OKDHS - OAC 340:75-3-2. Definitions

340:75-3-2. Definitions

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Revised 7-1-11

Legislative intent per Section 1-1-102 of Title 10A of the Oklahoma Statutes (10A O.S. § 1-1-102) states, "…it is the purpose of the laws relating to children alleged or found to be deprived to…intervene in the family only when necessary to protect a child from harm or threatened harm." The following words and terms, when used in Section 1-1-105 of Title 10A of the Oklahoma Statutes (10A O.S. § 1-1-105) or in this Subchapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Abandonment" means the:

(A) willful intent by words, actions, or omissions of the person responsible for the child (PRFC) not to return for a child; or
(B) failure to maintain a significant parental relationship with a child through visitation or communication such as incidental or token visits or communication are not considered significant; or
(C) failure to respond to notice of deprived proceedings. • 1

"Abuse" means harm or threatened harm or failure to protect from harm or threatened harm to a child's health, safety, or welfare by a person responsible for the child's health, safety, or welfare, including, nonaccidental physical or mental injury; or sexual abuse or sexual exploitation; however, nothing prohibits a parent from using ordinary force as a means of discipline including, but not limited to, spanking, switching, or paddling.

"Assessment" means a comprehensive review of child safety and evaluation of family functioning and protective capacities conducted in response to a child abuse or neglect referral that does not allege a serious and immediate safety threat to a child.

"Behavioral Health" means mental health, substance abuse, or co-occurring mental health and substance abuse diagnoses, and the continuum of mental health, substance abuse, or co-occurring mental heath and substance abuse treatment.

"Child" means any unmarried person younger than 18 years of age, including an infant born alive.

"Custodian" means an individual other than a parent, legal guardian, or Indian custodian, to whom legal custody of the child has been awarded by the court. As used in the Oklahoma Children's Code, the term "custodian" does not mean the Oklahoma Department of Human Services.

"Emergency custody" means court-ordered custody of a child prior to adjudication of the child.

"Failure to protect" means the PRFC:

(A) had knowledge or could have predicted that the child would be:
- (i) in imminent danger or a high risk situation; or
- (ii) with a person who has a history of abusive, neglectful, or violent behavior; and
(B) failed to show regard for the child's need for safety.

"Foster parent" means any person maintaining a therapeutic, emergency, specialized community home, tribal, kinship, or foster family home, who is responsible for providing care, supervision, guidance, rearing, and other foster care services to a child.

"Harm or threatened harm" means any real or threatened physical, mental, or emotional injury or damage to the body or mind of a child that is not accidental, including but not limited to:

(A) serious physical abuse;
(B) sexual abuse or exploitation;
(C) serious neglect;
(D) failure or omission to provide protection;
(E) abandonment; or
(F) dependency.

"Heinous and shocking abuse" means any aggravated physical abuse that results in serious bodily, mental, or emotional injury. Serious bodily injury means, but is not limited to, injury that involves:

(A) substantial risk of death;
(B) extreme physical pain;
(C) protracted disfigurement;
(D) loss or impairment of a function of a body member, organ, or mental faculty;
(E) an injury to an internal or external organ or the body;
(F) bone fractures;
(G) sexual abuse or sexual exploitation;
(H) chronic abuse including, but not limited to, physical, emotional, or sexual abuse, or sexual exploitation which is repeated or continuing;
(I) torture including, but not limited to, inflicting, participating in, or assisting in inflicting intense physical or emotional pain upon a child repeatedly over a period of time for the purpose of coercing or terrorizing a child, or for the purpose of satisfying the craven, cruel, or prurient desires of the perpetrator or another person; or
(J) any other similar aggravated circumstance. • 2

"Heinous and shocking neglect" means chronic neglect that includes, but is not limited to:

(A) a persistent pattern of family functioning in which the caregiver has not met or sustained the basic needs of a child that results in harm to the child;
(B) neglect that has resulted in a diagnosis of the child as a failure to thrive;
(C) an act or failure to act by a parent that results in:
- (i) serious physical or emotional harm;
- (ii) sexual abuse or sexual exploitation;
- (iii) death or near death of a child or sibling; or
(D) any other similar aggravating circumstance. • 2

"Infant" means a child 12 months of age or younger.

