{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-10a-10a-1-2-101v1","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 10A, § 10A-1-2-101v1","heading":"Establishment of statewide centralized hotline for","body":"reporting child abuse or neglect – Hotline requirements – Reporting\n\nabuse or neglect – Retaliation by employer - Violations.\n\nA. 1. The Department of Human Services shall establish a\n\nstatewide centralized hotline for the reporting of child abuse or\n\nneglect to the Department.\n\n2. The Department shall provide hotline-specific training\n\nincluding, but not limited to, interviewing skills, customer service\n\nskills, narrative writing, necessary computer systems, making case\n\ndeterminations, and identifying priority situations.\n\n3. The Department is authorized to contract with third parties\n\nin order to train hotline workers.\n\n4. The Department shall develop a system to track the number of\n\ncalls received, and of that number:\n\na. the number of calls screened out,\n\nb. the number of referrals assigned,\n\nc. the number of calls received by persons unwilling to\n\ndisclose basic personal information including, but not\n\nlimited to, first and last name, and\n\nd. the number of calls in which the allegations were\n\nlater found to be unsubstantiated or ruled out.\n\n5. The Department shall electronically record each referral\n\nreceived by the hotline and establish a secure means of retaining\n\nthe recordings for twelve (12) months. The recordings shall be\n\nconfidential and subject to disclosure only if a court orders the\n\ndisclosure of the referral. The Department shall redact any\n\ninformation identifying the reporting party unless otherwise ordered\n\nby the court.\n\n6. Each referral received by the hotline alleging abuse or\n\nneglect wherein the alleged perpetrator is someone other than a\n\nperson responsible for the child’s health, safety, or welfare shall\n\nbe immediately reported to the appropriate local law enforcement\n\nagency, in writing, for the purpose of conducting a possible\n\ncriminal investigation. The hotline supervisor shall ensure that a\n\nreport has been made upon receipt of a referral prior to the\n\nreferral being screened out. The Department shall maintain a record\n\nof its transmission of each report to law enforcement.\n\nB. 1. Every person having reason to believe that a child under\n\nthe age of eighteen (18) years is a victim of abuse or neglect shall\n\nreport the matter immediately to the Department of Human Services.\n\nReports shall be made to the hotline provided for in subsection A of\n\nthis section. Any allegation of abuse or neglect reported in any\n\nmanner to a county office shall immediately be referred to the\n\nhotline by the Department. Provided, however, that in actions for\n\ncustody by abandonment, provided for in Section 2-117 of Title 30 of\n\nthe Oklahoma Statutes, there shall be no reporting requirement.\n\n2. a. Every school employee having reason to believe that a\n\nstudent under the age of eighteen (18) years is a\n\nvictim of abuse or neglect shall report the matter\n\nimmediately to the Department of Human Services and\n\nlocal law enforcement. Reports to the Department\n\nshall be made to the hotline provided for in\n\nsubsection A of this section. Any allegation of abuse\n\nor neglect reported in any manner to a county office\n\nshall immediately be referred to the hotline by the\n\nDepartment. Provided, however, that in actions for\n\ncustody by abandonment, provided for in Section 2-117\n\nof Title 30 of the Oklahoma Statutes, there shall be\n\nno reporting requirement.\n\nb. Every school employee having reason to believe that a\n\nstudent age eighteen (18) years or older is a victim\n\nof abuse or neglect shall report the matter\n\nimmediately to local law enforcement.\n\nc. In reports required by subparagraph a or b of this\n\nparagraph, local law enforcement shall keep\n\nconfidential and redact any information identifying\n\nthe reporting school employee unless otherwise ordered\n\nby the court. A school employee with knowledge of a\n\nreport required by subparagraph a or b of this\nlocal law enforcement.\n\nc. In reports required by subparagraph a or b of this\n\nparagraph, local law enforcement shall keep\n\nconfidential and redact any information identifying\n\nthe reporting school employee unless otherwise ordered\n\nby the court. A school employee with knowledge of a\n\nreport required by subparagraph a or b of this\n\nparagraph shall not disclose information identifying\n\nthe reporting school employee unless otherwise ordered\n\nby the court or as part of an investigation by local\n\nlaw enforcement or the Department.