Okla. Admin. Code § 340:75-3-530

Current through Vol. 42, No. 4, November 1, 2024

Section 340:75-3-530 - Appeal process for substantiated findings of child abuse or neglect

(a)Purpose. The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA), Section 5101 et seq. of Title 42 of the United States Code, requires Oklahoma Human Services (OKDHS) to provide an appeal process for persons who disagree with a substantiated finding of child abuse or neglect. The appeal process:

(1) provides individuals with a substantiated finding of child abuse or neglect an opportunity for due process;

(2) serves as a quality assurance mechanism to assess findings compliance with child protective services (CPS) standards, per Oklahoma Administrative Code (OAC) 340:75-3-120 and 340:75-3-130; and

(3) provides substantiated findings review by Child Welfare Services (CWS) personnel not involved in any other stage of the case.

(b)Eligibility criteria.

(1) An individual may be eligible to request an appeal when the individual is a person responsible for the child's (PRFC) health, safety, or welfare, per OAC 340:75-3-120, in an investigation involving abuse or neglect allegations and the investigation results in a substantiated finding regarding the PRFC.

(2) An eligible individual may request a review through the appeal process when:

(A) no deprived petition is filed; or

(B) a deprived petition is filed and the court case is dismissed prior to adjudication.

(3) An individual meeting the requirements in (1) and (2) of this subsection is not eligible for a review through the appeal process when:

(A) other court action is filed or a court order is issued concerning the alleged child abuse or neglect including, but not limited to:

(i) permanent protective orders issued against the PRFC that include the alleged child victim(s); or

(ii) pending or concluded criminal court proceedings; or

(B) another OKDHS program-specific review is pending or was conducted including, but not limited to:

(i) a child death or near-death; or

(ii) any substantiated finding of an out-of-home care investigation completed by a child welfare (CW) specialist or an Office of Client Advocacy investigator.

(c)Tribal investigations not eligible for OKDHS appeal process. The OKDHS appeal process applies only to OKDHS-conducted investigations. Child abuse or neglect investigations by a tribal representative or on tribal land are not eligible for the OKDHS appeal process.

(d)Appeal process procedures. Appeal process procedures are outlined in (1) through (4) of this subsection.

(1)PRFC notification. Upon substantiation of abuse, neglect, or both, the CW specialist notifies the PRFC of the finding by sending Forms 04KI019E, Notification Concerning Finding(s) of Child Abuse/Neglect, and 04KI020E, Request for Appeal of Substantiated Findings of Child Abuse or Neglect, provided the criteria in this Section are met. Forms 04KI019E and 04KI020E are not mailed to the PRFC when case records reflect notification may place family members at risk. When sent, Forms 04KI019E and 04KI020E are:

(A) mailed to last known address within 10-calendar days of substantiation of abuse or neglect; or

(B) sent secure to the PRFC's individually owned and operated personal email address that is not shared with other users within 10-calendar days of abuse or neglect substantiation:

(i) Form 04KI019E informs the PRFC of:

(I) any substantiated child abuse or neglect finding in the investigation; and

(II) the date of the abuse or neglect referral, allegation, and finding without identifying the reporting party.

(ii) Form 04KI020E specifies:

(I) the PRFC may file an appeal by emailing a request to CWS Appeals Program Unit at CWS.AppealsProgramReview@okdhs.org within 15-calendar days from the postmark on the envelope containing Form 04KI020E; or

(II) the PRFC may mail a request to CWS Appeals Program Unit within 15-calendar days from the postmark on the envelope containing Form 04KI020E; and

(III) failure to submit the appeal request within 15-calendar days from the postmark on the envelope containing Form 04KI020E results in the finding becoming final, and the PRFC waives any right to appeal this finding in the future, unless good cause is established per this Section.

(2)Conditions of good cause. A PRFC is granted a review despite failure to make a timely response, provided good cause is established including, but not limited to, severe illness or other disabling condition.

