{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-43a-43a-14-103","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 43A, § 43A-14-103","heading":"Definitions","body":"A. When used in the Oklahoma Elder Exploitation and Abuse Act:\n\n1. \"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\n2. \"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\n3. \"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\n4. \"Financial neglect\" means repeated instances by a caretaker,\n\nor other person, who has assumed the role of financial management,\n\nof failure to use the resources available to restore or maintain the\n\nhealth and physical well-being of a vulnerable adult, including, but\n\nnot 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\n5. \"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\n6. \"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\n7. \"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\n8. \"Personal degradation\" means a willful act by a caretaker\n\nintended to shame, degrade, humiliate, or otherwise harm the\n\npersonal dignity of a vulnerable adult, or where the caretaker knew\n\nor reasonably should have known the act would cause shame,\n\ndegradation, humiliation, or harm to the personal dignity of a\n\nreasonable person. Personal degradation includes the taking,\n\ntransmitting, or displaying of an electronic image of a vulnerable\n\nadult by a caretaker, where the caretaker's actions constitute a\nse harm the\n\npersonal dignity of a vulnerable adult, or where the caretaker knew\n\nor reasonably should have known the act would cause shame,\n\ndegradation, humiliation, or harm to the personal dignity of a\n\nreasonable person. Personal degradation includes the taking,\n\ntransmitting, or displaying of an electronic image of a vulnerable\n\nadult by a caretaker, where the caretaker's actions constitute a\n\nwillful act intended to shame, degrade, humiliate or otherwise harm\n\nthe personal dignity of the dependent adult, or where the caretaker\n\nknew or reasonably should have known the act would cause shame,\n\ndegradation, humiliation or harm to the personal dignity of a\n\nreasonable person. Personal degradation does not include:\n\na. the taking, transmitting, or displaying of an\n\nelectronic image of a vulnerable adult for the purpose\n\nof reporting vulnerable adult abuse to law\n\nenforcement, the Department of Human Services or other\n\nregulatory agency that oversees caretakers or enforces\n\nabuse or neglect laws or rules,\n\nb. the taking, transmitting, or displaying of an\n\nelectronic image of a vulnerable adult for the purpose\n\nof treatment or diagnosis, or\n\nc. the taking, transmitting, or displaying of an\n\nelectronic image of a vulnerable adult as part of an\n\nongoing investigation;\n\n9. \"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, or\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\n10. \"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\n11. \"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\n12. \"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, neglect, or exploitation without\n\nassistance from others.\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":"a52af176869ff78ec9b345abf25570ae1815ed99e640e91b41fc16f394e0af2a","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-43a-43a-14-102","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-43a-43a-14-104"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}