{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-10a-10a-1-2-105","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 10A, § 10A-1-2-105","heading":"Investigation of child abuse or neglect – Assessment","body":"of family – Immediate removal of child - Report – Voluntary services\n\n- Temporary restraining order - Investigation by State Bureau of\n\nInvestigation – Child with complex medical needs.\n\nA. 1. Any county office of the Department of Human Services\n\nreceiving a child abuse or neglect report shall promptly respond to\n\nthe report by initiating an investigation of the report or an\n\nassessment of the family in accordance with priority guidelines\n\nestablished by the Department. The Department may prioritize\n\nreports of alleged child abuse or neglect based on the severity and\n\nimmediacy of the alleged harm to the child. The Department shall\n\nadopt a priority system pursuant to rules promulgated by the\n\nDepartment. The primary purpose of the investigation or assessment\n\nshall be the protection of the child. For investigations or\n\nassessments, the Department shall give special consideration to the\n\nrisks of any minor, including a child with a disability, who is\n\nunable to communicate effectively about abuse, neglect or other\n\nsafety threat or who is in a vulnerable position due to the\n\ninability to communicate effectively.\n\n2. If an investigation or assessment conducted by the\n\nDepartment in response to any report of child abuse or neglect shows\n\nthat the incident reported was the result of the reasonable exercise\n\nof parental discipline involving the use of ordinary force,\n\nincluding, but not limited to, spanking, switching, or paddling, the\n\ninvestigation or assessment will proceed no further and all records\n\nregarding the incident shall be expunged.\n\nB. 1. The investigation or assessment shall include a visit to\n\nthe home of the child, unless there is reason to believe that there\n\nis an extreme safety risk to the child or worker or it appears that\n\nthe referral has been made in bad faith. The visit shall include an\n\ninterview with and examination of the subject child and may be\n\nconducted at any reasonable time and at any place including, but not\n\nlimited to, the child’s school. The Department shall notify the\n\nperson responsible for the health, safety, and welfare of the child\n\nthat the child has been interviewed at a school. The investigation\n\nor assessment may include an interview with the parents of the child\n\nor any other person responsible for the health, safety, or welfare\n\nof the child and an interview with and examination of any child in\n\nthe home.\n\n2. The investigation or assessment may include a medical,\n\npsychological, or psychiatric examination of any child in the home,\n\nand may include an interview conducted by appropriate personnel\n\nusing the protocols and procedures specified in Section 1-9-102 of\n\nthis title. If admission to the home, school, or any place where\n\nthe child may be located cannot be obtained, then the district court\n\nhaving jurisdiction, upon application by the district attorney and\n\nupon cause shown, shall order the person responsible for the health,\n\nsafety, or welfare of the child, or the person in charge of any\n\nplace where the child may be located, to allow entrance for the\n\ninterview, the examination, and the investigation or assessment.\n\nThe court may order that the child be transported to a location\n\napproved by the court for the interview or examination and designate\n\nan appropriate person or persons to transport the child. Such\n\npersons may include but are not limited to: a relative of the child;\n\na person responsible for the child’s health, safety, or welfare; law\n\nenforcement personnel; employees of the Department of Human\n\nServices; or employees of the Office of Juvenile Affairs if the\n\nchild is in the custody of the Office of Juvenile Affairs. When\n\nmaking this determination, the court shall consider safety protocols\n\nbased on the gender of the child. If the person responsible for the\n\nhealth, safety, or welfare of the child does not consent to a\n\nmedical, psychological, or psychiatric examination of the child that\nServices; or employees of the Office of Juvenile Affairs if the\n\nchild is in the custody of the Office of Juvenile Affairs. When\n\nmaking this determination, the court shall consider safety protocols\n\nbased on the gender of the child. If the person responsible for the\n\nhealth, safety, or welfare of the child does not consent to a\n\nmedical, psychological, or psychiatric examination of the child that\n\nis requested by the Department, the district court having\n\njurisdiction, upon application by the district attorney and upon\n\ncause shown, shall order the examination to be made at the times and\n\nplaces designated by the court.\n\n3. The investigation or assessment may include an inquiry into\n\nthe possibility that the child or a person responsible for the\n\nhealth, safety, or welfare of the child has a history of mental\n\nillness. If the person responsible for the child’s health, safety,\n\nor welfare does not allow the Department to have access to\n\nbehavioral health records or treatment plans requested by the\n\nDepartment, which may be relevant to the alleged abuse or neglect,\n\nthe district court having jurisdiction, upon application by the\n\ndistrict attorney and upon good cause shown, shall by order allow\n\nthe Department to have access to the records pursuant to terms and\n\nconditions prescribed by the court.\n\n4. a. If the court determines that the subject of the\n\nbehavioral health records is indigent, the court shall\n\nappoint an attorney to represent that person at the\n\nhearing to obtain behavioral health records.\n\nb. A person responsible for the health, safety, or\n\nwelfare of the child is entitled to notice and a\n\nhearing when the Department seeks a court order to\n\nallow a psychological or psychiatric examination or\n\naccess to behavioral health records.\n\nc. Access to behavioral health records does not\n\nconstitute a waiver of confidentiality.\n\n5. The investigation of a report of sexual abuse or serious\n\nphysical abuse or both sexual abuse and serious physical abuse shall\n\nbe conducted, when appropriate and possible, using a\n\nmultidisciplinary team approach as provided by Section 1-9-102 of\n\nthis title. Law enforcement and the Department shall exchange\n\ninvestigation information.