Nominations Open for OICA's Anne Roberts People's Choice Awards for Child Advocacy

Judges judging chili – Several members of the Oklahoma Judicial Branch took part in OICA’s Child Advocacy Day & Chili Cook-Off by serving as judges for the chili competition. Those who judged were (from left) State Supreme Court Justice Noma Gurich, District Judge Natalie Mai, state Supreme Court Vice Chief Justice Dana Kuehn, District Judge Thad Balkman, Special Judge Nichole Gillett and District Judge Sheila Stinson. (Courtesy Photo) On Tuesday, March 10, the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy (OICA) held our annual advocacy day at the State Capitol. Each year, we invite youth-serving organizations to attend and use the opportunity to network with lawmakers and others who might be visiting the Capitol during one of the busiest days of the legislative session. The event provides an amazing chance for them to promote the work they each do to benefit children in our state. We also ask each program to make a pot of chili, and we have this also serve as a competition between the organizations, because one of the things I learned over my 31 years of working in and around that building is that people enjoy the opportunity for a meal if they are too busy to leave. I am pleased to report that we had 34 programs set up and that many chili entries for the competition. The competition was fierce, but Sunbeam Family Services won first place, the Cherokee Nation got second, and St. Francis Ministries placed third. The People’s Choice winner, determined by donations, was True Wireless. The best themed entry was the Oklahoma Primary Care Association, named through votes cast by lawmakers and their executive/legislative assistants. The best entry by a public servant went to Reps. John Waldron and Mickey Dollens with their team effort. This was the first year we were inside the Capitol for the cook-off; in past years, we held the event in the Capitol parking lot. The only hiccup we faced with moving the event inside was the overload to the electrical system. We feel confident we have a fix for next year’s event. We are very grateful to our chili judges, each of whom sampled each of the entries, which could not have been an easy task even with all of them being delicious. Each year, we ask members of the different courts in Oklahoma to do this over their lunch hour. We were honored to have Supreme Court Justices Noma Gurich and Dana Kuehn participate, along with Judges Thad Balkman, Nichole Gillett, Natalie Mai, and Sheila Stinson. Of course, in line with the fun, we had a purpose: to help the participants “break the ice” to meet lawmakers and those who make the process of the capitol operate smoothly. I heard from most of the folks in attendance how valuable the day was for them to promote all that they do for children, and we hope to continue growing this event in years to come. Additionally, we used this opportunity to invite folks to come to the Capitol and serve as citizen lobbyists to promote ideas that they would like to see become law from the multiple bills going through the process which would improve the lives of children, or in contrast, voice concerns over an issue which they feel might not feel are being addressed properly. Thank you to all who joined us! It was great seeing so many attend in support, including members of the OICA’s leadership program, Advocacy Boot Camp. I want to thank those organizations who registered and participated, which include the winners listed above, along with Conscious Community Strategies, DentaQuest / Liberty Dental Plan, OKCare, the Center for Children & Families, CREOKS Health Services, Peppers Ranch Foster Community, Southern Plains Tribal Health Board, Reach Out & Read, Pioneer Library System, the Oklahoma Education Association, the Oklahoma Office of Family Representation, the Oklahoma Partnership for School Readiness, Count Me In 4 Kids, the Cherokee Nation, The PATH Children's Advocacy Center, the Oklahoma Indian Child Welfare Association, Mindful Resolutions, TRC - The Recovery Center, Kiwanis - Downtown OKC, the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth, Rococo on Western, New World Comic Super Hero School, Pivot, Birthright Living Legacy and Oklahoma Complete Health. If you have a youth-serving organization that would like to be a part of this next year, make plans now for mid-March in 2027 to join the fun, fellowship, and advocacy effort! 

