North Dakota, Ohio and Oklahoma: Focused Source Audit

Confirmed assessment and Child Abuse Information Index

• North Dakota's statutory term is confirmed, not simply "substantiated." Under N.D.C.C. §50-25.1-02(12), a confirmed decision means the department determined by a preponderance of the evidence that the child meets the statutory definition and identified a specific person responsible for the child's welfare. A separate "confirmed with unknown subject" category means the evidence supports abuse or neglect but does not identify a responsible person.
• The person who may appeal is the "subject" — a person responsible for the child's welfare — who is aggrieved by the assessment result or child-protection tier designation. The department must provide written notice of the decision and tier designation and complete an affidavit of mailing.
• Deadline: N.D. Admin. Code §75-03-18-04 requires the appeal to be received by the department within 30 days after the documented date of subject notification. Notification is deemed to occur three days after the date on the affidavit of mailing. The rule expressly rejects the postmark date as proof of timely receipt. In practical terms, the statutory calculation is 30 days after deemed notice (often described as 33 days after the affidavit-of-mailing date); do not rely on a postmark or informal conversation.
• The appeal must be written on the department's form, SFN 462, and submitted to the Appeals Supervisor, North Dakota Department of Human Services, State Capitol – Judicial Wing, 600 East Boulevard Avenue, Bismarck, ND 58505-0250. The request must succinctly state why the person disagrees, include all grounds in a single request, and identify the relief sought.
• An informal, mutually consensual meeting with the assessing agency is encouraged, but it does not suspend or extend the formal appeal deadline. The appeal hearing is conducted under the applicable administrative-hearing procedures in Chapter 75-01-03.
• The appeal does not automatically suspend services required for child protection while the appeal is pending. If the decision is reversed, the record must be annotated and the department may not place the subject on the Child Abuse Information Index. N.D.C.C. §50-25.1-05.2 provides that the report is filed in the Index after the appeal time expires.
• North Dakota has a separate Chapter 75-03-18.1 grievance process addressing the conduct of an assessment. Do not confuse a complaint about worker conduct or assessment procedure with an appeal of the confirmed decision or tier designation; the two tracks have different purposes.
• North Dakota's statute and rule also distinguish institutional cases and assessments in which the responsible subject is unknown. The individual appeal procedure summarized here should not be generalized to every institutional disposition or every person mentioned in a report.

North Dakota Century Code Chapter 50-25.1 · Official North Dakota Administrative Code, Chapter 75-03-18 · North Dakota HHS Child Protection Program and SFN 462 information

PCSA report-disposition appeal

• Ohio's public children services agencies (PCSAs) must maintain written policies for report-disposition appeals by alleged perpetrators who disagree with a child-abuse or neglect disposition. The controlling statewide framework is Ohio Admin. Code Rule 5180:2-33-20, effective August 15, 2020 and still listed by the Ohio Administrative Code as current when checked for this pass.
• There is no single statewide numerical filing deadline in Rule 5180:2-33-20. Each PCSA's written policy must state a reasonable time for requesting an appeal and reasonable timeframes for conducting the review/hearing and issuing a finding. Therefore, the applicable county's current policy and the notice sent in that case are essential. Do not copy a generic 15-, 30- or 45-day deadline into a statewide Ohio notice.
• The PCSA must notify the alleged perpetrator in writing of the disposition, appeal right, local appeal process, timeframes and method. Rule 5180:2-36-03 and related specialized-investigation provisions generally require that notice within five business days after completion of the assessment/investigation.
• On request, the PCSA must provide a written copy of its local appeal policy within three working days. Request it immediately, retain the request and response, and check the notice for the filing method and deadline. The agency staff conducting the appeal hearing may not have been involved in the case, investigation or approval of the original disposition.
• The hearing personnel consider the totality of information in the case record and information presented by the agency and appellant. The PCSA must change the disposition if it was made in error, the appellant did not engage in conduct meeting the statutory abuse/neglect definitions, or the disposition is unsupported by the totality of information.
• The PCSA's decision is final within this administrative scheme and is not subject to the state-hearing process under R.C. §5101.35. Do not assume an ordinary state administrative hearing is available after the county appeal.
• Important judicial-review caution: In Henderson v. Cuyahoga County Division of Children & Family Services, 2026-Ohio-3960 (Oct. 8, 2026), the Eighth District affirmed dismissal of an R.C. 2506.01 appeal from a PCSA disposition letter. Applying the Ohio Supreme Court's Kyser decision, the court held that the disposition letter did not constitute a final order determining rights, duties, privileges, benefits or legal relationships for purposes of that statute. The court expressly did not decide the merits of the appellant's constitutional due-process complaints about the internal appeal process. This is not a holding that every possible independent remedy is barred; it is a warning not to promise ordinary Chapter 2506 judicial review of the disposition letter.
• Ohio's local policy may vary materially by county. A statewide parent-facing notice should direct the reader to the local PCSA's policy and the actual notice rather than invent a uniform clock, hearing format, disclosure rule or external appeal.

