Current through Vol. 42, No. 1, September 16, 2024
(a)
Mission. The Oklahoma
Department of Human Services (OKDHS) Child Welfare Services (CWS) mission is,
with the aid and support of community partners, to promote safety, permanency,
and well-being for Oklahoma families whose children are abused or
neglected.
(b)
Purpose and
legislative intent . The CWS purpose is to identify, treat, and prevent
child abuse and neglect ensuring reasonable efforts are made to maintain and
protect the child in the child's own home. When this is not feasible, CWS
provides a placement that meets the child's needs. Per Section 1-1-102 of Title
10A of the Oklahoma Statutes, for the purposes of the Oklahoma
Children's Code, the Legislature recognizes that:
(1)
parents have a natural, legal,
and moral right as well as a duty, to care for and support their children and
such rights are protected by state and federal laws as well as the
Constitution. To that end, it is presumed that the best interests of a child
are ordinarily served by leaving the child in the custody of the parents, who
are expected to have the strongest bond of love and affection and to be best
able to provide a child those needed qualities that make a child's life safe
and secure. Nevertheless, this presumption may be rebutted where there is
evidence of abuse and neglect or threat of harm;
(2)
a child has a right to be raised
by the mother and father of the child as well as a right to be raised free from
physical and emotional abuse or neglect. When it is necessary to remove a child
from a parent, the child is entitled to a permanent home and to be placed in
the least restrictive environment to meet the needs of the child;
and
(3)
because
the state has an interest in its present and future citizens as well as a duty
to protect those who, because of age, are unable to protect themselves, it is
the policy of this state to provide for the protection of children who have
been abused or neglected and who may be further threatened by the conduct of
persons responsible for the health, safety, and welfare of such children. To
this end, where family circumstances threaten the safety of a child, the
state's interest in the welfare of the child takes precedence over the natural
right and authority of the parent to the extent that it is necessary to protect
the child and assure that the best interests of the child are
met.
(c)
Scope. OKDHS is the designated state agency mandated to protect
the child who is alleged or adjudicated deprived. Child welfare services:
(1) are directed toward child safety,
permanency, and well-being;
(2)
focus on the family, defined as one or more adults and child related by blood
or law residing in the same household, as an integral part of the child's
well-being; and
(3) are provided to
assist the parent develop protective capacities and ability to care for the
child.
(d)
Legal
base.
(1) The Social Security Act of
1935 requires:
(A) each state make welfare
services available to children; and
(B) child welfare agencies to provide for the
protection and care of homeless, dependent, neglected, and potentially
delinquent children.
(2)
Oklahoma's Social Security Act enacted in 1936, authorized the Division of
Child Welfare.
Amended at 19 Ok Reg
2208, eff 6-27-02; Amended at 23 Ok Reg 1024, eff 5-11-06; Amended at 28 Ok Reg
894, eff 7-1-11; Amended at 30 Ok Reg 839, eff
7-1-13
