The Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) continues to place progressive ideology over the rights of families to raise their children in accordance with their own values and religious beliefs.
Child Welfare Worker Guidebook Presses Ideology Over Parent Rights
Within Oklahoma Administrative Code (OAC 340-075) which includes current regulations and guidelines for OKDHS’s Child Welfare Services (CWS) as approved by the State Legislature, agency personnel continue to be instructed to “affirm” and “keep confidential” any child’s “self-identification as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, or questioning (LGBTQ)”.
Not only can the State of Oklahoma take your child, but under administrative code which has the effect of law, it can hide evidence of your child’s harmful, progressive brainwashing within state custody while using your beliefs to sever your parental rights.
OAC-75 directs OKDHS employees to linked LGBTQ Supports that label children with acronyms describing adult sexual preferences and families non-accepting of “LGBTQ youth” as problematic.
According to OKDHS’s linked and currently published LGBTQ Children, Youth, and Families Practice Guidebook, the agency’s values override any “respect and honor” they claim to assign to the beliefs of individual families. Government is given the unquestioned moral high ground.
“While doing the work of assessing child safety and encouraging families in protective and safe behaviors, the Practice Standards clearly guide that this work be done with “respect and honor” toward the families DHS serves. The Quality Standards of safety, integrity, professionalism, and compassion require that specialists reflect the values of the agency in the actions they take as child welfare specialists.”
Current Practice Guidebook for OK Child Welfare Workers (okdhs.gov).
The guidebook was adapted from Minnesota and Ohio policy, and asserts the prevalence of heterosexism in Oklahoma as leading to “an invisibility of the LGBTQ population”. Child welfare workers are told LGBT activists’ desire for visibility should trump the rights of parents.
In referencing data, the guidebook admits few children “enter out-of-home placement as a result of issues related to their gender or sexual orientation”. It then admittedly relies on “anecdotal evidence that many LGBTQ youth are thrown out of their homes when they disclose self-identification as LGBTQ” to insist this manual for CWS workers is necessary.
The policy book then fully discounts data contradicting their conclusions because the “trauma lens” was missing.
“These statistics need to be examined through a trauma lens, as evidence that the risk for LGBTQ children and youth is exacerbated by family rejection and community stigmatization, rather than continuing to blame victims for their self-identity as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning.”
The document applies sexual labels to children with no limitations suggesting a child of any age can self-identify as LGBTQ. The guidebook then moves to define LGBTQ children as the ultimate victims of bullying, homelessness, trauma and human trafficking, thus justifying the need for the agency to assure each family either accepts the child’s new identification or fails to reunify with their child.
Parent objections to any lifestyle within the LGBTQ spectrum are deemed a “safety issue”.
Specific progressive hoops the worker should require parents to jump though in order to regain or retain custody of their children include:
family therapy with an LGBTQ knowledgeable and affirming therapist
agreement that specifically allows the youth to attend local LGBTQ youth groups or school-based Gay-Straight Alliance meetings
contact with local PFLAG (Parents, Friends, and Families of Lesbian and Gays) chapter to discuss support and resources in the community
Oklahoma has it’s own page of “Resources for OK Trans+ Nonbinary Youth” on the PFLAG website:
From PFLAG website: OK Trans + Nonbinary Youth Resources
PFLAG trainings for family members insist any child LGBTQ+ disclosure, no matter the child’s age, is real and definitely “NOT A PHASE” though no solid research is mentioned.
According to the OKDHS guidebook, the Child Welfare Specialist is to hover over the process of wokifying parents out of their previous beliefs through “frequent, purposeful, and progressive visitation and facilitating family connection with local LGBTQ resources”.
When deciding if an LGTBQ child can return home, the guidebook states:
“Considerations include not just if the parent complied with and met case plan goals, but more importantly if they can demonstrate necessary behavioral changes that show how they will be able to provide an emotionally and physically safe home for their LGBTQ child.”
Should parents fail to comply with OKDHS expectations, the guidebook leads the worker to “Preserve and Forge New Connections to Promote Permanence”. In other words, the worker should identify a new, affirming, forever home away from the child’s family of origin.
Outside of Law: OKDHS Instructions to Staff Use LGBTQ Litmus Test to Sever Child’s Extended Family Ties
Once parental rights are terminated, the guidebook again gives lip service to the importance of biological connections before asserting state custody children should only be allowed to maintain contact with family members who “support, encourage and validate” that child’s identity.
“Connections for children who have experienced termination of parental rights should be maintained…The child welfare specialist should ensure regular visitation with siblings, grandparents, cousins and other relatives who support, encourage and validate the LGBTQ youth in their journey toward adulthood.”
