Two Child Protection Bills By Rep. Albright To Move Forward

OKLAHOMA CITY – Two pieces of legislation designed to protect children are now one-step closer to being law after passing off the House floor this week.

House Bill 1328, authored by Rep. Kelly Albright, (D-95, Midwest City), directs that DHS may not prohibit a child-placing agency from recruiting, certifying or providing services for kinship foster family homes, unless prohibited in the contract it has with the agency. In addition, a kinship foster family home that receives services from a child-placing agency, in compliance with the contract between DHS and the agency, is eligible to receive the same reimbursement rate as other foster family homes.

“Although this is not an education bill, my experience in the classroom was the inspiration for this piece of legislation,” Albright said. “There are over 8,000 children in state custody, some of whom were my students. My heart goes out to them, and this bill can help expand the number of families who would foster these children who have faced the trauma of separation from their parent. I’m grateful for the bipartisan support of my peers for helping to pass this legislation.”

House Bill 2019, also authored by Rep. Albright, requires the court to inquire about the pregnancy or primary caregiver status of the accused person when making a pretrial release determination and upon sentencing. If the court determines that the accused person is pregnant or is the primary caregiver and the person does not impose a substantial risk of physical harm to the community, the court shall permit pretrial release on his or her own personal recognizance. At sentencing, the court may impose an individually assessed sentence, without imprisonment.

“As a teacher, I taught students that were going through situations like this,” Albright said. “When we talk about criminal justice reform, what we are really talking about is injecting humanity into our policies. This legislation reinforces the state’s position that unless absolutely necessary to maintain safety, a child should not be separated from their primary caregiver.”

Last November 16 educators -- current or former teachers, administrators and support staff -- were elected to the state House and Senate. Nine are Republicans and seven are Democrats. As one of those educators Albright underscored the impact her teaching experience had in the framing of the two bills.

“Both of these bills really spoke to me due to my experience in the classroom where I've had students that were separated from their parents,” the first-term Midwest City representative said.

House Bill 1328, co-authored by Rep. Cyndi Munson, (D-85, Oklahoma City), received unanimous support at both the committee stage and on the floor of the House, will be carried forward by principal Senate co-author State Senator J.J. Dossett, (D-34, Owasso).

House Bill 2019, co-authored by Rep. Dean Davis, (R-98, Broken Arrow), passed the House 69-24 after winning the support of the Judiciary Committee, 14-2. The bill’s journey through the Senate will be supervised by principal co-author State Senator Julia Kirt, (D-30, Oklahoma City).