A. Juvenile court case managers may be appointed in any county pursuant to subsection C of this section.
B. The duties of the juvenile court case managers shall be:
1. To assist judges with juvenile docket responsibilities in the appointing county by ensuring that juvenile cases proceed through the court process in a timely and effective manner by accurately tracking cases, ensuring consistent data entry, conducting review of open cases and monitoring open case reports to ensure compliance with all federal and state statutory requirements;
2. To increase the amount of information available to the court for its consideration by acting as liaison between parties, attorneys and other professionals and the judges;
3. To encourage accountability and communication among professionals, parties, participants and attorneys; and
4. To perform any other duties necessary to assist the court in carrying out its judicial functions under Title 10A of the Oklahoma Statutes.
C. Juvenile court case managers shall be selected by the chief of the juvenile division of the district court subject to the approval of the Chief Justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court. Juvenile court case managers shall serve at the pleasure of the chief of the juvenile division.
D. To be eligible for appointment as a juvenile court case manager, a person shall possess at least one of the following minimum qualifications:
1. Be an attorney licensed to practice law in this state with at least two (2) years' experience in juvenile or family law; or
2. Hold a bachelor's degree in the social sciences or related field from an accredited college or university and three (3) years' experience working with court procedures, juvenile law or social work. A master's degree in social sciences may substitute for one (1) year of the required experience.
E. Each juvenile court case manager shall be a full-time or part-time state employee and receive a salary to be determined by the Chief Justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court to be paid from the State Judicial Fund.
F. The juvenile divisions of the district courts located in two or more adjoining counties may enter into an agreement to employ a single juvenile court case manager to serve the needs of the juvenile court judges in those counties. Such juvenile court case manager shall be employed and serve in the same manner as those employed for individual counties.
G. In the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2014, the Oklahoma Supreme Court is authorized to employ up to ten full-time juvenile court case managers. Five shall be in Oklahoma County, four shall be in Tulsa County and one shall be in Washington County.
H. In the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2015, in addition to the juvenile court case managers authorized in subsection G of this section, the Oklahoma Supreme Court is authorized to employ up to five full-time juvenile court case managers. One shall be in Canadian County, one shall be in Cleveland County, one shall be in Comanche County, one shall be in Creek County and one shall be in Pottawatomie, Lincoln and Seminole Counties, respectively.
Added by Laws 2008, c. 81, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2008. Amended by Laws 2009, c. 234, § 115, emerg. eff. May 21, 2009; Laws 2014, c. 335, § 2, emerg. eff. May 28, 2014.