OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (KOKH) — A state lawmaker has filed a bill that would create a new state agency called the Department of Child Safety and Wellbeing.
“What we’re trying to do is take a holistic approach on child welfare and moving OJA and consolidating those two to make them one agency that’s laser focused on the protection and the wellbeing of children,” State Sen. Paul Rosino (R-Oklahoma City) said.
Rosino is the author of SB1570, which would create the new agency. He said currently, a lot falls under OKDHS.
“DHS is so big. They have aging services. They have people with intellectual developmental disabilities. They’ve got ADvantage. They’ve got SNAP, childcare,” Rosino said. “They have all of these things and so what I think the kids of Oklahoma deserve better, and so what we want to do is make this one agency. This is not punitive on DHS. This is just a chance to refocus only on children.”
FOX 25 asked how would lawmakers work to ensure children would be taken care of under this new agency.
“One of the things if you notice it’s child safety, but the other piece of this is wellbeing,” Rosino said. “So, it’s a holistic approach, right, on what we have to do to make sure that children are taken care of. They’re safe first and then their wellbeing. And that can mean a lot of things. Is it poverty? Is it education? Is it medical needs? Is it healthcare? What are those things? That’s what this agency I hope to have is a holistic approach first keep them safe with the foster care and child protective services and then after that work to make families stronger.”
In the past couple of years, there have been people across different counties in the state working to collect signatures for grand jury investigations into OKDHS, and State Rep. JJ Humphrey (R-Lane) said he thinks Rosino’s bill is a good one.
“We have a massive, massive problem with DHS not doing proper investigations on kids that need to be out of home, taking kids that don’t need to be out of, you know, taking good homes and removing kids. And we’re seeing them put kids into very abusive situations. And it’s not one. It’s we see it all the time. I can give you report after report of these type of cases,” Humphrey told FOX 25.
The bill passed out of the Senate Health and Human Services committee unanimously on Monday afternoon. Rosino said this bill is a work in progress, and he will be working on it all session.
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