“As substance abuse issues touch more families and communities, we need to focus on treatment to help women get on the right path and keep families together. With the work of the task force, we have an opportunity to bring long-needed improvements addressing crimes driven by substance abuse disorders.”

-Jan Peery, CEO of YWCA Oklahoma City, and Dianne Barker Harrold, Indian Country consultant and victim specialist, on the work of the Justice Reform Task Force that will produce proposals to reduce the prison population before the 2017 legislative session (Source)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ryan Gentzler worked at OK Policy from January 2016 until November 2022. He last served as the organization's Reserach Director and oversaw Open Justice Oklahoma. He began at OK Policy as an analyst focusing on criminal justice issues, including sentencing, incarceration, court fines and fees, and pretrial detention. Open Justice Oklahoma grew out of Ryan’s groundbreaking analysis of court records, which was used to inform critical policy debates. A native Nebraskan, he holds a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Oklahoma and a BA in Institutions and Policy from William Jewell College. He served as an OK Policy Research Fellow in 2014-2015.

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