OKLAHOMA CITY (June 1, 2009) – The Governor has signed into law Senate Bill 794. Senate Bill 794, authored by state Sen. Clark Jolley and state Rep. Jason Murphey, requires DHS to publish a report on unsuccessful adoptions similar to its public reports on successful adoptions.

"This legislation provides greater transparency and helps policy makers determine the quality of DHS work in these cases," said Murphey, R-Guthrie. "It is important we understand why an adoption was unsuccessful so we can use that information to improve the adoption process and hopefully increase successful outcomes."

Officials with Peppers Ranch, an organization located in Guthrie that cares for boys in foster care, requested the law after seeing more children returning to the system after unsuccessful adoptions.

After Senate Bill 794 passed out of a House committee, DHS officials indicated that only two adoptions were dissolved in 2007. That statistic contradicted the reports of individuals actually working within the system. Murphey believes the agency is using a very restrictive definition of "dissolved adoption" that leads to underreporting.

As a result, Murphey amended Senate Bill 794 to require DHS to report on all adoptions that dissolve after the adoption is finalized and prior to the time the child reaches 18 years of age.