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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
2nd Session of the 60th Legislature (2026)
SENATE BILL 1660 By: Jett
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to the Oklahoma Children’s Code;
amending 10A O.S. 2021, Sections 1-4-201 and 1-4-203,
which relate to child custody; imposing certain
restrictions on specified custody orders; directing
certain relief; and declaring an emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 10A O.S. 2021, Section 1-4-201, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 1-4-201. A. Pursuant to the provisions of this
section, a child may be taken into custody prior to the filing of a
petition:
1. By a peace officer or employee of the court, without a court
order if the officer or employee has reasonable suspicion that:
a. the child is in need of immediate protection due to an
imminent safety threat,
b. the circumstances or surroundings of the child are
such that continuation in the child’s home or in the
care or custody of the parent, legal guardian, or
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custodian would present an imminent safety threat to
the child, or
c. the child, including a child with a disability, is
unable to communicate effectively about abuse, neglect
or other safety threat or is in a vulnerable position
due to the inability to communicate effectively and
the child is in need of immediate protection due to an
imminent safety threat; or
2. By an order of the district court issued upon the
application of the office of the district attorney. The application
presented by the district attorney may be supported by a sworn
affidavit which may be based upon information and belief. The
application shall state facts sufficient to demonstrate to the court
that a continuation of the child in the home or with the caretaker
of the child is contrary to the child’s welfare and there is
reasonable suspicion that:
a. the child is in need of immediate protection due to an
imminent safety threat,
b. the circumstances or surroundings of the child are
such that continuation in the child’s home or in the
care or custody of the parent, legal guardian, or
custodian would present an imminent safety threat to
the child, or
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c. the child, including a child with a disability, is
unable to communicate effectively about abuse, neglect
or other safety threat or is in a vulnerable position
due to the inability to communicate effectively and
the child is in need of immediate protection due to an
imminent safety threat.
The application and order may be verbal and upon being advised by
the district attorney or the court of the verbal order, law
enforcement shall act on such order. If verbal, the district
attorney shall submit a written application and proposed order to
the district court within one (1) judicial day from the issuance of
the verbal order. Upon approval, the application and order shall be
filed with the court clerk; or
3. By order of the district court when the child is in need of
medical or behavioral health treatment in order to protect the
health, safety, or welfare of the child and the parent, legal
guardian, or custodian of the child is unwilling or unavailable to
consent to such medical or behavioral health treatment or other
action, the court shall specifically include in the emergency order
authorization for such medical or behavioral health evaluation or
treatment as it deems necessary.
An order described in this subsection shall not be issued at any
time on a Saturday or Sunday or past 10:00 a.m. on a Friday, unless
the judge who issues the order remains available by cell phone
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during such time to the parent or legal guardian, legal
representatives of the parent or legal guardian, and legislators.
B. 1. By January 1, 2010, the Department in consultation with
law enforcement and the district courts shall develop and implement
a system for joint response when a child is taken into protective
custody by a peace officer pursuant to paragraph 1 of subsection A
of this section. The system shall include:
a. designation of persons to serve as contact points for
peace officers, including at least one backup contact
for each initial contact point,
b. a protocol for conducting a safety evaluation at the
scene where protective custody is assumed to determine
whether the child faces an imminent safety threat and,
if so, whether the child can be protected through
placement with relatives or others without the
Department assuming emergency custody,
c. the development of reception centers for accepting
protective custody of children from peace officers
when the Department is unable to respond at the scene
within a reasonable time period,
d. a protocol for conducting a safety evaluation at the
reception center within twenty-three (23) hours of the
assumption of protective custody of a child to
determine whether the child faces an imminent safety
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threat and, if so, whether the child can be protected
through placement with relatives or others without the
Department assuming emergency custody, and
e. a protocol, when the child cannot safely be left in
the home, for transporting a child to the home of a
relative, kinship care home, an emergency foster care
home, a shelter, or any other site at which the
Department believes the child can be protected,
provided that the Department shall utilize a shelter
only when the home of a relative, kinship care home,
or emergency foster care home is unavailable or
inappropriate.
2. Beginning January 1, 2010, no child taken into protective
custody under paragraph 1 of subsection A of this section shall be
considered to be in the emergency custody of the Department until
the Department has completed a safety evaluation and has concluded
that the child faces an imminent safety threat and the court has
issued an order for emergency custody.
