Oklahoma Administrative Code › Title 75 - Attorney General › Chapter 15 - Standards and Criteria for Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Programs › Subchapter 1 - General Provisions › Section 75:15-1-2 - Definitions

Current through Vol. 41, No. 20, July 1, 2024
The following words or terms, when used in this chapter,
				  shall have the defined meaning, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Admission"
means to accept a client for
				  services or treatment.
"Advocacy"
means the assistance provided that
				  supports, supplements, intervenes and/or links clients and their dependents
				  with the appropriate service components to encourage self-determination,
				  autonomy, physical and emotional safety, and to offer information that will
				  enable independence. This can be viewed as a combination of active listening
				  and facilitating personal problem solving, along with researching options of
				  action, safety planning, community outreach and education; it may include
				  medical, dental, financial, employment, legal and housing assistance.
"Advocate"
means a trained staff or volunteer
				  who offers clients appropriate services.
"Assessment"
means an appropriate course of
				  assistance based on a face-to-face formal screening.
"Behavioral Health Professional"
means either
				  licensed or under supervision for licensure as a Licensed Professional
				  Counselor, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Licensed Behavioral
				  Practitioner, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, psychiatrist, or psychologist
				  with clients in individual, group or family settings to promote positive
				  emotional or behavioral change. A practicum student or intern in an accredited
				  graduate program in preparation for one of the above licenses may provide
				  counseling to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking and
				  their dependents.
"Business day"
shall mean a calendar day other
				  than a Saturday, Sunday, or state holiday. In computing any period of time
				  where the last day would fall on a Saturday, Sunday, or state holiday, the
				  period shall run until 5:00 p.m. of the next business day.
"Case consultation"
means review of a client's
				  case by the primary service provider and other program personnel, consultants
				  or both.
"Case management"
means the process of
				  supporting and helping victims/survivors and their dependents as they cope with
				  and overcome the effects of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking.
				  Actions may include activities such as:
1) developing, reviewing, and updating the service plan that
				  is designed to solve specific problems in the current life situation;
2) supporting adult/child survivors' skills in making desired
				  life changes through activities such as introducing new skills, modifying
				  previous ways of coping with their situations and linking to resources to
				  address immediate needs and secondary issues, and/or
3) exit planning as part of individual supportive services.
				  The service provider must be a Certified Domestic and Sexual Violence Response
				  Professional (CDSVRP) certified by the Oklahoma Coalition Against Domestic
				  Violence and Sexual Assault.
"Certified Domestic and Sexual Violence Response
				  Professional"
means a professional certified by the Oklahoma Coalition
				  Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault.
"Certified domestic violence and sexual assault
				  program"
or
"Certified DVSA program"
means a status which
				  is granted to an entity by the Oklahoma Attorney General, and indicates
				  approval to offer domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking services
				  pursuant to 74 O.S. § 18p-6. In accordance with the Administrative
				  Procedures Act, 75 O.S. § 250.3(8), certification is defined as a
				  "license."
"Child"
or
"Children"
means any
				  unmarried individual from birth to eighteen years of age.
"Children's Activities"
means direct child
				  contact that is temporary in nature and is not intended to address the effects
				  of domestic violence, sexual assault/abuse and trauma on children; i.e. special
				  events such as Christmas parties, Easter egg hunts, that are supervised by
				  program personnel or volunteers.
"Children's Services"
means direct child contact
				  that is intended to address the effects of domestic violence, sexual
				  assault/abuse and trauma on children including but not limited to intake, needs
				  assessment, groups, advocacy, and any other service related to domestic
				  violence, sexual assault/abuse and trauma.
"Client"
means an individual, adult or child,
				  who has applied for, is receiving or has received assistance or services from a
				  DVSA program.
"Client record"
includes but is not limited to
				  all communication, records and information about an individual client.
"Community"
means people, groups, agencies or
				  other facilities within the locality served by the program.
"Contract"
means a formal document adopted by
				  the governing authority of the program and any other organization, agency or
				  individual that specifies services, personnel or space to be provided to the
				  program and the monies to be expended in exchange.
"Core Services"
means services outlined in
				  75:15-2-1 that are required to be
				  offered by all certified programs.
"Counseling"
means a face-to-face therapeutic
				  session with one-on-one interaction between a behavioral health professional
				  and an individual to promote emotional and/or behavioral change focused on
				  victim safety and perpetrator accountability. Those individuals providing
				  professional therapy to adult and child victims of domestic violence, sexual
				  assault or stalking must be prepared to offer education and information about:
(A) Physical and emotional safety;
(B) How perpetrators maintain control and dominance over
				  their victims;
(C) The need to hold perpetrators accountable for their
				  actions; and
(D) The recognition that individuals victimized are not
				  responsible for a perpetrator's violent behavior.