As we discussed last week, the Oklahoma Legislature continues to move several potential laws forward for the 2026 session over the past month. Lawmakers have held committee meetings to initially consider the bills filed for 2026. The ones that survived committees will now be scheduled by the majority floor leaders – Rep. Josh West, R-Grove, in the House of Representatives, and Sen. Julie Daniels, R-Bartlesville, in the Senate – along with their teams who develop the House’s and Senate’s daily agendas. As I noted in last week’s column, if a bill would cost money, despite the value of the idea, the chance of it becoming law is slim. A good idea may pass with language stating, “if funds are available” and then not receive sufficient appropriations to function. House Bill 1016, by Rep. Michelle McCane, D-Tulsa, and Sen. Michael Bergstrom, R-Adair, would create protection for minors who appear in online content created by adults, including their parents. This legislation would require compensation, trust funds, and protections under the law included in monetized online content. Minors would be engaged in content creation work if they appear in at least 30 percent of a creator’s compensated video content within a 30-day period or if their participation generates more than $10,000 in revenue. HB 3288 by Rep. Cynthia Roe, R-Lindsay, and Senator Brian Logan, R-Paden, requires the State Board of Education to require, as a condition of accreditation, that public elementary schools provide physical education or exercise programs for students in full-day prekindergarten through grade 5. The amount of physical education or exercise must average at least 150 minutes each week, not including recess. This is an increase from the current 60 minutes required under law. HB 3636 by Rep. Emily Gise, R-OKC, and Sen. Kristen Thompson, R-Edmond, provides that beginning with the 2027 program year, the State of Oklahoma must participate in the federal Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer for Children program to provide supplemental nutrition assistance to eligible children when school is not in session. For those keeping up with this policy, Oklahoma’s executive branch has refused to participate in this program over the past three years, placing a tremendous strain on families across the state, along with churches and nonprofit organizations who work to fill the gaps in feeding the hungry. HB 4421 by Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, and Sen. Todd Gollihare, R-Kellyville, would require Oklahoma Human Services to include fentanyl and methamphetamine in drug screenings during child welfare investigations and before children are returned to parents or guardians. The legislation would require investigators to obtain a warrant for testing if parents refuse a drug test. This bill would make it a felony to knowingly expose a child to fentanyl. Senate Bill 1377 by Sen. Chuck Hall, R-Perry, and Rep. John Kane, R-Bartlesville, would require Oklahoma Human Services to provide foster children who lack a suitcase with a duffel bag or other adequate bag in which to pack personal belongings. Also, as funds allow, the department may include personal hygiene items or other personal supplies. For years, far too many children taken into foster care or moved from placement to placement have had their items placed in garbage bags for transport, so this bill would eliminate that practice. SB 1521 by Sen. Warren Hamilton, R-McCurtain, and Rep. Cody Maynard, R-Durant, would prohibit the design, development, or making available artificial intelligence human-like chatbots to minors, with a penalty of up to $100,000 for each violation. The measure would require reasonable age certification measures to keep the technology away from children. These and other bills will continue through the process, and the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy (OICA) will continue to monitor and engage in promoting legislation which supports the best interests of the health, safety, and well-being of the youth of our state. Please sign up at oica.org to follow these and other bills through our weekly email newsletter. 

As the Oklahoma Legislature enters its second month of work, there has been much progress made on the proposals the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy (OICA) supports. We deeply thank all the lawmakers for their work on the many bills going through the committee process and those which have advanced for consideration by either the full House of Representatives or Senate. We encourage you to reach out to your lawmakers if you feel strongly about a topic. A few calls from “back home” truly can make a difference on whether a legislator votes for or against a bill. Many ideas have already been shelved for the year because anticipated revenues are significantly less than lawmakers had last year. Combined with inflation, even some noble concepts simply will not make it through the process. One such idea was in House Bill 2935 by Emily Gise, R-OKC. This would have created a sales tax exemption for the purchase of infant diapers. I have been told that the citizen behind this idea is looking for another bill to attach this as an amendment, so it is possible this concept might become a law, but the original bill will not move forward. HB 1979 by Rep. Trish Ranson, D-Stillwater, would create an Early Childhood Task Force to assess improved efficiency for delivery of early childhood services by consolidating different divisions of youth-serving agencies into one new freestanding state department. A similar bill, Senate Bill 1570 filed by Sen. Paul Rosino, R-OKC, would create a consolidated agency by September of this year which would house the Office of Juvenile Affairs, the Child Welfare Division of Oklahoma Human Services, and other such divisions within agencies. Both bills have garnered much attention and remain alive. Another bill, one which OICA has worked on for three sessions now, is moving forward in the form of Senate Bill 1708 by Sen. Darcy Jech, R-Kingfisher and Rep. Mark Tedford, R-Jenks. This legislation would create a rebuttable presumption in divorce cases that joint custody and equally shared parenting time is in the best interest of the child. Data clearly show that the loss of time with a parent impairs the well-being of children. Too often children are used as pawns during a divorce to punish a parent by continually forcing them into court for custody cases. Senate Bill 1591 by Senator Rosino and Rep. Carl Newton, R-Cherokee, would limit THC amounts in certain medical marijuana products and prohibit packaging which could mistakenly look like candy. There has been a significantly elevated number of cases where children have been taken to emergency rooms due to ingesting these products, so there is hope this will help protect children from harm caused by not safely and properly storing such items by adults. Senate Bill 1806 by Senate President Pro Tempore Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, would raise the age from 18 to 21 for extended services to Oklahomans transitioning from foster care into adulthood. Research shows that these youth, due to being in the system, have a much tougher time of coping with the adjustment of self-sustaining success once they reach adulthood. This bill would allow for three additional years to provide support for them to achieve successful independence. Finally, we are pleased to report that House Bill 1484 by Rep. Ronny Johns, R-Ada, and Sen. Darrell Weaver, R-Moore, named “Rain’s Law,” has been signed by the governor. This law requires instruction in schools on fentanyl and how to prevent abuse. We at OICA have high hopes this new law will help reduce needless death and harm caused by this deadly illicit drug. I will continue to update you in future columns about these and other bills. You can follow our policy report in our free weekly newsletter every Thursday by subscribing on our website at https://www.oica.org . Please join us for our Child Advocacy Day & Chili Cook-Off at the State Capitol on Tuesday, March 10!

