Current through Vol. 42, No. 1, September 16, 2024
(a)
Multidisciplinary child abuse team MDT purpose. It is the primary
responsibility of the district attorney (DA) to develop an MDT in the DA's
county or contiguous group of counties, per Section 1-9-102 of Title 10A of the
Oklahoma Statutes (10A O.S. § 1-9-102). The MDT approach is:
(1) used whenever feasible for investigations
and service planning involving cases of child sexual abuse, serious physical
abuse, and serious neglect;
(2)
used to enhance the investigative process and maximize services provided to the
affected children and families; and
(3) not required when there is reasonable
cause to believe a delay in investigation or interview of a child victim could
place the child at risk of harm or threatened harm.
(b)
MDT members.The MDT members
include, but are not limited to:
(1) mental
health professionals;
(2) law
enforcement;
(3) medical
personnel;
(4) Oklahoma Department
of Human Services (DHS) Child Welfare Services (CWS) personnel;
(5) MDT coordinators or child advocacy
centers personnel; and
(6) the
county DA or assistant DA.
(c)
MDT functions.The MDT
function is dependent upon available resources and includes, but is not limited
to:
(1) joint investigations of child abuse
reports by law enforcement and CWS personnel whenever possible;
(2) development of written protocol for
investigations and for interviewing children;
(3) identification, improvement, and delivery
of services to the child victim and the child's family;
(4) training in the multidisciplinary team
approach; and
(5) formalized case
reviews.
(d)
Child
abuse multidisciplinary team account (CAMA).Monies appropriated and
funds collected from criminal cases filed in Oklahoma district courts are
deposited with DHS and designated as CAMA monies, per 10A O.S. §§
1-9-103 and 1-9-104.
(1) DHS distributes CAMA
monies to functioning freestanding MDTs approved by the Oklahoma Commission on
Children and Youth (OCCY) and to child advocacy centers (CACs) accredited by
the National Children's Alliance (NCA).
(2) CAMA monies are:
(A) provided for the maintenance of eligible
MDTs and CACs;
(B) distributed each
calendar year to MDTs and CACs by a weighted formula;
(C) made available to:
(i) one functioning MDT per county;
(ii) one hospital team; and
(iii) one accredited CAC per DA's
district.
(3)
After the NCA's five-year accreditation, the CAC must secure a third-year
interim review to continue eligibility for CAMA monies.
(A) The Children's Advocacy Centers of
Oklahoma, Inc. (CACO) administers the review by procuring an NCA site reviewer
who resides outside of Oklahoma and has no conflict of interest. The CAC
submits to the reviewer, 60 calendar days prior to the on-site review:
(i) the current interagency
agreement;
(ii) the current MDT
Protocol;
(iii) the current
financial audit;
(iv) the current
program budget;
(v) proof of
general and professional liability coverage for the CAC board of directors and
officers;
(vi) the Internal Revenue
Service letter of 501(c)(3) status or government affiliation statement
letter;
(vii) the demographic
information for the community;
(viii) statistical data; and
(ix) NCA accreditation standards certifying
documents.
(B) The site
reviewer makes one half-day on-site visit to the CAC and administers the review
in accordance with the NCA accreditation process.
(C) The CAC demonstrates performance of the
essential components of the NCA accreditation process with full cooperation and
availability of requested personnel.
(4) Failure of the third-year review requires
a fourth-year review, but does not make the CAC ineligible for CAMA monies. If
the CAC fails the fourth-year review:
(A) the
CAC may submit, within 10 business days from the site reviewer's written notice
of failure:
(i) a written request for further
review by the CACO board of directors; and
(ii) documents pertaining only to the CAC's
understanding of the compliance issues. Information for the purposes of
improvement or change of practice is not considered; and
(B) the CACO board of directors secures three
additional NCA site reviewers from outside of Oklahoma to review the written
findings.
(5) When the
review failure is upheld or when the CAC does not request further review of a
failure notice, the CAC is no longer eligible for CAMA monies until
reaccredited by the NCA.
Added at 30 Ok Reg
389, eff 7-1-13