DHS Fights Release Of Documents

A new battle has broken out in the federal lawsuit filed against the Oklahoma Department of Human Services.  News On 6 anchor Terry Hood reports DHS has asked the judge not to force it to provide documents to the group that's suing. 

It's a battle over the process called discovery.  Attorneys for DHS say it should be stopped because it would take too much time and money.

"The children of this state can't rely on the officials that are responsible for protecting them to protect them," said Children's Rights founder Marcia Robinson Lowry.

Marcia Robinson Lowry runs a non-profit group called Children's Rights, based in New York City.  It has sued many states and cities to get them to change their child welfare systems and won.    

In February, the group filed a lawsuit over the foster care system in Oklahoma.  As plaintiffs, it lists nine foster children, identified only by their initials.

DHS has mounted an aggressive defense.

Now, DHS is trying to get the federal judge to stop the discovery process where the defense has to turn over documents requested by the plaintiffs.  Attorneys for DHS told the judge it would cost almost $2 million to turn over all the documents concerning its 11,000 foster children.

But, Children's Rights says it doesn't want the case files for every foster child, only the nine plaintiffs.  But, it does want copies of the policies and reports that detail how DHS workers handle their caseloads.

When The News On 6 spoke to the founder last spring, she said it's telling that DHS is fighting the lawsuit, instead of admitting it has issues and asking for help.

"I think that because these children are truly voiceless, I think that there is a sense that they can just be ignored, and they can't be ignored.  And, what we're trying to do is represent these children in court and give them some sort of a voice," said Children's Rights founder Marcia Robinson Lowry.

The judge promised both sides he'll rule on the issue of discovery as soon as he can.  Both sides did agree not to release details of any foster care files if the judge rules they should remain confidential.

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