3. If the safety evaluation performed by the Department of a
child taken into protective custody under paragraph 1 of subsection
A of this section indicates that the child does not face an imminent
safety threat, the Department shall restore the child to the custody
and control of the parent, legal guardian, or custodian of the
child.
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C. When an order issued by the district court pursuant to
subsection A of this section places the child in the emergency
custody of the Department of Human Services pending further hearing
specified by Section 1-4-203 of this title, an employee of the
Department may execute such order and physically take the child into
custody in the following limited circumstance:
1. The child is located in a hospital, school, or day care
facility; and
2. It is believed that assumption of the custody of the child
from the facility can occur without risk to the child or the
employee of the Department.
Otherwise, the order shall be executed and the child taken into
custody by a peace officer or employee of the court.
D. The court shall not enter a prepetition emergency custody
order removing a child from the home of the child unless the court
makes a determination:
1. That an imminent safety threat exists and continuation in
the home of the child is contrary to the welfare of the child; and
2. Whether reasonable efforts have been made to prevent the
removal of the child from the child’s home; or
3. An absence of efforts to prevent the removal of the child
from the home of the child is reasonable because the removal is due
to an emergency and is for the purpose of providing for the safety
and welfare of the child.
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E. Whenever a child is taken into custody pursuant to this
section:
1. The child may be taken to a kinship care home or an
emergency foster care home designated by the Department, or if no
such home is available, to a children’s shelter located within the
county where protective or emergency custody is assumed or, if there
is no children’s shelter within the county, to a children’s shelter
designated by the court;
2. Unless otherwise provided by administrative order entered
pursuant to subsection F of this section, the child may be taken
before a judge of the district court or the court may be contacted
verbally for the purpose of obtaining an order for emergency
custody. The court may place the child in the emergency custody of
the Department or some other suitable person or entity pending
further hearing specified by Section 1-4-203 of this title;
3. The child may be taken directly to or retained in a health
care facility for medical treatment, when the child is in need of
emergency medical treatment to maintain the child’s health, or as
otherwise directed by the court; or
4. The child may be taken directly to or retained in a
behavioral health treatment facility for evaluation or inpatient
treatment, in accordance with the provisions of the Inpatient Mental
Health and Substance Abuse Treatment of Minors Act, when the child
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is in need of behavioral health care to preserve the child’s health,
or as otherwise directed by the court; and
5. Unless otherwise provided by administrative order entered
pursuant to subsection F of this section, the district court of the
county where the custody is assumed shall be immediately notified,
verbally or in writing, that the child has been taken into custody.
If notification is verbal, written notification shall be sent to the
district court within one (1) judicial day of such verbal
notification.
F. The court may provide, in an administrative order issued
pursuant to this section, for the disposition of children taken into
custody and notification of the assumption of such custody.
1. Such order or rule shall be consistent with the provisions
of subsection E of this section and may include a process for
release of a child prior to an emergency custody hearing. The
administrative order shall not include a provision to modify
protective custody of a child to emergency custody of the Department
upon admission of a child to a shelter; and
2. The administrative order may require joint training of peace
officers and Department staff deemed necessary by the court to carry
out the provisions of the administrative order.
G. No child taken into custody pursuant to this section shall
be confined in any jail, adult lockup, or adult or juvenile
detention facility.
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H. When a determination is made by the Department that there is
a significant risk of abuse or neglect, but there is not an imminent
safety threat to the child, the Department may recommend a court-
supervised and Department-monitored in-home placement. The
Department shall assist the family in obtaining the services
necessary to maintain the in-home care and correct the conditions
leading to the risk determination.
I. Any peace officer, employee of the court, or employee of the
Department is authorized to transport a child when acting pursuant
to this section. Such persons and any other person acting under the
direction of the court, who in good faith transports any child or
carries out duties pursuant to this section, shall be immune from
civil or criminal liability that may result by reason of such act.
For purposes of any proceedings, civil or criminal, the good faith
of any such person shall be presumed. This provision shall not
apply to damage or injury caused by the willful, wanton or gross
negligence or misconduct of a person.
J. A parent or person responsible for the child who is arrested
on a charge or warrant other than child abuse or neglect or an act
of child endangerment may designate another person to take physical
custody of the child. Upon this request, the peace officer may
release the child to the physical custody of the designated person.