"Court advocate"
means a qualified, trained
				  staff or volunteer whose duties are to offer assistance to victims and any
				  dependents in legal matters relevant to their situation. A Court Advocate
				  provides court advocacy through support, information, assistance, safety
				  planning, accompaniment, and intervention with any aspect of the civil or
				  criminal legal system on behalf of a victim of domestic violence, sexual
				  assault or stalking. Court advocates shall not act as licensed attorneys and
				  are not permitted to give legal advice, unless such person is a licensed
				  attorney in the state of Oklahoma.
"Crisis intervention"
means short-term,
				  immediate assistance and advocacy given by phone or in person to victims of
				  domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking. Crisis intervention services
				  include but are not limited to assessing dangerousness, safety planning,
				  information about available legal remedies, establishing rapport and
				  communication, identifying major problems, exploring feelings and providing
				  support, exploring possible alternatives, and/or formulating an action plan and
				  follow-up measures.
"Critical incident"
means an occurrence or set
				  of events inconsistent with the routine operation of the facility, or the
				  routine care of a client. Critical incidents specifically include but are not
				  necessarily limited to the following: adverse drug events; self-destructive
				  behavior; deaths and injuries to clients, personnel, volunteers and visitors;
				  incidents involving medication; neglect or abuse of a client; fire;
				  unauthorized disclosure of information; damage to or theft of property
				  belonging to a client or the facility; other unexpected occurrences; or events
				  potentially subject to litigation. A critical incident may involve multiple
				  individuals or results.
"Cultural diversity"
means the spectrum of
				  differences that exist among groups of people with definable and unique
				  cultural backgrounds.
"Direct services"
means services delivered by a
				  qualified staff member or volunteer in direct contact with a client or client's
				  child, including childcare and telephone contact.
"DVSA"
means domestic violence and sexual
				  assault.
"Documentation"
means the provision of written,
				  dated and authenticated evidence to substantiate compliance with standards,
				  e.g., minutes of meetings, memoranda, schedules, notices, logs, records,
				  policies, procedures, announcements, correspondence, and photographs.
"Domestic violence"
means a pattern of abusive
				  behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain
				  power and control over a current or former partner or family member. Domestic
				  violence can be physical, sexual, emotional, economic, or psychological actions
				  or threats of actions that influence another person. This includes behaviors
				  that intimidate, manipulate, humiliate, isolate, frighten, terrorize, coerce,
				  threaten, blame, hurt, injure, or wound someone.
"Education"
means the dissemination of relevant
				  information specifically focused on increasing the awareness of the community
				  and the receptivity and sensitivity of the community concerning domestic
				  violence, sexual assault, stalking or batterer's intervention and other related
				  problems and services and may include a systematic presentation of selected
				  information to impart knowledge or instructions to increase understanding of
				  specific issues or programs, to examine attitude or behaviors and to stimulate
				  social action or community support of the program and its clients.
"Emergency services"
or
"crisis
				  services"
mean a twenty-four (24) hour capability for danger assessment,
				  intervention and resolution of a client crisis or emergency that is provided in
				  response to unanticipated, unscheduled emergencies requiring prompt
				  intervention.
"Emergency transportation"
means transportation
				  for a victim of DVSA to a secure identified location at which emergency
				  services or crisis services can be offered.
"Executive director"
means the person hired by
				  the governing authority to direct all the activities of the organization. May
				  also be referred to as "Chief Executive Officer".
"Facility"
means the physical location(s) of a
				  certified program governed by this chapter of Title 75.
"Family"
means the children, spouses, parents,
				  brothers, sisters, other relatives, foster parents, guardians, and others who
				  perform the roles and functions of family members in the lives of clients.
"Governing authority"
means a group of persons
				  having the legal authority and final responsibility for the operations and
				  functions of the entire DVSA program, or shelter, in and of all geographical
				  locations and administrative divisions.
"Group counseling"
means a face-to face
				  therapeutic session with a group of adult/child victims/survivors to promote
				  emotional or behavioral change. Those individuals providing professional
				  therapy to victims/survivors of domestic violence must be prepared to provide
				  education and information about:
(A) Physical and emotional safety;
(B) How perpetrators maintain control and dominance over
				  their victims;
(C) The need to hold perpetrators accountable for their
				  actions; and
(D) The recognition that individuals victimized are not
				  responsible for a perpetrator's violent behavior.
