{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-43a-43a-10-103","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 43A, § 43A-10-103","heading":"Definitions","body":"A. When used in the Protective Services for Vulnerable Adults\n\nAct:\n\n1. “Protective services” means services which are necessary to\n\naid a vulnerable adult in meeting the essential requirements for\n\nmental or physical health and safety that the vulnerable adult is\n\nunable to provide or obtain without assistance. The term\n\n“protective services” includes but is not limited to services\n\nprovided to or obtained for such person in order to prevent or\n\nremedy the abuse, neglect, or exploitation of such person;\n\n2. “Services which are necessary to aid an individual to meet\n\nessential requirements for mental or physical health and safety”\n\ninclude, but shall not be limited to:\n\na. the identification of vulnerable adults in need of the\n\nservices,\n\nb. the provision of medical care for physical and mental\n\nhealth needs,\n\nc. the provision of social services assistance in\n\npersonal hygiene, food, clothing, and adequately\n\nheated and ventilated shelter,\n\nd. protection from health and safety hazards,\n\ne. protection from physical mistreatment,\n\nf. guardianship referral,\n\ng. outreach programs, and\n\nh. the transportation necessary to secure any of such\n\nservices.\n\nThe term shall not include taking the person into physical custody\n\nwithout the consent of the person except as provided for in Sections\n\n10-107 and 10-108 of this title, and the evaluation, monitoring, and\n\nprovision of protective placements;\n\n3. “Meet essential requirements for mental or physical health\n\nand safety” means those actions necessary to provide the health\n\ncare, food, shelter, clothing, personal hygiene and other care\n\nwithout which physical injury or illness to the vulnerable adult is\n\nlikely to occur;\n\n4. “Incapacitated person” means:\n\na. any person eighteen (18) years of age or older:\n\n(1) who is impaired by reason of mental or physical\n\nillness or disability, dementia or related\n\ndisease, developmental or intellectual disability\n\nor other cause, and\n\n(2) whose ability to receive and evaluate information\n\neffectively or to make and to communicate\n\nresponsible decisions is impaired to such an\n\nextent that such person lacks the capacity to\n\nmanage his or her financial resources or to meet\n\nessential requirements for his or her mental or\n\nphysical health or safety without assistance from\n\nothers, or\n\nb. a person for whom a guardian, limited guardian, or\n\nconservator has been appointed pursuant to the\n\nOklahoma Guardianship and Conservatorship Act;\n\n5. “Vulnerable adult” means an individual who is an\n\nincapacitated person or who, because of physical or mental\n\ndisability, including persons with Alzheimer’s disease or other\n\ndementias, incapacity, or other disability, is substantially\n\nimpaired in the ability to provide adequately for the care or\n\ncustody of himself or herself, or is unable to manage his or her\n\nproperty and financial affairs effectively, or to meet essential\n\nrequirements for mental or physical health or safety, or to protect\n\nhimself or herself from abuse, verbal abuse, neglect, or\n\nexploitation without assistance from others;\n\n6. “Caretaker” means a person who has:\n\na. the responsibility for the care of a vulnerable adult\n\nor the financial management of the resources of a\n\nvulnerable adult as a result of a family relationship,\n\nb. assumed the responsibility for the care of a\n\nvulnerable adult voluntarily, by contract, or as a\n\nresult of the ties of friendship, or\n\nc. been appointed a guardian, limited guardian, or\n\nconservator pursuant to the Oklahoma Guardianship and\n\nConservatorship Act;\n\n7. “Department” means, unless the context clearly indicates\n\notherwise, the Department of Human Services;\n\n8. “Abuse” means causing or permitting:\n\na. the infliction of physical pain, injury, sexual abuse,\n\nsexual exploitation, unreasonable restraint or\n\nconfinement, mental anguish or personal degradation,\n\nor\nardian, or\n\nconservator pursuant to the Oklahoma Guardianship and\n\nConservatorship Act;\n\n7. “Department” means, unless the context clearly indicates\n\notherwise, the Department of Human Services;\n\n8. “Abuse” means causing or permitting:\n\na. the infliction of physical pain, injury, sexual abuse,\n\nsexual exploitation, unreasonable restraint or\n\nconfinement, mental anguish or personal degradation,\n\nor\n\nb. the deprivation of nutrition, clothing, shelter,\n\nhealth care, or other care or services without which\n\nserious physical or mental injury is likely to occur\n\nto a vulnerable adult by a caretaker or other person\n\nproviding services to a vulnerable adult;\n\n9. “Exploitation” or “exploit” means an unjust or improper use\n\nof the resources of a vulnerable adult for the profit or advantage,\n\npecuniary or otherwise, of a person other than the vulnerable adult\n\nthrough the use of undue influence, coercion, harassment, duress,\n\ndeception, false representation or false pretense;\n\n10. “Financial neglect” means repeated instances by a\n\ncaretaker, or other person, who has assumed the role of financial\n\nmanagement, of failure to use the resources available to restore or\n\nmaintain the health and physical well-being of a vulnerable adult,\n\nincluding, but not limited to:\n\na. squandering or negligently mismanaging the money,\n\nproperty, or accounts of a vulnerable adult,\n\nb. refusing to pay for necessities or utilities in a\n\ntimely manner, or\n\nc. providing substandard care to a vulnerable adult\n\ndespite the availability of adequate financial\n\nresources;\n\n11. “Neglect” means:\n\na. the failure to provide protection for a vulnerable\n\nadult who is unable to protect his or her own\n\ninterest,\n\nb. the failure to provide a vulnerable adult with\n\nadequate shelter, nutrition, health care, or clothing,\n\nor\n\nc. negligent acts or omissions that result in harm or the\n\nunreasonable risk of harm to a vulnerable adult\n\nthrough the action, inaction, or lack of supervision\n\nby a caretaker providing direct services;\n\n12. “Personal degradation” means a willful act by a caretaker\n\nintended to shame, degrade, humiliate or otherwise harm the personal\n\ndignity of a vulnerable adult, or where the caretaker knew or\n\nreasonably should have known the act would cause shame, degradation,\n\nhumiliation or harm to the personal dignity of a reasonable person.