1. A. The Commission for Human Services shall establish and maintain a fair, simple and expeditious system for resolution of grievances of all children in the custody of the Department of Human Services regarding the substance or application of any written or unwritten policy or rule of the Department or of an agent of the Department or any decision or action by an employee or an agent of the Department, or of any child in the custody of the Department.

2. B. The Commission is authorized and directed to establish the Office of Client Advocacy within the Department and to employ such personnel as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of subsection A of this section and the duties listed in this subsection. Such personnel may be dismissed only for cause.

   1. 1. The chief administrative officer of the Office of Client Advocacy shall be the Advocate General, who shall be an attorney selected from a list of three names submitted by the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth. The Advocate General shall be a member of the Oklahoma Bar Association and shall have a minimum of three (3) years' experience as an attorney. The compensation of the Advocate General shall be no less than that of the classification of Attorney III as established in the Merit System of Personnel Administration classification and compensation plan, but shall be an unclassified position.

   2. 2. The duties and responsibilities of the Advocate General are as follows:

      1. a. supervise personnel assigned to the Office of Client Advocacy,
      2. b. monitor and review grievance procedures and hearings,
      3. c. investigate unresolved grievances of children in the custody of the Department, and staff grievances on behalf of any such child,
      4. d. investigate grievances of foster parents related to the provision of foster care services pursuant to this section and Section 7204.1 of this title,
      5. e. investigate allegations of abuse or neglect of children, regardless of custody, residing outside their own homes other than children in foster care,
      6. f. investigate allegations of abuse or neglect of any child in a day treatment program as defined in Section 175.20 of this title, and submit a report of the results of the investigation to the appropriate district attorney and to the State Department of Health,
      7. g. coordinate any hearings or meetings of Departmental administrative review committees conducted as a result of unresolved grievances or as a result of investigations,
      8. h. make recommendations to the Director, and provide regular or special reports regarding grievance procedures, hearings and investigations to the Director, the Commission, the Office of Juvenile System Oversight and other appropriate persons as necessary,
      9. i. forward to the Office of Juvenile Systems Oversight, for the information of the Director of that office, a copy of the final report of any grievance which is not resolved in the favor of the complainant,
      10. j. perform such other duties as required by the Director of the Department or the Commission, and
      11. k. develop policies and procedures as necessary to implement the duties and responsibilities assigned to the Office of Client Advocacy.
3. C. The Department shall promptly report to the appropriate district attorney any act or omission committed by an agent or employee of a public or private residential home, institution, facility or day treatment program as defined in Section 175.20 of this title, or allowed to be perpetrated or committed by any such person, upon a child receiving services in a day treatment program or residing outside the child’s own home, other than a child in foster care, when such act or omission, upon conviction, would constitute a criminal offense. Copies of all such reports shall be forwarded to the Attorney General.

4. D.

   1. 1. The Office of Client Advocacy shall investigate any complaint alleging an employee of the Department or of a child-placing agency has threatened a foster parent with removal of a child from the foster parent, harassed a foster parent, or refused to place a child in a licensed or certified foster home, or disrupted a child placement as retaliation or discrimination towards a foster parent who has:

      1. a. filed a grievance pursuant to Section 7213 of this title,
      2. b. provided information to any state official or Department employee, or
      3. c. testified, assisted, or otherwise participated in an investigation, proceeding or hearing against the Department or child-placing agency.
   2. 2. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to any complaint by a foster parent regarding the result of a criminal, administrative or civil proceeding for a violation of any law, rule or contract provision by that foster parent, or the action taken by the Department or a child-placement agency in conformity with the result of any such proceeding.
   3. 3. The Office of Client Advocacy shall at all times be granted access to any foster home or any child-placing agency which is certified, authorized or funded by the Department.

Laws 1982, HB 1468, c. 312, § 36, emerg. eff. July 1, 1982; Amended by Laws 1995, HB 1978, c. 352, § 55, emerg. eff. July 1, 1995; Renumbered from 10 O.S. § 1403.3 by Laws 1995, HB 1978, c. 352, § 199, emerg. eff. July 1, 1995; Amended by Laws 1995, HB 1602, c. 231, § 2 (repealed by Laws 1996, HB 2428, c. 3, § 25, emerg. eff. March 6, 1996); Amended by Laws 1996, HB 2428, c. 3, § 3, emerg. eff. March 6, 1996; Amended by Laws 1997, HB 1882, c. 389, § 7, eff. November 1, 1997 (superseded document available); Amended by Laws 2000, HB 2452, c. 374, § 25, emerg. eff. July 1, 2000 (superseded document available); Amended by Laws 2001, HB 1298, c. 415, § 4, emerg. eff. June 5, 2001 (superseded document available).