Last week, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, a well-known political figure who first got his start in the public eye by working with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and later ran for the Presidency of the United States of America, passed after a long health battle. I am fortunate that there are only a few instances I can look back on my life, and especially my career, and feel regret over something. One such instance was how I handled issues related to race during my time in elected office. Reverend Jackson’s death sparked such a memory. I met Reverend Jackson twice. The first was when he was in Oklahoma City promoting storm shelters for schools thanks to my good friend, attorney David Slane. The second time, we dined at a local restaurant, along with former state Sen. Connie Johnson. I was fascinated to hear them converse about their experiences with fairness and equality, and while much had been overcome, there was still much to resolve. I grew up in a small town and there were not many folks who looked too different from me, a white kid. Occasionally, a minority family moved to town, but they often did not stay. They were not run out of town as might have happened in the past in some communities, but they certainly did not fully engage, likely due to racial barriers. In college, I had the opportunity to have a roommate who was Black and another who was Indonesian; I never at any point felt we were in any way different. For that, I thank my mother and other influences in my life who ensured that I did not hold views that people were in any way different because of skin color. We live in a changing world, and I do feel that the issue of race is being broken down with each generation, but there are obviously still problems. Part of this comes from those who are overtly racist without care, some from those who do not realize they are being offensive simply out of ignorance, and others who judge rather than attempt to grow beyond that prejudice. Mind you, I am not saying we should not condemn racism; we should, wholeheartedly. The fact remains the practice of solely judging an individual based on their skin color rather than the content of their character exists in our world. It is only through education, empathy, and understanding that this destructive bias will be overcome. I had my photo taken with Reverend Jackson, but I did not get a copy – intentionally. The reason was out of my fear that a photo of me with such a polarizing figure would hurt me in my election efforts. Politicians are risk averse, and I was conditioned into this due to an earlier incident where a person told me, point-blank, that they had looked for a photo of me with former President Barack Obama to run with editorials attacking my views. There was only one reason for that: to alienate people who would have viewed such a photo of us together as a negative and which would have encouraged them to vote against me due to that association. I am not only ashamed of myself for avoiding those photo opportunities, but also that I did not use that platform to influence conversations over division. Now, I realize that I should have proudly displayed that photo and used it to break down those barriers. Today, I have moved beyond my fear of what people think regarding disagreements with me on matters of race. I instead try to influence them to a different outlook, and I appreciate David, Reverend Jackson, and all those who helped me understand the barriers faced by so many. Thank you to those who gave me grace as I have aged into what I believe is a better person. It would be easy to condemn me, but that dialogue helped me grow. I hope that you will take these thoughts with you and do better than I did back then

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Most legislative committees are finishing their work on bills in the houses of origin this week at the State Capitol. This is the time when thousands of bills die without ever being considered. What certainly will move forward though is a host of ideas to improve children’s literacy rates. Many members of the legislative leadership have bills they hope will help younger children who are not reading at grade level by third grade and improve math comprehension among students at older grade levels. Most agree that students must “learn to read before they read to learn.” To achieve this, no law can fix the initial problem. Parents must read with their children long before they enter Kindergarten or Pre-K, and reading with their children should continue as a daily ritual during the school year when parents help children with their homework. According to a National Literacy Trust study from 2024, 50.5% of parents read with their children daily, a 15-point drop from 2019. While daily reading is lower, most parents do read to their children, but often on a less consistent basis (weekly rather than daily). Likewise, while 73% to 77% of parents with children under five begin reading to their children before age one, the frequency often drops as children get older. Equally concerning is that an estimated 39% of American nine-year-olds in 2022 reported that they read for fun almost every day, which is down from 53% in 2012, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress. In that same