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 3380 By: Ranson
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6 AS INTRODUCED
7 An Act relating to children; enacting the Fostering
the Future for Oklahoman Children and Families Act;
8 directing the Department of Human Services to carry
out certain tasks within certain time period;
9 providing that nothing in this act shall be construed
to impair or affect authority or functions of certain
10 departments or agencies; directing that act be
implemented in accordance with applicable laws;
11 directing the Department to submit annual report;
providing for codification; and providing an
12 effective date.
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16 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
17 SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
18 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 1-11-101 of Title 10A, unless
19 there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
20 This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Fostering the
21 Future for Oklahoman Children and Families Act".
22 SECTION 2. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
23 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 1-11-102 of Title 10A, unless
24 there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
Req. No. 15835 Page 1
1 The Department of Human Services shall, within one hundred
2 eighty (180) days of the effective date of this act:
3 1. Update applicable regulations, policies, and practices to
4 improve the collection, publication, utility, and transparency of
5 child-welfare data, including by improving collection of data and
6 information indicative of child well-being and safety, eliminating
7 duplicative or unnecessary high-cost and low-value reporting
8 requirements, and expanding and expediting child-welfare data
9 publication;
10 2. Promote modernization of child-welfare information systems
11 and use of the most effective foster care management and outcome-
12 tracking platforms;
13 3. Expand use of technological solutions, including predictive
14 analytics and tools powered by artificial intelligence, to increase
15 caregiver recruitment and retention rates, improve caregiver and
16 child matching, and deploy child-welfare funding to maximally
17 effective purposes and recipients. Predictive analytics and
18 artificial intelligence tools may be used through pilot or
19 demonstration programs with appropriate privacy and bias safeguards;
20 and
21 4. Publish annually a scorecard that measures and is used to
22 evaluate achievement of key outcomes and metrics that reduce
23 unnecessary entries into foster care, decrease the time between
24 reports of child maltreatment and investigations, reduce child
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1 injuries and fatalities caused by caregiver neglect and abuse,
2 increase caregiver recruitment and retention, improve caregiver and
3 child matching, reduce placement disruptions, decrease the average
4 time that children spend in foster care, accelerate permanent
5 placement for children, and increase partnerships and collaboration
6 with appropriate nongovernmental entities, including faith-based
7 organizations.
8 SECTION 3. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
9 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 1-11-103 of Title 10A, unless
10 there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
11 The Department of Human Services, in coordination with heads of
12 other relevant executive departments and agencies shall, within one
13 hundred eighty (180) days of the effective date of this act:
14 1. Establish a "Fostering the Future" initiative to develop
15 partnerships with agencies and leading private sector organizations,
16 academic institutions, and nonprofit entities to create new
17 educational and employment opportunities for individuals who are in
18 or are transitioning out of the foster care system;
19 2. Develop a plan to launch a "Fostering the Future" online
20 platform to help individuals who have been in foster care by
21 assessing their current needs, providing guidance regarding
22 accessing federal, state, and local programs and services for which
23 they are eligible, including housing, education, employment, health
24 care, and mentoring services offering a searchable database of those
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1 and other available resources, and generating customized plans that
2 support their self-sufficiency and success;
3 3. Develop a strategy to reallocate excess funds designed to
4 assist individuals transitioning out of foster care so that such
5 funds are used to promote educational success, occupational
6 advancement, and financial literacy and self-sufficiency for
7 individuals transitioning out of foster care. Provided, however,
8 that the reallocation of funds applies only to unexpended or
9 returned funds and remains subject to legislative appropriation
10 authority;
11 4. Facilitate, in coordination with the Oklahoma State
12 Treasurer, the Oklahoma State Department of Education, and the
13 Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, use of educational
14 scholarships created through tax-credited donations to scholarship-
15 granting organizations for children in foster care; and
16 5. Increase flexibility in state-administered education and
17 training assistance for individuals transitioning out of foster
18 care, including short-term, career-focused, credential-awarding, and
19 workforce aligned programs, consistent with federal law and subject
20 to available funds.
21 SECTION 4. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
22 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 1-11-104 of Title 10A, unless
23 there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
24 The Department of Human Services shall:
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1 1. Take appropriate action to address state and local policies
2 and practices that inappropriately prohibit participation in
3 federally-funded child-welfare programs by qualified individuals or
4 organizations based upon their sincerely-held religious beliefs or
5 moral convictions; and
6 2. Take appropriate action to increase partnerships between
7 agencies and faith-based organizations and houses of worship to
8 serve families whose children have been placed in foster care or are
9 at risk of being placed in foster care.
10 SECTION 5. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
11 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 1-11-105 of Title 10A, unless
12 there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
13 A. Nothing in this act shall be construed to impair or
14 otherwise affect:
15 1. The authority granted by law to an executive department or
16 agency, or the head thereof; or
17 2. The functions of the Director of the Office of Management
18 and Enterprise Services relating to budgetary, administrative, or
19 legislative proposals.
20 B. This act shall be implemented consistent with applicable law
21 and subject to the availability of appropriations.
22 C. This act is not intended to, and does not, create any right
23 or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in
24 equity by any party against the State of Oklahoma, its departments,
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1 agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, agents, or any other
2 person.
3 D. Participation, pursuant to this act, shall not confer
4 preferential treatment and shall not exempt any provider from
5 licensing or safety requirements.
6 SECTION 6. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
7 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 1-11-106 of Title 10A, unless
8 there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
9 The Department of Human Services shall submit an annual
10 implementation report to the President Pro Tempore of the Oklahoma
11 Senate and the Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representative.
12 SECTION 7. This act shall become effective November 1, 2026.
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14 60-2-15835 CMA 01/13/26
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Req. No. 15835 Page 6Every fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.