With the “LGBTQ youth” now entirely removed from the family culture and custody, the worker is then encouraged to discuss LGBTQ considerations with the child in seeking an adoptive or permanent caregiver.
“Further, the child welfare specialist should encourage the youth to speak openly about the adoptive or permanency situation they prefer and ask questions of potential adoptive or guardianship caregivers specific to the needs of LGBTQ youth.”
Is Agency Creating LGBTQ Kids? State Custody Youth Encouraged to Come Out
OKDHS policy suggests the agency may be creating LGBTQ youth. Beyond affirming, or even encouraging, the wording indicates suggestive pressuring followed by validating celebration of disclosures.
The guidebook asks, “What can child welfare specialists do to assist LGBTQ youth with the coming out process?” CWS staff are then instructed “to facilitate the experience” of “possible LGBTQ youth” using specific, leading strategies:
“Provide all youth with opportunities to talk about gender and sexuality in a healthy way. Draw LGBTQ youth into the conversation without calling out their sexual orientation or gender identity.”
“Child welfare specialists should focus on validating the youth’s disclosure as it unfolds. Transgender youth may need additional help in differentiating between their gender identity and sexual orientation.”
Don’t Document: OKDHS Instructs Workers to Keep Child Disclosures Confidential
Perhaps most concerning, the guidebook instructs workers to keep child disclosures of alternate identities and sexualities completely confidential. Parents should not be told unless the child then tells them, and there is no legal need to make any trackable record of such disclosures:
“Some specialists may wonder whether they should document that a youth has come out. There is no Oklahoma DHS policy that requires a child welfare specialist document and record that a youth has come out as LGBTQ unless such information is crucial to understanding and assessing child safety.”
What is not documented by OKDHS will likely never be known by the district court making critical custody decisions for the child. The agency’s actions cannot be questioned. OKDHS policy in this area blatantly circumvents the checks and balances seeking to prevent government overreach into Oklahoma families.
Despite no mandate to document any such youth disclosures, the Child Welfare Specialist is instructed to use the information to force foster and kinship placements to affirm, “promote pride” and connect the child to LGBT affirming services.
OKDHS Directives Illegally Override Mandate for Kinship/Relative Placement: Affirming Homes Only
Involving what the agency deems “placement safety”, the legal mandate requiring OKDHS to make continuing and “reasonable efforts” to place children with relatives is effectively eliminated if the child can be encouraged to disclose as LGBTQ.
“Families that are uncomfortable caring for LGBTQ youth in an unbiased way should not have these youth placed in their care.”
The guidebook encourages the recruitment of LGBTQ foster caregivers and places requirements on foster/adoptive agencies to screen and train potential foster families for “cultural competence” concerning LGBTQ children.
If the child is placed in congregate care (group home or youth treatment facility), the state contracted provider must meet the same ideological expectations and is encouraged to display ally symbols such as “rainbow, pink triangle, ‘LGBTQ Allies,’ ‘Safe Zone,’ or ‘Hate-Free Zone’ signs, posters or stickers” in their lobby or intake area.
Who Will Reign In OKDHS Abuse of Power? Governor, AG & OKDHS Director Refuse to Save Lincoln
Reader’s engaged as V1SUT continues to follow the story of Lincoln Lochman are well aware OKDHS frequently overreaches into families outside of state law with devasting consequences (link to ongoing investigative series).
Lincoln was unlawfully removed from his family as a newborn and placed with two men, one of whom was twice arrested and once indicted for child sexual abuse. OKDHS has refused to investigate or take action to ensure Lincoln’s safety.
Thus far, Governor Kevin Stitt (R), Attorney General Gentner Drummond (R) and OKDHS Director Jeffrey Cartmell have refused to respond to either this publication’s questions or the requests of state legislators for action in the Lochman case.
A fundraising campaign has been established to support Lincoln’s biological parents in taking legal action to regain custody of Lincoln. Please consider donating.
Have a tip or information you’d like to share? Comment publicly to this post or email privately (connect@v1sut.com).
Legacy media no longer pays anyone to report the truth. The V1SUT Vantage is an independent, reader-supported publication. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber.
Copyright Notice: Individual readers are encouraged to share this original content. Others, including publications, aggregators and social media outlets not operating as an individual must request and receive written permission from The V1SUT Vantage before using this content in whole or in part. Email connect@V1SUT.com to request permission.
The youth organizations in which I am involved require training to recognize when a child is being groomed. DHS raises almost all of the red flags…especially the secrecy!
The youth organizations in which I am involved require training to recognize when a child is being groomed. DHS raises almost all of the red flags…especially the secrecy!
OKDHS is evil and should be broken into little pieces