County-specific verification still required

Before any Ohio notice could be released as a usable procedural guide, the applicable PCSA policy must be collected and checked for filing address, delivery method, deadline trigger, extension/good-cause provisions, access to investigative materials, hearing participation, written decision requirements and any available remedy outside the internal appeal. No single county's policy should be treated as statewide.

Ohio Admin. Code Rule 5180:2-33-20 · Ohio Admin. Code Chapter 5180:2-36 — screening and investigation · Register of Ohio — rule history · Henderson v. Cuyahoga County, 2026-Ohio-3960 (Oct. 8, 2026)

Substantiated finding appeal under OAC 340:75-3-530

• Oklahoma's CPS appeal process applies to a substantiated finding made by Oklahoma Human Services (OKDHS). The regulation describes substantiation as a finding that abuse or neglect occurred based on some credible evidence. It is not itself a criminal conviction or a juvenile-court adjudication.
• Eligibility is narrower than "any parent who disagrees." The individual generally must be a person responsible for the child's health, safety or welfare (PRFC) and the substantiated finding must be made against that person in an OKDHS-conducted investigation. The process is not available for tribal investigations or investigations on tribal land conducted by a tribal representative.
• The regulation allows an appeal when no deprived petition was filed, or when a deprived petition was filed but dismissed before adjudication. It excludes specified other court actions or court orders concerning the same alleged abuse/neglect, including permanent protective orders involving the child and pending or concluded criminal proceedings. Certain program-specific reviews, including child-death/near-death and specified out-of-home-care investigations, are also excluded.
• Deadline: Form 04KI020E must be sent by email or mail to the CWS Appeals Program Unit within 15 calendar days from the postmark on the envelope containing the appeal form. The rule says missing this window makes the finding final and waives future appeal unless good cause is established. The agency is to send the finding and appeal forms within ten calendar days after substantiation when eligibility criteria are met. Keep the envelope; the postmark is the express trigger.
• The rule identifies email destination CWS.AppealsProgramReview@okdhs.org or mail to the CWS Appeals Program Unit. Good cause includes severe illness or another disabling condition, but the rule's examples are not exhaustive.
• Within ten calendar days after receiving the appeal request, the Appeals Program Unit must notify the appellant whether the request was received and explain the opportunity to submit additional written information. Additional information must be submitted within 30 calendar days from the postmark of the acceptance notice, absent good cause.
• The Appeals Program Unit reviews the investigation file, relevant KIDS-system information and the appellant's written submissions. The rule provides for a decision within 120 calendar days after acceptance of a timely appeal (or a late appeal accepted for good cause). The unit may uphold, modify or reverse the finding. It can identify missing documentation and cause the investigation to be reopened/reassigned for a limited period before reconsidering.
• This is a file-review process, not an automatic evidentiary hearing with live testimony. The current OKDHS public appeals page also describes file review and says the decision is final with no further appeal. Do not describe this as a multi-level administrative hearing or promise a later state hearing.
• OKDHS's public FAQ uses a short summary that an eligible person must be identified as perpetrator and the finding must not have resulted in court action. The regulation is more detailed: it expressly addresses a deprived petition dismissed before adjudication and lists exclusions for other specified court actions, including criminal proceedings. Use the regulation and actual notice to assess eligibility rather than relying on the FAQ shorthand alone.
• When a finding is reversed, the regulation requires notification to the relevant district attorney's office. The appeal procedure updates the KIDS record; it is not the same as a court's finding or a criminal disposition.

Official OKDHS Child Welfare Appeals page · Official OKDHS CPS FAQ · OAC 340:75-3-530 — appeal process · OKDHS Child Protective Services brochure