(3)Response to appeal request from PRFC. When the PRFC requests a review within the required time, the Appeals Program Unit responds to the PRFC through written notice within 10-calendar days following receipt of the PRFC's request for review. The Appeals Program Unit notifies the PRFC:

(A) of the right to provide additional information through written statements that must be submitted within 30-calendar days from the postmark on the envelope containing the notification that the appeal was accepted for review;

(B) that failure to submit additional information within 30-calendar days results in a waiver of this right, unless good cause is established per this Section; and

(C) that verification of legal representation must be established when the PRFC requests an attorney be notified of the determination results. Verification is established by a statement of representation on the attorney's official letterhead.

(4)Review Procedure. Within 120-calendar days following acceptance of the PRFC's timely request for a review, or a late request for a review when good cause was established per this Section, the CWS Appeals Program Unit determines if the substantiated finding of abuse or neglect meets substantiation protocol, per OAC 340:75-3-120.

(A) The decision to uphold, modify, or reverse the original finding of abuse or neglect is determined by reviewing:

(i) Form 04KI003E, Report to District Attorney, that includes Form 04KI030E, Assessment of Child Safety, attachments, and relevant CWS information including CW history and referrals; and

(ii) all written documents submitted by the PRFC.

(B) Per OAC 340:75-3-120, the Appeals Program Unit determines the finding failed to meet the criteria for substantiation based upon a lack of:

(i) credible evidence to support the allegations of child abuse, neglect, or both; or

(ii) documentation by the CW specialist.

(I) When a lack of documentation exists, the Appeals Program Unit sends notification to the district director, approving supervisor, and CW specialist that information is missing and requests the information be added to the report or scanned into the KIDS document management system.

(II) After notification by the Appeals Program Unit, the district director reopens and reassigns the investigation.

(III) The assigned CW specialist adds the additional information to the report within 15-calendar days of the reassignment and sends notification to the Appeals Program Unit when completed.

(IV) The Appeals Program Unit reconsiders the PRFC's appeal with the additional information and upholds, modifies, or reverses the finding as appropriate.

(C) The Appeals Program Unit enters a modified finding in KIDS, when appropriate.

(i) When the substantiation finding is appropriate, but the allegation in KIDS is incorrect, the Appeals Program Unit ensures the inappropriate allegation is marked as an improper entry and the correct allegation is added with the substantiated finding.

(ii) Forms 04KI019E, Notification Concerning Finding(s) of Child Abuse/Neglect, and 04KI020E, Request for Appeal of Substantiated Findings of Child Abuse or Neglect, are mailed to the PRFC with the corrected allegations with the substantiated finding.

(D) The Appeals Program Unit provides written notification or secure email notification to the personal email address individually owned and operated by the PRFC and not shared with other users of the final determination of the finding within 120-calendar days following acceptance of the PRFC's request for a review to the:

(i) PRFC who requested the review;

(ii) district director;

(iii) regional deputy director;

(iv) CW supervisor;

(v) CW specialist;

(vi) tribe, when applicable; and

(vii) Child Care Services, when applicable.

(E) When the finding is reversed, the district attorney's office in the county where the finding originated is notified by district staff.

Okla. Admin. Code § 340:75-3-530

Amended by Oklahoma Register, Volume 32, Issue 24, September 1, 2015, eff. 9/15/2015.

Amended by Oklahoma Register, Volume 34, Issue 24, September 1, 2017, eff. 9/15/2017

Amended by Oklahoma Register, Volume 36, Issue 24, September 3, 2019, eff. 9/16/2019

Amended by Oklahoma Register, Volume 37, Issue 24, September 1, 2020, eff. 9/15/2020

Amended by Oklahoma Register, Volume 39, Issue 10, February 1, 2022, eff. 12/21/2021

Amended by Oklahoma Register, Volume 39, Issue 24, September 1, 2022, eff. 9/15/2022