Prepare Children for Their Educational Years by Reading to Them

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)

I told someone the other day that this time of year is when I am most optimistic for our state to see better, but that I am also highly concerned about what direction Oklahoma will go through policy. On Monday, February 2, Oklahoma saw the Second Session of the 60th Oklahoma Legislature commence. Lawmakers convened to officially begin business for 2026 by conducting the “first reading” of bills by announcing the bill number associated with the filed legislation. This term is spelled out in Oklahoma’s Constitution, requiring each bill to have three readings, with one only occurring every 24 hours. This is a protection for the people allowing them to mobilize should a bill be controversial, rallying support or opposition before reaching the desk of the governor. “Readings” of a bill are called such because the bill’s title, number, and content in earlier days were read aloud to the legislative body, a tradition originating before widespread literacy and the ability to photocopy bills. Now, a motion is submitted stating the bills are considered as read thanks to improvements in both those areas. On Tuesday, legislators will hear the “second reading” of the bills filed, announcing to which committee bills are assigned for consideration. Once bills pass out of committee and go to a hearing in the full house of origin (House bills in the House of Representatives, Senate bills in the Senate), then they will reach the “third reading” and be up for passage by the entire membership of the body. The process is then repeated in the opposite body. If agreement cannot be reached between the bodies, it goes to further negotiation in a conference committee later in the session. The bill will be considered on a “fourth reading,” and it cannot be amended but simply passed or sent back for further conference. So, the quickest a bill can pass is five calendar days due to three readings with 24 hours in each of the two bodies, with the third reading in the first house overlapping with the first reading in the other. I will say that it rarely happens for something to pass that quickly. In the coming weeks, I will outline the different issues which will highlight this session, including education policies to improve early learning skills, issues tied around the federal “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which shifts cost burdens on many programs to the states, the likely reduction of expendable revenue as compared to last year’s amounts due to tax cuts and other economic issues, the increased costs facing several state agencies, and the priority bills pursued by OICA. I was pleased with several bills which were submitted that align with our “Children’s Legislative Agenda” as built by attendees to our annual Fall Forum conference and through the efforts of our board members to provide ideas for policymakers, lawmakers, and state agencies, to improve conditions for the youth of Oklahoma. We have had our team going through the submissions by lawmakers and with those bills which carried over from the previous session, which is allowed only over a two-year period in the first and second sessions of each Legislature. In total, there are more than 350 bills which have been submitted that we have on our tracking list, with almost that many carrying over from last year. We hope you will follow this column and our weekly newsletter, which you can sign up for at https://www.oica.org to receive on Thursdays. OICA Policy Director Greg Sawyer writes a weekly update on many of the bills which we are following to allow our advocates to learn more and use as a tool to effectively engage in policies important to them. Next week, I will cover events from our Kid Governor and 4-H Junior Governor program as we held their inaugurations following the governor’s speech and the adjournment of the Legislature on that first day. 

The conversation of immigration continues to weigh heavily on many Americans, especially following the death of a Minnesotan over the weekend who was protesting. Eight people have been killed since the ramp up of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) going back to the beginning of the Trump Administration, which includes officers, civilians and those investigated, with an additional 32 people confirmed to have died in custody. On one side, you have those who are passionate about the need for people to earn citizenship if they want to live in this nation, compared to those who view the laws as too rigid: unjustly preventing the opportunity to live here as a documented resident while seeking legal status, having committed no crime other than being here. Data from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University shows a significant majority of individuals in ICE detention nationally have no criminal convictions (70%). In Oklahoma, according to This Land Press in an article published in September, 1,994 people were flagged and booked across Oklahoma. At least 440 of those passed through the Tulsa County Jail, with 80% having no prior convictions, according to reporting by KOSU. Of course, there are opposing stories generated claiming those percentages are not accurate. This effort has been aided by a federal program called “287(g) agreements,” a contract with local law enforcement agencies to assist and oftentimes provide detainment facilities with signed partnerships which allocate federal funding to the local law enforcement agency. The Tulsa Sheriff’s office has been a part of this program since 2009, making it one of the first to participate, with dozens more departments signing up just last year. While this program might anger many, collaboration with local law enforcement does provide personnel who have undergone much longer training with proper deescalation protocols than recently hired ICE agents receive. Many have been put into the field after only 47 days of instructional training per new guidelines. An AP-NORC poll conducted recently revealed President Trump’s approval ratings on immigration had dropped to 38% nationally, and a Quinnipiac poll found 57% of Americans disapproved of ICE’s enforcement of immigration laws. In contrast, this also shows how many people approve of these policies. I will note that these are national polls, and I suspect that favorability is much higher in Oklahoma. One overwhelming sentiment though is support for children. We as a nation should not place any children in cages with only a silver-colored blanket as a possession, and yes, that has been the case with both parties over the past three administrations. I ask our elected officials of both parties and law enforcement to do better. Gov. Kevin Stitt summed it up best on Sunday by saying, “We have to stop politicizing this. We need real solutions for immigration reform.” Senator Lankford worked on an immigration policy which was cast aside. No others have shown the fortitude to continue that discussion. I also do not want to see any more deaths. Am I angry, depressed, frustrated and disillusioned? Yes. I have peacefully participated in marches, walks, and protests throughout my life, hoping it would influence policy. I never feared for my life. Participating in peaceful protests is a constitutional right guaranteed to us no matter what side of the issue you support, as long as it remains nonviolent and does not obstruct law enforcement. But, while protesting might generate stories and make someone feel involved by bringing pressure to policymakers, the ultimate power we have as Americans is at the ballot box. If you don't vote because a candidate doesn’t “check all the boxes” for you, then you allow other people to choose for you who will decide policy decisions, including immigration. 

