By A-P
Oklahoma City, OK –
The state's three-year legal battle over Oklahoma's embattled child welfare agency could come to an official end today.
The commission overseeing the Department of Human Services agreed last week to settle the federal class action lawsuit. But it's not a done deal yet.
The governor and the state's top lawmakers will meet this afternoon to decide whether to accept the settlement proposal. Right now, details of the settlement are confidential. But based on similar lawsuits, DHS could be in for a multi-million dollar renovation.
"Many of the other states that have experience in this kind of litigation really have quite an expensive fix," said Howard Henrick, DHS Director.
Oklahoma is one of 14 states sued by child advocacy group Children's Rights. The federal class action lawsuit was filed back in 2008, claiming children in state custody were in danger, because the system wasn't doing enough to protect them.