STATE OF OKLAHOMA

2nd Session of the 52nd Legislature (2010)

SENATE BILL 2149	By:	Sparks

AS INTRODUCED

An Act relating to children; amending 10 O.S. 2001, Sections 7504-1.2, 7510-1.5, as last amended by Section 7, Chapter 258, O.S.L. 2006, and 7510-3.2 (10 O.S. Supp. 2009, Section 7510-1.5), which relate to disclosure, adoption assistance benefits, and Compact on Adoption and Medical Assistance; authorizing disclosure of certain history under specified circumstances; updating statutory references; modifying certain educational requirements for eligibility for certain benefits; making language gender neutral; modifying certain residential requirements for certain benefits; amending 10 O.S. 2001, Section 7004-1.6, as amended by Section 63, Chapter 233, O.S.L. 2009 and as renumbered by Section 299, Chapter 233, O.S.L. 2009 (10A O.S. Supp. 2009, Section 1-9-107), which relates to the Independent Living Act; expanding purpose of act; modifying eligibility for certain independent living services; amending 63 O.S. 2001, Section 1-227.4, as last amended by Section 150, Chapter 234, O.S.L. 2009 (63 O.S. Supp. 2009, Section 1-227.4), which relates to Interagency child abuse prevention task force; modifying certain membership requirement; clarifying language; and declaring an emergency.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1.     AMENDATORY     10 O.S. 2001, Section 7504-1.2, is amended to read as follows:
Section 7504-1.2  A.  Whenever the disclosure of medical and social history is permitted under this section, all identifying information shall be deleted from the copy of the report or record that is disclosed, unless the court, Department, agency, attorney, or person authorized to disclose information by this section has been informed in writing by both a biological parent and an adoptive parent or prospective adoptive parent of their mutual agreement to share identifying information.  When such an agreement has been made, identifying information shall be released only to the extent specifically permitted by the written agreement.  When a minor is in the legal custody of the Department, medical and social history may be disclosed to the prospective adoptive parent without any agreement and without redacting identifying information when the prospective adoptive parent is a kinship or relative caregiver for the minor, or the minor has lived in the prospective adoptive parent’s home for two (2) or more years, unless the Department determines redaction of such information is in the best interest of the child.
B.  As early as practicable before the first meeting of the prospective adoptive parent with a minor and before the prospective adoptive parent accepts physical custody of the minor, the Department or child-placing agency that is placing the minor for adoption, or the attorney for the adoptive parent in a direct placement adoption, or the person who is placing the minor for adoption in a direct placement adoption in which the adoptive parent is not represented by an attorney, shall furnish to the prospective adoptive parent a copy of the medical and social history report, containing all of the medical and social history information and records regarding the minor reasonably available at that time.  If placement of the minor with the prospective adoptive parent does not subsequently occur, the prospective adoptive parent shall return the medical and social history report to the Department, agency, attorney or other person who furnished it to the prospective adoptive parent.
C.  Before a hearing on the petition for adoption, the Department or child-placing agency that placed the minor for adoption, or the attorney for the adoptive parent in a direct placement adoption, or the person who placed the minor for adoption in a direct placement adoption in which the adoptive parent is unrepresented, shall furnish to the adoptive parent a supplemental written report containing information or records required by Section 19 7505-1.1 of this act title, which was unavailable before the minor was placed for adoption, but which becomes reasonably available to the Department, agency, attorney, or person who placed the minor after the placement.
D.  A petition for adoption may not be granted until a copy of the medical and social history report is filed with the court.  If the court finds that information or records required by Section 19 7505-1.1 of this act title cannot be obtained by the reasonable efforts of the Department or child-placing agency placing the minor, or by the attorney for the adoptive parent in a direct placement adoption, or by the person who placed the minor for adoption in a direct placement adoption in which the adopted parent is unrepresented, the court may accept the report and proceed with the adoption.