The final pre-session deadline has been reached for the Oklahoma Legislature with the completion of bill filing for the Oklahoma House of Representatives and the Oklahoma State Senate. Over the past month, lawmakers have worked with their staff members to complete the drafting of potential new laws in preparation for the Second Regular Session of the 60th Legislature. The session will commence on Monday, February 2 at noon with Governor Kevin Stitt’s State of the State address as he begins the final year of his second term in office. The legislative bodies completed bill filing Thursday, January 15. A total of 1,578 House bills and 50 House joint resolutions were filed before the deadline. Likewise, a total of 996 Senate bills were filed for 2026, with 23 Senate joint resolutions and two Senate concurrent resolutions. This flurry of bills joins more than 1,600 House measures and more than 900 Senate bills and resolutions carried over from 2025 which remain eligible for consideration in the 2026 legislative session. The Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy (OICA) team is combing through these bills to see which, in their initial stages, will be pro-child. Over the next few weeks, we will be sharing with you which among all these measures are good for children in Oklahoma and those which might cause harm. The House of Representatives is currently comprised of 80 Republicans and 19 Democrats with two vacancies. The Senate currently has a membership of 40 Republicans and 8 Democrats. Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell, who serves as the President of the Senate, is also in his final year under the two-term limit to hold an executive office. With this, if you are a casual observer of Oklahoma politics and the legislative process, but you might want to learn more so you can engage in policymaking as an advocate, I have a great recommendation for you. For years, OICA held a conference to help educate about the nuances of the lawmaking process called the Legislative Learning Lab (LLL). In 2025, the decision was made to turn this program over to the Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits (OKCNP) to hopefully broaden the scope of this training to reach more interested individuals. This year, LLL will be held both in-person and virtually for attendees to participate and learn best practices of the legislative process. The two-day training will be held on Thursday, January 29 and Friday, January 30 at the OKCNP headquarters located at 701 N. Lindsay in Oklahoma City from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The link to register for this training is https://okcnp.org/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=1980898&group= . For those attending in person or virtually, instructions will be sent upon registration. Across the two days, topics include: conversations with state legislative leaders; understanding the state budget and its impact; working with government agencies and lobbyists; building coalitions and grassroots advocacy campaigns and discussing key issues for nonprofits, including the Johnson Amendment; and the upcoming 2030 Census, along with other relevant and timely topics. We will hear from such speakers as Sen. Chuck Hall, the Senate Appropriations and Budget Committee chair about Oklahoma’s budgetary process; Dr. Keith Gaddie will present about Oklahoma’s political history and how we got to where we are; Reps. Emily Gise, R-Oklahoma City, and Andy Fugate, D-Del City, will discuss caucus priorities for their respective caucuses; panels of Capitol reporters and lobbyists will discuss how their work functions during the legislative session; and, I will present an overview of the three branches of government and how they work as a dynamic to create laws. The cost to attend in-person is: OKCNP members $150, non-members $300; and virtually online OKCNP members $100 and non-members $200. I hope that you will be able to join us for this program which will certainly benefit those who want to help in the policymaking process.

Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. famously stated, “Taxes are what we pay for civilized society.” This quote illustrates that taxation is a necessary component to fund public services, infrastructure, and a collective well-being that defines a functional and civilized society. In Oklahoma, we have a tax structure unlike any found in the United States. Our different levels of government rely upon separate tax collections for providing services. For state government services, some major sources of the $12,180,552,061.03 collected in tax collections include: • Individual Income Tax: The single largest source of state government revenue. In Fiscal Year 2025, collections were estimated to be $5,199,756,734.11. • General Sales Tax: The second largest source of state collections was recently modified when the state eliminated this tax specifically on groceries, which was at a rate of 4.5% on those items, which is expected to reduce state revenue by $418 million per year. $2,788,283,516.29 was collected in the last fiscal year. • Alcohol and cigarette taxes: Revenue generated from these two taxes totaled $271,221,152.24 • Gross Production Tax (Severance Tax): A tax on the extraction of natural resources like oil and natural gas. In FY-2025, $1,041,709,252.19 was collected. You can review the wide variety of taxes collected by the state at https://oklahoma.gov/tax/reporting-resources/statistics.html#ca and also where the funds go if it is not to the General Revenue Fund, which is allocated by lawmakers and the governor. Local governments (counties, cities, towns, and school districts) primarily rely upon different revenue streams than the state for delivering services, which includes: • Local sales tax is used by cities and counties at a rate above the percent charged by the state. This generally serves as the major funding source for municipal operations. Oklahoma is unique in that many municipalities must rely on sales taxes as their primary revenue source for general operations. • User charges are fees for services like water, electricity, and sewer utilities which provide a significant revenue source for municipalities. • Intergovernmental revenue: Local governments also receive significant funding from the state (e.g., shared motor vehicle and motor fuel taxes) and allocated federal government funds. Both the state and several local jurisdictions also have agreements with Native American tribal governments within Oklahoma to help fund a variety of improvements and services. • Property taxes are used almost exclusively by school districts and counties; cities can use their allotment to pay off bonded indebtedness approved by voters. State government is prohibited from levying property taxes. Why is knowing this information important? A group is circulating a petition to send to a vote of the people a state ballot question to eliminate property taxes for homeowners. Under their plan, homeowners’ property taxes would be cut by one-third in 2027, another third in 2028, and eliminated entirely by 2029 for homesteads, removing $1.2 billion from local governments. In FY 2024, overall property taxes, which include the taxes paid by homeowners, businesses (including rental property), commercial enterprises, and farming operations, brought in $3.9 billion for schools and county governments and made up at least half of the budget in 62 of Oklahoma’s 77 counties. Last week, Canadian County officials stated that about 85 percent of their property tax collections went to fund schools in their county. This will fluctuate per county depending upon the types of property, but each would face a significant shortfall for providing public schools and services should this question make it to the ballot and pass by a vote of the people. So, what will make up lost revenue if people want to retain their public schools? One of the petition organizers questioned whether Oklahomans would even want these services, saying the Legislature would need to approve other funding if Oklahomans wanted to continue the services. As Justice Holmes puts it, consider what parts of services provided do you want eliminated should this pass, and what other taxes you would want raised to not see a decline in our society. 

As 2026 begins, the topic of insurance affordability and what can be done to keep costs from going up is top-of-mind. While much of that discussion will occur at the federal level and involves adults, there are things occurring locally which can assist many Oklahoma youth. For the past several years, the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy (OICA) has promoted the work of My OK Plan, a nonprofit program operated by Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma (LASO), Inc. Their team of local assisters are real people who are standing by to assist Oklahomans statewide, at no cost, in finding the health insurance coverage that works for them. You can get information on the program on the front page of our website at oica.org . This effort is a funded project through a federal grant administered by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Under this grant, our two organizations have promoted awareness of SoonerCare/SoonerSelect coverage. SoonerCare (Oklahoma Medicaid) is a health insurance program for lower income people/families to receive coverage provided by the state. SoonerSelect is Oklahoma’s managed care program for SoonerCare, implemented by the Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA) and operated through plans provided by selected insurance providers. To qualify for SoonerCare/SoonerSelect, you must: • Reside in Oklahoma. • Be a US citizen or qualified documented resident. • Meet financial income and guidelines in certain categories Income eligibility varies depending on household size. It is important to know that children and pregnant women qualify at higher income limits. For those who qualify for this insurance coverage, you can receive: • Child Health & Wellness visits to doctors. • Primary Care/Preventive Care support services. • Behavioral/Mental Health coverage. • Dental coverage. • Prescription Drugs authorized by a provider. • Pregnancy & Postpartum Care for expectant mothers. There is no monthly or yearly cost to have SoonerCare/SoonerSelect coverage for those who meet the income guidelines. Some services may require a small copay ($4-$10) at the time services are received. As of November 2025, the age breakdown of total enrollment for children under the OHCA was 511,209 Oklahomans ages 18 and under, more than half of the children estimated to live in our state. In the 2025 KIDS COUNT Data Book, Oklahoma ranks 43rd in health and 7% of children are uninsured (around 77,000 kids). That is a slight improvement from previous years but still concerning. These are children who either fall above the income threshold, or their caregivers simply have not enrolled them. For our part in this project, OICA is doing outreach to school districts, daycares, and other early childhood organizations across the state to promote information about this nonprofit’s work and how those who qualify might sign up. We also have received funds to distribute printed materials to these entities in 20 selected counties across the state. Our work makes a difference in reaching Oklahomans who qualify for this support. Over a six-month span at the end of last year, 6,866 children were new enrollees for coverage. Another bonus, in 2023, the state started using a new federal option to count students who get help from Medicaid (SoonerCare) to also qualify for free school lunches, and the impact was successful. Now, almost 300,000 students in Oklahoma receive free meals at school thanks to the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), a federal program which helps schools in high poverty areas serve meals to all students at no cost to their families. This has doubled support around the state and provided a lifeline for many families to help survive tough economic times. To see if your children qualify for SoonerCare or SoonerSelect, or if you know of a family with children who might qualify, please direct them to myOKplan.org to have a navigator assist with enrollment, or you can call (833)465-7526 and an operator will assist. 

OICA CEO Joe Dorman presents gift cards for teen foster children to Codi Darakhshan, M.Ed., community engagement coordinator strategic engagement for Oklahoma Human Services (OHS). OICA helped raise thousands of collars for the holiday gift cards to help foster teens have a happy holiday season. – Courtesy Photo