Two bills that would require applicants for TANF benefits to submit to and pay for a drug test, HB 2388 and SB 1073, have cleared their first committees and are moving through the legislative process.  TANF stands for ‘Temporary Assistance for Needy Families’ but the program bears little resemblance to ‘welfare’  as most people imagine it.  Welfare reform in 1996 drastically downsized and radically altered safety net cash assistance programs.  Proponents of the bills argue that: (1) drug users shouldn’t be allowed to access public benefits and (2) that denying benefits through drug testing will save the state money.  Both of these arguments are flawed.  Here are five simple reasons not to drug-test welfare applicants [click here for our fact sheet]:

1. It’s unconstitutional

A Michigan law that is nearly identical to the Oklahoma proposals has already been ruled unconstitutional by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.  The court ruled in 2003 in Marchwinski v. Howard that Michigan’s policy of broadly subjecting all welfare applicants to a drug test violates the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures.  An analysis by the Congressional Research Service concluded in 2008 that state laws requiring drug tests as a condition of benefits, without suspicion of drug use, are susceptible to constitutional challenge.  In fact, this is precisely what just happened to Florida’s new law, which is suspended pending the outcome of a legal challenge. Read the rest of this entry »

Even as the economy recovers, it’s become increasingly apparent that there is no end in sight to Oklahoma’s budget woes. Oklahoma has seen three straight years of budget cuts, and according to one House leader, we may be in for a fourth. At best, this year’s budget will stay flat, which means we can accomplish less due to inflation, reductions in federal assistance, and continued deterioration of equipment and infrastructure that we can’t afford to fix. It also means the damage caused by previous cuts will continue unchecked.

We provided overviews on previous rounds of budget cuts here, here, and here. This is an update on a few more of the ways we’re falling behind in public safety, child welfare, education, health, and other areas:

Public Safety

• The number of state troopers on Oklahoma highways is at its lowest level in 22 years. Without funds to train new troopers, the problem is likely to get worse because more than 1/4th of existing troopers are already eligible for retirement.
• The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation has frozen hiring with 35 vacant jobs, and Director Stan Florence said further cuts would lead to furloughs. Inadequate staff has forced the agency to reduce investigations of the theft of equipment from oil and gas fields and curtail other investigative work. Read the rest of this entry »

The question of whether to require a prescription for the purchase of pseudoephedrine (the main ingredient in medications such as Sudafed) as a means to help combat the production of methamphetamine,  promises to be one of the  hotly contested issues of the 2012 legislative session. We invited a supporter and an opponent of the proposal to present their sides of the debate.

Jessica Hawkins: Time to say ‘enough is enough’

Jessica Hawkins is the Director of Prevention Services for the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, which funds a network of Regional Prevention Coordinators providing community-based prevention services to all 77 Oklahoma counties. 

Substance abuse and untreated addiction must be a priority for Oklahoma.  It is the underlying cause for many of the negative consequences we are faced with in this state such as crime, incarceration, rising health care costs and broken families…issues that will not go away unless we start investing in the things that impact the root problem.

Want a great example? Methamphetamine.  Everybody knows about meth.  It is in the headlines every day.  If there is a picture that illustrates how drug use impacts us all, then this is it. Read the rest of this entry »

Rep. Earl Sears

Last week I participated in a StateImpact Oklahoma forum on the state budget with Rep. Earl Sears, the Chair of the House Appropriations and Budget Committee (R-Bartlesville),  and Sen. Tom Adelson (D-Tulsa).  An audience member asked the legislators what they would do to ensure that more individuals with mental illness were provided treatment in the community rather than in jails and penitentiaries.

Rep. Sears responded by saying that he is very supportive of the work being done by Commissioner Terri White and the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services to raise awareness about the prevalence and cost of mental illness. In particular, Rep. Sears praised the Department’s ‘Smart on Crime’ initiative‘ that uses evidence-based programs to reduce recidivism and decrease demand for correctional beds. By diverting non-violent offenders into programs such as drug court, mental health court, or other similar programs, Smart on Crime can reduce incarceration and ultimately save substantial tax dollars. The initiative, however, requires an upfront investment estimated at close to $100 million. And, Rep. Sears stated ruefully, we just don’t have $100 million to invest in Smart on Crime. Read the rest of this entry »

At last week’s Fall Legislative Forum organized by the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy, a panel of state agency directors discussed some of the accomplishments and continuing challenges facing Oklahoma government. Taking part in the panel were leaders from the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, Department of Human Services, the Office of Juvenile Affairs, the Health Department, and the Health Care Authority. The panelists discussed several ways we have made progress in Oklahoma despite tough budget times.

Commissioner Terri White, Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services

White said that preventing addiction is the biggest public health problem facing Oklahoma. She expressed concern that the current discussion on allowing sale of strong beer and wine in grocery stores has concentrated on economic development issues without taking into account increased risk of underage access to alcohol.

“The younger someone uses alcohol, the more likely it is they’ll use as adults,” White said.

Over the course of the budget crisis, she said $30 million had been cut from the mental health budget, 90 percent of which goes directly to care providers. On the positive side, she praised new investments of $3 million for a Smart on Crime initiative and $2 milion to Systems of Care, which coordinates services between agencies for children with the highest needs.