E.  1.  Any additional information about an adopted person, the adopted person's biological parents, or the adopted person's genetic history that is submitted to the clerk of the district court that issues the final decree of adoption, before or after the final decree of adoption is issued, shall be made a part of the court's permanent record of the adoption, pursuant to Section 19 7505-1.1 of this act title.  No filing fee shall be charged for filing this supplemental information with the court clerk.
2.  An adoptive parent, a biological parent, or an adult adopted person may file with the clerk of the district court that issued the final decree of adoption a notice of the individual's current mailing address.  A legal guardian of an adopted minor may file with the clerk of the district court that issued the final decree of adoption a notice of the guardian's current mailing address and proof of legal guardianship.  No filing fee shall be charged for filing this notification of address or guardianship with the court clerk.
3.  Upon filing with the court clerk supplemental information concerning the biological parents or the adopted person's genetic history, the court clerk shall send notice by ordinary mail, at the most recent address, if any, listed in the court records, to the adoptive parent or legal guardian of a minor adopted person or to the adult adopted person.  The notice shall state that supplemental information has been received and is available from the court clerk upon request.
4.  Upon filing with the court clerk supplemental information concerning the adopted person that may be genetically significant for a biological parent or biological relative, the court clerk shall send notice by ordinary mail, at the most recent address, if any, listed in the court records, to the biological parent.  The notice shall state that supplemental information has been received and is available from the court clerk upon request.
F.  If any additional information about an adopted person, the adopted person's biological parents, or the adopted person's genetic history is submitted to the Department, agency, attorney, or person who prepared the original report, the Department, agency, attorney, or person shall:
1.  Retain this supplemental information with their other records of the adoption for as long as these records are maintained;
2.  File a copy of the supplemental information with the clerk of the court that issued the decree of adoption, to be made a part of the court's permanent record of the adoption pursuant to subsection E of this section; and
3.  Furnish a copy of the supplemental information to:
a.	the adoptive parent or current legal guardian of the child, if the adopted person is under the age of eighteen (18), or the adult adopted person, if the location of the adoptive parent, guardian or adult adopted person is known to the Department, agency, attorney, or person, or
b.	the biological parents, if the supplemental information is submitted by an adoptive parent or adopted person and concerns genetically significant information about the adopted person that is relevant to the health or childbearing decisions of the biological parents or other biological relatives, if the location of the biological parents is known to the Department, agency, attorney, or person.
G.  1.  The clerk of the district court that issues the final adoption decree or the Department, agency, attorney, or person who prepared the medical and social history report shall provide a copy of the medical and social history report and any additional medical and social history information in its possession to the following persons upon request:
a.	the adoptive parent or legal guardian of a minor adopted person,
b.	an adopted person who has attained eighteen (18) years of age, and
c.	an adult whose biological mother's and biological father's parental rights were terminated and who was never adopted.
2.  The clerk of the district court that issues the final adoption decree or the Department, agency, attorney, or person who prepared the medical and social history report shall provide a copy of the medical report and any additional medical information in its possession to the following persons upon request:
a.	an adult direct descendant of a deceased adopted person or of a deceased person whose biological mother's and biological father's parental rights were terminated and who was never adopted, and
b.	the parent or guardian of a minor direct descendant of a deceased adopted person or of a deceased person whose biological mother's and biological father's rights were terminated and who was never adopted.
3.  The clerk of the district court that issues the final adoption decree or the Department, child-placing agency, attorney, or person who prepared the medical and social history report shall provide to the following persons upon request, a copy of genetically significant supplemental information about an adopted person, or about a person whose parents' parental rights were terminated, which became available subsequent to the issuance of the decree of adoption or termination order:
a.	a biological parent or biological relative of an adopted person, and
b.	a biological parent or biological relative of a person whose biological mother's and biological father's rights were terminated and who was never adopted.
