Oklahoma Office of
Family Representation
OFR’s Mission
To empower parents and children involved in the child welfare system through uniform, high-quality legal representation.
OFR intends to enhance legal advocacy, preserve families, educate and engage our communities, and instill a collaborative culture.
Services Provided
The Oklahoma Office of Family Representation (OFR) is the state’s inaugural central office dedicated to ensuring all children and qualified parents, legal guardians, and Indian custodians receive attorneys prepared to deliver uniform and high-quality legal representation in deprived child actions brought by the state pursuant to Title 10A.
Passed into law in 2023, the Family Representation Advocacy Act, 10 O.S. § 801 et seq., established the Family Representation Advocacy Program within the Administrative Office of the Courts and the AOC has contracted with Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma to bring the OFR to life.
OFR contracts with attorneys to provide high-quality-legal representation in the trial and appellate courts for eligible clients involved in state child welfare proceedings. OFR’s contract attorneys are appointed to eligible clients by the Court in the jurisdiction where the state child welfare court proceeding is pending. Each Court determines indigency.
OFR is implementing Interdisciplinary Teams (IDT) statewide for children, qualified parents, legal guardians, and Indian custodians. IDT integrates social workers and mentors into the legal work to accomplish client goals.
IDT plays a critical role in achieving the best outcomes for children in deprived child actions by protecting the legal and due process rights of parents and children, presenting balanced information to the courts, and promoting the preservation of family relationships.
Contact OFR
Call:
(918) 420-2657
Visit:
907 S. Detroit Ave., Suite 1001
Tulsa, OK 74120
OFR will be implemented throughout the state of Oklahoma over the course of three years. The Oklahoma Department of Human Services has divided the state into five DHS regions. Subject to sufficient appropriations, Regions 2 and 5 will be operational July 1, 2024 and Regions 1, 3, and 4, will be operational July 1, 2025.
An operational region will have sufficient attorney and IDT contractors to advocate for all children and qualified parents, legal guardians, and Indian custodians in all counties within that region.
OFR’s website details where each county is located within the DHS Regions.
OFR contracts with attorneys, social workers and mentors to provide Oklahoma families involved in the child welfare system with high-quality-legal representation. The benefits of high-quality-legal representation include: protecting children and parent’s legal rights; increases parties participation in and out of court; improves all parties perception of fairness; reduces permanency delays and helps parent and children reach better, long term outcomes; promotes tailored case plans and services; improves frequency, timeliness and meaningful visitation between parent and child and siblings; informs better judicial decision making; and saves the State money by reducing time children spend in foster care.