Children; Sir Major White-Bullock Child Protection and Family Notification Act; purpose; terms; Department of Human Services; safety review; notify; exception; tracking; court; rules; training; codification; effective date.
HB3052 creates the “Sir Major White-Bullock Child Protection and Family Notification Act,” a child welfare measure focused on repeated fentanyl exposure at birth. The bill declares that repeated fentanyl-exposed births present a foreseeable and preventable risk to infant safety and that current Department of Human Services practices may not consistently trigger stronger intervention. It requires DHS to conduct an enhanced child safety review when a parent has a second or subsequent fentanyl-exposed infant within five years, with the review covering prior child welfare history, cumulative risk, and prior service compliance.
The bill also requires DHS to identify and notify qualified family members, such as grandparents, adult siblings, aunts, uncles, or other adult relatives, so they can participate in safety planning, kinship placement, or family team meetings. It directs DHS to consider immediate safety planning, supervised visitation, kinship placement preference, court-ordered treatment, and specialized maternal addiction treatment. Hospitals and birthing facilities must report fentanyl-positive births, courts must be informed of prior DHS involvement and whether family notification occurred, and DHS must create a statewide tracking mechanism, adopt rules, and train staff, hospitals, and courts.
HB3052 would add a new set of child welfare procedures to Title 10A of the Oklahoma Statutes, specifically targeting repeat prenatal fentanyl exposure. It expands DHS duties by mandating cross-case review, family notification, statewide tracking, and enhanced intervention in repeat cases, while also giving courts additional information and authority to order kinship evaluations or expanded supervision. The bill affects DHS, hospitals, birthing facilities, courts, parents involved in child welfare cases, and extended family members who may be considered for placement or safety planning.
The available voting history shows strong and unanimous support in committee and on the House floor, with no recorded opposition in the listed votes. The bill was approved 5-0 in subcommittee, 28-0 in full committee, and 89-0 on third reading, suggesting broad agreement with its child-safety goals. The bill text also includes language emphasizing that it should not criminalize pregnancy or substance use disorder, which appears aimed at reassuring members concerned about treatment access and due process.
The main policy tension is between aggressive child-protection intervention and concerns about confidentiality, parental rights, and the treatment of substance use disorder. The bill responds to perceived gaps in DHS practice by requiring notification of qualified relatives and prohibiting DHS from withholding notification solely on confidentiality grounds when child safety is at risk, but it preserves a court-based safety exception. It also explicitly states that the act does not criminalize pregnancy or substance use, deny reunification services, or eliminate parental rights without court findings, indicating sensitivity to civil-liberties and family-preservation concerns. No recorded opposition appears in the provided votes, so the contention is reflected more in the bill’s drafting than in the legislative record provided.