Currently, the State of Oklahoma incarcerates more women per capita than any other state in the nation, a rate of 134 per 100,000, compared to a national average of 69 per 100,000. Tulsa County incarcerates at an even higher rate, 169 women per 100,000.

This practice has a devastating impact on thousands of children around our state.  There are an estimated 4,500 minor children in Oklahoma with their mothers in prison.  These children are at greater risk of school failure, depression, drug and alcohol abuse. Without a successful intervention, they are likely to become the next generation of inmates at the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.  Incarcerating non-violent female offenders does not make economic sense, nor does it protect the public safety.  Is it not better public policy to provide these women with treatment and the tools to become better parents and productive citizens?

George Kaiser Family Foundation (GKFF) has made the issue of female incarceration a priority and has led efforts to make a systemic change to Oklahoma’s statistics.   GKFF has invested nearly two million dollars on diversion services, pre-release counseling and treatment, services to children of incarcerated parents and reentry services. In January, the Foundation helped sponsor the Summit on Incarcerated Women as part of the Complex Dialogues series at Oklahoma Christian University, which was an important step in raising public awareness of the need to promote alternatives to incarceration for non-violent female offenders.

GKFF’s principal funding has been in the investment of significant resources on model diversion services, as the Foundation believes that the true value is derived from rehabilitating these nonviolent offenders and reunifying families.  Recognizing the lack of viable alternatives to prison for women in Tulsa, GKFF, an organization committed to improving the lives of at risk young children, and Family & Children’s Services (F&CS), Tulsa’s premier family service and mental health provider, co-designed and implemented the Women in Recovery (WIR) pilot program in June 2009.

WIR, based on proven models, offers a cost-effective and holistic approach to diverting female offenders from incarceration in Tulsa County.  WIR has already served 33 nonviolent women offenders who together have 73 children. The Program is a true wraparound model, changing the way traditional services are delivered, allowing women the maximum potential to succeed by providing them the necessary tools to regain their independence financially and exit the judicial system.  Focusing primarily on substance abuse and mental health treatment, and providing safe housing and transportation from the beginning, each woman’s total needs are met.

In building on the success of Women in Recovery, HB2998 proposed this session by Rep. Kris Steele of Shawnee represents landmark legislation.  The bill would establish pilot programs, consisting of private donations and state funds, “to provide diversion programs to reduce the high rate of female incarceration and to provide reentry services that both employ evidence-based practices and techniques.”

George Kaiser Family Foundation proposes including a $500,000 cash match to the state funds.  Thus, $1 million will be appropriated to the implementation of a state pilot diversion program and a reentry program.  Half of these funds will supplement the work currently being undertaken by Women In Recovery to reduce female incarceration, while the other half will go to the implementation of a reentry programs that will provide support services, employment opportunities and other needed resources for female offenders and their children.

The need for change in Oklahoma’s criminal justice system is critical, and the total approach represented by this bill is impressive.  HB 2998 passed the full House in February by a unanimous bipartisan vote of 92-0. The bill would still need to pass the full Senate and be signed by the Governor to become law. However, these early successes provide real hopeful signs that the tide is beginning to turn and the issue of female incarceration is beginning to change.

Supporters and critics alike labeled HB 1804 as among “the toughest anti-illegal immigrant bills in the nation”. Supporters fervently hoped, while opponents fervently feared, that passage and implementation of HB 1804 would have a significant effect on the undocumented population of the state, encouraging many to leave the state and deterring others from coming, while making life harder and more precarious for those who remained.

But what has been the actual impact of HB 1804? The Urban Institute, a respected national research organization,  has just released a study, commissioned by the National Council of La Raza, titled “Untangling the Oklahoma Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act: Consequences for Children and Families” that looks closely at the effects of HB 1804. The study was based on interviews with a wider range of leaders of  Oklahoma’s immigrant communities, public officials, community service providers, schools, law-enforcement and others, as well as focus groups with immigrant parents in Oklahoma City and Tulsa.