survey, just 14% of 13-year-olds surveyed reported reading for fun almost daily, down from 27% in 2012. Many folks yearn to return to the days when they were in school or for an idealistic visualization of schools prior to their time. The fact is times have changed, and certainly not always for the better. Families today face issues at a higher rate than previous generations, such as an increase in single-parent homes, a struggle for households to keep up with bills that necessitate not only parents working longer hours in jobs, but sometimes for their children to contribute financially with the jobs they hold. There was a time when a single income could support a family. Wages have not kept up with prices and now it takes two or more incomes to meet most families’ needs. On top of that, scarce access to health insurance, and identified struggles with those in the household, such as mental health issues or addiction, are also obstacles to student success. So, I wonder, are we asking teachers today to do more with the children coming to them when students are not as prepared to learn as in the past? Sadly, the answer is, “Yes.” I hope this reality is weighed by lawmakers when considering legislation they hope improves students’ reading comprehension or face grade-level retention. There are many ideas other than educational issues gaining traction at the State Capitol, and we at the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy (OICA) are directly engaged with several of these issues. Guided by the “Children’s Legislative Agenda” developed from concepts shared by advocates at our Fall Forum policy conference, we are working with lawmakers on a host of subjects. OICA is also lending support to other ideas through collaborative efforts with partner organizations who also engage at the State Capitol. We need your help to see success though. I want to invite each of you to our Child Advocacy Day at the Oklahoma State Capitol on Tuesday, March 10, which is also the day for our annual chili cook-off for child-serving organizations and advocates. This means if you show up to be a citizen lobbyist that day, you will also get a great meal! We hope you can schedule the day off and join us as we work together to move great ideas into action to improve the lives of Oklahoma’s children. 

Students from the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy (OICA) Youth Governors programs took the oath of office for their one-year terms on Monday, Feb. 2, at a ceremony at the Oklahoma State Capitol. Pictured are (from left to right) Joe Dorman, CEO of OICA; Cathleen Taylor, Oklahoma 4-H Youth Development; Victoria Justice, 4-H Youth Junior Cabinet Member from Depew; Riley Rudder, 4-H Junior Secretary of State from Fort Towson; Whitlee Moser, 4-H Junior Lieutenant Governor from Perkins; Riley Braden, 4-H Junior Governor from Bristow; Oklahoma’s Kid Governor Katelyn Talley from Valliant; Kid Lieutenant Governor Sophia Chavarria Rivera from Bethany; Kid Secretary of State Daphne Tanequodle from Lawton; and, Licia Walters, OICA Program Director and Oklahoma State Coordinator for Kid Governor. (Courtesy Photo) OKLAHOMA CITY – While most attention at the Oklahoma State Capitol on Monday, February 2nd went to convening the 2nd Session of the 60th Legislature, a pair of youth governor programs sponsored by the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy (OICA) administered the oaths of office for their 2026 leaders. OICA is pleased to coordinate year-long activities for the Oklahoma Kid Governor program, operated in conjunction with the Connecticut Democracy Center, and the Oklahoma 4-H Junior Governor program for 4th, 5th, and 6th graders enrolled in 4-H. For a little more about Kid Governor and the work we do, this civics education program immerses students in lesson plans and a real election to select a 5th grader who will serve a one-year term of active leadership. Our current Kid Governor was selected from 1,187 Oklahoma participating students. Each student candidate selected an issue on which to run, and the classroom voted for their favorite. The winner then recorded a two-minute campaign video which was submitted into the statewide competition. From that, a panel comprised of Oklahoma’s former governors – David Walters, Frank Keating, Brad Henry, and Mary Fallin – and OICA board members narrowed the field to the finalists. The campaign videos for the finalists were shared with each participating classroom or school library program, a total of 37 from across the state. The election was timed to coincide with Election Day last November, and students cast their votes on ballots which resemble the actual Oklahoma ballots. Oklahoma’s Kid Governor for 2026 is Katelyn Talley, a 5th grader from Valliant in southeastern Oklahoma. Her platform is animal abuse prevention. The Kid Lieutenant Governor is Sophia Chavarria Rivera, a 5th grader from Bethany, and her platform is the prevention of bullying. The Kid Secretary of State is Daphne Tanequodle, a 5th grader from Lawton, who was elected with a platform of addressing homelessness. For our other set of young leaders, OICA co-sponsored a conference in October with 4-H that brought 72 interested 4-H students together in Stillwater. They learned about state government and then elected the Junior Governor and Junior Cabinet. 