"Investigation" means a response to an allegation of abuse or neglect that involves a serious and immediate threat to the safety of the child making it necessary to determine:

(A) the current safety of the child and the risk of subsequent abuse or neglect; and
(B) whether child abuse or neglect occurred; and
(C) whether the family needs prevention and intervention related services.

"Near death" means a child who is in serious or critical condition as certified by a physician as a result of abuse or neglect. • 5

"Neglect" means a situation in which a PRFC either deliberately or through exceptional lack of attention to the child's basic needs causes the child to suffer emotionally or physically. Neglect involves either a chronic, long-standing problem that impacts several aspects of a child's life or is so severe that it is life-threatening. • 6

"Person responsible for the child's health, safety, or welfare (PRFC)" means:

(A) the child's parent, legal guardian, custodian, or foster parent;
(B) a person 18 years of age or older with whom the child's parent cohabitates or any other adult residing in the home of the child;
(C) an agent or employee of a public or private residential home, institution, facility, or day treatment program as defined in Section 175.20 of Title 10 of the Oklahoma Statutes; or
(D) an owner, operator, or employee of a child care facility, per 10 O.S. § 402. • 7

"Physical abuse" means an injury resulting from punching, beating, kicking, biting, burning, or otherwise harming a child. Even though the injury is not an accident, the PRFC may not have intended to hurt the child.

(A) The injury may result from:
- (i) extreme physical punishment that is inappropriate to the child's age or condition;
- (ii) a single episode or repeated episodes and range in severity from significant bruising to death; or
- (iii) any action that involves hitting with a closed fist, kicking, inflicting burns, shaking, or throwing the child, even when no injury is sustained but the action places the child at risk of grave physical danger.
(B) Minor injury on a child older than ten years of age is not considered physical abuse unless the actions that caused the injury placed the child in grave physical danger.

"Protective custody" means custody of a child taken by law enforcement or designated employee of the court, without a court order.

"Risk" means the likelihood that an incident of child abuse or neglect will occur in the future. • 8

"Risk factors" means family behaviors and conditions that suggest the caregivers are likely to maltreat their child in the future.

"Safety evaluation" means evaluation of a child's situation by OKDHS, using a structured, evidence-based tool to determine if the child is subject to safety threats.

"Safety threat" means the threat of serious harm due to child abuse or neglect occurring in the present or in the very near future and without the intervention of another person, a child would likely or in all probability sustain severe or permanent disability or injury, illness, or death.

"Sexual abuse" means any sexual activity, including sexual propositioning between the PRFC and child or any acts committed or permitted by the PRFC, and includes:

(A) rape;
(B) sodomy;
(C) incest; and
(D) lewd or indecent acts or proposals to a child. • 9

"Sexual exploitation" means allowing, permitting, or encouraging a child to engage in:

(A) prostitution, as defined by law, by a person responsible for the health, safety, or welfare of a child; or
(B) lewd, obscene, or pornographic, as defined by law, photographing, filming, or depicting of the child in those acts by a person responsible for the health, safety, and welfare of the child. • 9

INSTRUCTIONS TO STAFF 340:75-3-2

Revised 7-1-11

1. The following terms defined by Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Abandonment" is broadly defined in Section 1-1-105 of Title 10A of the Oklahoma Statutes (10A O.S. § 1-1-105) and OAC 340:75-3-2; however, subparagraphs B and C of the statute as they relate to a significant parental relationship and failure to respond to notice of deprived proceedings, do not necessarily apply when making safety decisions. For the purpose of accepting or screening out abandonment reports for assessment or investigation, a child is considered abandoned when a person responsible for the child (PRFC):

(A) leaves the child with no stated or implied plans to resume care or custody and the caregiver is unwilling or unable to provide appropriate care for the child;

(B) refuses to have the child in his or her care and custody and does not make appropriate arrangements for the child's care;

(C) arranges substitute care for the child; and

(i) fails to return for the child;

(ii) efforts to locate the PRFC fail and more than 24 hours pass; and

(iii) the caregiver is unwilling or unable to continue to provide appropriate care for the child.

