The Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy’s annual Fall Children’s Legislative Forum will be held Tuesday, October 12th and Wednesday, October 13th.  The theme this year is “Protect Kids”, and the main goal of the event will be to create consensus around a set of core principles to guide decision-making during these continuing tough budget times.

The main event will be held on Wednesday,  October 13th at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond.  Child advocates will meet for a day-long session to discuss the recent  severe budget cuts and their impact on critical services for children.  In addition to briefings by state leaders and policy experts (including yours truly), participants will develop guiding principles that policymakers can use to measure how legislation might affect Oklahoma’s children. Registration for the Forum is $75; you can register online here.

The Children’s Legislative Forum will be preceded by two events on Tuesday, October 12th:

• In the afternoon (time and location TBA), OICA will host offer a briefing on the 2010 Kids Count databook providing the latest data on child well-being in Oklahoma.  This event will be free but pre-registration is required.
• At 7:00 p.m., OICA will co-host a debate featuring the State Schools Superintendent candidates along with the UCO College of Education and Professional Studies, the Early Childhood Association of Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Child Care Resource and Referral Association, and the Oklahoma Afterschool Network.   The program will be held at UCO; room to be announced.  Free of charge.

Anyone who wants to better understand the challenges facing Oklahoma children and families and make a difference in shaping future policy decisions should be sure to attend the Fall Forum.

Next Tuesday and Wednesday, several hundred Oklahomans from diverse walks of life will get together on the University of Central Oklahoma campus in Edmond for an event, organized by the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy,  known as the Fall Forum.  Over the course of two days, participants will listen to elected officials and policy experts, get energized and depressed and energized again by the challenges facing the state, fight for their priorities through long workshops and breakout sessions – and emerge at the end with a legislative agenda for the upcoming 2010 session that will try to make improvements in the lives of  Oklahoma’s children. Read the rest of this entry »