(a) Legal authority, scope, and purpose.

• (1) Legal authority.
  • (A) Section 1-9-112(A)(3)(d) and (e) of Title 10A of the Oklahoma Statutes gives the Office of Client Advocacy (OCA) the responsibility to investigate allegations of caretaker abuse, neglect, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, and misconduct by a person responsible for a child:
    • (i) residing outside their own homes regardless of custody, other than children in foster care;
    • (ii) receiving services from a community services worker, as defined in Section 1025.1 of Title 56 of the Oklahoma Statutes;
    • (iii) in a day treatment program as defined in Section 175.20 of Title 10 of the Oklahoma Statutes; and
    • (iv) residing in a state institution listed in Section 1406 of Title 10 of the Oklahoma Statutes.  • 1
  • (B) Section 10-105 of Title 43A of the Oklahoma Statutes gives the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) responsibility to investigate allegations of caretaker abuse, neglect, verbal abuse, and exploitation of vulnerable adults.  OKDHS confers on OCA the responsibility to conduct those investigations that involve Hissom class members and residents of the Southern Oklahoma Resource Center (SORC), the Northern Oklahoma Resource Center of Enid (NORCE), and the Robert M. Greer Center (Greer).
  • (C) OCA investigates, pursuant to OAC 340:75-3-8.3(3), reports alleging denial of medically beneficial treatment by a medical provider to a handicapped infant.
• (2) Scope.  OCA conducts administrative investigations of allegations of maltreatment listed in this subsection.  All of the individuals listed, who are clients of the facilities and providers that provide them residential care, vocational services, or day treatment, are referred to as the "client" throughout this Section and OAC 340:2-3-33 through 340:2-3-37.  OCA investigates allegations of:
  • (A) abuse and neglect of children by persons responsible for a child's health, safety, or welfare, and caretaker misconduct with regard to children in residential care above the level of foster care regardless of custody, including but not limited to:
    • (i) children in OKDHS operated or licensed shelters and group homes;
    • (ii) children and youth in facilities operated by, licensed by, or contracting with OJA;
    • (iii) children in community-based youth services shelters and community intervention centers that contract with Office of Juvenile Affairs (OJA) pursuant to Section 2-7-305 of Title 10A of the Oklahoma Statutes;
    • (iv) children in facilities operated by or contracting with Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS);
    • (v) children in facilities operated by the J.D. McCarty Center of Oklahoma;
    • (vi) children residing in or attending educational classes at facilities operated by the Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services (ODRS): the Oklahoma School for the Blind and the Oklahoma School for the Deaf; and
    • (vii) children receiving services from a community services worker as that term is defined in Section 1025.1 of Title 56 of the Oklahoma Statutes;  • 1
  • (B) abuse and neglect of, and caretaker misconduct with regard to, children in day treatment programs as defined in Section 175.20 of Title 10 of the Oklahoma Statutes, including sanctions programs certified by OJA to provide programming for children who are court ordered to participate in that program;
  • (C) abuse, neglect, and verbal abuse of, and caretaker misconduct with regard to, residents of SORC, NORCE, and Greer;
  • (D) abuse, neglect, verbal abuse, and exploitation of Hissom class members who live in Oklahoma and who do not reside in a private intermediate care facility for the mentally retarded (ICF/MR); and 
  •  (E) abuse, neglect, verbal abuse, and exploitation of vulnerable adults receiving services from a community services worker or a SoonerCare (Medicaid) personal care assistant, as those terms are defined in Section 1025.1 of Title 56 of the Oklahoma Statutes, on request of the Adult Protective Services Unit of OKDHS.  • 2

• (3) Purpose. OCA conducts independent and objective administrative investigations of suspected maltreatment of clients by caretakers in order to:
  • (A) protect clients from further maltreatment;
  • (B) deter and prevent maltreatment;
  • (C) provide relevant evidence in administrative and judicial proceedings;
  • (D) rule out unfounded allegations; and
  • (E) hold violators accountable.

(b) Confidentiality.  State and federal statutes and regulations, including but not limited to, Section 1-9-112(C) of Title 10A of the Oklahoma Statutes; Section 1-6-102 of Title  10A of the Oklahoma Statutes; Section 183 of Title 56 of the Oklahoma Statutes; Section 10-110 of Title 43A of the Oklahoma Statutes; and OAC 340:65-1-2, require confidentiality for many OKDHS records.  Information about clients is confidential and is protected from unauthorized use.  Only authorized individuals are given access to case records or provided information from those records.

• (1) OCA investigations involving children and youth.  Statutes and policies regarding the confidentiality of OCA files, records, and reports relating to investigations involving children and youth include, but are not limited to, the confidentiality provisions of the statutes and policies listed in (A) through (C) of this paragraph.
  • (A) Sections 2-6-102 through 106 of Title 10A of the Oklahoma Statutes apply to OCA investigations involving children and youth in OJA custody and in facilities that contract with OJA.
  • (B) Sections 1-2-106, 1-2-107, and 1-6-102 et seq., and 1-6-107, of Title 10A of the Oklahoma Statutes apply to investigations involving children, regardless of custody, residing outside their own homes.
  • (C) OAC 340:75-1-42 through 340:75-1-46 apply to OCA investigations involving children in OKDHS custody, including information regarding placement.
• (2) OCA investigations involving vulnerable adults.  Statutes and policies regarding the confidentiality of OCA files, records, and reports relating to investigations involving vulnerable adults, include but are not limited to (A) through (C) of this paragraph.
  • (A) When consulting persons knowledgeable of the circumstances of an alleged victim of abuse, neglect, or exploitation, or when making other contacts as part of the investigation or service planning process, OCA staff may disclose information necessary to ensure that the client is protected and the client's needs are met.  Information may be disclosed for this purpose without a court order to specific persons acting in an official capacity with regard to the investigation, including:
    • (i) a district attorney or employees of the district attorney's office;
    • (ii) the attorney representing an alleged victim in the matter under investigation;
    • (iii) staff of an Oklahoma law enforcement agency or a law enforcement agency of another state;
    • (iv) physical or mental health care professionals involved in the evaluation or treatment of the vulnerable adult;
    • (v) the guardian of the vulnerable adult, in the form of a summary of the allegations in the referral;
    • (vi) the provider for a vulnerable adult; and
    • (vii) other public or private agencies or persons authorized by OKDHS to diagnose, or provide care, treatment, supervision, or other services to a person who is the subject of an OCA investigation.
  • (B) District attorneys, their staff, the attorney representing the alleged victim, and law enforcement agencies may receive information from or review the entire case record.  All other disclosures are limited to summaries of information provided for a specific purpose.  Case information from OCA records is not released for research purposes without the prior approval of the advocate general.
  • (C) In other situations, OCA investigative information is considered confidential under Section 10-110(A) of Title 43A of the Oklahoma Statutes and may be disclosed only by court order.  Confidentiality applies to members of the news media as well as the general public.  News media representatives requesting information on a specific case are referred to the advocate general, the OCA programs administrator for investigations, or the OKDHS Office of Communications for a detailed explanation of OKDHS confidentiality rules.