4.  The clerk of the district court that issues the final adoption decree shall provide a copy of any medical and social history information contained in the court records to the Department, or child-placing agency that placed the minor for adoption or to the attorney representing the adoptive parent upon request.
5.  A copy of the report and supplemental medical and social history information may not be furnished under this subsection to a person who cannot furnish satisfactory proof of identity and legal entitlement to receive a copy.
6.  A person requesting a copy of a report or other medical and social history information under this subsection shall pay only the actual and reasonable costs of providing the copy.
H.  The Department, a child-placing agency, or an attorney for an adoptive parent who facilitated or participated in an adoption proceeding prior to the effective date of this act shall be subject to the same requirements and duties set forth in subsections F and G of this section that are required in those subsections for the Department, agency, or attorney who prepared the medical or social history.
SECTION 2.     AMENDATORY     10 O.S. 2001, Section 7510-1.5, as last amended by Section 7, Chapter 258, O.S.L. 2006 (10 O.S. Supp. 2009, Section 7510-1.5), is amended to read as follows:
Section 7510-1.5  A.  1.  When a parent or parents are found and approved for adoption of a child who is determined by the Department of Human Services to be eligible for adoption assistance pursuant to the Oklahoma Adoption Assistance Act, and before the final decree of adoption is entered, there must be a signed written agreement between the prospective adoptive parent or parents and the Department.
2.  Adoption assistance in individual cases may commence with the adoptive placement or at the time of finalization of the adoption.  Adoption assistance may be for special services only, or for monthly money payments, and either for a limited period, or for a long term, or for any combination of the foregoing.
Eligibility for and the rate of monthly adoption assistance payments shall be determined by the Department in accordance with rules promulgated by the Commission for Human Services.
B.  When an otherwise eligible child is determined to have a causative, preexisting condition which was not identified or known prior to the legal finalization of the adoption and which has resulted in a severe medical or psychiatric condition that requires extensive treatment, hospitalization, or institutionalization, an adoption assistance agreement may be approved by the Department after the final decree of adoption has been entered.  In the event an adoption assistance agreement is approved that provides for monthly adoption assistance payments, the adoptive parents may also be entitled to receive retroactive adoption assistance payments for a period not to exceed the two (2) months prior to the date the adoption assistance agreement was approved.
C.  Any child who met the requirements of the provisions of Sections 7510-1.2 and 7510-1.4 of this title, and was determined eligible for Oklahoma adoption assistance with respect to a prior adoption, and is available for adoption because the prior adoption has been dissolved and the parental rights of the adoptive parents have been terminated or because the adoptive parents of the child have died, shall be eligible for Oklahoma adoption assistance with respect to any subsequent adoption.
D.  1.  When adoption assistance benefits are for more than one (1) year, the Department shall send the adoptive parent or parents an Adoption Assistance Annual Review request and assure that the child who has attained the minimum age for compulsory school attendance and is eligible for an adoption assistance payment under Title IV-E of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C., Section 670 et seq. is:
a.	enrolled in an institution that provides elementary or secondary education as determined under the law of this state or other jurisdiction in which the institution is located,
b.	instructed in elementary or secondary education by any other means legally authorized,
c.	in an independent study elementary or secondary education program in accordance with the law of this state or other jurisdiction in which the program is located, that is administered by the local school or school district, or
d.	incapable of attending school on a full-time basis due to a documented medical condition supported by regular updates.
2.  The adoptive parent or parents shall at all times keep the Department informed of circumstances including, but not limited to, whether the adoptive parent or parents continue to be legally responsible for support of the child which would make them ineligible for such assistance payments or eligible for assistance payments in a different amount.
3.  The Department is authorized and directed to make a review of each adoption assistance agreement annually to assure that the parents are fulfilling their obligations under the agreement.
