FEBRUARY 2025 | VOLUME 1 ISSUE 8 | |
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“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
Nelson Mandela
Gwendolyn Clegg
Education, or, put another way, “training” is one of OFR’s core values. Increased education is at the heart of OFR’s enabling statute.
“The Family Representation and Advocacy Program [OFR] shall ensure that all counsel are members of the Oklahoma Bar Association in good standing and are adequately trained. The Program shall provide uniform and high-quality training in collaboration with the State of Oklahoma Children’s Court Improvement Program, the Oklahoma Bar Association, local bar associations, and other relevant state and national organizations to all attorneys who are appointed to represent children, parents, legal guardians, and Indian custodians in deprived child proceedings . . . The Family Representation and Advocacy Program [OFR] shall ensure that all interdisciplinary contractors are provided with uniform and evidence-based training, resources, and support.” 10 O.S. Section 801(H) (emphasis added).
The OFR Team has developed a robust Fundamentals Training Program for our contractors—attorneys, social workers, and mentors. The OFR Fundamentals Training Program consists of three sessions. Each session is designed to educate contractors new to child welfare court proceedings and enhance and build upon the skills of our most seasoned contractors. Each session offers education to enhance your practice and ignite your passion. Session One is intended for all contractors. Session Two is specifically for attorney contractors, while Session Three is tailored for contract social workers, parent mentors, and youth mentors.
- Session One educates contractors on the fundamentals of child welfare law with significant training on Oklahoma’s Children's Code, the Indian Child Welfare Act, and Ethical Considerations in representing clients.
- Session Two educates attorneys on the fundamentals of trial practice, including sessions on how to conduct a jury trial.
- Session Three educates mentors and social workers on the fundamentals of interdisciplinary defense for parents and children.
OFR’s extensive training opportunities are designed to provide our contractors with the tools/weapons necessary to zealously advocate for clients involved in the child welfare system. Zealous advocacy is what Oklahoma parents and children desire and deserve. Zealous advocacy empowers parents and children with opportunities to change their world.
All of OFR’s training opportunities can be found on our website www.oklahomafamilyrepresentation.org. We encourage you to sign up for the Fundamentals Training Program, classes begin March 7, 2025.
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Shoutout to Aila Paton!
Aila Paton, our new social worker in Region 2, passed her licensure exam and is now officially a Licensed Clinical Social Worker! Congrats!
Shoutout to Lexie Allen and Daniel McClure!
Lexie and Daniel have been selected for scholarships to attend the ABA Multidisciplinary Parent Representation Conference!
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Shoutout to Daniel McClure!
Daniel McClure got a mistrial in his first jury termination trial! The mistrial was because his motion in limine was granted and then two witnesses spoke about exactly what was excluded. We are so happy to see this zealous advocacy!
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Valerie Blackstock
Attorney - Tulsa
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Cindy Williams-Dunn
Attorney - Carter, Love, Marshall
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John Nelson
Attorney - Kiowa, Jackson
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Aila Paton
Social Worker - Region 2
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Have you done something awesome? Do you have a good story? Share it here!
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In the Matter of K.O.
The Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals affirmed a jury decision to terminate parental rights. Father argues the State fails to prove by clear and convincing evidence that Father committed heinous and shocking abuse against sibling of K.O. Father says the evidence came solely from child hearsay in disclosure to a school counselor and in forensic interviews. The jury heard directly from the children by way of forensic interviews wherein sibling described sexual abuse endured from father. The abuse was corroborated by the other two siblings of K.O. Jury found clear and convincing evidence it was in the best interests of K.O. to terminate parental rights. Father claims abuse of discretion by finding reasonable efforts were not required. Trial court found they need not be required pursuant to 10A O.S. 2022 §1-4809 and §1-4-902. COCA Affirms. See full opinion
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In the Matter of H.M.A.
Father argues the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to enter the order terminating his parental rights under the UCCJEA. COCA finds the record fails to show the court had jurisdiction and so reverse the order and remand for further proceedings. Trial court was aware that Mother and children were merely passing through Oklahoma at the time of removal, and that Arizona (where Father was still living) was the children's home state. The court should have been mindful of the UCCJEA and an inquiry into the court's jurisdiction should have been made as early as possible. The trial court over-reached its authority and did not ensure a record was made to allow its termination order to withstand jurisdictional inquiry on appeal. See full opinion
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In the Matter of Adoption of N.J.B., B.R.B., and A.M.B., minor children
The Oklahoma Supreme Court vacated, reversed, and remanded the trial court's decision to allow for an adoption without consent based on Mother's failure to comply with an order for child support. The Oklahoma Supreme Court find that the trial court's refusal to consider economic stimulus payments, which were received by Father and credited by him to Mother's child support debt, was an abuse of discretion. They did not find evidence that Mother willfully failed, refused, or neglected to pay child support in substantial compliance with a court order for twelve consecutive months of the fourteen preceding the filing of the adoption petition. The law presumes a parent's consent is required before an adoption can be approved. The legislature has prescribed certain conditions in which parental consent is unnecessary, BUT these statutes are to be strictly construed in favor of biological parents opposing an adoption without their consent. The Court notes, "the best interests of the child do not exist in a legal vacuum in which parental rights have no weight in determining physical custody. The child's interests must be determined in conjunction with [a parent's] fundamental constitutional right to the care and custody of [their] child." Murrell v. Cox, 2009 OK 93, ¶ 30, 226 P.3d 692, 699. There is a presumption that a child's best interests are best served by being in the custody of their natural parents. See full opinion
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In the Matter of the Guardianship of G.E.M.S., Minor Child
The Oklahoma Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the district court to deny Natural Mother's appeal to terminate a guardianship order of a minor child. Minor child has been in a guardianship with Maternal Grandparents since 2021. Maternal Grandparents filed for this guardianship after being alerted that Mother was going to enter a consent termination to allow a married couple, with whom she lived, to adopt Minor Child. Minor Child was exposed to violence, sexually explicit content, and experienced inappropriate touching while living in the house with Married Couple and Mother. Minor Child expressed discomfort living there. In the years since Minor Child entered the guardianship, Married Couple (a man and a woman) divorced and Mother married the man following the divorce. Minor child was not allowed to have contact with this man while the guardianship was in place. Mother then filed a motion to terminate guardianship, arguing that she completed the standards of conduct. Court heard from Minor Child's psychologist and GAL and determined that terminating the guardianship would not be in line with Minor Child's expressed nor best interests. See full opinion
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Katy Fortune, MSW
February is Black History Month and we acknowledge that Black history is American history. Too many American citizens would make the argument that slavery and segregation are a thing of the past and we should put it behind us. Doing so, however, overlooks the ongoing effects of historical inequity and racial trauma on the Black community, particularly as they relate to the disproportionate impact of poverty and child welfare intervention.