The report’s main findings can be broadly summarized into two major points. The first is that passage and implementation of HB 1804 has not had a dramatic impact on immigrants’ use of public services.  The report finds little evidence of change in use of health care services, public school enrollment, or participation in Head Start programs. Despite much sound and fury about tightening eligibility for public benefits, the reality was that undocumented immigrants were already precluded from accessing most public benefits, such as food stamps, Medicaid, Medicare or cash assistance, following passage of federal legislation in the mid-1990s. The verification requirements mandated by HB 1804 for public benefits were already in place prior to the bill’s passage. At the same time, access to public school, basic health care, and services provided by non-governmental agencies remain outside the scope of both federal restrictions and HB 1804. The main changes in access to services attributable to HB 1804 involved new requirements to show proof of legal residency for professional licenses issued by the Health Department (e.g. food handler certificates and physician licenses)  and tighter requirements that apply to all state residents for access to vital records (e.g. death and birth certificates) and drivers license renewals after expiration .

Yet if the tangible consequences of HB 1804 have been mostly limited, the report stresses that HB 1804 has contributed to a genuine “culture of fear” among immigrant families. They write:

Members of the Latino community live in fear of being deported and consequently separated from their children. At the same time, the legislation appears to have provided an opening for anti-immigrant sentiment in the state and to have furthered anti-immigrant legislative proposals.

The report suggests that the culture of fear in the immigrant community is partly the result of HB 1804 and partly a result of a number of separate immigration enforcement activities pursued by federal and local authorities, such as the “287(g) agreement” signed by the Tulsa County sheriff’s office with federal officials in 2007 that has led to stepped-up arrest and deportation of immigrants detained on traffic-related violations.  The controversial provision in HB 1804 making it a state felony to harbor, shelter, and transport unauthorized immigrants has been exercised on very few occasions.  However, a less-prominent section that requires jails to verify the legal status of detained individuals has had more far-reaching consequences in triggering legal processes that can lead to deportation.

If opponents of illegal immigration were looking to HB 1804 to make the case that states could, on their own, regulate immigration and solve the issues associated with the nation’s undocumented population, the Urban Institute report suggests they are probably disappointed. The report concludes:

HB 1804 is largely superseded by federal law, especially when it comes to eligibility for public benefits, services, and prohibitions on transporting, concealing, harboring, or sheltering unauthorized immigrants.

However, to say that this dog’s bark was worse than its bite is not to dismiss its importance.  If the true point of HB 1804 was to make unauthorized residents and others in the immigrant community feel more uncomfortable and unwelcome in Oklahoma, then the legislation may still have accomplished its goal.

We’re out with our latest Numbers You Need bulletin for June, tracking economic and fiscal trends in Oklahoma and the nation. While the bulletin focuses on monthly and quarterly data on jobs, inflation, work support programs, and the like, each month we present annual data on some indicator of Oklahoma’s general prosperity and well-being. This month we look at the trend in the annual number of confirmed cases of child abuse and neglect in the state. The news is decidedly encouraging.

Last year’s total of 11,714 confirmed cases of abuse and neglect is the lowest this decade. The rate of child abuse and neglect cases – 13.0 per 1,000 children in the population -  is the lowest since FY ‘94 and is down 35 percent from the peak rate of 20.0 confirmed cases of abuse and neglect per 1,000 children in FY ‘98.

While the statewide rate is important, it is worth noting wide disparities across counties in the rate of confirmed cases of child abuse and neglect. According to the 2007-2008 Oklahoma Kids Count Factbook put out by the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy, rates for the most recent three year period (FY ‘04 – FY ‘06) ranged from a high of 42.5 cases per 1,000 children in Coal County to a low of 5.8 per 1,000 in Kingfisher County.

There is not a clear single factor responsible for the decline in child abuse and neglect; rather, those involved in the field point to a combination of policies, practices, and economic circumstances:

• On the policy side, the state has invested heavily over the past decade in front-end prevention programs, such as the Children First Program and Healthy Start initiative, aimed at providing at-risk parents the resources and skills to avoid engaging in abusive behaviors. A newer pilot program, Safe Care, specifically targets families identified at the highest risk for abuse.
• Within DHS, Child Protective Services has been in the process of implementing a new practice model that focuses on conducting assessments, rather than investigations, of families that have been reported to them, allowing for more timely and effective interventions in at-risk situations before actual abuse occurs.
• At the same time, the state’s extended stretch of strong economic growth and low unemployment may also have contributed to the drop in abuse through FY ‘08 by providing a greater measure of economic security for children and their families. DHS also points to its ongoing success in increasing child support payments to single parents and linking low-income parents to work supports such as food stamps and child care as reducing the financial and psychological stress on families.