"Accepting the report for assessment or investigation" means the screening process has been completed, the report meets the definition of abuse, neglect, or both, and is within the scope of Child Protective Services (CPS), and will be assigned.

"Administrative investigation" means an internal investigation initiated by the advocate general upon receipt of a notice of the death or near death of a child known to Child Welfare (CW).

"Advocate general" means the administrative head of OKDHS Office of Client Advocacy.

"CPS programs manager" means the administrative head of the CPS program for OKDHS Children and Family Services Division (CFSD).

"Domestic violence" means a pattern of assaultive and coercive behaviors that an adult uses against another adult including, but not limited to, sinister threats, physical injury requiring medical attention, and the presence of weapons. The child in the home where the domestic violence occurs is at risk of serious physical danger, neglect, or emotional harm.

"Educational neglect" means the child fails to attend school due to the PRFC's pattern of failure to ensure that the child is enrolled in, allowed to attend, assisted in attending school, or provided other means of education. Truancy or home schooling does not constitute educational neglect.

"Fabricated or induced illness" means a type of child abuse in which the PRFC fabricates or induces medical conditions in the child, formerly referred to as Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy.

"General counsel" means the administrative head of OKDHS Legal Division.

"Immediate protective action plan" means the action taken when an immediate, significant, and clearly observable family condition is presently occurring and is already endangering or threatening to endanger a child. Refer to OAC 340:75-3-10.1 Instructions to Staff (ITS) # 5.

"Impending danger" means the presence of a threatening family condition that is specific and observable, is out of control, is certain to happen in the next several days, and is likely to have a severe effect on a child. Refer to OAC 340:75-3-10.1 ITS # 6.

"Infant born alive" means an infant who is born alive at any stage of fetal development as certified by a physician.

"Medical neglect" means withholding medical treatment or prescription medication of any type that may result in significant harm to the child. Withholding medical treatment is medical neglect when the:

(1) medical treatment is, in the opinion of a physician, required to safeguard the child from serious medical risk;

(2) medical condition of the child is an emergency or a life-threatening condition, constituting such a serious risk to the child's health, safety, or welfare that a reasonable person would procure medical attention immediately and the PRFC does not do so; or

(3) needed medical treatment is withheld from an infant born alive at any stage of fetal development or is withheld from an infant born with disabilities if the infant's life-threatening condition will most likely improve or be corrected with medical treatment, per OAC 340:75-3-8.3.

"Mental injury - emotional abuse or neglect" means an injury to the child's intellectual or psychological capacity:

(1) as evidenced by observable and substantial impairment in the child's ability to function within the child's normal range of performance and behavior with regard to the child's culture; and

(2) resulting from a pattern of cruel or unconscionable acts upon the child, or statements made or permitted to be made to the child, or within the child's environment, by the PRFC. Refer to ITS # 3 of this Section.

"Minor injury" means a slight injury that results from inappropriate discipline to a child older than ten years of age and is located on the legs, shoulders, arms, or buttocks. Refer to ITS # 4 of this Section.

"Physical injury" means temporary or permanent damage or impairment to the child's body by the PRFC.

"Present danger" means an immediate, significant, and clearly observable family condition that is presently occurring and already endangering or threatening to endanger a child. Refer to OAC 340:75-3-10.1 ITS # 5.

"Prevention and intervention-related services" means a service referred or recommended to the family by OKDHS to change a behavior or condition that caused or resulted in a safety threat or a substantiated report of abuse or neglect.

"Protective capacity" means a skill or resource that can be mobilized to contribute to the ongoing protection of a child. Refer to ITS # 11 of this Section.

