Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that amends supervised visitations for parents and specifies supervised visitors would have to go through a background check and judges would have to be aware of any criminal history.

Highlights:

• Authorizes the associate district judge in each county to select trained volunteers to provide supervised visitation between a noncustodial parent and a child (Sec. 1).

• Establishes the responsibilities of the Oklahoma Child Supervised Visitation Program: establishing training requirements for volunteers, writing protocol, developing application forms (Sec. 1). 

• Prohibits a district court from the following (Sec. 1): 

• Requiring state agencies location or state employee to observe any supervised visitation; or 

• Appoint an untrained third party to observe a supervised visitation. 

• Requires all third party volunteers to receive written approval upon accomplishing the following:

• A national criminal history record check must be conducted 1 year prior to the appointment of the volunteer;

• A signed affidavit from the volunteer accepting the rules of supervision; and

• Any testimony be the volunteer deemed necessary by the court to determine their fitness. 

• Establishes that all volunteers must be able to see near the interactions between the supervised parent and the child (Sec. 1). 

• Specifies the volunteers required to make up a judicial district supervised visitation team (Sec. 1). 

• Prohibits the visitation team or volunteer to be personally charged with any liability unless acting dishonestly, willfully committing a criminal act or being grossly negligent (Sec. 1). 

• Authorizes the court to determine rebuttable presumptions if the visitation is not in the best interests of the child (Sec. 2).

• Establishes the following as determining factors of custody (Sec. 2): 

• Is subject to the registration requirements of Sex Offenders Registration Act; 

• Convicted of a crime listed in Oklahoma Child Abuse Reporting Preventation Act; 

• Is alcohol-dependent person or drug-dependent person; 

• Has been convicted of domestic abuse in the past 5 years; or

• Had custody, guardianship, or visitation rights terminated due to failure to complete any court-ordered substance abuse or mental health treatment. 

Full Bill Text