4.  No payment may be made to any parents with respect to any child who has attained the age of eighteen (18) years, except a child may continue to receive assistance until the child reaches the age of nineteen (19) years if the child:
a.	continues to attend high school or pursues General Education Development, or
b.	meets the criteria for an adoption assistance difficulty of care rate as determined by the Department.
5.  Termination or modification of the adoption assistance agreement may be requested by the adoptive parent or parents at any time.
6.  No payment may be made to adoptive parents if the Department determines that the parents are no longer legally responsible for the support of the child or that the child is no longer receiving any financial support from such parents.
E.  A child for whom an adoption assistance agreement has been reached with the Department shall remain eligible and receive adoption assistance benefits regardless of the domicile or residence of the adopting parent or parents at any given time.
F.  All records regarding adoption assistance shall be confidential and may be disclosed only in accordance with the provisions of the Oklahoma Adoption Code.
SECTION 3.     AMENDATORY     10 O.S. 2001, Section 7510-3.2, is amended to read as follows:
Section 7510-3.2  This Compact on Adoption and Medical Assistance, hereinafter called "the compact", is hereby enacted into law and entered into with all other jurisdictions legally joining therein in the form substantially as follows:
ARTICLE I. FINDINGS
The party states find that:
(1)  In order to obtain adoptive families for children with special needs, prospective adoptive parents must be assured of substantial assistance (usually on a continuing basis) in meeting the high costs of supporting and providing for the special needs and services required by such children.
(2)  The states have a fundamental interest in promoting adoption for children with special needs because the care, emotional stability and general support and encouragement required by such children to surmount their physical, mental or emotional conditions can be best, and often only, obtained in family homes with a normal parent-child relationship.
(3)  The states obtain advantages from providing adoption assistance because the customary alternative is for the state to defray the entire cost of meeting all the needs of such children.
(4)  The special needs involved are for the emotional, physical maintenance of the child, and medical support and services.
(5)  The necessary assurance of adoption assistance for children with special needs, in those instances where children and adoptive parents are in states other than the one undertaking to provide the assistance, is to establish and maintain suitable substantive guarantees and workable procedures for interstate payments to assist with the necessary child maintenance, procurement of services, and medical assistance.
ARTICLE II. PURPOSES
The purposes of this compact are to:
(1)  Strengthen protections for the interest of the children with special needs on behalf of whom adoption assistance is committed to be paid, when such children are in or move to states other than the one committed to make adoption assistance payments.
(2)  Provide substantive assurances and procedures which will promote the delivery of medical and other services on an interstate basis to children through programs of adoption assistance established by the laws of the party states.
ARTICLE III. DEFINITIONS
As used in this compact, unless the context clearly requires a different construction:
(1)  "Child with special needs" means a minor who has not yet attained the age at which the state normally discontinues children's services or twenty-one (21) years, where the state determines that the child's mental or physical handicaps warrant the continuation of assistance, for whom the state has determined the following:
(A)  That the child cannot or should not be returned to the home of his or her parents; 
(B)  That there exists with respect to the child a specific factor or condition (such as his or her ethnic background, age, or membership in a minority or sibling group, or the presence of factors such as medical condition or physical, mental, or emotional handicaps) because of which it is reasonable to conclude that such child cannot be placed with adoptive parents without providing adoption assistance.
(C)  That, except where it would be against the best interests of the child because of such factors as the existence of significant emotional ties with prospective adoptive parents while in the care of such parents as a foster child, a reasonable, but unsuccessful, effort has been made to place the child with appropriate adoptive parents without providing adoption assistance payments.
(2)  "Adoption assistance" means the payment or payments for maintenance of a child, which payment or payments are made or committed to be made pursuant to the adoption assistance program established by the laws of a party state.
(3)  "State" means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or a Territory or Possession of the United States.
(4)  "Adoption assistance state" means the state that is signatory to an adoption assistance agreement in a particular case.
(5)  "Residence state" means the state of which the child is a resident by virtue of the residence of the adoptive parents.
(6)  "Parents" means either the singular or plural of the word "parent".
