Quotes of the Day

“We want humane treatment for not only those detained in the jail, but for those that work there, too.”

– Tricia Everest, Chairwoman of the Oklahoma County Jail Trust, on plans for the trust to take over operations of the Oklahoma County jail. Current employees challenged members of the trust at a public meeting on Monday [Source: The Oklahoman]

“I do think the result of it is inmates really have a sense of hope, and you think about hope and how important that is to the rehabilitation of people and the mental health of people. It’s a powerful force for good.”

– Pardon and Parole Board Executive Director Steven Bickley, on the recent surge in the approval of commutation and parole applications [Tulsa World]

“There are lawyers everywhere, but this particular area of the law is not glamorous. It’s tough for our rural judges to be able to find the new blood – if you will – to come in and say, ‘OK I’m going to be passionate about this, and here I am, and by the way I’ll only take $25 a case or $25 a hearing.”

– Tsinena Thompson, CEO of Oklahoma Lawyers for Children, on the difficulty of finding attorneys who are trained to represent children and their families in abuse and neglect cases [StateImpact Oklahoma]

“I am doing my darnedest not to prosecute any Oklahomans. This is still, in my opinion, a brand new program. There are enough discrepancies apparent in this system that it [prosecution] doesn’t seem fair to me.”

– Amanda Arnall Couch, Uninsured Vehicle Enforcement Diversion Prosecutor, on the hiccups involved with using cameras to identify uninsured drivers [Tulsa World]

“Assuming the role of Executive Director is an absolute honor and I am extremely excited to join the talented OK Policy team. Together we will build upon OK Policy’s foundation of fact-based policy analysis to ensure all Oklahomans have the opportunity to thrive.”

– Ahniwake Rose, Oklahoma Policy Institute’s new Executive Director [OK Policy]

“The impacts of poverty on early brain development — as well as the ability of caregivers and parents to form and nurture high-quality interactions young children, which in turn fosters brain development — they’re affected by the stressors of poverty.”

– Dr. Amy Tate of the Birth through Eight Strategy for Tulsa (BEST) on why lawmakers should restore the state EITC [Public Radio Tulsa]

“A conservative estimate of dollars associated with each person counted by the Census is $1,600 annually. For Oklahoma, with our estimated population of about 4 million, that translates to $6.4 billion a year. For every person not counted, subtract $1,600. For every person we can find and accurately report, add that same amount to funding for roads, health care and other resources.”

– Joe Dorman, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy [CNHI]

“Beyond the Constitutional mandate requiring the decennial Census for reapportionment, the 2020 Census will be used over the following ten years as a baseline to distribute federal funding from approximately 300 federal programs. These programs impact the state, tribal nations and our local communities in many aspects of our lives including education, healthcare, housing, and transportation among others. If we are not accurately counted, it will place a burden on our state, tribal and local governments as they provide services to larger populations with fewer federal resources.”

– Jon Chiappe, Director of Research & Economic Analysis, Oklahoma Department of Commerce [Shawnee News-Star]

“We now have children who have adverse childhood experiences that are profound. The world outside the classroom impacts the world inside the classroom and teachers are shouldering the brunt.”

– State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister on how things other than teacher pay (like large class sizes, under-resourced classrooms, and insufficient support staff) are contributing to the teacher shortage [KGOU]

“Lawmakers who have blocked Medicaid expansion in Oklahoma have kept more than a billion dollars of our tax dollars from coming back home from Washington every year. That money could have kept hospitals from closing and created jobs, boosted our economy, but it went to 36 other states that expanded Medicaid. SQ 802 needs to be on the ballot in Oklahoma.”

– Muskogee Phoenix Editorial Board [Muskogee Phoenix]