\n\n3. Every physician, surgeon, or other health care professional\n\nincluding doctors of medicine, licensed osteopathic physicians,\n\nresidents and interns, or any other health care professional or\n\nmidwife involved in the prenatal care of expectant mothers or the\n\ndelivery or care of infants shall promptly report to the Department\n\ninstances in which an infant tests positive for alcohol or a\n\ncontrolled dangerous substance. This shall include infants who are\n\ndiagnosed with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome or Fetal Alcohol\n\nSpectrum Disorder.\n\n4. No privilege or contract shall relieve any person from the\n\nrequirement of reporting pursuant to this section.\n\n5. The reporting obligations under this section are individual,\n\nand no employer, supervisor, administrator, governing body or entity\n\nshall interfere with the reporting obligations of any employee or\n\nother person or in any manner discriminate or retaliate against the\n\nemployee or other person who in good faith reports suspected child\n\nabuse or neglect, or who provides testimony in any proceeding\n\ninvolving child abuse or neglect. Any employer, supervisor,\n\nadministrator, governing body or entity who discharges,\n\ndiscriminates or retaliates against the employee or other person\n\nshall be liable for damages, costs and attorney fees. If a child\n\nwho is the subject of the report or other child is harmed by the\n\ndischarge, discrimination or retaliation described in this\n\nparagraph, the party harmed may file an action to recover damages,\n\ncosts and attorney fees.\n\n6. Every physician, surgeon, other health care professional or\n\nmidwife making a report of abuse or neglect as required by this\n\nsubsection or examining a child to determine the likelihood of abuse\n\nor neglect and every hospital or related institution in which the\n\nchild was examined or treated shall provide, upon request, copies of\n\nthe results of the examination or copies of the examination on which\n\nthe report was based and any other clinical notes, X-rays,\n\nphotographs, and other previous or current records relevant to the\n\ncase to law enforcement officers conducting a criminal investigation\n\ninto the case and to employees of the Department of Human Services\n\nconducting an investigation of alleged abuse or neglect in the case.\n\nC. Any person who knowingly and willfully fails to promptly\n\nreport suspected child abuse or neglect or who interferes with the\n\nprompt reporting of suspected child abuse or neglect may be reported\n\nto local law enforcement for criminal investigation and, upon\n\nconviction thereof, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. Any person\n\nwith prolonged knowledge of ongoing child abuse or neglect who\n\nknowingly and willfully fails to promptly report such knowledge may\n\nbe reported to local law enforcement for criminal investigation and,\n\nupon conviction thereof, shall be guilty of a felony. For the\n\npurposes of this paragraph, \"prolonged knowledge\" shall mean\n\nknowledge of at least six (6) months of child abuse or neglect.\n\nD. 1. Any person who knowingly and willfully makes a false\n\nreport pursuant to the provisions of this section or a report that\n\nthe person knows lacks factual foundation may be reported to local\n\nlaw enforcement for criminal investigation and, upon conviction\n\nthereof, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.\nrolonged knowledge\" shall mean\n\nknowledge of at least six (6) months of child abuse or neglect.\n\nD. 1. Any person who knowingly and willfully makes a false\n\nreport pursuant to the provisions of this section or a report that\n\nthe person knows lacks factual foundation may be reported to local\n\nlaw enforcement for criminal investigation and, upon conviction\n\nthereof, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.\n\n2. If a court determines that an accusation of child abuse or\n\nneglect made during a child custody proceeding is false and the\n\nperson making the accusation knew it to be false at the time the\n\naccusation was made, the court may impose a fine, not to exceed Five\n\nThousand Dollars ($5,000.00) and reasonable attorney fees incurred\n\nin recovering the sanctions, against the person making the\n\naccusation. The remedy provided by this paragraph is in addition to\n\nparagraph 1 of this subsection or to any other remedy provided by\n\nlaw.\n\nE. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to\n\nexempt or prohibit any person from reporting any suspected child\n\nabuse or neglect pursuant to subsection B of this section.","path":["OK Code","Title 10A"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os10A.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"3a2e786224ff23dc1694ec86b599f765b8cf2d1cfc314ab1c4a9334c81da7c4c","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-10a-10a-1-2-101","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-10a-10a-1-2-101v2"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}