ARTICLE IV. ADOPTION ASSISTANCE
(1)  Each state shall determine the amounts of adoption assistance and other aid which it will give to children with special needs and their adoptive parents in accordance with its own laws and programs.  The adoption assistance and other aid may be made subject to periodic re-evaluation of eligibility by the adoption assistance state in accordance with its laws.  The provisions of this article and of Article V are subject to the limitation set forth in this paragraph.
(2)  The adoption assistance and medical assistance services and benefits to which this compact applies are those provided to children with special needs and their adoptive parents from the time of the final decree of adoption or the interlocutory decree of adoption, as the case may be, pursuant to the laws of the adoptive assistance state.  In addition to the content required by subsequent provisions of this article for adoption assistance agreements, each such agreement shall state whether the initial adoption assistance period thereunder begins with the final or interlocutory decree of adoption.  Aid provided by party states to children with special needs during the preadoptive placement period or earlier shall be under the foster care or other programs of the states and, except as provided in paragraph 3 of this article, shall not be governed by the provisions of this compact.
(3)  Every case of adoption assistance shall include an adoption assistance agreement between the adoptive parents and the agency of the state undertaking to provide the adoption assistance. Every such agreement shall contain provisions for the fixing of actual or potential interstate aspects of the adoption assistance, as follows:
(A)  An express commitment that the adoption assistance shall be payable without regard for the state of residence of the adoptive parents, both at the outset of the agreement period and at all times during its continuance.
(B)  A provision setting forth with particularity the types of child care and services toward which the adoption assistance state will make payments.
(C)  A commitment to make medical assistance available to the child in accordance with Article V of this compact.
(D)  An express declaration that the agreement is for the benefit of the child, the adoptive parents and the state and that it is enforceable by any or all of them.
(4)  Any services or benefits provided by the residence state and the adoption assistance state for a child may be facilitated by the party states on each other's behalf.  To this end, the personnel of the child welfare agencies of the party states will assist each other and beneficiaries of adoption assistance agreements with other party states in implementing benefits expressly included in adoption assistance agreements.  However, it is recognized and agreed that in general children to whom adoption assistance agreements apply are eligible for benefits under the child welfare, education, rehabilitation, mental health and other programs of their state of residence on the same basis as other resident children.
(5)  Adoption assistance payments, when made on behalf of a child who is subject to the jurisdiction of this state but residing in another state, shall be made on the same basis and in the same amounts as they would be made if the child were residing in the this   state making the payments; provided, however, adoption assistance agreements with families residing in other states signed before October 1, 2009, may be continued.
(6)  Effective July 1, 2010, for good cause shown, the Director of the Department of Human Services or designee may approve adoption assistance payments on behalf of a child subject to the jurisdiction of this state but residing in another state, up to the maximum foster care reimbursement allowable in the state of residence.
ARTICLE V. MEDICAL ASSISTANCE
(1)  Children for whom a party state is committed in accordance with the terms of an adoption assistance agreement to make adoption assistance payments are eligible for medical assistance during the entire period for which such payments are to be provided.  Upon application therefor by the adoptive parents of a child on whose behalf a party state's duly constituted authorities have entered into an adoption assistance agreement, the adoptive parents shall receive a medical assistance identification made out in the child's name.  The identification shall be issued by the medical assistance program of the residence state and shall entitle the child to the same benefits, pursuant to the same procedures, as any other child who is a resident of the state and covered by medical assistance, whether or not the adoptive parents are eligible for medical assistance.
(2)  The identification shall bear no indication that an adoption assistance agreement with another state is the basis for issuance.  However, if the identification is issued on account of an outstanding adoption assistance agreement to which another state is a signatory, the records of the issuing state and the adoption assistance state shall show the fact, shall contain a copy of the adoption assistance agreement and any amendment or replacement therefor, and all other pertinent information.  The adoption assistance and medical assistance programs of the adoption assistance state shall be notified of the identification issuance.
