(a) Legal base.

• (1) The Oklahoma Adoption Code, Chapter 75, Section 7501-1.1 et seq. of Title 10 of the Oklahoma Statutes, sets forth the provisions for the adoption of children and the legal actions necessary for adoptions.  Adoption services are provided to birth parents, children, and adoptive families to establish and maintain suitable, stable, permanent homes for children that maximally meet the child's developmental needs.
• (2) Sections 7510-1.1 through 7510-3.3 and Public Law 96-272 require that the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) administer an adoption assistance program to assist with the adoptive placement and maintenance of children with special needs in adoptive homes.
• (3) Section 7508-1.2 requires OKDHS to establish and administer a Mutual Consent Voluntary Registry whereby an eligible person who was separated from birth family members through adoption or termination of parental rights may indicate a willingness to have his or her identity and whereabouts disclosed to birth family members.
• (4) Section 7508-1.3 requires OKDHS to establish and administer a Confidential Intermediary Search program whereby the services of a confidential intermediary who has been certified through OKDHS may be used by eligible persons to locate an eligible adult biological relative(s) with whom contact has been lost through adoption or termination of parental rights proceedings.
• (5) Sections 7506-1.1 through 7506-1.2 require OKDHS to establish and administer a Centralized Paternity Registry (CPR) in order to protect the parental rights of a alleged or presumed father who may wish to affirmatively assume responsibility for a child(ren) he may have fathered.  CPR also expedites adoptions of children whose biological fathers are unwilling to assume responsibility for their children by registering with the registry or otherwise acknowledging their children.
• (6) The Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) [Public Law 105-89] mandates that OKDHS place legally free children in adoptive homes when that is the case plan goal, provide for the interjurisdictional placement of children, and provide post adoption services as a component of the family preservation services.
• (7) The Multiethnic Placement Act of 1994 (MEPA) as amended by the Interethnic Adoption Provisions of 1996 (IEP), is designed to eliminate discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin of the child or the prospective foster or adoptive parent(s); to decrease the length of time that children wait to be adopted; and to facilitate the identification, recruitment, and retention of foster and adoptive parents who can meet the distinctive needs of children awaiting placement.  MEPA/IEP prohibits states or agencies that receive federal funds from delaying or denying the placement of any child on the basis of the race, color, or national origin of the child or the prospective foster or adoptive parent(s).
  • (A) Placement considerations.  Any decision to consider the use of race as a necessary element of a placement decision must be based on concerns arising out of the circumstances of the individual case and based on the best interests of the child.  Only the most compelling reasons may serve to justify consideration of race and ethnicity as part of a placement decision.  Such reasons are likely to emerge only in unique and individual circumstances.  Accordingly, occasions where race or ethnicity lawfully may be considered in a placement decision are very rare.  Children who meet the definition of an Indian child in accordance with the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) [25 U.S.C. Section 1903(4)] are placed according to the placement preferences found in ICWA.  MEPA/IEP does not prohibit a preference for placing a child with relatives.
  • (B) Recruitment efforts.  As part of MEPA/IEP, efforts to recruit Bridge resource families must reflect the ethnic and cultural diversity of children in Oklahoma who need foster and adoptive homes.  A comprehensive recruitment plan is developed and updated annually by the area adoption supervisor.

(b) Scope.  Each child with a case plan goal of adoption is referred for adoption services, which includes identification of an appropriate adoptive home, preparation of the child for adoptive placement, and supportive services to the child and adoptive family.  OKDHS also provides services designed to recruit and develop adoptive homes.  Due to the life experiences and backgrounds of the children available for adoption through OKDHS, services in all components of adoption are child focused.