§ 1-9-112. Office of Client Advocacy
Oklahoma Statutes AnnotatedTitle 10A. Children and Juvenile Code
10A Okl.St.Ann. § 1-9-112
§ 1-9-112. Office of Client Advocacy
A. 1. The Director of Human Services is authorized and directed to establish the Office of Client Advocacy within the Department of Human Services and to employ personnel necessary to carry out the purposes of this section and the duties listed in this section. Personnel may be dismissed only for cause.
2. The chief administrative officer of the Office of Client Advocacy shall be the Advocate General, who shall be an attorney. The Advocate General shall be a member of the Oklahoma Bar Association and shall have a minimum of three (3) years' experience as an attorney. The compensation of the Advocate General shall be no less than that of the classification of Attorney III as established in the Merit System of Personnel Administration classification and compensation plan, but shall be an unclassified position.
C. 1. Except as otherwise provided by the Oklahoma Children's Code, the reports required by Section 1-2-101 of this title or any other information acquired pursuant to the Oklahoma Children's Code shall be confidential and may be disclosed only as provided in Section 1-2-108 of this title and the Oklahoma Children's Code.
2. Except as otherwise provided by the Oklahoma Children's Code, any violation of the confidentiality requirements of the Oklahoma Children's Code shall, upon conviction, be a misdemeanor punishable by up to six (6) months in jail, by a fine of Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), or by both such fine and imprisonment.
3. Any records or information disclosed as provided by this subsection shall remain confidential. The use of any information shall be limited to the purpose for which disclosure is authorized. Rules promulgated by the Commission for Human Services shall provide for disclosure of relevant information concerning Office of Client Advocacy investigations to persons or entities acting in an official capacity with regard to the subject of the investigation.
D. 1. The Office of Client Advocacy shall investigate any complaint received by the Office of Juvenile System Oversight alleging that an employee of the Department or a child-placing agency has threatened a foster parent with removal of a child from the foster parent, harassed a foster parent, or refused to place a child in a licensed or certified foster home, or disrupted a child placement as retaliation or discrimination towards a foster parent who has:
2. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to any complaint by a foster parent regarding the result of a criminal, administrative, or civil proceeding for a violation of any law, rule, or contract provision by that foster parent, or the action taken by the Department or a child-placement agency in conformity with the result of any such proceeding.
Credits
Laws 1982, c. 312, § 36, operative July 1, 1982. Renumbered from Title 10, § 1403.3 and amended by Laws 1995, c. 352, §§ 55, 199, eff. July 1, 1995. Laws 1996, c. 3, § 3, emerg. eff. March 6, 1996; Laws 1997, c. 389, § 7, eff. Nov. 1, 1997; Laws 2000, c. 374, § 25, eff. July 1, 2000; Laws 2001, c. 415, § 4, emerg. eff. June 5, 2001; Laws 2002, c. 445, § 6, eff. Nov. 1, 2002. Renumbered from Title 10, § 7004-3.4 and amended by Laws 2009, c. 233, §§ 69, 304, emerg. eff. May 21, 2009; Laws 2010, c. 220, § 2, emerg. eff. May 6, 2010; Laws 2012, c. 353, § 7, emerg. eff. June 8, 2012; Laws 2014, c. 257, § 3, eff. Nov. 1, 2014.
10A Okl. St. Ann. § 1-9-112, OK ST T. 10A § 1-9-112
Current with emergency effective legislation through Chapter 257 of the Second Regular Session of the 59th Legislature (2024). Some sections may be more current, see credits for details.
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