\n\n6. The investigation or assessment shall include an inquiry\n\ninto whether the person responsible for the health, safety or\n\nwelfare of the child is an active duty service member of the\n\nmilitary or the spouse of an active duty service member. The\n\nDepartment shall collect and report information related to the\n\nmilitary affiliation of the person or spouse responsible for the\n\nhealth, safety or welfare of the child to the designated federal\n\nauthorities at the federal military installation where the service\n\nmember is assigned as provided by paragraph 4 of subsection A of\n\nSection 1-2-102 of this title.\n\nC. 1. Every physician, surgeon, or other health care provider\n\nmaking a report of abuse or neglect as required by this section or\n\nexamining a child to determine the likelihood of abuse or neglect\n\nand every hospital or related institution in which the child was\n\nexamined or treated shall provide copies of the results of the\n\nexamination or copies of the examination on which the report was\n\nbased and any other clinical notes, x-rays, photographs, and other\n\nprevious or current records relevant to the case to law enforcement\n\nofficers conducting a criminal investigation into the case and to\n\nemployees of the Department conducting an assessment or\n\ninvestigation of alleged abuse or neglect in the case.\n\n2. As necessary in the course of conducting an assessment or\n\ninvestigation, the Department may request and obtain, without a\n\ncourt order, copies of all prior medical records of a child\n\nincluding, but not limited to, hospital records, medical, and dental\n\nrecords. The physician-patient privilege shall not constitute\n\ngrounds for failure to produce such records.\nged abuse or neglect in the case.\n\n2. As necessary in the course of conducting an assessment or\n\ninvestigation, the Department may request and obtain, without a\n\ncourt order, copies of all prior medical records of a child\n\nincluding, but not limited to, hospital records, medical, and dental\n\nrecords. The physician-patient privilege shall not constitute\n\ngrounds for failure to produce such records.\n\nD. 1. The Department shall engage in a collaborative decision-\n\nmaking process to address each child’s needs related to safety and\n\nwhether the child’s condition warrants a safety intervention\n\nincluding but not limited to a change in placement, and:\n\na. those involved in the collaborative decision-making\n\nprocess shall include at a minimum appropriate\n\nDepartment staff, the parents of the child and, if the\n\nparent requests, an advocate or representative,\n\nb. to protect the safety of those involved and to promote\n\nefficiency, the Department may limit participants as\n\ndetermined to be in the best interests of the child,\n\nc. the Department shall make reasonable efforts to\n\nprovide a trained facilitator to guide the decision-\n\nmaking process, and\n\nd. any determination that a collaborative decision-making\n\nprocess is not possible or is unnecessary shall\n\nrequire supervisor approval and documentation of the\n\nreasons supporting the determination.\n\n2. If, before the assessment or investigation is complete, the\n\nDepartment determines that immediate removal of the child is\n\nnecessary to protect the child from further abuse or neglect, the\n\nDepartment shall recommend that the child be taken into custody and,\n\nif feasible, utilize the collaborative decision-making process\n\nprovided by paragraph 1 of this subsection prior to the emergency\n\ncustody hearing.\n\nE. The Department shall make a complete written report of the\n\ninvestigation. The investigation report, together with its\n\nrecommendations, shall be submitted to the appropriate district\n\nattorney’s office. Reports of assessment recommendations shall be\n\nsubmitted to appropriate district attorneys.\n\nF. The Department, where appropriate and in its discretion,\n\nshall identify prevention- and intervention-related services\n\navailable in the community and refer the family to or arrange for\n\nsuch services when an investigation or assessment indicates the\n\nfamily would benefit from such services, or the Department may\n\nprovide such services directly. The Department shall document in\n\nthe record its attempts to provide, refer or arrange for the\n\nprovision of voluntary services and shall determine within sixty\n\n(60) days whether the family has accessed those services directly\n\nrelated to safety of the child. If the family refuses voluntary\n\nservices or does not access those services directly related to\n\nsafety of the child, and it is determined by the Department that the\n\nchild’s surroundings endanger the health, safety, or welfare of the\n\nchild, the Department may recommend that the child be placed in\n\nprotective or emergency custody or that a petition be filed.\n\nG. If the Department has reason to believe that a person\n\nresponsible for the health, safety, and welfare of the child may\n\nremove the child from the state before the investigation is\n\ncompleted, the Department may request the district attorney to file\n\nan application for a temporary restraining order in any district\n\ncourt in the State of Oklahoma without regard to continuing\n\njurisdiction of the child. Upon cause shown, the court may enter a\n\ntemporary restraining order prohibiting the parent or other person\n\nfrom removing the child from the state pending completion of the\n\nassessment or investigation.\n\nH. The Director of the Department or designee may request an\n\ninvestigation be conducted by the Oklahoma State Bureau of\n\nInvestigation or other law enforcement agency in cases where it\n\nreasonably believes that criminally injurious conduct including, but\nng order prohibiting the parent or other person\n\nfrom removing the child from the state pending completion of the\n\nassessment or investigation.\n\nH. The Director of the Department or designee may request an\n\ninvestigation be conducted by the Oklahoma State Bureau of\n\nInvestigation or other law enforcement agency in cases where it\n\nreasonably believes that criminally injurious conduct including, but\n\nnot limited to, physical or sexual abuse of a child has occurred.\n\nI. Child Welfare Services, in collaboration with the\n\nDevelopmental Disabilities Services Division, shall implement a\n\nprotocol to be used in cases where the subject child is a child with\n\na disability who has complex medical needs, and the protocol shall\n\ninclude, but not be limited to: resource coordination, medical\n\nconsultation or medical evaluation, when needed.","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":"20ad31eddf26103f86f5b1a4b97e60bb4c7305aeeeaff4ee99c0abe0a38f54ba","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-10a-10a-1-2-104","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-10a-10a-1-2-106"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}