SECTION 340:75-3-300. Child safety evaluation

(a)   Evaluating child safety. Evaluating child safety is a primary child protective services (CPS) function. Safety refers to the child's present security and well-being when the child is assessed to be at risk of abuse or neglect. The safety evaluation is an adaptable and continuous process that is not complete until the child is safe and the case is closed.

(b)   Determining the need for protective or emergency custody. The Oklahoma Department of Human Services (DHS) evaluates whether to recommend emergency DHS custody of a child based on the seriousness of the child's abuse or neglect and if the child is in need of immediate protection due to an imminent safety threat. A child taken into protective custody by law enforcement is not considered in DHS emergency custody. A child cannot be placed in DHS emergency custody, per Section 1-4-201 of Title 10A of the Oklahoma Statutes (10A O.S. § 1-4-201) until:

(1)   the court issues a child-specific emergency custody order; or

(2)   DHS completes a safety evaluation, concludes the child faces an imminent safety threat, and the court issues a child-specific emergency custody order.

(c)   Protective custody for victims of human trafficking. Any peace officer or district court, juvenile bureau, or Office of Juvenile Affairs employee, who has reasonable suspicion that a minor may be a victim of human trafficking and is in need of immediate protection, assumes protective custody over the minor and immediately notifies DHS. A child believed to be a victim of human trafficking is not considered in DHS emergency custody solely upon identification, but is transferred to DHS emergency custody, per 10A O.S. § 1-4-201.

(d)   Child safety meeting. A child safety meeting is a collaborative decision-making process conducted to address each child's needs related to safety and to determine if the child's condition warrants a safety intervention including, but not limited to, a change in placement, and:

(1)   includes, at a minimum, appropriate DHS staff, the child's parents and, when the parent requests, an advocate or representative, as participants; and

(2)   to protect the safety of those involved and to promote efficiency, DHS may limit participants as determined to be in the child's best interests.

(e)   Alternatives to protective or emergency custody in cases of serious abuse or neglect. When an alternative to protective or emergency custody is determined appropriate in circumstances where serious neglect or abuse is documented, a DHS form for an Immediate Protective Action Plan (IPAP), is completed and implemented when the person responsible for the child's (PRFC) health, safety, or welfare agrees to cooperate with DHS efforts to ensure the child's safety. The IPAP describes the present danger identified by the child welfare (CW) specialist and addresses actions to be taken to ensure the child's safety until a thorough safety evaluation is completed. The PRFC and identified safety monitors sign the IPAP and agree to cooperate with DHS oversight to ensure the child's safety.

(f)   Safety planning without court involvement in cases of serious abuse or neglect. In circumstances where serious neglect or abuse is documented, and upon completion of a thorough safety evaluation, and when an alternative to DHS custody is appropriate, a DHS form for a Safety Plan is completed and implemented, when the PRFC agrees to cooperate with DHS efforts to ensure the child's safety. The safety plan is developed and implemented by agreement without court intervention and describes the impending danger identified by the CW specialist and addresses actions to take to control or eliminate any identified safety threat. The implementation of a short-term safety plan does not preclude DHS from recommending court involvement.

(g)   Removal of a child from the home. A recommendation to remove a child from the home is made when, upon evaluating relevant conditions, a determination is made that:

(1)   in-home safety responses are not available or acceptable;

(2)   the parent appears unable or unwilling to protect the child;

(3)   an emergency exists that prohibits the arrangement of timely resources or services to reduce risk and threats of abuse or neglect are unavailable; or

(4)   continued placement in the home is contrary to the child's health, safety, and welfare.

(h)   Placement considerations when the child is removed from the home. When a child is removed from his or her home, placement preference is given to relatives and persons who have a kinship relationship with the child, per 10A O.S. § 1-4-204.

(1)   Siblings are placed together in the same home when appropriate and possible.

(2)   Placement decisions are made with the child's long-term best interests in mind.

(i)   Restoration of custody to the parent, legal guardian, or custodian when the child is in protective custody. When the DHS safety evaluation indicates the child does not face an imminent safety threat, DHS restores the child to the custody and control of the parent, legal guardian, or custodian, per 10A O.S. § 1-4-201. Specific county procedures are followed with a request to release the child from protective custody.