“If we don’t make sure the brain health of our children is our highest priority, we’re going to be paying for those problems over and over with more tax dollars than we can afford to come up with,” White said. Read the rest of this entry »

Photo by flickr user amy_b used under a Creative Commons License.

Trevor Shanklin recently completed a summer internship at the Oklahoma Policy Institute. He is a decorated disabled veteran of the Oklahoma Army National Guard where he served as a Recruiting and Retention NCO and a Combat Medic with the 1/279 Infantry Battalion. Trevor is currently a senior at Rogers State University majoring in Political Science with a minor in Public Administration.

In June, Governor Mary Fallin, Speaker of the House Kris Steele, and President Pro Tem of the Senate Brian Bingman came together to announce the Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI). Commenting on the JRI, Oklahoma Department of Corrections Director Justin Jones said “The first step is for us to collect and analyze…data and fully understand our situation. Once this is done we will be able to craft policy options that apply research and best practices to make the Oklahoma public safer and the criminal justice system more effective.”

In the spirit of “collecting and analyzing data,” Oklahoma Policy Institute has prepared an an issue brief exploring one policy option which could have a substantial positive impact on the criminal justice system and public safety, along with public health and economic conditions in Oklahoma: raising the tax on alcoholic beverages. The brief, entitled  Should Oklahoma Revise the Alcoholic Beverage Tax?, looks at the history and current status of Oklahoma’s alcoholic beverage tax as well as the arguments for and against an increase in the tax. Read the rest of this entry »

Since it’s such a busy time for Oklahoma Policy Institute, we’ve decided to dedicate a blog post to this week’s events, publications, and blog posts.

In state budget news, Tuesday’s blog reviews the latest monthly report of General Revenue (GR) collections, where for the 11th straight month revenue collections surpassed those of the same month a year ago.  Two caveats are in order: personal income tax collections remain sluggish, and revenues continue to come in far below pre-downturn levels.  Click below to watch our Director David Blatt on OETA this past week analyzing the latest budget numbers or see our newly-updated Budget Trends and Highlights for a concise overview of the state’s fiscal situation.

Read the rest of this entry »

Shelley Cadamy is a native Oklahoman and adoptive/foster parent who has done economic development work in Oklahoma since 1994.

During a Leadership Oklahoma City session several years ago, I had the opportunity to ask the Oklahoma City Police Chief and Oklahoma County Sheriff what one thing each would change if they could. The answer was clear and unanimous – expand care for the mentally ill.

Regardless of one’s views on a government’s moral responsibility to its mentally ill citizens, the economic arguments for treating the mentally ill are staggering. According to the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS), the greatest direct cost associated with untreated mental illness and addiction in Oklahoma is to the state Department of Corrections and the overall criminal justice system, which must bear the financial burden as increasing numbers of untreated mentally ill Oklahomans cause disturbances and become incarcerated. Out of 25,000 inmates, the Oklahoma Department of Corrections estimates that nearly 12,000 have a history of, or are currently exhibiting, some form of mental health problem. Read the rest of this entry »

This is the sixth in an ongoing series of posts examining the Affordable Care Act, including previous posts on the Temporary High Risk Pool and tax credits for small businesses.  You can also visit the health care reform page on our website for more resources and information.  If you have thoughts on health care reform, we encourage you to comment below or contribute a guest blog.

One of the most important provisions of the federal health care reform law, officially known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA), is the requirement that states establish private insurance marketplaces, or ‘Exchanges’, to sell plans to individuals and small groups in their state.  Health insurance exchanges were written into the law to ensure that these particularly vulnerable segments of the market – individuals and small groups – could obtain affordable coverage.  What is unique about these segments?  Well, consider how insurance works for a large group employer:  every employee is covered regardless of medical history and all employees pay roughly the same premiums.  This is possible, and perhaps more importantly profitable, because the risk of covering the sicker/costlier employees is offset by the ease of covering healthier/cheaper employees. Read the rest of this entry »

Donna Coffey is the McCurtain County Drug Court Administrator in Oklahoma.  She has been with the program since its implementation in June 2003, under the direction of District Judge Willard L. Driesel.

Oklahoma Drug Courts – hope for a brighter future for thousands of drug addicted felons, hope for an overcrowded prison system, and hope for the taxpayers who support the enormous cost of imprisoned felons.

The sight of a new participant pleading in to drug court is heart wrenching.  Some are there with family support, some are there with nothing, but all are there with the same look of hopelessness, helplessness, and fear.  Years of substance abuse, mental health issues, incarceration, and rejection have taken their toll and the uncertainty of what drug court will bring only adds to the level of anxiety.  Such is the condition of many Oklahomans.

Changes soon begin, however, with attention from counselors, case managers, and supervision personnel that includes a deputy who actually visits the home regularly without making an arrest!  Years of shame and guilt begin to subside and the anxiety level drops as participants learn that it’s okay to talk about their addiction and the events that led to it.  The dull eyes begin to brighten. Read the rest of this entry »

Anyone hoping for signs that the state’s budget woes had already hit bottom found little to cheer in Tuesday’s  revenue announcement [PDF] from Treasurer Scott Meacham. August General Revenue (GR) collections came in nearly 32 percent below one year ago. As the chart below shows, this is the worst monthly performance compared to the prior year since the state fiscal crisis hit in January. Read the rest of this entry »