\n\nPersonal degradation includes the taking, transmitting, or display\n\nof an electronic image of a vulnerable adult by a caretaker, where\n\nthe caretaker’s actions constitute a willful act intended to shame,\n\ndegrade, humiliate or otherwise harm the personal dignity of the\n\ndependent adult, or where the caretaker knew or reasonably should\n\nhave known the act would cause shame, degradation, humiliation or\n\nharm to the personal dignity of a reasonable person. Personal\n\ndegradation does not include:\n\na. the taking, transmission or display of an electronic\n\nimage of a vulnerable adult for the purpose of\n\nreporting vulnerable adult abuse to law enforcement,\n\nthe Department of Human Services or other regulatory\n\nagency that oversees caretakers or enforces abuse or\n\nneglect laws or rules,\n\nb. the taking, transmission or display of an electronic\n\nimage of a vulnerable adult for the purpose of\n\ntreatment or diagnosis, or\n\nc. the taking, transmission or display of an electronic\n\nimage of a vulnerable adult as part of an ongoing\n\ninvestigation;\n\n13. “Sexual abuse” means:\n\na. oral, anal, or vaginal penetration of a vulnerable\n\nadult by or through the union with the sexual organ of\n\na caretaker or other person providing services to the\n\nvulnerable adult, or the anal or vaginal penetration\n\nof a vulnerable adult by a caretaker or other person\n\nproviding services to the vulnerable adult with any\n\nother object,\n\nb. for the purpose of sexual gratification, the touching,\n\nfeeling or observation of the body or private parts of\n\na vulnerable adult by a caretaker or other person\nof\n\na caretaker or other person providing services to the\n\nvulnerable adult, or the anal or vaginal penetration\n\nof a vulnerable adult by a caretaker or other person\n\nproviding services to the vulnerable adult with any\n\nother object,\n\nb. for the purpose of sexual gratification, the touching,\n\nfeeling or observation of the body or private parts of\n\na vulnerable adult by a caretaker or other person\n\nproviding services to the vulnerable adult, or\n\nc. indecent exposure by a caretaker or other person\n\nproviding services to the vulnerable adult;\n\n14. “Indecent exposure” means forcing or requiring a vulnerable\n\nadult to:\n\na. look upon the body or private parts of another person\n\nor upon sexual acts performed in the presence of the\n\nvulnerable adult, or\n\nb. touch or feel the body or private parts of another;\n\n15. “Self-neglect” means the action or inaction of a vulnerable\n\nadult which causes that person to fail to meet the essential\n\nrequirements for physical or mental health and safety due to the\n\nvulnerable adult’s lack of awareness, incompetence or incapacity;\n\n16. “Sexual exploitation” includes, but is not limited to, a\n\ncaretaker’s causing, allowing, permitting or encouraging a\n\nvulnerable adult to engage in prostitution or in the lewd, obscene,\n\nor pornographic photographing, filming or depiction of the\n\nvulnerable adult as those acts are defined by state law;\n\n17. “Verbal abuse” means the use of words, sounds, or other\n\ncommunication including, but not limited to, gestures, actions or\n\nbehaviors, by a caretaker or other person providing services to a\n\nvulnerable adult that are likely to cause a reasonable person to\n\nexperience humiliation, intimidation, fear, shame or degradation;\n\nand\n\n18. “Appropriate state entity” means:\n\na. the Office of Client Advocacy within the State\n\nDepartment of Health, if the allegation concerns a\n\nvulnerable adult who is:\n\n(1) a certified member of the plaintiff class in\n\nHomeward Bound, Inc., et al. v. The Hissom\n\nMemorial Center, et al., Case Number 85-C-437-E,\n\nUnited States District Court for the Northern\n\nDistrict of Oklahoma,\n\n(2) a resident of the Robert M. Greer Center or\n\nsuccessor facility, or\n\n(3) receiving services from a community services\n\nprovider, community services worker, Medicaid\n\npersonal care services provider, or Medicaid\n\npersonal care assistant, as those terms are\n\ndefined in Section 1025.1 of Title 56 of the\n\nOklahoma Statutes, when such provider or worker\n\nis the alleged perpetrator, or\n\nb. the Department of Human Services, if the allegation\n\nconcerns a vulnerable adult who does not meet the\n\ndescription of subparagraph a of this paragraph.\n\nB. Nothing in this section shall be construed to mean a\n\nvulnerable adult is abused or neglected for the sole reason the\n\nvulnerable adult, in good faith, selects and depends upon spiritual\n\nmeans alone through prayer, in accordance with the practices of a\n\nrecognized religious method of healing, for the treatment or cure of\n\ndisease or remedial care, or a caretaker or other person\n\nresponsible, in good faith, is furnishing such vulnerable adult\n\nspiritual means alone through prayer, in accordance with the tenets\n\nand practices of a recognized church or religious denomination, for\n\nthe treatment or cure of disease or remedial care in accordance with\n\nthe practices of or express consent of the vulnerable adult.","path":["OK Code","Title 43A"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os43A.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"07d30221dc1a2837c29c43bb68b1ff634fd9ce43aaf77fb12ac2f7bf915d1ac0","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-43a-43a-10-102","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-43a-43a-10-104"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}