OSDH seeks access to facilities, records

The Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) has filed an emergency application for temporary injunction pending a declaratory judgment against the Okmulgee County Criminal Justice Authority (OCCJA), and the Moore Detention Center.

The petition, CV-23-167, was filed Dec. 6 in Okmulgee County district court.

The OSDH is asking for a temporary injunction against the OCCJA and Moore Detention Center, stating the defendants have “obstructed or restricted OSDH inspectors’ access to the enter facility, all detainees, and all records.”

The state agency also seeks to temporarily enjoin (prohibit) the “Defendant from detaining or housing juveniles until Defendant is certified in compliance” with state statutes.

During an emergency hearing last Friday, Judge Pandee Ramirez dismissed a writ of habeas corpus filed by the OSDH and the Office of Juvenile Affairs (OJA), Shannon Clark, the Executive Director of the OCCJA, said. The OSDH and OJA were requesting that Director Clark move juveniles out of the jail.

“Basically, it was determined [by the judge] that the state doesn’t have standing on who I keep in the jail,” Clark said. He added that OCCJA are also being sued by the State Jail Inspector.

“The state jail inspector is suing us because we won’t let them in to inspect the juveniles, so they’re trying to compel us to force them to do an inspection.”

That hearing is scheduled for this morning at 9:30 a.m.

In the court document, the OSDH is seeking two forms of relief with the emergency application: 1. The agency is authorized by Oklahoma State Statute to “inspect, and if necessary, compel administrative compliance for periods of time the facility was out of compliance with statute or administrative rule.”

OSDH states it is being “prohibited from fully and completely inspecting this, or any, facility for compliance. The facility has demonstrated that it is willing and able to continue to operate well outside the bounds of Oklahoma law under the guise of its contractual obligations and most concerningly at the detriment of the juveniles detained there.”

The OSDH adds that they are mandated with overseeing, and enforcing basic public health standards applicable to city and county jails, but are “unable to independently verify that all detainees, including the juveniles, are appropriately housed with basic health, safety, and security needs being met.”

2. OSDH asks for declaratory rulings, pursuant to 12 O.S. § 1651 et seq., clarifying applicability of 19 O.S. § 513.2 to OCCJA.

• OSDH specifically requests the Court to determine that OCCJA, as a public trust is subject to the statutory and regulatory requirements of 74 O.S. §§ 192 and 193, and OAC 310:670.

• OSDH further requests the Court to determine that OCCJA, as a public trust and pursuant to 19 O.S. § 513.2, is subject to the statutory and requirements of 10A O.S. § 2-3-103.

• OSDH requests the Court to determine that OCCJA must not obstruct or restrict OSDH’s statutory right-of-entry to the entire facility, including administrative offices, all records, and all detainees.

• OSDH requests the Court to determine that OCCJA must not detain or house any juveniles unless or until it becomes certified by OSDH, in conjunction with Office of Juvenile Affairs.

The court document states that on or about July 28, 2022, the OSDH conducted an unannounced annual inspection and investigation of OCCJA, which identified “numerous deficiencies regarding the condition and operation of the facility.”

The deficiencies named by the OSDH included “housing juveniles in an adult facility without certification from OSDH, failure to separate adults from juveniles without sustained sight and sound contact by housing juveniles in cells adjacent to adults, and requiring juveniles to walk past adults when escorted to the recreation yard.”

During that inspection, agency inspectors were “not obstructed or restricted” in their access to the facilities or records for all detainees, “regardless of juvenile, federal or Tribal status.”

Inspectors were allowed to bring their state-issued cellular phones into secure areas of jail, and were used to take photographs of “observed deficiencies, scan facility documents and records,” along with documenting health and safety conditions, which were communicated to OSDH leadership.

However, on Aug. 8, 2023, the OSDH came to the OCCJA to conduct their unannounced annual inspection and investigation.

At the time, the OSDH stated that “OCCJA denied the inspectors’ access to federal inmates, including juveniles, and to the documents/records pertaining to federal inmates.”

Since the inspectors could not complete a full investigation of the facilities, including documents and records, the OSDH was forced to prematurely end the inspection.

The OSDH inspectors returned again on Nov. 29 to the OCCJA for an unannounced inspection and investigation. They were accompanied by an Office of Juvenile Affairs Compliance Manager, who presented OCCJA with forms required to reviewed onsite by inspectors.

The court record stated the inspectors were provided with an Inmate Head Count for the OCCJA facilities, which showed 10 juveniles housed in the facilities of which five were tribal, and three were in federal custody.

The inspectors were informed they were “prohibited from meeting with any of the Tribal juvenile detainees or reviewing any documentation associated with them, unless or until the Tribe approved.”

In addition, the inspectors were informed they would not be allowed to enter the premises with their state-issued cellular phones, according to the court record. That action, the OSDH states, “is an unnecessary and unjustifiable obstruction of OSDH’s statutory authority and regular obligations.

In conclusion, the court record stated, “Over the course of approximately the last sixteen (16) months, OSDH has provided ample opportunity in good faith to OCCJA to come into compliance with the July 28, 2022, Statement of Deficiencies. Rather than improve the conditions of its facilities and come into compliance with all applicable statutory requirements and regulatory rules, OCCJA has instead become increasingly hostile to OSDH and has taken additional measures to restrict OSDH from exercising its full authority in carrying out its public health mandates.”

— Additional information provided by Joshua Jackson, Okmulgee Times Reporter.