Broken Arrow, OK — Following the release of The Oklahoma Post’s investigative article, “Oklahoma’s Hidden Crisis,” Dr. Steve Hudgins, licensed clinician, professor, U.S. Army veteran, and founder of Mosaic Family Systems, has issued an urgent public statement and unveiled a groundbreaking legislative proposal to protect Oklahoma’s children from emotional abuse caused by custody interference and alienating behaviors.
“We cannot wait for another bill to die quietly while children continue to be emotionally torn apart,” says Dr. Hudgins. “SB 970 was a start, but Oklahoma failed to carry it across the finish line. I have drafted a bill that brings the focus back where it belongs: on the child’s trauma, not the adult’s grievance.”
While Texas is exploring reform, Oklahoma has yet to pass any meaningful legislation to recognize or prevent the emotional harm inflicted on children when one parent weaponizes a child against the other. Dr. Hudgins’ proposed bill, now publicly available at www.drsteveh.com, reframes the outdated and controversial language of Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) and introduces a new trauma-informed clinical model. The revised terminology, currently undergoing copyright protection, will redefine how courts and professionals understand emotional abuse in family systems.
This movement is not only professional for Dr. Hudgins—it is personal.
“I have lived it. I have worked with families who were shattered by it. I have watched the legal system ignore what children endure. We need to call it what it is: emotional abuse, not just conflict.”
In addition to his legislative advocacy, Dr. Hudgins will release a new book this fall that challenges how society views step- and restructured families. Titled Piece by Piece: My Blended Experience of Mosaic Family, the book replaces the limiting term “blended family” with Mosaic Family—a term that reflects the beauty, complexity, and brokenness of post-divorce family systems. The book also explores how court-fueled conflict contributes to the higher divorce rate among remarried couples, often at the expense of children’s emotional stability.
Dr. Hudgins has already begun dialogue with Oklahoma legislators, including Rep. Gabe Woolley, and is calling for public support to move this bill forward. His goal is to make Broken Arrow the city that pioneered a national movement to rescue children from legal and emotional harm.
To view the full bill draft, learn more about Dr. Hudgins’ Mosaic Family Systems model, or schedule an interview, visit: When Oklahoma Legislation Stalls – Children Suffer (SB970) – DR STEVE H