Oklahoma commission adopts new rules for freestanding multidisciplinary child-abuse teams amid privacy and authority concerns

The Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth voted to adopt changes to the rules that govern freestanding multidisciplinary child-abuse teams, approving new language to standardize annual reviews, add site visits and authorize a secured database of case-level information.

Staff presented the rules as a package intended to strengthen oversight and data collection for MDTs while protecting confidential information. "The proposed rules provide procedures for annual reviews and site visits, of the freestanding teams," said Marsha Johnson, OCCY staff, summarizing the rulemaking process and the public comment period. The draft also adds peer reviews — trained MDT coordinators reviewing other teams — to reduce the burden on a single staff reviewer.

Supporters said the changes will let OCCY move away from paperwork-based oversight and improve the agency’s ability to verify counts and run quality checks. Johnson told the commission the database will include limited identifying fields — name, date of birth and a KK case number when available — so staff can perform data cleaning and cross‑county matches that previously were impossible with paper-based submissions.

Several commissioners and stakeholders sought assurances about data privacy, who would have access and the agency’s statutory authority to delegate site visits to peer reviewers. Assistant Attorney General Sandra Bowser said the published agenda and notice of rulemaking were adequate to inform the public that the commission would consider rule changes. "I believe it does," she said when asked whether the notice met public‑meeting requirements.

Commissioners pressed staff to limit access to the new database. OCCY staff said the database will be hosted by the University of Oklahoma’s evaluation and IT team under a contract approved by state IT authorities; access will be restricted to OCCY staff and named contractors with explicit, role‑based permissions. Staff said they will require court orders for any external requests for identifiable data and that the rules explicitly limit use and sharing of confidential information "pursuant to statute."

Some commissioners asked whether statutes already authorize the commission to conduct annual reviews and whether peer review is a permissible delegation of the review function. Counsel advised that existing statute provides broad authority for annual reviews and that rules may reasonably expand on the statute’s procedural details; she cautioned, however, that legislative review of the rules is a separate step and that lawmakers sometimes modify rules they find beyond statutory scope.

Public comments and a written submission from a child‑advocacy representative focused on concerns about the peer‑review process and whether the database could inadvertently expose confidential information. OCCY staff said the rules exempt confidential case information from public release and limit the database’s fields to what is necessary for quality assurance and oversight. "We take confidentiality really seriously," Johnson said, adding the rules create training and standardized evaluation forms for coordinators who will participate in peer reviews.

The commission voted to adopt the rules as submitted. The motion passed on a roll call with the commissioners present voting yes.

The rules now move into the administrative review process; staff said they will notify MDTs and tribal partners as the rules proceed and will continue outreach about the database, peer‑review training and site‑visit procedures.

Ending: The new rules create a formalized review cycle — combining site visits, standardized forms and a secure database — intended to modernize oversight of freestanding MDTs across Oklahoma. Commissioners said they expect continued outreach to tribal partners, district attorneys and MDT coordinators as the rules are implemented.