"Risk factors" means family behaviors and conditions that suggest the PRFC is likely to maltreat the child in the future. Refer to OAC 340:75-3-10.1 ITS # 1 for the six key questions related to risk factors addressed during the assessment of child safety.

"Safe" means an assessment of child safety has determined that a child is in an environment without any safety threats.

"Safety threshold" means the process that family behavior is evaluated or measured by to determine if impending danger exists.

(1) An evaluation or measurement of the safety threshold occurs when family conditions are:

(A) specific and observable;

(B) out of control;

(C) severe and imminent; and

(D) behaviors threaten the safety of a vulnerable child.

(2) The threshold is compromised when family behaviors, conditions, or situations manifest in such a way that they are beyond problems or risk influences and are threatening to child safety.

(3) The safety threshold encompasses only those family conditions that are out of the control of a parent, caregiver, or others within the family. This includes situations where the parent, caregiver, or others are able to control conditions, behaviors, or situations, but are unwilling or refuse to exert control.

"Serious abuse or neglect" means:

(1) abuse or neglect resulting in significant injury, such as burns, fractures, abusive head trauma, genital injuries, extensive deep bruising on multiple sites of the body, or internal injuries;

(2) abuse or neglect resulting in life-threatening consequences, such as failure-to-thrive conditions, lack of supervision resulting in significant injury or danger, extreme malnutrition or dehydration, medical neglect involving a life-threatening illness, or life-threatening conditions caused by the PRFC's impaired abilities resulting from substance abuse, mental illness, or other emotional condition; and

(3) sexual abuse or exploitation.

"Substance abuse" means the illegal or inappropriate use of any drug, or alcohol, that incapacitates or severely limits the PRFC in performing minimal basic care for the child and results in serious neglect of the child or creates the risk of grave physical danger or significant emotional consequences to the child. Refer to ITS # 10 of this Section.

"Third party perpetrator" means a perpetrator other than the PRFC.

"Truancy" means a child refuses to attend school despite efforts by the PRFC to encourage and assist in school attendance.

"Unsafe" means the child is in an environment with safety threats.

2. Heinous and shocking examples. Examples of heinous and shocking abuse or neglect include, but are not limited to, the:

(1) sexual penetration of an infant or toddler;

(2) use of a child in acts of sexual depravity, such as sexual penetration or exploitation among several unrelated adults or multiple family members, sexual involvement with animals, sado-masochistic sexual behavior, involvement in child pornography rings or prostitution, and sexual activity that results in repeated physical injury;

(3) repeated battering of a child resulting in a life-threatening injury;

(4) systematic torture of a child with no regard for the child's pain or need for medical attention;

(5) purposeful or systematic withholding of life sustaining food or water from a child;

(6) previous incident(s) of a confirmed child fatality or other serious abuse or neglect by the same PRFC or perpetrator and current abuse or neglect is serious; and

(7) deliberate and purposeful attempt to kill a child or previous incident(s) of a confirmed or substantiated death or near death or other serious abuse or neglect by the same PRFC or perpetrator and current abuse is serious.

3. Mental injury examples. Situations that may indicate mental injury when the situation is observable, substantial, and a pattern are:

(1) acts or repeated statements directed at the child that degrade or belittle the child;

(2) exposure to repeated violent or intimidating acts or statements that may or may not be directed at the child, but have a harmful effect on the child;

(3) threatening the child with extreme or vague but sinister punishment, setting unrealistic expectations, or stating unpredictable threats;

(4) ignoring or being psychologically unavailable to the child, ranging from a lack of sustained attention to a barrier of silence;

(5) the PRFC seldom responds to, stimulates, or shows affection toward an infant, and rarely, if ever, holds the infant during feeding;

(6) the PRFC shows unrealistic expectations by regularly scolding and yelling at the infant when the infant exhibits typical responses or needs, such as crying, needing to be fed, changed, or held;

(7) the PRFC shows little or no attachment to the child and fails to provide minimum levels of nurturing;

(8) the PRFC regularly ignores, rejects, or curses the child when the child requires assistance from the PRFC;

