User:280282colum/Throwaway Kids

The main focus of the reports were the state's "warehousing"  of children, many of whom were in state custody for being abused or abandoned. In turn, the state received per diem federal funds for each child in its custody, but it failed to provide appropriate services for the children with the revenue.

In 1978, plaintiffs filed a class action lawsuit with claims the defendant violated their constitutional rights. Legal Aid of Western Oklahoma, Inc., the National Juvenile Law Center, and the Public Defender of Oklahoma County, brought the suit forward on behalf of the plaintiffs and all future plaintiffs. The defendants listed in the case are: Boley State School for Boys, Oklahoma Children's Center, State Central Oklahoma Juvenile Treatment Center, L.E. Rader Diagnostic & Evaluation Center, L.E. Rader Intensive Treatment Center, and the Taft Whitaker State Children's Home. The suit was brought before Judge Ralph G. Thompson of the U.S. District Court Western District of Oklahoma. It sought injunction of practices alleged to be unlawful and breached their constitutional rights. Those practices included the use of solitary confinement against minors and mentally unfit, use of metal or material restraint as punishment or relief, barred access to legal counsel, and neglect of health services. Preliminary relief was granted to the plaintiff, and in 1998 the case was closed.

In 1982, Lloyd E. Rader Sr., resigned from his position as director of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services after 31 years of service. The DHS was in the midst of a state investigation of financial misconduct involving patronage, illegal corporate hirings and abuse of the state bid system. Rader was accused of misappropriating state funds to hire private detectives to follow and harass reporters investigating the Department of Human Services. Additional allegations surfaced that he had used state workers to build a clinic for his son, Lloyd Rader Jr., a doctor. The investigative team also uncovered what Rader referred to as his 130-page "legislative control file", containing the favors and patronage he had given to leading representatives in the state, up through Gov. George Nigh and U.S. Senator David Boren.

As of April 2010, the Department was involved in another lawsuit, with the advocacy group "Children's Rights", over its treatment of juveniles in state custody. In 2012 a settlement agreement was reached that required Oklahoma DHS to implement new standards of governing within the foster care system. Judge Gregory K. Frizzell approved the settlement. DHS is required to present good faith changes to a board of Co-nuetrals appointed by the state and approved by the plaintiffs. A ruling was made in December of 2016 that Oklahoma DHS had implemented good faith changes in 28 of 30 categories.