"Guardian"
means an individual who has been
				  given the legal authority to manage the affairs of another individual.
"Indirect services"
means services delivered by
				  a staff member or volunteer, that do not involve direct services with a client
				  or client's child.
"Initial contact"
means a person's first contact
				  with the program or facility requesting information or service by telephone or
				  in person.
"Intake"
means an interaction intended to
				  discover what has happened, determine what the crisis is, assess dangerousness
				  indicators, do safety planning, and/or establish the immediate needs of
				  domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking victims and any dependents to
				  determine appropriate services and referrals. This includes interaction with an
				  individual determined to be appropriate for ongoing service in order to obtain
				  basic demographic information, gather vital information on adults and/or
				  children, and/or orient the victims to the program, program rules, and if
				  applicable, the facilities. Cultural needs should also be identified at this
				  time.
"Language Interpretation"
means activities that
				  involve a client who is deaf or hearing impaired or has limited English
				  proficiency requiring an interpreter for a staff member or volunteers to offer
				  services.
"Licensure"
means the official or legal
				  permission to persons or health facilities meeting qualifications to engage in
				  a given occupation or use a particular title.
"Medical care"
means those diagnostic and
				  treatment services that can only be provided or supervised by a licensed
				  physician.
"Medication"
means any drug that is legally in
				  the possession of clients, their children, or persons seeking admittance to the
				  shelter or their children; this definition includes prescription medications
				  and medications available for legal purchase without a prescription.
"Mental health services"
means a range of
				  diagnostic, therapeutic and rehabilitative services used in treating mental
				  illness or emotional disorders.
"Neglect"
means failing to offer adequate
				  personal care or maintenance, or access to medical care that results or may
				  result in physical or mental injury or harm to a client.
"OAG"
means the Office of the Attorney General.
"Objectives"
means a specific statement of
				  planned accomplishments or results that are quantitative, qualitative,
				  time-limited, and realistic.
"Oklahoma Administrative Code"
or
"OAC"
means the publication authorized by 75 O.S. §
									256
				  known as The Oklahoma Administrative Code or, prior to its publication, the
				  compilation of codified rules authorized by 75 O.S. § 256 (A)(1)(a) and
				  maintained in the Office of Administrative Rules.
"Operation"
means that clients are receiving
				  services offered by the program.
"Personnel record"
means a file containing the
				  employment history and actions relevant to individual personnel and volunteer
				  activities within an organization such as application, evaluation, salary data,
				  job description, citations, credentials, etc.
"Persons with special needs"
means persons with
				  a condition which is considered a disability or impairment under the "American
				  with Disabilities Act of 1990" including but not limited to the deaf and hard
				  of hearing, blind, physically disabled, developmentally disabled, persons with
				  disabling illness, and persons with mental illness. See "Americans with
				  Disabilities Handbook," published by U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity
				  Commission and U.S. Department of Justice.
"Policies"
means statements of program intent,
				  strategy, principle, or rules for providing effective and ethical services.
"Primary Victim"
means a client who has
				  experienced domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or the consequences of
				  these crimes first hand.
"Procedures"
means the standard methods by which
				  policies are implemented.
"Program"
means a set of activities designed and
				  structured to achieve specific objectives relative to the needs of the clients.
"Program evaluation"
means the documented
				  assessment activities, performed internally or externally, of a program or a
				  service and its staff, volunteers, activities, and planning process to
				  determine whether program goals are met, staff, volunteers and activities are
				  effective, and what effect, if any, a program or service has on the problem it
				  was created to address or on the population it was created to serve.
"Program goals"
means broad general statements
				  of purpose or intent.
"Qualified staff"
means someone who has met the
				  criteria for provision of direct services as defined in
				  75:15-13-20.1.
"Rape crisis response services"
means "sexual
				  assault services" as defined in this section.
"Release"
or
"Waiver"
means consent
				  that is informed, written and reasonably time-limited. The terms may be used
				  interchangeably to mean the same thing. "Release" implies that confidential
				  information is released (despite confidentiality or privilege protection), and
				  "Waiver" implies waiving a right (to maintain privilege). If release of
				  information is compelled by statutory or court mandate, the program shall make
				  reasonable attempts to provide notice to victims affected by the disclosure of
				  information and take steps necessary to protect the privacy and safety of the
				  persons affected by the release of the information.
"Referral"
means information disseminated and/or
				  coordinated access to agency and community services to meet victims'/survivors'
				  and their dependents' identified needs.
"Safe Home"
means private dwellings available
				  for the temporary housing of victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and
				  stalking to ensure safety of victims and any dependents until other housing
				  arrangements can be made.
