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340:75-3-2. Definitions

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Revised 6-1-07

The following words and terms, when used in this Subchapter, shall have the following meaning, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Abandonment" means the person responsible for the child (PRFC):

(A) deserted the child, which includes abandonment of an infant, per Title 10 of the Oklahoma Statutes (10 O.S.); or
(B) through incapacitating behavior or absence, is severely limited or prevented from providing minimal care for the child; and
(C) has no ability or plans to resume care for the child.

"Abuse " means harm or threatened harm to a child's health, safety, or welfare by a person responsible for the child's health, safety, or welfare, per 10 O.S. Section (§) 7102.

"Accepting the report for investigation or assessment" means the screening process has been completed, the report meets the definition of abuse, neglect, or both, 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 Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) Office of Client Advocacy.

"Assessment" means a systematic process used by OKDHS to respond to reports of alleged child abuse or neglect that, according to guidelines established by OKDHS, do not constitute a serious and immediate threat to the child's health or safety.

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

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

(A) convicted of a crime per 10 O.S. § 7306-1.1; or
(B) certified as an adult per 10 O.S. § 7303-4.3 and convicted of a felony.

"Child's parent" means either custodial or noncustodial parent.

"Custodian" means a person acting in the role of the parent with or without a legal order. A custodian is a person who provides for the child's health and welfare on an ongoing basis by performing such functions as enrolling the child in school, securing needed medical attention, and providing a home for the child.

"Domestic violence" means a pattern of assaultive and coercive behaviors that an adult uses against another adult when a child is present.

(A) The assaultive and coercive behaviors include, but are not limited to, sinister threats, physical injury requiring medical attention, and the presence of weapons.
(B) The child in the home is at risk of grave physical danger, significant neglect, or significant emotional consequences.

"Educational neglect" means that 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, or assisted in attending school, or provided other means of education.

(A) Per 70 O.S. § 10-105 et seq., the school district must exhaust all available means to compel attendance prior to a CPS investigation of educational neglect.
(B) Truancy or home schooling does not constitute educational neglect.

"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 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 Developmental Disabilities Services Division (DDSD), 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.

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

"Harm or threatened harm" means that the child's health or safety is at substantial risk as a result of the PRFC's actions, intention to act, omissions, or conditions that may result or have resulted in, per 10 O.S. § 7102:

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

"Heinous and shocking" means abuse or neglect that is extreme, cruel, and results in severe emotional consequences, physical disfigurement, maiming, or death. • 1

"Infant" means a child 24 months of age or younger.

"Infant born alive" means an infant who is born alive at any stage of development.

"Initiating a CPS investigation or assessment" means a good faith attempt to make face-to-face contact with all alleged child victims.

"Investigation" means an approach used by OKDHS to respond to reports of alleged child abuse or neglect that, according to guidelines established by OKDHS, constitute a serious and immediate threat to the child's health or safety.

"Medical neglect" means withholding medical treatment or prescription of any type that may significantly harm the child. Withholding medical treatment is medical neglect when the:

(A) medical treatment is, in the opinion of a physician, required to safeguard the child from serious medical risk;
(B) 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
(C) needed medical treatment is withheld from an infant born alive at any stage of 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:

(A) 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
(B) 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. • 2

"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. • 3

"Munchausen syndrome by proxy" means a type of child abuse in which the PRFC fabricates medical conditions in the child.

"Near death" means a child who is in serious or critical condition as certified by a physician. • 4

"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. • 5

"Owner, operator, employee of the child care facility or home" means a facility or home that is licensed per 10 O.S. § 402. 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.

"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, or facility; or
(D) an owner, operator, or employee of a child care facility, per 10 O.S. § 402.

"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.

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

"Protective custody" means a child taken into custody by a peace officer or employee of the court, without a court order when the child's surroundings endanger the child, per 10 O.S. § 7003-2.1.

"Risk assessment" means determining the level of potential danger to a child and the extent to which the child's safety is jeopardized. • 6

"Risk factors" means the circumstances that affect the child's safety. • 7

"Safety" means freedom from serious danger due to abuse or neglect in the near or foreseeable future. The CW worker considers the risk factors within the child's home and family. • 8

"Serious abuse or neglect" means:

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

"Sexual abuse" means any sexual activity, including sexual propositioning between the PRFC and child or any acts committed or permitted by the PRFC, for the purpose of sexually stimulating the child, PRFC, or others, and includes:

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

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

(A) sexual acts with others;
(B) prostitution;
(C) obscene photographing, filming, or depicting of the child; and
(D) deliberate exposure to adult sexuality, such as allowing a child to observe pornography or adult sex acts. • 9

"Substance abuse" means the illegal or inappropriate use of any drug, including 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. • 10

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

"Truancy" means a child elects not or refuses to attend school despite efforts by the PRFC to encourage and assist in school attendance.

INSTRUCTIONS TO STAFF 340:75-3-2

Revised 6-1-08

1.   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 that results 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 person responsible for the child (PRFC) or perpetrator and current abuse or neglect is serious; and

(7) deliberate and purposeful attempt to kill a child.

2.  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, or 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 that is 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 gives consideration to 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) Munchausen syndrome by proxy. Munchausen syndrome by proxy may also be considered abuse or medical neglect, depending upon the manifestation of the syndrome; and

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

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

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

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

4.   Near death condition. Certification by a physician means that a child has been admitted to a hospital in either serious or critical condition.

5.   Neglect conditions. Factors considered in regard to neglect are listed in (1) through (4).

(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) failure-to-thrive;

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

(F) mental injury; or

(G) seriously inadequate physical care.

6.   Assessing risk. Key points for assessing risk occur:

(1) when screening referrals;

(2) when determining what information to gather in an investigation or assessment;

(3) when determining whether to remove a child from his or her home;

(4) prior to the development of safety plans;

(5) prior to the placement of a child in the home of a relative;

(6) prior to decision-making about court intervention;

(7) prior to deciding whether prevention services are appropriate;

(8) prior to the development of visitation plans; and

(9) when making plans for treatment and reunification.

7.   Risk factors. Key risk factors are the:

(1) age of the child. Infants and toddlers are at highest risk of life‑threatening consequences of abuse or neglect;

(2) physical and mental abilities of the child. A child with physical or mental special needs is at greater risk;

(3) level of cooperation by the PRFC;

(4) physical, mental, and emotional abilities of the PRFC;

(5) behavior of the perpetrator;

(6) access of the perpetrator to the child;

(7) location of any injury;

(8) extent, including the length of time of the abuse or neglect, and severity of injury;

(9) history of abuse or neglect of the alleged child victim or siblings;

(10) physical condition of the home;

(11) available support system for the family;

(12) stress level in the home as evidenced by such things as financial or relationship difficulties; and

(13) history of abuse or neglect in the family or childhood background of the PRFC.

8.  Safety assessment. The factors addressed on Form 04KI023E, Safety Assessment, are considered in determining whether protective custody is required to protect a child, per OAC 340:75-3-10.1.

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 or 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.

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