The following post by Paul Shinn originally appeared on The Tulsa Initiative Blog. The Tulsa Initiative is a project of Community Action Project and its partners to undertake research, planning, and coordination of pilot programs to support the delivery of state-of-the-art services to low-income children and families in Tulsa.

As Oklahoma’s Early Childhood Advisory Council, Smart Start Oklahoma is charged with making recommendations to Governor Mary Fallin on actions we can take at the state level to better support young children. Interested members of the public will get their chance to review and comment on the recommendations at a forum on August 18 in Oklahoma City. This opportunity comes in the context of a day-long, free conference where participants will learn more about funding early childhood programs and the impact of those programs on children and the state’s economy.

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On Friday, August 5th, Moore Norman Technology Center’s HIRE program and the Sooner Human Resource Society are hosting a one-of-a-kind workshop in partnership with The State Chamber, the Oklahoma Manufacturing Alliance, Oklahoma Employment Security Commission, DHS, State Regents for Higher Ed, Dept. of Career Tech, Dept. of Corrections, et al.

The conference, “Barriers and Bridges…Reframing your Corporate Culture,” will address the economic cultures and challenges that develop with long-term unemployment, as well as sessions designed to address employer questions and concerns about hiring those with criminal backgrounds.  With increasing numbers of males and females being released to return to our communities, the discussion is important and timely. Read the rest of this entry »

The Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services will host their 2011 Suicide Prevention Conference on Friday, July 29^th at the Doubletree Hotel in Tulsa.  The conference will provide participants with suicide prevention training, intervention skills and knowledge. In addressing the complexity of suicide in our communities, emphasis will also be placed on building resources for professionals and families. Read the rest of this entry »

Oklahoma Assets will host the third in a series of webinars on asset-building next Thursday, June 23rd from 1:00 to 2:00 pm CDT.  The 60-minute webinar, “Individual Development Accounts (IDAs): Programs and Policies that Work!” will show how IDAs offer individuals with low income and limited resources the opportunity to save money for education, a small business, or a home.  IDA participants enjoy matched savings, peer support, financial education and training specific to their savings goal.  Click here to register, free of charge. Read the rest of this entry »

The senior vice president and director of the Human Services Research Division of Mathematica Policy Research, Inc will be the final speaker in the spring 2011 OKDHS Policy and Practice Lecture Series.  Barbara Devaney, Ph.D., will present “Oklahoma’s Building Strong Families Project” on Thursday, May 19, from Noon to 1pm at the Oklahoma History Center in the Chesapeake Room. The event is free and open to the public.

Devaney received her Ph.D. in economics from the University of Michigan.  She is a nationally recognized expert in maternal and child health, nutrition and risk-reduction programs for youth.  She is co-director of Mathematica’s Building Strong Families study and has served as principal investigator for the firm’s evaluation of abstinence education programs, which received the 2009 Outstanding Evaluation Award from the American Evaluation Association.

Devaney has played a leading role in many of Mathematica’s studies of family formation, children’s nutrition and public health programs.  She has served on scientific committees convened by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. She publishes widely in peer-reviewed journals and presents findings at conferences of researchers, policymakers and practitioners.

The Building Strong Families project is an initiative to develop and evaluate programs designed to help interested unwed parents strengthen and stabilize their relationships.

Related information:

• Guest blog post by Scott Stanley on Family Expectation, one component of this initiative in Oklahoma.
• OK Policy roundtable: Should Oklahoma be promoting marriage?

Mobile apps, social networking, and digital connectivity are already transforming our lives in many ways. Alongside these developments has been a growing movement, known as Government 2.0, to apply these technologies to make government more transparent, participatory, and collaborative. As a short film by the Open Knowledge Foundation explains, government data combined with these newly available tools has huge potential value both for governments and ordinary citizens.

Next week, leaders in Oklahoma’s Gov 2.0 community will gather for the 2nd annual Gov 2.0a conference, May 6-7 at the Skirvin Hilton in downtown Oklahoma City. You can register to attend the conference here.

On Friday, attendees will hear from a number of speakers representing city and state organizations, community groups, non-profits and businesses that are interested in applying technology to make our government more efficient, accessible, and accountable. Keynote presentations include Governor Mary Fallin on government modernization and i2E CEO Tom Walker on opportunities in Oklahoma technology industries.