"Safe Home Provider"
means an individual or
				  family providing Safe Home services through a formal agreement with a Certified
				  DVSA Program.
"Safety Planning"
means the process of working
				  with adult and child victims to develop tools in advance of potential abuse or
				  violence for the immediate and long term safety of victims. Plans should be
				  based on dangerousness and lethality indicators and should include the safety
				  needs of dependents.
"Screening"
means the process of determining
				  preliminarily the nature and extent of a person's problem in order to establish
				  service needs. At a minimum, a screening shall include a brief personal history
				  related to abuse, a review of the individual's strengths and resources, risk
				  factors and referral needs.
"Secondary Victim"
means a person who has a
				  relationship with the primary victim.
"Self Determination"
means the right to make
				  one's own choices.
"Service Agreement"
means a written agreement
				  between two or more service agencies or service agencies and individual service
				  providers that defines the roles and responsibilities of each party. The
				  purpose of service agreements is to promote coordination and integration of
				  service programs for the purpose of curbing fragmentation and unnecessary
				  service duplication in order to assure a continuation of services.
"
Service Note"
means documentation of the time,
				  date, location, and description of services offered or provided, and signature,
				  including electronic signature, of staff or volunteer offering or providing the
				  services.
"Service Plan"
means a plan of action developed
				  and agreed upon by the client and service provider that contains service
				  appropriate goals and objectives for the client.
"Sexual Assault"
means a range of behaviors,
				  including but not limited to rape, attempted rape, sexual battery, sex
				  trafficking, sexual abuse of children, sodomy, and sexual harassment.
"Sexual Assault Services"
means personal
				  advocacy and support services provided to primary and secondary victims of rape
				  and sexual assault.
"Shelter Services"
means a certified residential
				  living arrangement in a secure setting with support and advocacy services
				  provided by qualified staff for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault
				  and stalking and their dependents.
"Staff"
means personnel who function with a
				  defined role in the program whether full-time, part-time or contracted.
"Stalking"
means a course of conduct directed at
				  a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to feel fear.
"Substance Abuse Services"
means the assessment
				  and treatment of diagnosable substance abuse and dependence disorders, as
				  defined by current DSM criteria, by qualified alcohol and drug treatment
				  professionals.
"Support"
or
"Supportive Services"
means the provision of direct services to primary and secondary victims and
				  their dependents for the purposes of preventing further violence, helping such
				  victims to gain access to civil and criminal courts and other community
				  services, facilitating the efforts of such victims to make decisions concerning
				  their lives in the interest of safety, and assisting such victims in healing
				  from the effects of violence.
"Transitional Living Services"
means temporary,
				  independent living programs with support services provided by the staff or
				  volunteers of the sponsoring domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking
				  program. These services are extensions of domestic violence shelter services to
				  victims of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking and their dependents.
				  These services permit victims to develop their financial capacity and other
				  means to live independently.
"Trauma-informed services"
means a service
				  approach that recognizes the impact of trauma and acknowledges its role in the
				  lives of primary and secondary victims and their dependents.
"Universal precautions for transmission of infectious
				  diseases"
means those guidelines promulgated by the U.S. Occupational
				  Health and Safety Administration that are designed to prevent the transmission
				  of Human Immunodeficiency Virus, hepatitis and other infectious diseases.
"Update"
means a dated and signed review of a
				  report, plan or program with or without revision.
"Voluntary Services"
means a program shall not
				  mandate participation in supportive services as a condition of shelter
				  residency or emergency services (Family Violence Prevention and Services Act,
				  42 U.S.C.
				  10408 )
"Volunteer"
means any person who is not on the
				  program's payroll, but provides either indirect or direct services and fulfills
				  a defined role within the program, including interns and practicum students.
Transferred from
				  450:19-1-2 by SB 236 (2005), eff 7-1-05 (Editor's Notice published at 22 Ok Reg
				  2667); Amended at 23 Ok Reg 339, eff 11-8-05 (emergency); Amended at 23 Ok Reg
				  2200, eff 7-1-06; Amended at 24 Ok Reg 2508, eff 7-15-07; Amended at 25 Ok Reg
				  1838, eff 7-1-08; Amended at 26 Ok Reg 2426, eff 7-11-09; Amended at 27 Ok Reg
				  1709, eff 7-1-10; Amended at 28 Ok Reg 1906, eff 7-11-11; Amended at 29 Ok Reg
				  1759, eff 8-11-12; Amended at 30 Ok Reg 1915, eff
				  7-25-13