1| SENATE FLOOR VERSION | | April 7, 2025 | 2| | | | 3|ENGROSSED HOUSE | |BILL NO. 2361 By: Hill, Gise, Pae, and Munson | 4| of the House | | | 5| and | | | 6| Daniels of the Senate | | | 7| | | | 8| | | | 9| An Act relating to children; amending 10A O.S. 2021, | | Section 1-9-107, which relates to the Successful | 10| Adulthood Act; providing documents certain children | | leaving foster care shall be provided; providing that | 11| certain documents be given to individuals being | | released from the custody of the Office of Juvenile | 12| Affairs; providing for codification; and providing an | | effective date. | 13| | | | 14| | | | 15|BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA: | | | 16| SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 10A O.S. 2021, Section 1-9-107, is | | | 17|amended to read as follows: | | | 18| Section 1-9-107. A. This section shall be known and may be | | | 19|cited as the "Successful Adulthood Act". | | | 20| B. The purpose of the Successful Adulthood Act shall be: | | | 21| 1. To ensure that eligible individuals, who have been or are in | | | 22|the foster care program of the Department of Human Services or a | | | 23|federally recognized Indian tribe with whom the Department has a | | | 24|contract, due to abuse or neglect, receive the protection and | | | arsid6571645 SENATE FLOOR VERSION - HB2361 SFLR Page 1 ___________________________________________________________________________
1|support necessary to allow those individuals to become self-reliant | | | 2|and productive citizens through the provision of requisite services | | | 3|that include, but are not limited to, transitional planning, | | | 4|housing, medical coverage, and education; provided, that eligibility | | | 5|for tuition waivers shall be as set forth in Section 3230 of Title | | | 6|70 of the Oklahoma Statutes; | | | 7| 2. To break the cycle of abuse and neglect that obligates the | | | 8|state to assume custody of children; and | | | 9| 3. To help children who have experienced foster care at age | | | 10|fourteen (14) or older achieve meaningful permanent connections with | | | 11|a caring adult. | | | 12| C. An individual is eligible to receive services for the | | | 13|transition of the child to a successful adulthood from the age of | | | 14|fourteen (14) until the age of eighteen (18), during the time the | | | 15|individual is in the custody of the Department or a federally | | | 16|recognized Indian tribe and in an out-of-home placement. | | | 17| D. The permanency plan for the child in transition to a | | | 18|successful adulthood shall be developed in consultation with the | | | 19|child and, at the option of the child, with up to two members of the | | | 20|permanency planning team to be chosen by the child, excluding the | | | 21|foster parent and caseworker for the child, subject to the following | | | 22|provisions: | | | 23| 1. One individual selected by the child may be designated to be | | | 24|the advisor and, as necessary, advocate of the child, with respect | | | arsid6571645 SENATE FLOOR VERSION - HB2361 SFLR Page 2 ___________________________________________________________________________
1|to the application of the reasonable and prudent parent standard to | | | 2|the child; and | | | 3| 2. The Department may reject an individual selected by the | | | 4|child to be a member of the permanency planning team at any time if | | | 5|the Department has good cause to believe that the selected | | | 6|individual would not act in the best interests of the child. | | | 7| E. 1. Each child in foster care under the responsibility of | | | 8|the Department or a federally recognized Indian tribe and in an | | | 9|out-of-home placement, who has attained fourteen (14) years of age | | | 10|shall be given a written Notice of Rights that describes the | | | 11|following specific rights of the child: | | | 12| a. the rights of the child with respect to education, | | | 13| health, visitation, and court participation, | | | 14| b. the right to be provided with the documents specified | | | 15| in subsection F of this section, and | | | 16| c. the right to stay safe and avoid exploitation. | | | 17| 2. The child shall sign an acknowledgment stating that the | | | 18|child has been provided with a copy of the Notice of Rights and that | | | 19|the rights described in the notice have been explained to the child | | | 20|in an age-appropriate way. | | | 21| F. A child about to leave foster care by reason of having | | | 22|attained eighteen (18) years of age and who has been in foster care | | | 23|for at least six (6) months shall be given the following documents | | | 24|pertaining to the child: | | | arsid6571645 SENATE FLOOR VERSION - HB2361 SFLR Page 3 ___________________________________________________________________________