(9) the PRFC exploits the child by requiring the child to routinely carry out

extreme tasks that are significantly beyond the child's capabilities;

(10) the PRFC confuses the child's gender identity by forcing the child to dress in clothing inappropriate for the gender of the child in order to shame the child;

(11) the PRFC exposes the child to maladaptive and harmful influences by engaging in serious criminal activity with the full awareness of the child, or by allowing or encouraging the child to engage in illegal acts. The CW worker considers the child's age and maturity level;

(12) the PRFC consistently uses excessive threats and psychological punishments;

(13) the PRFC consistently refuses to permit any professional to assess the child's serious emotional or behavioral problems. This may also be considered medical neglect;

(14) fabricated or induced illness formerly known as Munchausen syndrome by proxy. This condition may also be considered abuse or medical neglect; and

(15) chronic or highly volatile domestic violence that the child witnesses.

4. Minor injury examples. Examples of minor injury include, but are not limited to:

(1) fingertip bruising to the child's arm; and

(2) belt, slap marks, or bruises on the child's buttocks or legs that are not extensive, deep, or located on multiple sites.

5. Near death condition. A near death condition is a condition certified by a physician that a child is in either serious or critical condition as a result of child abuse or neglect.

6. Neglect conditions.

(1) Children three years of age and younger are most vulnerable to life-threatening and significant developmental consequences from neglect.

(2) Poverty, alone, does not constitute neglect, unless the PRFC does not access known and readily available resources to prevent serious emotional or physical harm to the child.

(3) Poor parenting practices that do not result in emotional or physical suffering are not considered neglect.

(4) Neglect of a child may include, but is not limited to:

(A) dangerously inadequate supervision;

(B) extremely hazardous living conditions;

(C) malnutrition;

(D) non-organic failure-to-thrive as certified by a physician;

(E) failure to obtain or provide critically essential medical, dental, or behavioral health care;

(F) mental injury;

(G) seriously inadequate physical care; or

(H) exposure to sexual acts or age inappropriate material.

7. PRFC.

(1) PRFC includes the child's custodial or non-custodial parent and any other person over age 18 residing in the home with the child.

(2) If a facility or home is not licensed but meets the definition of a child care facility, the owner, operator, or employee meets the definition of a PRFC.

(3) A foster parent maintaining a therapeutic, emergency, specialized community, tribal, kinship, or foster family home, who is responsible for providing care, supervision, guidance, rearing, and other foster care services to a child meets the definition of a PRFC.

8. Risk. Risk is the likelihood for parenting behavior to occur by the PRFC that is harmful and destructive to a child's cognitive, social, emotional, or physical development, and when the PRFC is unwilling or unable to behave appropriately.

9. Sexual behaviors that indicate sexual abuse or exploitation. Sexual behaviors that may indicate possible sexual abuse or exploitation include the child's:

(1) extreme preoccupation with masturbation;

(2) sexual interaction with peers that is not within normal developmental limits;

(3) sexual aggression toward younger or more naive children;

(4) sexual accosting of older children or adults;

(5) seductive behavior in younger children; and

(6) demonstration of sexual behavior, knowledge, or statements about sexual activity that indicate the child may have been exposed to adult sexuality or actual sexual molestation. Sexual knowledge beyond what would be expected for a child's normal developmental stage may signal, in young children, possible sexual abuse, repeated exposure to adult sexuality, exposure to sexually explicit materials, or pornography.

10. Substance abuse and newborns. If substance abuse by the PRFC results in an infant born drug exposed, the home of the PRFC is carefully evaluated to determine whether the infant can receive the proper nurturing, nutrition, and attention to hygiene necessary for the infant to thrive.

11. Protective capacities. A protective capacity is demonstrated through the way a PRFC thinks, feels, and acts that makes him or her protective toward a child. Diminished protective capacity is the reason CPS becomes involved with a family. Enhanced PRFC protective capacity is a reason CPS no longer needs to be involved with a family.

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