Oklahoma § 10-1150.2 - Child Death Review Board - Creation - Powers and duties

§ 10-1150.2. Child Death Review Board - Creation - Powers and duties

- Meetings and discussions - Annual report.

A. There is hereby re-created until July 1, 2026, in accordance

with the Oklahoma Sunset Law, the Child Death Review Board within

the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth. The Board shall have

the power and duty to:

1. Conduct case reviews of deaths and near deaths of children

in this state;

2. Develop accurate statistical information and identification

of deaths of children due to abuse and neglect;

3. Improve the ability to provide protective services to the

surviving siblings of a child or children who die of abuse or

neglect and who may be living in a dangerous environment;

4. Improve policies, procedures and practices within the

agencies that serve children including the child protection system;

5. Enter into agreements with regional teams established by the

Board to carry out such duties and responsibilities as the Board

shall designate including assigned cases in the geographical area

for that regional team. The Commission, with the advice of the

Board, shall promulgate rules necessary for the implementation of

the provisions of this paragraph; and

6. Enter into agreements with other state, local, or private

entities as necessary to carry out the duties of the Board

including, but not limited to, conducting joint reviews with the

Domestic Violence Fatality Review Board on domestic violence cases

involving child death or child near-death incidents.

B. In carrying out its duties and responsibilities the Board

shall:

1. Establish criteria for cases involving the death or near

death of a child subject to specific, in-depth review by the Board.

As used in this section, the term "near death" means a child is in

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 10. Children

serious or critical condition, as certified by a physician, as a

result of abuse or neglect;

2. Conduct a specific case review of those cases where the

cause of death or near death is or may be related to abuse or

neglect of a child;

3. Establish and maintain statistical information related to

the deaths and near deaths of children including, but not limited

to, demographic and medical diagnostic information;

4. Establish procedures for obtaining initial information

regarding near deaths of children from the Department of Human

Services and law enforcement agencies;

5. Review the policies and procedures of the child protection

system and make specific recommendations to the entities comprising

the system as to actions necessary for improvement;

6. Review the extent to which the state child protection system

is coordinated with foster care and adoption programs and evaluate

whether the state is efficiently discharging its child protection

responsibilities under the federal Child Abuse Prevention and

Treatment Act State Plan;

7. As necessary and appropriate, for the protection of the

siblings of a child who dies and whose siblings are deemed to be

living in a dangerous environment, refer specific cases to the

Department of Human Services or the appropriate district attorney

for further investigation;

8. Request and obtain a copy of all records and reports

pertaining to a child whose case is under review including, but not

limited to:

a.

the report of the medical examiner,

b.

hospital records,

c.

school records,

d.

court records,

e.

prosecutorial records,

f.

local, state, and federal law enforcement records

including, but not limited to, the Oklahoma State

Bureau of Investigation (OSBI),

g.

fire department records,

h.

State Department of Health records including birth

certificate records,

i.

medical and dental records,

j.

Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse

Services and other mental health records,

k.

emergency medical service records,

l.

files of the Department of Human Services, and

m.

records in the possession of the Domestic Violence

Fatality Review Board when conducting a joint review

pursuant to paragraph 6 of subsection A of this

section.

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 10. Children

Confidential information provided to the Board shall be

maintained in a confidential manner as required by state and federal

law. Any person damaged by disclosure of such information by the

Board, its regional teams or their members, not authorized by law,

may maintain an action for damages, costs and attorney fees;

9. Maintain all confidential information, documents and records

in possession of the Board as confidential and not subject to

subpoena or discovery in any civil or criminal proceedings;

provided, however, information, documents and records otherwise

available from other sources shall not be exempt from subpoena or

discovery through those sources solely because such information,

documents and records were presented to or reviewed by the Board;

10. Conduct reviews of specific cases of deaths and near deaths

of children and request the preparation of additional information

and reports as determined to be necessary by the Board including,

but not limited to, clinical summaries from treating physicians,

chronologies of contact, and second-opinion autopsies;

11. Report, if recommended by a majority vote of the Board, to

the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House

of Representatives any gross neglect of duty by any state officer or

state employee, or any problem within the child protective services

system discovered by the Board while performing its duties;

12. Recommend, when appropriate, amendment of the cause or

manner of death listed on the death certificate; and

13. Subject to the approval of the Commission, exercise all

incidental powers necessary and proper for the implementation and

administration of the Child Death Review Board Act.

