DG v. Devaughn

Before HOLMES, BALDOCK, and SILER,*fn1 Circuit Judges.

Nine Oklahoma foster children (“Named Plaintiffs”), acting through their next friends, filed suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against members of the Oklahoma Commission for Human Services and the Director of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (“OKDHS”) in their official capacities, seeking declaratory and injunctive relief. The Oklahoma Commission for Human Services is the body responsible for formulating the policies and adopting the rules and regulations for the administration of the OKDHS. In their complaint, Named Plaintiffs sought certification of a class of all children who are or will be in the legal custody of OKDHS due to a report or suspicion of abuse or neglect or who are or will be adjudicated deprived due to abuse or neglect-approximately 10,000 children. Named Plaintiffs allege OKDHS’s agency-wide foster care policies and practices expose all class members to an impermissible risk of harm, violating their Fourteenth Amendment right to substantive due process, their Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment rights to procedural due process, and their liberty and privacy interests guaranteed by the First, Ninth and Fourteenth Amendments. Specifically, Named Plaintiffs assert OKDHS’s agency-wide deficiencies include: (1) failing to protect class members from abuse and neglect while in OKDHS custody; (2) failing to protect class members from abuse or neglect by their biological parents while in OKDHS custody; (3) assigning excessive caseloads to its child welfare caseworkers and supervisors; (4) engaging in dangerous monitoring and oversight practices; (5) placing class members in unsafe and overcrowded emergency shelters; (6) placing class members in unsafe foster homes as a result of failing to develop sufficient numbers of safe placements; (7) maintaining policies and practices that deny class members opportunities to develop critical family relationships; and (8) maintaining policies and practices that subject class members to harmful moves among multiple inappropriate homes and facilities.