The explanation does not seem to be any decline in the effort to report and investigate suspected abuse: as can be seen from DHS’ annual statistical report on child abuse and neglect, the number of reported cases of abuse and neglect that were investigated has remained steady at just over 60,000 in recent years.

The Legislature has taken a strong interest of late in the child welfare system, passing HB 1734 this past session, which was based on a comprehensive and largely critical audit of the system. DHS was appropriated $1.15 million this year to begin implementing some of the key recommendations from the audit, including establishing a statewide telephone hotline and creating a Medical Passport program.

Hopefully these reforms will complement and reinforce the existing efforts that seem to be making real and long-awaited progress in tackling one of Oklahoma’s gravest problems. However, with the downturn in the economy and parents losing jobs and income, the financial strain on families may once again lead to a spike in abuse. This is all the more reason not to get too comfortable with these numbers, but to be on the lookout for those in your community who may need some extra support in these challenging times. Those who are interested in becoming involved in child abuse prevention efforts should contact the Oklahoma State Department of Health at (405) 271-7611 or through their website. A variety of opportunities exist ranging from the simple to more involved commitments.

for June, tracking economic and fiscal trends in Oklahoma and the nation. While the bulletin focuses on monthly and quarterly data on jobs, inflation, work support programs, and the like, each month we present annual data on some indicator of Oklahoma’s general prosperity and well-being. This month we look at the trend in the annual number of confirmed cases of child abuse and neglect in the state. The news is decidedly encouraging.

Last year’s total of 11,714 confirmed cases of abuse and neglect is the lowest this decade. The rate of child abuse and neglect cases – 13.0 per 1,000 children in the population -  is the lowest since FY ‘94 and is down 35 percent from the peak rate of 20.0 confirmed cases of abuse and neglect per 1,000 children in FY ‘98.

While the statewide rate is important, it is worth noting wide discrepancies across counties in the rate of confirmed cases of child abuse and neglect. According to the 2007-2008 Oklahoma Kids Count Factbook put out by the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy, rates for the most recent three year period (FY ‘04 – FY ‘06) ranged from a high of 42.5 cases per 1,000 children in Coal County to a low of 5.8 per 1,000 in Kingfisher County.

There is not a clear single factor responsible for the decline in child abuse and neglect; rather, those involved in the field point to a combination of policies, practices, and economic circumstances:

• On the policy side, the state has invested heavily over the past decade in front-end prevention programs, such as the Children First Program and Healthy Start initiative, aimed at providing at-risk parents the resources and skills to avoid engaging in abusive behaviors. A newer pilot program, Safe Care, specifically targets families identified at the highest risk for abuse.
• Within DHS, Child Protective Services has been in the process of implementing a new practice model that focuses on conducting assessments, rather than investigations, of families that have been reported to them, allowing for more timely and effective interventions in at-risk situations before actual abuse occurs.
• At the same time, the state’s extended stretch of strong economic growth and low unemployment may also have contributed to the drop in abuse through FY ‘08 by providing a greater measure of economic security for children and their families. DHS also points to its ongoing success in increasing child support payments to single parents and linking low-income parents to work supports such as food stamps and child care as reducing the financial and psychological stress on families.

The explanation does not seem to be any decline in the effort to report and investigate suspected abuse: as can be seen from DHS’ annual statistical report on child abuse and neglect, the number of reported cases of abuse and neglect that were investigated has remained steady at just over 60,000 in recent years.

The Legislature has taken a strong interest of late in the child welfare system, passing HB 1734 this past session, which was based on a comprehensive and largely critical audit of the system. DHS was appropriated $1.15 million this year to begin implementing some of the key recommendations from the audit, including establishing a statewide telephone hotline and creating a Medical Passport program.

Hopefully these reforms will complement and reinforce the existing efforts that seem to be making real and long-awaited progress in tackling one of Oklahoma’s gravest problems. However, with the downturn in the economy and parents losing jobs and income, the financial strain on families may once again lead to a spike in abuse. This is all the more reason not to get too comfortable with these numbers, but to be on the lookout for those in your community who may need some extra support in these challenging times. Those who are interested in becoming involved in child abuse prevention efforts should contact the Oklahoma State Department of Health at (405) 271-7611 or through their website. A variety of opportunities exist ranging from the simple to more involved commitments.