On Saturday, staff from the City of Oklahoma City will host a CityCamp event, where they seek ideas for how to use web and mobile technologies to improve services.  That afternoon, a group of software developers will take public data and APIs and try to build useful applications in a day.

In addition, there will be a free “GovUp” networking reception at Tapwerks Ale House on Thursday, May 5.

Oklahoma Assets will host the second in a series of webinars on asset-building next Friday, April 29th from 10:00 to 11:00am CDT.  The 60 minute webinar, ‘Financial Education in Our Public Schools: Oklahoma’s Passport to Personal Financial Literacy,’ will explore financial education as an asset-building strategy, Oklahoma’s legislation requiring financial education to be taught in our public schools, its requirements and how it is being implemented in the state.  You can register for the webinar by clicking here. Read the rest of this entry »

With Oklahoma again debating bills to impose new restrictions on immigrants, a documentary that looks at the impact of the state’s first foray into the immigration field will have a showing in Tulsa next week.  Panic Nation, a multi-award winning documentary on the rise of state-sponsored immigration laws will be shown at the University of Tulsa’s John Rogers Hall on Monday, April 11, at 6 p.m.  The documentary film examines how laws like Oklahoma’s HB 1804 and Arizona’s SB 1070 are affecting more than just those without documentation.  Panic Nation approaches these recent state moves towards stricter immigration policy from a unique prospective:

This distinctive motion picture examines state sponsored immigration laws with an open, direct approach.  There must be a balance among subjects including national security, job protection, labor concerns, and our economy.  We need to create a dialogue sitting at a table rather than yelling at each other from across the street. Read the rest of this entry »

As home foreclosures continue to rise across the United States, loan modification scams are increasing at an alarming rate. Loan modification scams in Oklahoma have a devastating impact on families and communities.  A free luncheon event, “Loan Modification Scam Alert Summit” in Tulsa on Friday, April 8 from 11:30 -2:00pm will shed some light on the growing problem and share tools and resources to help combat loan scams.

The summit is sponsored by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s Oklahoma City Branch, NeighborWorks America, the Oklahoma Homebuyer Education Association and Oklahoma Assets.  The summit will provide you with:

• Knowledge of foreclosure and loan modification scams,
• Tools and resources to protect you and your community, and
• Opportunity to network with service providers and community leaders engaged in this effort

The hosts encourage elected officials, community and faith-based leaders and housing agency representatives to support solutions that are reducing the devastating impact loan modification scams are having in Oklahoma.  The event will be held at the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame in downtown Tulsa on April 8 from 11:30 -2:00pm.  RSVP to Emerson Hall at Emhall@fdic.org by Thursday, March 31. Due to space limitations, pre-registration is required.

Oklahoma Assets will host a 60-minute webinar on promoting savings in Oklahoma on Thursday, March 24 from 2:00 to 3:00pm CDT.  The presentation, ‘Taking it to the Bank: Promoting Savings in Oklahoma,’ features expert speakers via conference call and on-line content exploring policies and programs that promote savings for low-income individuals and families.  Register for the webinar here.

This event is the first in a series of webinars produced by Oklahoma Assets, a coalition that aims to identify and strengthen programs and policies that help Oklahoma residents achieve economic security.  For more information about this event and the continuing series click here or email info@oklahomaassets.org Read the rest of this entry »

The next lecture in the OKDHS Practice & Policy series, ‘The Economics of Oklahoma’s Single Parents’, will be presented by Dr. Larkin Warner and Dr. Jean Warner.  The lecture takes place between 12:00 and 1pm on March 24, 2011 at the Oklahoma History Center in the Chesapeake Room.

Larkin Warner is a former professor at Oklahoma State University who served as the Director of the Economic Studies Division at the Kerr Foundation.  Dr. Warner will use Census data to address the economics of Oklahoma’s single mothers and report on key factors that contribute to poverty in the state.  Co-presenter Dr. Jean Warner helped establish the Oklahoma Women’s Coalition, a non-profit organization that advocates for the state’s women and girls. The Journal Record named Dr. Warner one of the “50 Women Making a Difference in Oklahoma” in 2010. Her presentation will focus on innovative initiatives to improve the financial futures of single-parent families. Read the rest of this entry »

Freedom Of Information Oklahoma’s fourth annual Sunshine Week Conference will be held on Saturday, March 12. The daylong conference kicks off with the keynote speech at 9 a.m.  This year’s conference theme is “Putting Muscle Behind Oklahoma’s FOI Laws.” Read the rest of this entry »