SECTION 340:75-15-84.1. Background information search

(a)   Background checks.

(1)   Mandate to conduct background searches.

(A)   The Oklahoma Department of Human Services (DHS) is mandated to conduct a criminal background and child abuse and neglect information system (KIDS) search for DHS and private adoptive applicants and adult household members, 18 years of age and older, per Section 7505-5.3 of Title 10 of the Oklahoma Statutes (10 O.S. § 7505-5.3).

(B)   The background search for DHS adoptive applicants and adult household members includes a search of:

(i)   Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) name and criminal records histories;

(ii)   the Oklahoma Sex Offender Registry;

(iii)   the Mary Rippy Violent Crime Offender Registry;

(iv)   Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) national criminal history records based on the applicant's and each adult household member's fingerprints;

(v)   the applicant's or adult household member's involvement as a party in any court action found on the:

(I)   Oklahoma State Courts Network (OSCN); or

(II)   Oklahoma District Court Records (ODCR);

(vi)   Oklahoma Department of Public Safety records;

(vii)   DHS records including child welfare records involving the applicant and each adult household member; and

(viii)   applicable out-of-state child abuse and neglect registries when the applicant or adult household member has not lived continuously in Oklahoma for the past five years.

(I)   When a child abuse and neglect registry is not maintained in the applicable state, the adoption specialist requests any information that can be provided.

(II)   The applicant is not approved without state-maintained child abuse and neglect registry searches when a registry is maintained in the applicable state;

(ix)   the Restricted Registry;

(x)   the Oklahoma State Department of Health Nontechnical Services Worker Abuse Registry;

(xi)   the Community Services Worker Registry; and

(xii)   Juvenile Online Tracking System (JOLTS) records for each applicant's or adult household member's child, 13 through 17 years of age, living in the home.

(2)   KIDS and the private adoptive applicant. The private adoptive applicant, adoption agency, or another person authorized to conduct home study investigations:

(A)   completes a written request for a KIDS search using Form 04AN028E, Request for Child Abuse and Neglect Information System Search; and

(B)   submits Form 04AN028E, with verification of impending adoption, to the Child Protective Services Programs Unit as directed on the form.

(3)   Exception to fingerprinting. The DHS Director or designee may authorize an exception to the fingerprinting requirement and authorize use of an alternative procedure for obtaining a national criminal history records search for any DHS and private adoptive applicant or adult household member, who has a severe condition that precludes him or her from fingerprinting, per 10A O.S. § 1-7-111. In limited, case-specific circumstances, DHS may not be able to obtain:

(A)   an individual's fingerprints as a result of his or her disability; or

(B)   legible fingerprints due to low quality, as a result of age, occupation, or other conditions, making it impossible for the National Crime Information Center to provide results.

(b)   Felony convictions.

(1)   Per Section 1356.30 of Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations, DHS does not approve potential adoptive parents as resource parents when the applicant or any person residing in the potential applicant's home has a criminal conviction record for any of the felony offenses listed in (A) through (E) of this paragraph. The felony offenses are:

(A)   physical assault, battery, or a drug-related offense, when the conviction occurs within the five-year period preceding the petition date;

(B)   child abuse or neglect;

(C)   spousal abuse or domestic abuse, per 10A O.S. § 1-4-705;

(D)   a crime against a child including, but not limited to, child pornography; or

(E)   a crime involving violence including, but not limited to, rape, sexual assault, or homicide, but excluding physical assault or battery. Per Section 16 of Title 18 of the United States Code, a crime involving violence means an offense that:

(i)   has an element of the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person or property of another; or

(ii)   by its nature, involves a substantial risk that physical force against the person or property of another may be used in the course of committing the offense.

(2)   Per 10 O.S. § 7505-6.3, the court may choose to accept an individual as a potential adoptive parent for placement who has a felony conviction listed in (1)(A) and (1)(C) of this subsection, when an evaluation of the individual considers the:

(A)   crime's nature and seriousness in relation to the adoption;

(B)   time elapsed since the crime's commission;

(C)   circumstances under which the crime was committed;

(D)   degree of rehabilitation;

(E)   number of crimes committed; and

(F)   showing by clear and convincing evidence that the child will not be at risk by such placement.

(c)   Sex-related crimes. DHS denies the application to become a resource parent, when an applicant:

(1)   or any person residing in the applicant's home has a conviction for any crime, felony or misdemeanor, specified in 57 O.S. § 582, whether the conviction occurred upon a:

(A)   verdict;

(B)   plea of guilty; or

(C)   plea of nolo contendere; or

(2)   is subject to, living with, or married to a person who is subject to the Oklahoma Sex Offender Registration Act.

[Source: Added at 35 Ok Reg 451, eff 1-31-18 (emergency); Added at 35 Ok Reg 1695, eff 9-17-18; Amended at 36 Ok Reg 1856, eff 9-16-19; Amended at 37 Ok Reg 1850, eff 9-15-20]