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 10A O.S. 2021, Section 1-4-203, is
amended to read as follows:
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Section 1-4-203. A. Within the next two (2) judicial days
following the child being taken into protective or emergency
custody, the court shall conduct an emergency custody hearing. At
the hearing, information may be provided to the court in the form of
oral or written reports, affidavits or testimony. Any information
having probative value may be received by the court regardless of
its admissibility under the Oklahoma Evidence Code. At the hearing
the court shall:
1. Determine whether facts exist that are sufficient to
demonstrate to the court there is reasonable suspicion that the
child is in need of immediate protection due to abuse or neglect, or
that the circumstances or surroundings of the child are such that
continuation of the child in the child’s home or in the care or
custody of the parent, legal guardian, or custodian would present an
imminent danger to the child;
2. Advise the parent, legal guardian, or custodian of the child
in writing of the following:
a. any right of the parent, legal guardian, or custodian
to testify and present evidence at court hearings,
b. the right to be represented by an attorney at court
hearings,
c. the consequences of failure to attend any hearings
which may be held, and
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d. the right to appeal and procedure for appealing an
order of the court;
3. Determine custody of the child and order one of the
following:
a. release of the child to the custody of the child’s
parent, legal guardian, or custodian from whom the
child was removed under any conditions the court finds
reasonably necessary to protect the health, safety, or
welfare of the child, or
b. placement of the child in the custody of a responsible
adult or licensed child-placing agency under any
conditions the court finds reasonably necessary to
protect the health, safety, or welfare of the child,
or
c. whether to continue the child in or to place the child
into the emergency custody of the Department of Human
Services;
4. Order the parent, legal guardian, or custodian to complete
an affidavit listing the names, addresses, and phone numbers of any
parent, whether known or alleged, grandparent, aunt, uncle, brother,
sister, half-sibling, and first cousin and any comments concerning
the appropriateness of the potential placement of the child with the
relative. If no such relative exists, the court shall require the
parent, legal guardian, or custodian to list any other relatives or
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persons with whom the child has had a substantial relationship or
who may be a suitable placement for the child;
5. Direct the parent, legal guardian, or custodian to furnish
the Department with a copy of the child’s birth certificate within
fifteen (15) days from the hearing if a petition is filed, unless
otherwise extended by the court; and
6. In accordance with the safety or well-being of any child,
determine whether reasonable efforts have been made to:
a. place siblings, who have been removed, together in the
same foster care, guardianship, or adoptive placement,
and
b. provide for frequent visitation or other ongoing
interaction in the case of siblings who have been
removed and who are not placed together.
B. If the court orders the release of the child to the custody
of the child’s parent, legal guardian, or custodian from whom the
child was removed, the court shall order the Department of Human
Services to pay damages to the family equal to seven times the
payment the Department is entitled to receive from the federal
government for the care of the child, subject to any limitations
prescribed by The Governmental Tort Claims Act.
C. The office of the State Court Administrator shall create an
affidavit form and make it available to each court responsible for
conducting emergency custody hearings. The affidavit form shall
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contain a notice to the parent, legal guardian, or custodian that
failure to identify a parent or relative in a timely manner may
result in the child being permanently placed outside of the home of
the child’s parent or relative. The affidavit form shall also
advise the parent, legal guardian, or custodian of the penalties
associated with perjury and contempt of court. The original
completed affidavit shall be filed with the court clerk no later
than five (5) days after the hearing or as otherwise directed by the
court and a copy shall be provided to the Department.
C. D. 1. The Department shall, within thirty (30) days of the
removal of a child, exercise due diligence to identify relatives.
Notice shall be provided by the Department to the following adult
relatives: all grandparents, all parents of a sibling of the child,
where the parent has legal custody of the sibling, and other adult
relatives of the child, including relatives suggested by the
parents, as the court directs. The notice shall advise the
relatives:
a. the child has been or is being removed from the
custody of the parent or parents of the child,
b. of the options under applicable law to participate in
the care and placement of the child, including any
options that may be lost by failing to respond to the
notice, and
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c. of the requirements to become a foster family home and
the additional services and supports available for
children placed in the home.
2. Relatives shall not be notified if notification would not be
in the best interests of a child due to past or current family or
domestic violence. The Department may promulgate rules in
furtherance of the provisions of this subsection.
SECTION 3. It being immediately necessary for the preservation
of the public peace, health or safety, an emergency is hereby
declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and
be in full force from and after its passage and approval.
60-2-3121 DC 1/13/2026 9:22:57 PM