OICA.org

      The Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy creates
      awareness, takes action and changes policy on behalf of children.

Legislative session is a busy time for The Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy. Legislators convene Feb. 6 and meet regularly through May 25; this is the time we, as child advocates, must step up to the plate and be the voice for our state’s children. We believe children need to be Safe, be Healthy and be HEARD. It is up to us to ensure those needs are met, but we need your help too. Please plan on staying informed about bills that will affect you and your family throughout the process by making us your resource. Sign up for weekly legislative updates.

Click HERE for a brief summary about how and why Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy works to improve the lives of Oklahoma's children.

Here is a look at our top legislative priorities during the 2012 legislative session:

The Serenity Project: DHS Child Welfare Reform

Click the title to read more in a fact sheet format.

As Co-Chair of The Foster Care System Improvement Task Force, we have worked tirelessly with other child advocates and law enforcement officials across the state to investigate and evaluate the broken parts of Oklahoma’s child welfare system. In our view, there is no acceptable level of abuse of children and we have no greater obligation than to protect the safety of Oklahoma’s children. OICA supports the following DHS reforms to ensure no child ever dies while in the custody of the state.

• Privatization of the placement and support services for foster care families, which will allow child welfare workers to focus on keeping Oklahoma children safe.
• The Legislature should direct DHS to increase the pay of child welfare workers and tie the increases to performance in order to attract and retain high quality, professional and compassionate advocates for children.
• Every child welfare worker should receive additional trauma training so they are better prepared to keep our children safe.
• Public-private partnerships should be allowed and encouraged to provide services for at-risk families so fewer children are placed into the foster care system - lessening the case load of child welfare workers.

Click the title to read more in a fact sheet format.

Every child in Oklahoma deserves the opportunity to succeed – even if one or both of their parents are incarcerated. Our children should not be punished along with their offending parent.

More than 26,000 children on any given day in Oklahoma have a parent in prison. Many of these children suffer trauma from the loss of a parent who have been incarcerated and are no longer able to be the primary caregiver for their child.

These invisible victims and the trauma they endure are the unintended consequences of an incarcerated parent. Such children are more likely to perform poorly in school, more likely to end up in prison and less likely to enter the workforce – creating an economic development nightmare for Oklahoma’s future prosperity. OICA supports these common sense justice reforms, as recommended from a statewide task force of child advocates and law enforcement officials, aimed at protecting the lives of these children and improving Oklahoma’s economic prosperity.

• We should support and promote interaction between a child and an incarcerated parent when it is in the best interests of the child.
• The legislature should eliminate barriers that prevent children of incarcerated parents from accessing quality healthcare.
• The use of alternative sentencing using evidence-based intervention strategies and services targeted to reduce criminal risk factors is a positive first step in keeping more children in the care of their parents.
• The Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth should be designated as a clearinghouse for research and services for children with an incarcerated parent so we have accurate data to keep track of these kids.

Click the title to read more in fact sheet format.
The Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy, along with our statewide initiative against childhood obesity, The Oklahoma Fit Kids Coalition, launched a partnership with The American Heart Association in the fall of 2011 to address barriers Oklahomans face in making the personal choice to exercise more. The fact that Oklahoma ranks as the third least physically active state in the country and the seventh most obese state is appalling and a threat to our future economic prosperity as a state. Legislation that gives liability protection to schools will encourage shared use agreements between schools and community groups--allowing schools to keep their lights on in the evenings and on weekends to be utilized as centers of physical activity in communities across Oklahoma.

Smoke-Free Oklahoma: Restore local rights to Oklahoma communities

Click the title to read more in a fact sheet format.
The Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy again will join forces with other child, health and business advocates across the state as a member of the Tobacco-Free Coalition to fight to restore local rights to Oklahoma communities. Passage of a state law that allows cities the right to decide to have smoke-free public places will protect their citizens from secondhand smoke, compete for new business and jobs and reduce health care costs and tax burdens.

Support creation of a State-Based Health Insurance Exchange to increase access to health insurance

 The Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy joined a broad-based statewide coalition of children and health advocates, the health care community and business leaders to encourage the legislature to find an Oklahoma-based solution to the new requirements of The Federal Affordable Care Act in regard to health care exchanges. The coalition, brought together by The State Chamber of Oklahoma, is a group of 30 organizations representing a variety of interests.

Fight for common sense tax reform & a state budget that values Oklahoma children and families

• The Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy supports changes in the Oklahoma tax code that lifts up Oklahoma’s working families while protecting life-saving services for Oklahoma’s most vulnerable children.
• Just like a family’s budget is a reflection of their priorities, so too is a state’s budget a reflection of what our state values most.
• The Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy supports a state budget that reflects the value we place in keeping children healthy, safe and secure.

Fully funding the priorities within OICA’s Serenity Project and Opportunity Initiative will allow for aggressive DHS reform and bring common sense justice reforms that will keep Oklahoma’s children safe and put our future economic prosperity on solid ground.