(3)  A state which has issued a medical assistance identification pursuant to this compact, which identification is valid and currently in force, shall accept, process and pay medical assistance claims thereon as on any other medical assistance eligibilities of residents.
(4)  An adoption assistance state which provides medical services or benefits to children covered by its adoption assistance agreements, which services or benefits are not provided for those children under the medical assistance program of the residence state, may enter into cooperative arrangements with the residence state to facilitate the delivery and administration of such services and benefits.  However, any such arrangements shall not be inconsistent with this compact nor shall they relieve the residence state of any obligation to provide medical assistance in accordance with its laws and this compact.
(5)  A child whose residence is changed from one party state to another party state shall be eligible for medical assistance under the medical assistance program of the new state of residence.
ARTICLE VI. JOINDER AND WITHDRAWAL
(1)  This compact shall be open to joinder by any state.  It shall enter into force as to a state when its duly constituted and empowered authority has executed it.
(2)  In order that the provisions of this compact may be accessible to and known by the general public and so that its status as law in each of the party states may be fully implemented, the full text of the compact, together with a notice of its execution, shall be caused to be published by the authority which has executed it in each party state.  Copies of the compact shall be made available upon request made of the executing authority in any state.
(3)  Withdrawal from this compact shall be by written notice sent by the authority which executed it to the appropriate officials of all other party states, but no such notice shall take effect until one (1) year after it is given in accordance with the requirements of this paragraph.
(4)  All adoption assistance agreements outstanding and to which a party state is signatory at the time when its withdrawal from this compact takes effect shall continue to have the effects given to them pursuant to this compact, until they expire or are terminated in accordance with their provisions.  Until such expiration or termination, all beneficiaries of the agreements involved shall continue to have all rights and obligations conferred or imposed by this compact and the withdrawing state shall continue to administer the compact to the extent necessary to accord and implement fully the rights and protections preserved thereby.
SECTION 4.     AMENDATORY     10 O.S. 2001, Section 7004-1.6, as amended by Section 63, Chapter 233, O.S.L. 2009 and as renumbered by Section 299, Chapter 233, O.S.L. 2009 (10A O.S. Supp. 2009, Section 1-9-107), is amended to read as follows:
Section 1-9-107.  A.  This section and Section 3230 of Title 70 of the Oklahoma Statutes shall be known and may be cited as the “Independent Living Act”.
B.  The purpose of the Independent Living Act shall be:
1.  To ensure that eligible individuals, who have been or are in the foster care program of the Department of Human Services or a federally recognized Indian tribe with whom the Department has a contract, due to abuse or neglect, receive the protection and support necessary to allow those individuals to become self reliant and productive citizens through the provision of requisite services that include, but are not limited to, transitional planning, housing, medical coverage, and education, provided that eligibility for tuition waivers shall be as set forth in Section 3230 of Title 70 of the Oklahoma Statutes; and
2.  To break the cycle of abuse and neglect that obligates the state to assume custody of children.
C.  Individuals eligible for services pursuant to the Independent Living Act include any individual up to twenty-one (21) years of age who has been in the custody of the Department or a federally recognized Indian tribe due to abuse or neglect for any nine (9) of the twenty-four (24) months after the individual’s sixteenth birthday and before the individual’s eighteenth birthday An individual is eligible to receive independent living services from the age of sixteen (16) until the age of eighteen (18), during the time the individual is in the custody of the Department or a federally recognized Indian tribe and in an out-of-home placement.
D.  Independent living services may continue to the age of twenty-one (21), provided the individual is in the custody of the Department or a federally recognized Indian tribe due to abuse or neglect and is in an out-of-home placement at the time of the individual’s eighteenth birthday.
E.  Individuals who are sixteen (16) years of age or older, who have been released from the custody of the Department or federally recognized Indian tribe due to the entry of an adoption decree or guardianship order are eligible to receive independent living services until the age of twenty-one (21).