C. The review and discussion of individual cases of death or

near death of a child shall be conducted in executive session and in

compliance with the confidentiality requirements of Section 1-6-102

of Title 10A of the Oklahoma Statutes. All other business shall be

conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Oklahoma Open

Meeting Act. All discussions of individual cases and any writings

produced by or created for the Board and recommended by the Board,

as the result of a review of an individual case of the death or near

death of a child, shall be privileged and shall not be admissible in

evidence in any proceeding. The Board shall periodically conduct

meetings to discuss organization and business matters and any

actions or recommendations aimed at improvement of the child

protection system which shall be subject to the Oklahoma Open

Meeting Act. Part of any meeting of the Board may be specifically

designated as a business meeting of the Board subject to the

Oklahoma Open Meeting Act.

D. 1. The Board shall submit an annual statistical report on

the incidence and causes of death and near death of children in this

state for which the Board has completed its review during the past

calendar year, including its recommendations, to the Oklahoma

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 10. Children

Commission on Children and Youth on or before May 1 of each year.

The Board shall also prepare and make available to the public, on an

annual basis, a report containing a summary of the activities of the

Board relating to the review of deaths and near deaths of children,

the extent to which the state child protection system is coordinated

with foster care and adoption programs, and an evaluation of whether

the state is efficiently discharging its child protection

responsibilities. The report shall be completed no later than

December 31 of each year.

2. The Commission shall review the report of the Board and, as

appropriate, incorporate the findings and recommendations into the

State Plan for Services to Children and Youth.

Added by Laws 1991, c. 192, § 3, eff. Sept. 1, 1991. Amended by

Laws 1993, c. 195, § 1, eff. July 1, 1993; Laws 1994, c. 31, § 1;

Laws 1995, c. 223, § 1, emerg. eff. May 23, 1995; Laws 1998, c. 416,

§ 3, eff. Nov. 1, 1998; Laws 2000, c. 27, § 1; Laws 2004, c. 421, §

6, emerg. eff. June 4, 2004; Laws 2006, c. 42, § 1; Laws 2008, c.

324, § 1, eff. July 1, 2008; Laws 2012, c. 69, § 1; Laws 2014, c.

63, § 1; Laws 2020, c. 116, § 13, eff. July 1, 2020; Laws 2023, c.

60, § 1; Laws 2024, c. 347, § 10, emerg. eff. May 28, 2024.

NOTE: Laws 1998, c. 364, § 7 repealed by Laws 1999, c. 1, § 45,

emerg. eff. Feb. 24, 1999.

§10-1150.2a. Production of documents - Subpoena.

A. In any investigation relating to the functions of the Child

Death Review Board pursuant to Section 1150.2 of Title 10 of the

Oklahoma Statutes, the Director of the Oklahoma Commission on

Children and Youth, if recommended and approved by the Child Death

Review Board and the legal counsel for the Governor, may require the

production of, by subpoena, any records, including books, papers,

documents, and other tangible things which constitute or contain

evidence which the Board finds relevant or material to the

investigation, if the Board has been unable to obtain the necessary

information by requesting it. The production of records may be

required from any place in the state to be forwarded to the Child

Death Review Board. Reasonable copying fees shall be paid upon

request.

B. Compliance with the subpoena may be accomplished by:

1. Producing documents, as requested; or

2. Notifying the Board, in writing, of refusal to produce

documents, within ten (10) days of the date of service.

The subpoena form shall clearly set forth the optional means of

compliance including instructions for sending written notice of

refusal.

C. A subpoena issued pursuant to this section may be served by

any person designated in the subpoena to serve it. Service upon a

natural person may be made by personal delivery of the subpoena to

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 10. Children

the person. Service may be made upon a domestic or foreign

corporation or upon a partnership or other unincorporated

association which is subject to suit under a common name, by

delivering the subpoena to an officer, to a managing or general

agent, or to any other agent authorized by appointment or by law to

receive service of process. The affidavit of the person serving the

subpoena entered on a true copy thereof by the person serving it

shall be proof of service.

D. In the case of refusal to obey a subpoena issued to any

person, the Director of the Oklahoma Commission on Children and

Youth may invoke the aid of any district court of the state within

the jurisdiction of which the investigation is carried on or of

which the subpoenaed person is an inhabitant, or in which such

person conducts business or may be found, to compel compliance with

the subpoena. The court may issue an order requiring the subpoenaed

person to appear before the Director to produce records, if so

ordered. Any failure to obey the order of the court may be punished

by the court as an indirect contempt thereof. All process in any

such case may be served in any judicial district in which such

person may be found.

E. The district court of the county wherein the subpoena is

served may quash a subpoena issued pursuant to this section upon a

motion to quash the subpoena filed with the court by the party to

whom the subpoena is issued.

Added by Laws 1998, c. 416, § 4, eff. Nov. 1, 1998.