Office of Juvenile Affairs (OJA) Placement

OFFICE OF JUVENILE AFFAIRS (OJA)

The Office of Juvenile Affairs (OJA) is a state agency, independent of DHS, that provides services for Oklahoma’s delinquent youth. OJA services include court intake, probation, and parole. These children are not in DHS custody, but they are in state custody. A child in OJA custody could be placed in an OJA facility/home or in their own home with court supervision.

Note: The difference between a child placed in DHS custody and a child placed in the Office of Juvenile Affairs (OJA) custody is that DHS is to provide the protection and care of homeless, dependent and neglected children and OJA is to provide for the protection and care of juveniles alleged or adjudicated to be delinquent or in need of supervision.

OJA uses their computer system, JOLTS, to document placement information. Any child support specialist can request web access to JOLTS in order to verify OJA custody. The form is located in Outlook Public Folders: Public folders/All Public folders/OCSS All/Consistent Excellence/Finance/Juvenile cases/Reference Material & Forms. There is not a user guide for JOLTS. However, the web-based version of JOLTS is reported to be intuitive.

Because there is no interface between the OJA system and OSIS, there are four primary ways to know that a child is in the care of OJA:

Notified by a customer
Medical case with only the child listed as a member*
Medical referral on RFLI with PS2 F130 block with codes of:
- 07: Temporary Legal Custody (OJA)
- 08: Permanent Legal Custody (OJA)
- 16: Voluntary Placement (OJA)
Verified on JOLTS system

Note A child only medical case could also indicate other types of custody, such as DHS foster care. However, a medical case is not required for OJA custody. If there is not a medical case and there is some indication that the child is in OJA custody, access JOLTS or contact OJA at 405-530-2800.

Once the medical case is closed, do not assume that the child has been released from OJA custody. Unless the child has emancipated, determine whether the child is included in another assistance case. If no assistance cases are found, contact OJA for verification of the child’s physical custody.

Unlike traditional foster care (E or F), there is not a case type assigned to OJA. Therefore, treat OJA as a private (P or M) custodial parent (CP) in order to build balances and issue support correctly.

When a child is in OJA custody, the following must be done in OSIS:

OJA should be added as a CP (no DCN) and the child in their custody should be cross-referenced to the OJA CP on the CHU.
Note: When updating CCPU, add OJA as the CP name. No other information is necessary.
Just like any other new CP, a separate obligation should be built and all balances for the OJA custody period should be added (P or M case type).
The following address for OJA should be added:

OJA FINANCE
PO Box 268812
Oklahoma City, OK 73126
Note: When adding “OJA” as a CP:
- Enter “OJA” in the First Name field
- Enter “FINANCE” in the Last Name field in order for OSIS to auto-generate eIWOs
- NOT add a DCN
Review receipt history to determine whether previous receipts have issued to the correct party or if a Finance Action Request should be sent.

OJA Key Considerations:

OJA is due current support for any months the child is in their custody. Even when a child leaves custody, OJA is entitled to any arrearage and interest.
Sometimes a child may be missing from OJA custody (this is considered AWOL). When this occurs, current support is not charged during the time period the child is absent from custody.
If the child is, for whatever reason, no longer in OJA custody, OJA may return payments to CSS. When this occurs, it will be added to the district office’s pended list. Determine if OJA is due arrearages (per completed A/C), and if so, request that the funds be reissued to OJA. If not, the receipt will be applied to other balances or refunded to the Non-custodial parent (NCP)
Note: If no balances are due, the case should be reviewed for closure using standard procedures.
When OJA has received money in error, submit a Finance Action Request. A temporary bad debt will be created, and the Center for Finance and Budget (CFB) will contact OJA to recover the funds.

DHS and OJA Dual Custody

If a child is removed from foster care and placed with OJA, it will be reflected on eKIDs/KIDS. DHS updates the case to show OJA placement. The child may return to DHS custody after the OJA placement ends.

The child’s custody status may be referred to as dual custody. If this occurs, check the foster care inquiry tool to determine if foster care maintenance payments are being issued. If foster care payments are not being paid, contact OJA to determine custody status and whether they want us to collect current support. If they do not, update the case to 06/08 status if appropriate.

CP and OJA Dual Custody

If a child is placed back with the CP, but still technically in OJA custody, current support will be owed to the CP on the first day of the first month after the child is returned. OJA is only entitled to current support when the child is physically in OJA custody. If OJA receives current support for this scenario, submit a Finance Action Request. A temporary bad debt will be created, and CFB will contact OJA to recover the funds.

Office of Juvenile Affairs (OJA) Placement