Juvenile Law and Child Welfare
The Oklahoma Children’s Code
The Oklahoma Children’s Code provides the statutory framework for cases in when a child is removed from the home of their parents or legal custodian by Oklahoma Human Services (formerly “OKDHS”). Oklahoma Human Services is divided primarily into two divisions: Child Protective Services which investigates allegations of child abuse and neglect and Permanency which follows cases through the court process after a removal occurs – known as deprived proceedings.
A “deprived child” is any child of the following statutory categories:
- Destitute, homeless, or abandoned;
- Lacks proper parental care or guardianship;
- Abused, neglected, or dependent; or,
- Has an unfit home.
Greg Lavender has substantial knowledge of child welfare in Oklahoma having been involved in hundreds of child welfare cases including pre-removal investigations and deprived cases from inception through reunification or the unfortunate termination of parental rights.
Stages of an Oklahoma Deprived Case
Emergency Custody Hearing/Show Cause
Oklahoma law requires a hearing within two (2) judicial days of a child being removed from the custody of their parent or guardian. The purpose of that hearing is to determine whether or not there is a reasonable suspicion that the child is in need of immediate protection due to abuse or neglect or in circumstances or surroundings such that continuation of the child in the child’s home or in the care or custody of the parent or guardian would represent an imminent danger to child.
Reasonable suspicion is one of the lowest legal burdens and the emergency custody hearing is not subject to traditional rules of evidence based on a policy to ensure vulnerable children can be protected when there is an immediate concern for the child’s safety and wellbeing. However, parents are not without rights at this stage and the hearing is designed to help ensure that Oklahoma Human Services and the State of Oklahoma have not acted arbitrarily in separating a child from their family.
Greg Lavender has conducted numerous emergency custody hearings and has won hearings or negotiated the agreed release of children from state’s custody in situations where the State acted unjustly to deprive parents of their custodial rights or where alternative arrangements could be made to allow parents continued custody while also protecting the child.
Adjudication
If a child cannot be returned to a parent at or shortly after an emergency custody hearing, the State of Oklahoma will file a Petition alleging the facts and circumstances they believe constitute a safety risk and requesting that the Court find the child deprived. Parents have an absolute right to be served with Petition and to either consent to continued custody or to request a non-jury trial before their assigned judge.
When a trial is requested, the State is obligated to show by a preponderance of evidence (sometimes described more simply as “more likely than not”) that factual circumstances and conditions exist that constitute a specific and articulable risk to the child’s safety including but not limited to substance abuse by the parents, exposure to domestic violence, or physical or sexual abuse. Unlike the emergency custody hearing, all of the rules of evidence apply at an adjudication trial and certain additional protection apply when the child is an Indian child as defined by the Indian Child Welfare Act (please refer to the Indian/Tribal Law section of our website for more information).
If the Court finds that the Petition is not supported by the evidence presented, it shall order the case dismissed and the child returned to the parent or guardian. Otherwise, the child will be made a ward of the Court and hold a dispositional hearing within forty (40) calendar days.
Disposition
Whenever a child is adjudicated to be deprived, a dispositional hearing should be held the same day or within forty (40) days unless there is good cause to delay. At this hearing, the Court will set an initial permanency plan which is typically to return the child to his or her parents and impose a service plan that is designed to help assist the parents in correcting the conditions that caused their child to be removed. In rare instances when permitted by law, the initial permanency plan might be adoption or guardianship of the child.
Permanency Hearings
Following a disposition, the Court is obligated to conduct a comprehensive review of the case at least once every six (6) months. The Court will receive written and oral reports at each of these hearings related to how the child is doing, the progress of the parents on their individualized service plan, the bond of the parent and child, and on any other matter affecting the child’s wellbeing. The Court is empowered at these hearings with determining if the current permanency plan remains appropriate or if the plan should be changed. It is important that parents continue to have an effective and competent attorney at all permanency hearings to advocate for them and the permanency plan they desire.
Trial Reunification
At any time during the course of a deprived case, the Court may order trial reunification in which the child remains in the legal custody of the Department of Human Services but physical custody is returned to the parent. This is an important and positive step in deprived proceedings as it signifies that the parent has made substantial progress in correcting the conditions that caused their child to be removed. Trial reunification typically lasts between 3-6 months but can extend up to twelve (12) months. If trial reunification has not been terminated within 12 months, the Court must return legal custody of the child to the parent either with or without supervision of Department of Human Services.
Termination of Parental Rights
Unfortunately for parents in deprived cases, there are numerous grounds for either the State of Oklahoma or the attorney for a child to seek the termination of a parent’s rights and when a request is made to sever the parent-child relationship you are entitled to a trial before your peers. As with misdemeanor criminal offenses, jury trials for the termination of parent rights are to a jury of six (6) people.
The jury trial process can be very difficult to navigate and each ground for termination of rights is sufficient by itself – only one need be proven for your rights to be terminated. Greg Lavender has conducted dozens of jury trials and he is the attorney you need to guide you through the process to give you the best chance of winning your trial.
Sadly, jury trial wins can sometimes feel hollow as the result is not a reunification of the parent with the child but rather results in new dispositional hearing wherein the best outcome would be to give a parent additional time to correct conditions through the imposition of a new individualized service plan. That being said, Greg has won jury trials that have resulted in the eventual reunification of parent and child.
The Oklahoma Juvenile Code
The Oklahoma Juvenile Code relates to all matters in which minors are need in of treatment or have committed a criminal offense that would make them delinquent or in a quasi-adult status of “Youthful Offender”.
Juvenile and Youthful Offender cases can carry serious consequences into adulthood and may even result in detention or prison. The Law Offices of Greg Lavender regularly represents minors accused of criminal offenses and it is vital that you have knowledgeable and quality representation at every stage.