1| 1. An official or certified copy of the United States birth | | | 2|certificate; | | | 3| 2. A Social Security card issued by the Commissioner of Social | | | 4|Security; | | | 5| 3.Health insurance informationInformation about how to obtain | | | 6|health insurance; | | | 7| 4. A copy of the medical records of the child; | | | 8| 5. A state-issued driver license or identification card;and| | | 9| 6. Official documentation necessary to show that the child was | | | 10|previously in foster care; and | | | 11| 7. Any educational transcripts, diplomas, or professional | | | 12|certificates earned while in the custody of the Department of Human | | | 13|Services. | | | 14| G. Successful adulthood services may continue to the age of | | | 15|twenty-one (21), provided the individual is in the custody of the | | | 16|Department or a federally recognized Indian tribe due to abuse or | | | 17|neglect and is in an out-of-home placement at the time of the | | | 18|individual's sixteenth birthday. | | | 19| H. Individuals who are sixteen (16) years of age or older, who | | | 20|have been released from the custody of the Department or federally | | | 21|recognized Indian tribe due to the entry of an adoption decree or | | | 22|guardianship order are eligible to receive successful adulthood | | | 23|services until the age of twenty-one (21). | | | 24| | | | arsid6571645 SENATE FLOOR VERSION - HB2361 SFLR Page 4 ___________________________________________________________________________
1| I. Individuals who are eligible for services pursuant to the | | | 2|Successful Adulthood Act and who are between eighteen (18) and | | | 3|twenty-one (21) years of age shall be eligible for Medicaid | | | 4|coverage, provided such individuals were also in the custody of the | | | 5|Department or a federally recognized Indian tribe on the date they | | | 6|reached eighteen (18) years of age and meet Medicaid financial | | | 7|eligibility guidelines. | | | 8| J. The Department, in conjunction with the Oklahoma State | | | 9|Regents for Higher Education, shall provide parents and legal | | | 10|guardians of foster youth with information on the Oklahoma Higher | | | 11|Learning Access Program (OHLAP) including, but not limited to, | | | 12|eligibility, application guidelines, academic requirements, and any | | | 13|other information required by the Oklahoma Higher Learning Access | | | 14|Act for participation in the Program. | | | 15| SECTION 2. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified | | | 16|in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 2-7-621 of Title 10A, unless | | | 17|there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows: | | | 18| A person who has been placed in the custody of the Office of | | | 19|Juvenile Affairs, who has attained eighteen (18) years of age, and | | | 20|who is being released from the custody of the Office of Juvenile | | | 21|Affairs with a plan to re-enter the community as a resident of the | | | 22|state shall be given the following documents pertaining to the | | | 23|person upon release: | | | 24| | | | arsid6571645 SENATE FLOOR VERSION - HB2361 SFLR Page 5 ___________________________________________________________________________
1| 1. An official or certified copy of the United States birth | | | 2|certificate; | | | 3| 2. A Social Security card issued by the Commissioner of Social | | | 4|Security; | | | 5| 3. Information about how to obtain health insurance and | | | 6|personal medical records; | | | 7| 4. A state-issued driver license or identification card; and | | | 8| 5. Any educational transcripts, diplomas, or professional | | | 9|certificates earned while in the custody of the Office of Juvenile | | | 10|Affairs. | | | 11| SECTION 3. This act shall become effective November 1, 2025. | | | 12|COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES | |April 7, 2025 - DO PASS | 13| | | | 14| | | | 15| | | | 16| | | | 17| | | | 18| | | | 19| | | | 20| | | | 21| | | | 22| | | | 23| | | | 24| | | | arsid6571645 SENATE FLOOR VERSION - HB2361 SFLR Page 6