Oklahoma Administrative Code
Title 340 - Department of Human Services
Chapter 75 - Child Welfare Services
Subchapter 14 - Well-Being
Section 340:75-14-1 - Purpose, definitions, and assessment
Universal Citation: OK Admin Code 340:75-14-1
Current through Vol. 42, No. 1, September 16, 2024
(a) Purpose.
(1) A child's well-being is comprised of four
basic domains:
(A) cognitive
functioning;
(B) physical health
and development;
(C)
behavioral/emotional functioning; and
(D) social functioning.
(2) A child's well-being is dependent upon
the caretaker's ability to meet the child's physical health, learning and
development, behavioral health, and the child's ongoing opportunities to engage
in age- or developmentally-appropriate activities following the reasonable and
prudent parent standard.
(3) The
child welfare (CW) specialist assesses:
(A)
child functioning that includes the specific indicators of child well-being. An
assessment of child functioning is the basis for understanding how the
caregiver addresses any specific child needs and is a central component of
promoting well-being for children who have experienced abuse or neglect;
and
(B) a child's needs in these
areas throughout the case process and addresses identified needs as part of
case planning activities.
(4) Children and families are meaningfully
engaged in all aspects of the service process to build and maintain a trusting,
supportive working relationship.
(5) A trauma-informed framework of well-being
puts together assessments, interventions, actions, and supports that are
intentional and inclusive of a deeper understanding of the four basic domains
of a child's well-being through a trauma-informed lens.
(6) Children engaged by the CW system,
especially those who were removed from their birth families, have likely
experienced traumatic events in their lives, thereby impacting their
development and overall well-being.
(A) A
removal leading to the separation of the family, in and of itself, can cause
trauma.
(B) Children's
relationships, behaviors, and sense of self may all be impacted.
(C) Adverse effects of trauma may be
immediate or have a delayed onset.
(D) Not all children who are involved in or
witness traumatic events develop traumatic stress responses. Some children are
able to adapt and cope with trauma better than others, especially when
intervention is early.
(b) Equal access. Children engaged by the CW system have the right to fair and equal access to all available services, placement, care, treatment, and benefits, and to not be subjected to discrimination or harassment on the basis of actual or perceived race, ethnic group identification, ancestry, national origin, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, mental or physical disability, or Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) status.
(c) Definitions. Per Section 1-1-105 of Title 10A of the Oklahoma Statutes (10A O.S. § 1-1-105) the following words and terms, when used in this Subchapter shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
(1)
"Age-appropriate" or
"developmentally-appropriate" means:
(A) activities or items that are generally
accepted as suitable for children of the same age or level of maturity or that
are determined to be developmentally-appropriate for a child, based on the
development of cognitive, emotional, physical, and behavioral capacities that
are typical for an age or age group; and
(B) in the case of a specific child,
activities or items that are suitable for that child based on the developmental
stages attained by the child with respect to the cognitive, emotional,
physical, and behavioral capacities of the specific child.
(2)
"Behavioral health" means
mental health, substance use or abuse, or co-occurring mental health and
substance use or abuse diagnoses, and the continuum of mental health, substance
use or abuse, or co-occurring mental health and substance use or abuse
treatment.
(3)
"Child
behavioral health screener" means a brief measuring tool designed to
screen for the presence of behavioral and trauma-related symptoms that may be
negatively impacting child function in children ages birth through 17 years
old. It additionally has questions geared to track counseling progress and
psychotropic medication management.
(4)
"Child with disability"
means any child who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially
limits one or more of the child's major life activities or who is regarded as
having such impairment by a competent medical professional.
(5)
"Infant" means a child 12
months of age and younger.
(6)
"Psychotropic medications" means medications with
well-demonstrated efficacy in the treatment of mental disorders through the
modification of behavior, mood, and emotions.
(7)
"Reasonable and prudent parent
standard" means the standard characterized by careful and sensible
parental decisions that maintain the child's health, safety, and best interests
while at the same time encouraging the emotional and developmental growth of
the child. This standard is used by the child's caregiver when determining
whether to allow a child to participate in extracurricular, enrichment,
cultural, and social activities. For purposes of this definition, the term
"caregiver" means a foster parent with whom a child in foster care was placed,
a representative of a group home where a child was placed, or a designated
official for a residential child care facility where a child in foster care was
placed.
(8)
"Trauma"
means what happens to a child that results from an event, series of events, or
set of circumstances experienced by an individual as physically or emotionally
harmful or life threatening and that has lasting adverse effects on the
individual's functioning and mental, physical, social, emotional, or spiritual
well-being.
(9)
"Successful
adulthood program" means a program specifically designed to assist a
child in Oklahoma Department of Human Services (DHS) custody or tribal custody
in developing and enhancing the skills and abilities necessary for successful
adult living, per 10A O.S. § 1-9-107.
(10)
"Youth" means a child 13
through 17 years of age.
(d) Child functioning.
(1)
Description. Child
functioning is concerned with describing the child's general behavior,
emotions, temperament, development, academic status, physical capacity, and
health status. It addresses how a child functions from day-to-day and their
current status rather than focusing on a specific point in time. An assessment
of child functioning must take into account the child's age and/or any special
needs or developmental delays.
(2)
Child functioning indicators.
(A)
Emotion/trauma. The degree
to which, an adequate pattern of appropriate self-management of emotions is
displayed, consistent with the child's age, ability, and developmental
level.
(B)
Behavior.
The degree to which, an appropriate coping and adapting behavior is displayed,
consistent with the child's age, ability, and developmental level.
(C)
Developmental/early
learning. Consistent with age and ability expectations, the child is
achieving milestones based on his or her age and developmental
capacities.
(D)
Academic
status. The child, according to age and ability, is:
(i) actively engaged in instructional
activities and reading at grade level or an Individualized Education Program
(IEP) expectation level; and
(ii)
meeting requirements for annual promotion and course completion leading to a
high school diploma or equivalent or vocational program.
(E)
Positive peer/adult
relationships. The child, according to age and ability, demonstrates
adequate positive social relationships.
(F)
Family relationships. The
child demonstrates age and developmentally-appropriate patterns of forming
relationships with family members.
(G)
Physical health. The child
is achieving and maintaining positive health status that includes physical,
dental, audio and visual assessments and services. When the child has a serious
or chronic health condition, he or she is achieving the best attainable health
status given the diagnosis and prognosis.
(H)
Cultural identity. Important
cultural factors, such as race; class; ethnicity; religion; gender, gender
identity, and sexual orientation; and other forms of culture are appropriately
considered in the child's life.
(I)
Substance awareness. The assessment of substance awareness is
multi-dimensional. The assessment:
(i)
includes the child/youth's awareness of alcohol and drugs, and his or her own
use; and
(ii) for children who have
experienced the negative impacts of parent/caregiver substance use or abuse
within their home, includes their awareness of alcohol and drugs and
treatment/recovery for their parent/legal guardian(s), as age
appropriate.
(J)
Preparation for adult living skills development. The child,
according to age and ability, is gaining skills, education, work experience,
long-term relationships and connections, income, housing, and other capacities
necessary for functioning upon adulthood; and includes access to
age-appropriate, medically-accurate information about reproductive health care,
pregnancy prevention, and the prevention and treatment of sexually-transmitted
infections at 12 years of age and older.
(e) Screenings and functional assessments. Screening and functional assessment tools are used to inform decisions about appropriateness of evidence-informed services. All children, birth through 17 years of age, engaged with Child Welfare Services have access to screening and functional assessments for the early and ongoing identification of well-being needs, per 10A O.S. § 1-4-208.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Oklahoma may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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