1. A. The Board of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services is authorized and directed to establish the Office of Consumer Advocacy within the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services and to employ such personnel as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of Section 2-108 of this title.

   1. 1. The chief administrative officer of the Office of Consumer Advocacy shall be the Advocate General, who shall be an attorney admitted to practice in the State of Oklahoma with a minimum of three (3) years experience. The Advocate General shall report to the Board and be supervised by the Board, and may be dismissed only for cause.

   2. 2. The Advocate General shall have the following powers and duties:

      1. a. to serve as an advocate, but not as an attorney, for individuals receiving services from facilities operated by, subject to certification by or under contract with the Department, and, if an individual needs legal counsel, advise the individual of the right to seek counsel and refer the individual to counsel, if necessary,
      2. b. to supervise personnel assigned to the Office of Consumer Advocacy,
      3. c. to monitor and review grievance procedures in facilities operated by, subject to certification by or under contract with the Department,
      4. d. to investigate unresolved grievances and allegation of abuse, neglect and improper treatment of individuals receiving services from facilities operated by, subject to certification by or under contract with the Department,
      5. e. to access facilities operated by, subject to certification by or under contract with the Department and the records of such facilities. Reasonable access shall be granted for the purposes of conducting investigations of abuse, neglect and improper treatment, and performing other activities as necessary to monitor care and treatment provided by such facilities,
      6. f. to access the records of individuals receiving services from facilities operated by, subject to certification by or under contract with the Department. Records that are confidential under state and federal law shall be maintained as confidential and not be redisclosed by the Advocate General,
      7. g. to submit a report of the results of investigations of abuse to the appropriate district attorney and, if the individual is a juvenile in the custody of a state agency, submit a report to that state agency,
      8. h. to make recommendations to the Commissioner of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services and provide regular or special reports regarding investigations and unresolved grievances to the Commissioner and the Board, and
      9. i. to perform such other duties as assigned by the Board.
2. B. The Advocate General and the staff of the Office of Consumer Advocacy shall not act as attorneys on behalf of individuals receiving services from facilities operated by, subject to certification by or under contract with the Department, except that they shall have the authority to file habeas corpus actions on behalf of such individuals and appear on their behalf in civil commitment and criminal post-commitment proceedings, and also appear on behalf of Department consumers in proceedings for writs of mandamus.

3. C. Except as otherwise specifically provided in this section and as otherwise provided by state or federal laws, the information, records, materials and reports related to investigations by the Office of Consumer Advocacy are confidential and contain privileged information. Accordingly, such records, materials and reports shall not be open to public inspection nor their contents disclosed, nor shall a subpoena or subpoena duces tecum purporting to compel disclosure of such information be valid.

   1. 1. An order of the court authorizing the inspection, release or disclosure of information, records, materials and reports related to investigations by the Office of Consumer Advocacy shall be entered by a court only after a review of the records and a determination, with due regard for the confidentiality of the information and records and the privilege of the persons identified in the records, that a compelling reason exists, any applicable privilege has been waived and such inspection, release or disclosure is necessary for the protection of a legitimate public or private interest.
   2. 2. This section shall not be construed as prohibiting the Department or the Office of Consumer Advocacy from summarizing the outcome of an investigation, stating the allegation and finding. The summary may be provided to the person suspected of abuse, neglect or improper treatment, the person subject to alleged abuse, neglect or improper treatment, the person who reported an allegation, and the administrator of a facility certified by or under contract with the Department at which the alleged abuse, neglect or improper treatment occurred.

Added by Laws 2002, SB 1624, c. 488, § 8, eff. November 1, 2002; Amended by Laws 2004, SB 1578, c. 113, § 6, eff. November 1, 2004 (superseded document available).