Shown verbatim: the complete text as captured from the official PDF posted by the Oklahoma Legislature, fetched 2026-07-23. Page and line markers are part of the official record; nothing is edited or removed. The official bill page.
1 STATE OF OKLAHOMA
2 2nd Session of the 60th Legislature (2026)
3 HOUSE BILL 3344 By: Williams
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6 AS INTRODUCED
7 An Act relating to foster care; providing
requirements for persons applying to be foster
8 parents; providing penalties for false or fraudulent
application or information; providing for
9 codification; and providing an effective date.
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13 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
14 SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
15 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 1-7-111.1 of Title 10A, unless
16 there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
17 A. Persons applying to be foster parents shall:
18 1. Be at least twenty-one (21) years of age;
19 2. Reside lawfully in the United States;
20 3. Have healthy relationships, whether married, single,
21 separated, or divorced;
22 4. Have the ability to manage personal and household financial
23 needs without relying on the foster care maintenance payment;
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1 5. Earn at least one hundred one percent (101.00%) of the
2 Federal Poverty Level for the calendar year for the prospective
3 household size if a child or children were placed in the household;
4 6. Provide verification that all household members are in
5 sufficiently good physical and mental health to provide for the
6 individual needs of each child placed;
7 7. Provide a minimum of two (2) letters of recommendation from
8 respected and prominent individuals within the prospective foster
9 parent's or parents' community. Such persons may include, but shall
10 not be limited to, ministers, priests, and teachers as defined in
11 Section 1-116 of Title 70 of the Oklahoma Statutes;
12 8. Maintain a home that is adequately furnished and decorated,
13 maintained to a good standard of cleanliness and hygiene, and is in
14 good order throughout;
15 9. Ensure that outdoor spaces which are part of the premises
16 are safe, secure, and well-maintained; and
17 10. Demonstrate the basic competencies to:
18 a. protect and nurture children who have been abused,
19 emotionally maltreated, or neglected,
20 b. meet the medical and developmental needs of these
21 children,
22 c. support relationships between children and their
23 parents, siblings, and kin, as specified by the
24 Department of Human Services,
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1 d. connect children to safe, nurturing relationships,
2 e. collaborate with the Department as a team member,
3 f. not smoke in the home when a child is placed in the
4 home,
5 g. not smoke in the automobile when transporting a child
6 placed in the home,
7 h. have extended family or friends to provide support and
8 child care other than, or in addition to, licensed
9 child care paid by the Department,
10 j. share parenting of the child with the parents, who may
11 have different values and lifestyles,
12 k. be willing to actively mentor the parent to help
13 improve the parent's ability to safely care for the
14 child, and
15 l. be willing to accept placement of siblings.
16 B. Any person who willfully makes a false or fraudulent
17 application or who willfully provides any false or fraudulent
18 information in order to meet the requirements of subsection A of
19 this section, or any person who willfully aids or abets another in
20 making such false or fraudulent application or who willfully aids or
21 abets another in providing any false or fraudulent information in
22 order to assist such person in meeting the requirements of
23 subsection A of this section, upon conviction, shall be guilty of a
24 felony punishable by a fine not less than One Thousand Dollars
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1 ($1,000.00) and not more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) or
2 imprisonment in the State Penitentiary for not less than one (1)
3 year and not more than five (5) years, or by both such fine and
4 imprisonment.
5 SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2026.
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7 60-2-15750 CMA 01/05/26
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Req. No. 15750 Page 4Every fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.