According to 2023 data released by the U.S. Census Bureau in September 2024, more than 26% of Black Oklahomans lives in poverty, compared to 14.9% of all Oklahomans living in poverty.* This is not only a statistically significant difference, it is a figure which caused Oklahoma to rank in the top 10 states for Black poverty in 2023. When you take into consideration that just over 14% of our state population is Black^ but over 1 in 4 of Black Oklahomans live in poverty compared to 1 in 15 of all Oklahomans, the disproportionate impact of poverty on the Black community becomes clearer.
As the correlation between poverty and child welfare intervention is well-documented, it is important to acknowledge that the intersection of poverty and race contributes to even greater rates of child welfare involvement in the Black community than in the general population. Census Bureau data from 2022 indicates Black children composed 7% of Oklahoma’s child population, a figure which does not include the 19.7% of multiracial children that are Black with other race(s). The 2022 Children’s Bureau data, however, indicates of all child maltreatment victims in Oklahoma, over 10% were Black and 25.3% were multiracial, both differences which are statistically significant compared to the general population.
We must recognize the vital systemic inequities that still exist within our country and state and address the biases, both conscious and not, that we all possess. I encourage each of you to acknowledge your explicit biases and learn more about your implicit biases and how they impact not only your everyday life but how they may affect you practice. You can learn more about your biases by participating in Harvard’s Project Implicit at https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html.
* The term poverty used throughout this writing is the U.S. Census Bureau’s official definition, which classifies families and individuals as “in poverty” if their pretax money income falls below a threshold adjusted by family composition and does not include factors such as noncash assistance, geographic cost-of-living differences, and necessary expenses.
^This figure includes people in Oklahoma who identified as multiracial, which contains people who identify as Black with additional race(s) but also includes people who identify as multiracial without selecting Black as one of their races. Therefore, the Black population in Oklahoma could actually be lower than the figure indicated, which further increases the disproportionality.
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Jonathan Moore, PhD
January has been a big month for me as I have begun my new job at the Office of Family Representation. After spending 7 years working for OKDHS, the time was right for me to begin a new chapter, taking the skills I learned working for the state and applying them in a new context. As an adoptive father to four children (and two bio kids), I have a passion for children in foster care and am beyond grateful to have an opportunity to contribute to the amazing work going on at OFR. As the staff member responsible for research and evaluation, I try to design all our research work so that it is clearly understandable and totally useful to practitioners in continually improving together as a program. Keep an eye on this space in the newsletter for the exciting new efforts that we’re putting into measuring success as a program!
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HHS and ACF Just Released The 2023 Child Maltreatment Report
Key findings include:
During Federal fiscal year (FFY) 2023, 52 states reported 3,081,715 children received either an investigation or alternative response at a rate of 42.0 children per 1,000 in the population
For FFY 2023, 52 states reported 546,159 victims of child abuse and neglect. This equates to a national rate of 7.4 victims per 1,000 children in the population.
For FFY 2023, a nationally estimated 2,000 children died from abuse and neglect at a rate of 2.73 per 100,000 children in the population.
For FFY 2023, 52 states reported a unique count of 422,117 perpetrators. This is a 19.8 percent decrease from FFY 2019 when 52 states reported 526,272 unique perpetrators.
Based on data from 45 states, the FFY 2023 estimated total child recipients of prevention services is 1,762,516.
View full report here
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ABA: Questions Lawyers Should Ask Child Abuse Pediatricians
By Josh Gupta-Kagan, Mical Raz, and Andrea Asnes
Summary:
- CAPs play a key role in diagnosing child maltreatment, providing expert opinions for CPS and court cases, but lawyers and courts must critically assess CAPs’ qualifications, scope of practice, and methodologies to avoid over-reliance on their opinions.
- Attorneys should scrutinize CAPs’ certifications, past professional conduct, and potential biases, including connections to CPS agencies or multidisciplinary teams.
- Attorneys can seek alternative expert opinions, including from other CAPs, to validate or challenge findings.
- Exploring whether a different CAP would reach the same conclusion is crucial for ensuring accurate diagnoses and fair legal outcomes.
View full article here.
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