F.  Individuals who are eligible for services pursuant to the Independent Living Act and who are between eighteen (18) and twenty-one (21) years of age shall be eligible for Medicaid coverage, provided such individuals were also in the custody of the Department or a federally recognized Indian tribe on the date they reached eighteen (18) years of age and meet Medicaid financial eligibility guidelines.
SECTION 5.     AMENDATORY     63 O.S. 2001, Section 1-227.4, as last amended by Section 150, Chapter 234, O.S.L. 2009 (63 O.S. Supp. 2009, Section 1-227.4), is amended to read as follows:
Section 1-227.4  A.  The Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth shall appoint an interagency child abuse prevention task force which shall be composed of seventeen (17) members as follows:
1.  One representative of the child welfare services division of the Department of Human Services;
2.  One representative of the maternal and child health services of the State Department of Health;
3.  One representative of the child guidance services of the State Department of Health;
4.  One representative of the State Department of Education;
5.  Two representatives of the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, one with expertise in the treatment of mental illness and one with expertise in the treatment of substance abuse;
6.  One representative of the Office of the Attorney General with expertise in the area of domestic abuse;
7.  One representative of the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth’s Community Partnership Board;
8.  One representative of the Oklahoma Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics;
9.  One representative of the judiciary, the legal profession, or law enforcement;
10.  Two representatives who have expertise in the delivery of child abuse prevention services and who do not receive funds from the Child Abuse Prevention Fund as provided in Section 1-227.8 of this title; one of whom shall have experience providing child abuse prevention services pursuant to Section 1-9-108 of Title 10A of the Oklahoma Statutes;
11.  One representative of the Oklahoma Partnership for School Readiness Board;
12.  Three parents participating in a child abuse prevention program, one of whom shall have participated in a program for high-risk families pursuant to Section 1-9-108 of Title 10A of the Oklahoma Statutes; and
13.  One representative of the faith community.
B.  Each member of the interagency child abuse prevention task force is authorized to have one designee.
C.  The Office of Child Abuse Prevention and the interagency child abuse prevention task force of the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth shall prepare the comprehensive state plan for prevention of child abuse and neglect for the approval of the Commission.  The development and preparation of said the plan shall include, but not be limited to, adequate opportunity for appropriate local private and public agencies and organizations and private citizens to participate in the development of the state plan at the local level.
D.  1.  The interagency child abuse prevention task force and the Office of Child Abuse Prevention shall review and evaluate all proposals submitted for grants or contracts for child abuse prevention programs and services.  Upon completion of such review and evaluation, the interagency child abuse prevention task force and the Office of Child Abuse Prevention shall make the final recommendations as to which proposals should be funded pursuant to the provisions of the Child Abuse Prevention Act and shall submit its findings to the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth.  The Commission shall review the findings of the interagency child abuse prevention task force and the Office of Child Abuse Prevention for compliance of such approved proposals with the comprehensive state plan prepared pursuant to the provisions of the Child Abuse Prevention Act.
2.  Upon ascertaining compliance with said the plans, the Commission shall deliver the findings of the interagency child abuse prevention task force and the Office of Child Abuse Prevention to the State Commissioner of Health.
3.  The Commissioner shall authorize the Office of Child Abuse Prevention to use the Child Abuse Prevention Fund to fund such grants or contracts for child abuse prevention programs and services which are approved by the Commissioner.
4.  Whenever the Commissioner approves a grant or contract which was not recommended by the interagency task force and the Office of Child Abuse Prevention, the Commissioner shall state in writing the reason for such decision.
5.  Once the grants or contracts have been awarded by the Commissioner, the Office of Child Abuse Prevention, along with the interagency child abuse prevention task force, shall annually review the performance of the awardees and determine if funding should be continued.
SECTION 6.  It being immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and 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.

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