Children's Rights advocacy group wants $363,139 more in case versus Oklahoma

Children's Rights asked in June for $9,520,419 for the legal work on a lawsuit that forced the Department of Human Services to reform its child welfare procedures. It told a judge Tuesday it will not object to a federal magistrate's recommendation that it be paid $7,031,928 for the lawsuit work.

But it now wants extra funds for the time its attorneys and an Oklahoma law firm spent last year on the fee request. It also wants extra funds for expenses, mostly for two experts who testified at a three-day hearing on the fee request.

The New York-based child advocacy group sued DHS officials in 2008 in federal court in Tulsa. The class-action lawsuit was settled a year ago, and the agency already has made major changes.

DHS officials argued in October the advocacy group should get only $2.6 million to $3.7 million for the lawsuit work “if the court determines that the plaintiffs are entitled to an award at all.”

U.S. District Judge Gregory Frizzell will make the final decision. The state of Oklahoma is responsible for paying what he awards.