(j)   Emergency removal of a child not in DHS custody.

(1)   Reasonable efforts are made to prevent the pre-petition removal of a child from the home unless a documented emergency exists that requires immediate removal. Per 10A O.S. § 1-4-201 and Section 671 of Title 42 of the United States Code, a child is removed from the home prior to the filing of a petition only when there is reasonable suspicion the:

(A)   child is in need of immediate protection due to an imminent safety threat; or

(B)   child's circumstances or surroundings are such that continuation in the child's home or in the care or custody of the parent, legal guardian, or custodian would present an imminent safety threat to the child and is contrary to his or her welfare.

(2)   A child who is in surroundings that pose an immediate threat to the child may be removed from the home by law enforcement without a court order. When law enforcement declines to remove the child or when DHS is responding to a referral without law enforcement involvement and the child is believed to be in need of immediate protection due to an imminent safety threat, DHS prepares an affidavit to present to the district attorney (DA) to request that the DA consider filing an application with the court to obtain an emergency custody order, per 10A O.S. § 1-4-201.

(k)   DHS authority to execute a pre-petition emergency custody order. Per 10A O.S. § 1-4-201, when the district court issues a pre-petition order placing the child in DHS emergency custody pending further hearing, a DHS employee may execute the emergency order and physically take the child into custody in limited circumstances, when:

(1)   the child is located in a hospital, school, or child care program; and

(2)   it is believed assumption of custody of the child from the hospital, school, or child care program can occur without risk to the child or the DHS employee.

(l)   Medical care for child in protective custody.

(1)   When the child in protective custody is in need of emergency medical care prior to the emergency custody hearing, a peace officer, court employee, or the court may authorize such treatment as necessary to safeguard the child's health or life, when the:

(A)   treatment is related to the suspected abuse or neglect; or

(B)   parent or legal guardian is unavailable or unwilling to consent to physician-recommended treatment. Before a peace officer, court employee, or the court authorizes treatment based on the unavailability of the parent or legal guardian, law enforcement exercises diligence to locate the parent or guardian, when known, per 10A O.S. § 1-3-102.

(2)   When law enforcement, the parent, or guardian is unwilling to consent to emergency medical care, the DA is contacted to obtain a court order for the child's treatment.

(m)   Notification, disposition, and release of the child in pre-petition emergency custody.

(1)   The court may provide for the disposition of the child taken into custody and notification to the court of the assumption of custody in an administrative order or rule issued, per 10A O.S. § 1-4-201. The administrative order or rule may include a process for the child's release prior to an emergency custody hearing. Specific county procedures are followed when the child is released from emergency custody prior to the emergency hearing.

(2)   The court may order the child released to the parent, legal guardian, custodian, or to any responsible adult without conditions or under conditions the court finds necessary to ensure the child's safety, health, or welfare.

(n)   Post-petition removal of the child in DHS custody. DHS may remove the child in DHS custody directly from the child's home when continued placement in the home is contrary to the child's health, safety, or welfare. DHS notifies the court prior to removal, or when an emergency exists, as soon as possible, following the child's removal.

(1)   To ensure the safety of the child and the DHS employee, law enforcement assistance is requested in these situations.

(2)   Refer to 10A O.S. § 1-4-806 when the child is in trial reunification status.

(o)   Child who left Oklahoma. When the child who is the subject of an emergency custody or a pick-up order, left Oklahoma prior to the order's execution, enforcement of the emergency custody or pick-up order and recognition of Oklahoma's jurisdiction by the another state must occur to return the child to Oklahoma. Each circumstance is managed according to the laws and procedures in the state where the child is located.

[Source: Added at 30 Ok Reg 1358, eff 7-1-13; Amended at 32 Ok Reg 1904, eff 9-15-15; Amended at 35 Ok Reg 451, eff 1-31-18 (emergency); Amended at 35 Ok Reg 1695, eff 9-17-18; Amended at 36 Ok Reg 443, eff 4-9-19 (emergency); Amended at 37 Ok Reg 1850, eff 9-15-20]