Oklahoma Administrative Code › Title 1 - EXECUTIVE ORDERS › Section 1:2023-1

Current through Vol. 41, No. 20, July 1, 2024
EXECUTIVE ORDER 2023-1
One of a state's most important responsibilities is to protect
			 the lives and safety of its citizens. Paramount among these, is protecting and
			 enhancing the lives of our children. Some of the hardest and most difficult
			 work that any state does is in child welfare. We must continue to meet this
			 challenge head on. As Governor I am committed to protecting our youngest and
			 future generations.
When Oklahoma first began implementing the Pinnacle Plan, our
			 state's child welfare situation was a disaster. While the Pinnacle Plan has
			 served to improve our child welfare system, we must seek continued and ongoing
			 improvement in this area. Currently 6.89 out of every 1,000 Oklahoma children
			 are in an out-of-home placement, which is slightly above the national average
			 of 6 per 1,000. This is a 17 percent decrease since I took office on January
			 14, 2019. We need to decrease this to 4 per 1,000 children to achieve Top 10
			 status. Additionally, Oklahoma has made progress improving many of its
			 permanency and re-entry programs, but we need to continue to make improvements
			 ensuring that our state achieves timely and safe permanency for children in the
			 child welfare system. Simply put, we have made great progress in the area of
			 child welfare in Oklahoma, but our work here is not yet done.
Not only must we work to improve our child welfare system, but
			 the best way to address these problems are to ensure children never end up in
			 the system in the first place. The best environment for a child is having their
			 two, biological parents living in the same household. I recently created a HELP
			 Task Force to study and address at-risk pregnancies. But Oklahoma must continue
			 to address problems that occur once children are born. Oklahoma's fathers must
			 do their part as well. Paternal absence is the single greatest risk factor in
			 teen pregnancy for girls. And young men who grew up with their biological
			 father are more than twice as likely to graduate college and less likely to go
			 to jail. To be clear, we cannot leave children in unsafe environments, whether
			 with their biological family or not. But as a state we must do all that we can
			 to provide proper resources to ensure that all our citizens can provide a safe,
			 healthy, and happy home for their children. Our future depends upon it.
			 Improving Oklahoma's child welfare system is not the only challenge; reducing
			 the amount of children in the system is even more critical.
Therefore, I, J. Kevin Stitt, Governor of the State of Oklahoma,
			 pursuant to the power and authority vested in me by Sections 1 and 2 of Article
			 VI of the Oklahoma Constitution, and to the fullest extent permitted under
			 Oklahoma law, hereby order the formation of a Child Welfare Task Force ("Task
			 Force").
The Task Force shall study, evaluate, and make recommendations
			 regarding policies, programs and proposed legislation that will:
1. Further reduce the time to permanency in
		  the foster care system;
2. Further
		  reduce the amount of re-entries to foster care after discharge to
		  permanency;
3. Identify risk
		  factors that lead to the removal of children from their biological parents'
		  home; and
4. Identify and propose
		  areas of support for biological parents.
The Task Force shall submit to the Governor, the President Pro
			 Tempore of the Oklahoma Senate, and the Speaker of the Oklahoma House of
			 Representatives, a report on or before October 1, 2023, detailing its findings
			 and recommendations.
The Task Force shall be composed of twelve (12) members
			 determined as follows:
1. The Speaker
		  of the House or his designee;
2.
		  The President Pro Tempore of the Senate or his designee; and
3. 2 designees of the Director of the
		  Oklahoma Department of Human Services.
The Governor shall appoint eight (8) members to be determined as
			 follows:
1. 2 members of the Oklahoma
		  state court system;
2. 1
		  representative from an organization involved in the foster care
		  system;
3. 1 representative from a
		  non-profit or faith-based organization;
4. 1 person with experience advocating for
		  biological families; and
5. 3
		  at-large members.
The Governor shall select, from the appointed members, a Chair
			 of the Task Force who shall have the authority to create committees and name
			 committee chairs to facilitate the work of the Task Force and shall have the
			 authority to appoint Task Force members and non-members to serve on committees.
			 The Task Force shall meet as often as deemed necessary by the Chair allowing
			 for timely completion of its work. A majority of the members shall constitute a
			 quorum for the purpose of conducting the business of the Task Force. Members,
			 including those appointed to committees who are not members of the Task Force,
			 shall serve without compensation.
The Oklahoma Department of Human Services shall provide staff
			 and administrative support for the Task Force. All Executive departments,
			 officers, agencies, and employees of the State shall cooperate with the Task
			 Force, including providing any information, data, records, and reports as may
			 be requested.
This Executive Order shall be distributed to the Secretary of
			 State, the Secretary of Human Services, the President Pro Tempore of the
			 Oklahoma Senate, and the Speaker of the Oklahoma House of
			 Representatives.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the
			 Great Seal of the State of Oklahoma to be affixed at Oklahoma City, Oklahoma,
			 on this 10th day of January, 2023.
BY THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA
J. Kevin Stitt
ATTEST:
Brian Bingman
Secretary of State