Oklahoma Administrative Code
Title 340 - Department of Human Services
Chapter 75 - Child Welfare Services
Subchapter 3 - Child Protective Services
Part 1 - PURPOSE, DEFINITIONS, AND CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT HOTLINE PROTOCOL
Section 340:75-3-130 - Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline
Current through Vol. 42, No. 1, September 16, 2024
(a) Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline (Hotline). Per Section 1-2-101 of Title 10A of the Oklahoma Statutes (10A O.S. § 1-2-101), Oklahoma Human Services (OKDHS) established a statewide, centralized Hotline that operates 24 hours per day to receive child abuse or neglect reports, and reports made by any person subject to the provisions of the Sex Offenders Registration Act who resides with a minor child, per 57 O.S. § 584. An allegation of child abuse or neglect reported in any manner to an OKDHS county office is immediately referred to the Hotline.
(b) Hotline tracking system. Per 10A O.S. § 1-2-101, OKDHS maintains a system to track the number of calls the Hotline received and the number of:
(c) Screening Hotline reports. Each report received at the Hotline is screened to determine whether the allegations meet the definition of child abuse or neglect and are within the scope of child protective services (CPS) assessment or investigation, per 10A O.S. §§ 1-1-101 et seq. and Oklahoma Administrative Code (OAC) 340:75-3. When the allegations are not appropriate for CPS, the reporter may be provided an explanation as to why an assessment or investigation will not be conducted and, when appropriate, where a referral may be made to assist the family.
(d) Time limitations for accepting reports for assessment or investigation. CPS intervention is limited to current situations as the CPS focuses on identifying and protecting children presently at risk or who will be at risk when safety measures are not put in place.
(e) Disposition of the screened-out report. When a report is received that is not appropriate for CPS, however, services are needed, OKDHS may make a referral to an OKDHS or outside resource for emergency food, shelter, medical services, or counseling.
(f) Response to reporter concerning a screened-out report. The reporter may be informed of the decision to screen out the referral and the reason for the decision.
(g) OKDHS response to reports of child abuse or neglect. Per 10A O.S. § 1-2-105, OKDHS responds to an accepted report of child abuse or neglect by initiating an assessment of the family or an investigation of the report in accordance with priority guidelines. The primary purpose of the assessment or investigation is the protection of the child. For assessments or investigations, OKDHS gives special consideration to the risks of any minor child, including a child with a disability, who is vulnerable due to his or her inability to communicate effectively about abuse, neglect, or any safety threat.
(h) Prioritization of child abuse and neglect reports. Per 10A O.S. § 1-2-105, OKDHS prioritizes reports of alleged child abuse or neglect based on the severity and immediacy of the alleged harm to the child and assigns a response time.
(i) Accepted report assigned as assessment or investigation.
(j) Referral recordings. Per 10A O.S. § 1-2-101(A)(5), OKDHS electronically records each referral received by the Hotline and retains the recordings securely for 12 months. The recordings are confidential and subject to disclosure only when the court orders the disclosure of the referral. OKDHS redacts any information identifying the reporting party unless otherwise ordered by the court.
Added at 30 Ok Reg 389, eff 7-1-13