signs and dates a statement similar to the statement of confidentiality in (A) of this paragraph.

(A)   This information is disclosed to you from confidential records that are protected by state law. State law prohibits you from making any further disclosure of this information without obtaining specific written authorization, per Part 9 of OAC 340:75-1, or as otherwise permitted by law. Any unauthorized further disclosure is in violation of state law and may result in civil or criminal sanctions as provided by Oklahoma Statutes.

(B)   A general authorization for release of medical or other information is not sufficient authorization for further disclosure of a person's HIV status.

(g)   Early identification of communicable disease. Per 10A O.S. § 1-7-103, OKDHSprovides medical care as is necessary to preserve the child's health and protect the health of others in contact with the child.

(h)   Placement provider's request for HIV test. When requested by the placement provider, OKDHS provides for the HIV examinations or tests on the child based on the Centers for Disease Control guidelines for time and frequency of testing. Per 10A O.S. §1-7-104 OKDHS provides the child's placement provider with sufficient medical information to enable the placement provider to care for the child safely and appropriately. The medical information includes, but is not limited to:

(1)   any medical or psychological conditions;

(2)   diseases, illnesses, accidents, allergies, and congenital defects;

(3)   the child's Medicaid card or information on any other third-party insurer, if any; and

(4)   Immunization history.

(i)   Authorization for HIV testing. When requested by the child's placement provider, per 10A O.S. § 1-7-104, OKDHS obtains authorization for an HIV test for the child and release of the test results to the placement provider. Authorization for HIV testing or release of HIV test results may be obtained by informed written consent of the child's parent or legal guardian or court order.

[Source: Added at 13 Ok Reg 1547, eff 3-7-96 (emergency); Added at 13 Ok Reg 2199, eff 6-14-96; Amended at 16 Ok Reg 1052, eff 4-26-99; Amended at 17 Ok Reg 92, eff 10-1-99 (emergency); Amended at 17 Ok Reg 1311, eff 5-11-00; Amended at 23 Ok Reg 1024, eff 5-11-06; Amended at 30 Ok Reg 1356, eff 7-1-13]