DHS faces scrutiny over care

TULSA — During her first 11 months of life, a Tulsa County girl in DHS care allegedly suffered a fractured skull, seizures and severe dehydration while being bounced around 17 foster homes, emergency shelters and a group home.

Calling the treatment of this infant and other Oklahoma children in state care a "disgrace,” a national child advocacy group Wednesday filed a federal lawsuit in Tulsa.

The civil rights lawsuit requests that a federal judge step in and order reforms to Oklahoma's child welfare system.

"Oklahoma has long maintained one of the most dangerous and badly mismanaged child welfare systems in the nation, and thousands of children have suffered under nightmarish conditions for years as a result,” said Marcia Robinson Lowry, executive director of Children's Rights.

"It is disgraceful that we have to seek a federal court order to force the state to begin fixing problems that it should have addressed many years ago. But it is clear that this is the only way to protect Oklahoma's abused and neglected children — and that is what this lawsuit is about,” Lowry said.

DHS issued a statement in response to the lawsuit.

"All states are at different places in their respective strengths and challenges and all can be improved,” DHS said. "The department looks forward to showing the strengths of Oklahoma's system and improving it where appropriate.”

Children's Rights is a New York-based child advocacy organization.

Four Oklahoma law firms and one international firm joined Children's Rights Wednesday in filing the lawsuit on behalf of nine children who allegedly have been physically and psychologically damaged by Oklahoma's foster care system.

Gov. Brad Henry and Oklahoma Department of Human Services officials are named as defendants.

Children's Rights attorneys are asking a judge to declare the lawsuit a class action so they can represent more than 10,000 children in DHS custody in seeking court-ordered reforms for their benefit.

Children's Rights has successfully used class-action lawsuits in the past to force changes in child-welfare systems in about a dozen other states.

DHS indicated in its statement that it would oppose federal intervention and the granting of class-action status.

"Duplicating the efforts of state courts with federal court intervention seems unnecessary,” DHS said. "The department hopes the federal court will realize that every case involving a child in the custody of the state of Oklahoma is unique and is judicially supervised by a state judge.”

Children's Rights, however, contends the failure of DHS to protect children in its care has been well-documented for more than 10 years and the agency has neglected to fix the problems.

In two of the last five years, Oklahoma had the worst rate in the nation of children being abused while in foster care, the lawsuit states.

"This includes physical abuse, sexual abuse or extreme neglect inflicted on foster children by foster parents or staff at shelters or other facilities,” the lawsuit said.

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