2026 Junior Governor Riley Braden is from Bristow in Creek County. Riley is home schooled and ran on a platform to protect and promote the sanctity of life. Junior Lieutenant Governor is Whitlee Moser from Perkins in Payne County. Whitlee attends Perkins Tryon Intermediate School and ran on a platform of education. Junior Secretary of State is Riley Rudder from Fort Towson. Riley attends Rattan Elementary in Pushmataha County and ran on a platform of turtle conservation The Junior Cabinet Member is Victoria Justice from Depew in Creek County. Victoria is homeschooled and her platform is to prevent debt collectors from making spam calls. Toolkits consisting of free, custom-designed lesson plans reflecting Oklahoma’s system of state government help guide instructors through the program, the history and process of voting, and the importance of active participation in civic life. Students choose their campaign issues on their own with guidance and support from the local teacher or 4-H leader. The students also received a complimentary comic book, Mighty Mia and Dyna-Bit Save Democracy, that was written by me, with editing and artwork done by Literati Press in Oklahoma City. OICA underwrites the cost of the program, mileage reimbursement for the families for traveling to speeches and events, and distribution of the books through donations. We are very pleased to work with each of these seven ladies over this next year to help them promote their selected campaign policies. We will host them at the State Capitol to further visit with lawmakers before the legislative session concludes and also have them attend our annual Heroes Ball in July. For more information about how you can help support the Kid Governor program or the 4-H Junior Governor program, contact us at info@oica.org or call (405) 236-KIDS (5437). 

The logo for the 2026 OICA Child Advocacy Day and Chili Cook-Off was designed by Amber Integrated, an Oklahoma City public affairs and strategic communications firm. The image recalls the famous “The Spirit of ‘76” painting in which patriots marched with a fife and drums during the American Revolution. The image ties into the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy’s year-long celebration of the United States’ 250 th birthday. In just over a month, child advocates and chili cooks from across Oklahoma will gather at the Oklahoma State Capitol for the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy (OICA) Child Advocacy Day and Chili Cook-Off. The annual event is designed to give advocates face-to-face interactions with legislators and policy leaders during a casual event with some of the best chili in Oklahoma to bring them all together. This week, OICA unveiled its logo for the event, created in partnership with Amber Integrated, an Oklahoma City-based public affairs and strategic communications firm, and a top sponsor of the Chili Cook-off. “The talented artists at Amber Integrated did a great job with this year’s logo,” said Joe Dorman, OICA CEO. “It flows perfectly with our theme for the year, honoring the 250th birthday of the United States.” The logo depicts the mascots of the Democratic, Republican, and Libertarian parties – the donkey, elephant, and hedgehog – marching together playing the fife and drums, a nod to the Revolutionary War painting entitled “The Spirit of ’76.” “While children’s policy should not be partisan in nature, the officials who we work with to shape ideas do run under a party nomination,” said Dorman. “We use this event each year to remind those officials that the success of the children of our state should come first and by working together, better things will occur for future generations.” OICA also announced that Oklahoma youth-serving organizations or individuals may register to participate by cooking chili at a table that allows them to display about the work that they do, and that sponsorships are now available for the event. “This is an excellent way for our advocates to engage in the process and share their stories,” Dorman said. “We encourage organizations who want to connect with officials to use this opportunity to join us at the Capitol and begin that process of building relationships and offer themselves as a resource, and if they cannot join, please consider sponsoring so their name can appear on the back of the event t-shirt with the event logo on the front. “We share a commitment that on this one day, in this building of the people, we can lay the foundation for better outcomes for Oklahoma kids while celebrating the 250th birthday of our nation,” Dorman concluded. For anyone who might wish to enter or sponsor the Child Advocacy Chili Cook-Off, they should contact Brenna Leeds, OICA Development Director, at bleeds@oica.org or by calling OICA at 405-236-KIDS (5437), extension 3, or interested parties can go to oica.org/2026-chili-cookoff and select sponsorship or entry.

Katelyn Tally (center front) of Valliant takes the oath of office as Oklahoma’s Kid Governor for 2026 during a State Capitol ceremony on Mon., Feb. 2. Katelyn is surrounded by her mother Jessica Fulgham (front left) and father, Brandon Talley, as she takes the oath. Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice Noma Gurich administered the oath. Courtesy Photo by OICA (Katelyn Talley KG 2026)