Oklahoma Administrative Code
Title 340 - Department of Human Services
Chapter 5 - Adult Protective Services
Subchapter 1 - Adult Protective Services Reports
Section 340:5-1-5 - Confidentiality

(a) All records related to Adult Protective Services (APS) cases are confidential, per Sections 10-110 and 10-110.1 of Title 43A of the Oklahoma Statutes (43A O.S. §§ 10-110 and 10-110.1), and may be disclosed only by court order except under the circumstances described in (b) through (h) of this Section. Representatives of the general public, news media, or agencies not meeting one of the exceptions in (c) of this Section who request details on a specific case are referred to APS Oklahoma Human Services (OKDHS) State Office staff or to the OKDHS Office of Communications for a detailed explanation of OKDHS confidentiality rules.

(b) When making contacts as part of the investigation or service planning process, the APS specialist may disclose information necessary to ensure that the vulnerable adult is protected and the vulnerable adult's needs are met.

(c) Certain persons acting in an official capacity with regard to the vulnerable adult may review or receive information from the entire case record, including the:

(d) Any agency or person authorized by OKDHS to provide services to a vulnerable adult may receive a summary of information necessary to secure or provide appropriate care for the vulnerable adult.

(e) The vulnerable adult's caretaker, legal guardian, and next of kin may receive summaries of information from an APS case record.

(f) Some information from APS records may be released to employees or contractors of the State for research purposes, upon application to and approval by the OKDHS Institutional Research Board. While OKDHS offices may release statistical information, no specific case information is released for research purposes unless approval is received from APS State Office.

(g) When the person responsible for the care of a vulnerable adult has been charged by information or was indicted with committing a crime resulting in the death or near death of a vulnerable adult, there is a presumption that it is in the best interest of the public to disclose relevant information, per 43A O.S. § 10-110.1.

(h) When federal law specifically prohibits the disclosure of any of the information required by this subsection, that information is excluded from the disclosed information.