An act relating to children, the official text

1                   STATE OF OKLAHOMA

2              2nd Session of the 60th Legislature (2026)

3 HOUSE BILL 4341                         By: Moore

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5

6                   AS INTRODUCED

7           An Act relating to children; amending 10A O.S. 2021,

            Section 1-8-102, as amended by Section 1, Chapter

8           310, O.S.L. 2022 (10A O.S. Supp. 2025, Section 1-8-

            102), which relates to court-appointed special

9           advocates; modifying education and training course

            standards; modifying background check standards; and

10          providing an effective date.

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14 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:

15  SECTION 1.      AMENDATORY  10A O.S. 2021, Section 1-8-102, as

16 amended by Section 1, Chapter 310, O.S.L. 2022 (10A O.S. Supp. 2025,

17 Section 1-8-102), is amended to read as follows:

18  Section 1-8-102. A. Any court-appointed special advocate

19 (CASA) available for appointment pursuant to the Oklahoma Children's

20 Code or the Oklahoma Juvenile Code shall complete education and

21 training courses in accordance with national and Oklahoma CASA

22 standards.

23  B. No court-appointed special advocate shall be assigned a case

24 before:

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1   1. Completing a training program in compliance with nationally

2 documented Court-Appointed Special Advocate standards.

3 Documentation of training shall be submitted annually by local

4 court-appointed special advocate programs to the Oklahoma Court-

5 Appointed Special Advocate Association; and

6   2. Being approved by the local court-appointed special advocate

7 program, which will include appropriate criminal background checks

8 as provided in subsection C of this section.

9   C. 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, each local

10 court-appointed special advocate program shall require for any

11 person making application to become a court-appointed special

12 advocate volunteer or to be employed by the local court-appointed

13 special advocate program:

14  a. a child welfare records search conducted by the

15  Department of Human Services, which shall consist of a

16  search of the Child Abuse and Neglect Information

17  System maintained by the Department of Human Services

18  for review by authorized entities,

19  b. a criminal history records search conducted by the

20  Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, and

21  c. any other background check meeting the requirements as

22  set forth in Oklahoma Court-Appointed Special Advocate

23  Association state or national standards for local

24  programs.

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1   2. If the prospective court-appointed special advocate

2 volunteer or employee of the local court-appointed special advocate

3 program has lived in Oklahoma for less than one (1) year, a criminal

4 history records search shall also be obtained from the criminal

5 history state repository of the previous state of residence.

6   D. 1. Any person participating in a judicial proceeding as a

7 court-appointed special advocate shall be presumed prima facie to be

8 acting in good faith and in so doing shall be immune from any civil

9 liability that otherwise might be incurred or imposed.

10  2. Any person serving in a management position of a court-

11 appointed special advocate organization, including a member of the

12 Board of Directors acting in good faith, shall be immune from any

13 civil liability or any vicarious liability for the negligence of any

14 court-appointed special advocate organization advocates, managers,

15 or directors.

16  SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2026.

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18  60-2-14752      CMA  12/18/25

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