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In The Know is a daily synopsis of Oklahoma policy-related news and blogs. Inclusion of a story does not necessarily mean endorsement by the Oklahoma Policy Institute. You can sign up here to receive In The Know by e-mail.
Community health centers in Oklahoma have been forced to cut staff and services because they have not received any money from the state’s uncompensated care fund since December, and the state is proposing that they wait another six months before receiving any more money. The OK Policy Blog previously discussed the role of these clinics and how they have been put in limbo by the state. A program to attract physicians to rural Oklahoma is struggling due to federal sequestration budget cuts. StateImpact Oklahoma shared arguments presented to the state Supreme Court in a lawsuit challenging the bill that makes permanent a generous tax break for oil and gas drilling.
David Blatt’s Journal Record column discussed how the primary defeat of state Superintendent Janet Barresi came out of a huge grassroots organizing effort. Gov. Fallin’s campaign issued a press release stating that she is working on her education agenda with state superintendent candidate Joy Hofmeister. Joe Dorman, the Democratic challenger for governor, released an education plan that would eliminate high stakes third-grade reading and end-of-instruction tests and assess all high school students with the ACT. KJRH examined some of the pros and cons of holding students back in school in light of third grade reading test results.
Since it began operations in February, the Workers Compensation Commission has spent $30,000 furnishing its commissioners’ offices and signed a $4,500 contract with a consultant for a “communications strategy” at the same time it employed a full-time public information officer. The assistant attorney general blamed for giving incorrect Open Meeting Act advice to the Workers’ Compensation Commission no longer works for the attorney general, and a report by two attorneys who served on Fallin’s Commission on Workers’ Compensation Reform calls for the firing of the commission’s Executive Director.
The Fifth U.S. Court of Appeals in New Orleans has blocked a Mississippi law that requires doctors who perform abortions to obtain admitting privileges at a nearby hospital, after it was found the measure would force the closure of the state’s only abortion clinic. A similar Oklahoma law was approved by the Legislature this year but has not yet gone into effect. The OK Policy Blog discussed a new report showing that the error rate for SNAP nutrition assistance benefits is at a record low. A mobile grocery store is seeking to help Tulsa residents get reasonably priced, healthy foods in “food desert” areas of the city without a building-based grocery store.
Unemployment rates increased last month in 72 of Oklahoma’s 77 counties. A large portion of northeast Oklahoma City was declared “blighted” by the Oklahoma City Council. Supporters of a medical marijuana petition in Oklahoma said they have registered 24,000 new voters while distributing the petition.
An agreement to loan three facilities at Fort Sill, Texas and California to the Department of Health and Human Services for housing unaccompanied migrant children from Central America has been extended to Jan. 31. Jenks Public Schools officials said they are successfully incorporating 575 students from an influx of Burmese refugees in Tulsa. Just 212 unaccompanied child migrants from Central America have been placed with sponsor families in Oklahoma, less than 1 percent of the 30,340 child migrants who have been placed nationwide. A new Kaiser Family Foundation survey reveals many legal immigrants in California have been afraid to enroll in Affordable Care Act health coverage because they worry it would expose an undocumented relative to investigation and deportation.
In The News
Federally qualified health centers balk at payment cuts, delay
Local federally qualified health centers have been forced to cut staff and services because they have not received any money from the state’s uncompensated care fund since December. The fund ran out of money then, in the middle of the fiscal year. And with the start of the new fiscal year, the state is proposing that health centers wait another six months before receiving any more money. Morton Comprehensive Health Services CEO John Silva said it is a serious financial issue for the centers. “This could potentially be a death blow,” he said. “And there’s no other place to go.”
Read more from the Tulsa World.
See also: “I don’t know where we go from here”: Community health centers caught in limbo from the OK Policy blog.
Rural Oklahoma medical clinic struggles to find doctors
Tim Starkey hopes he can keep recruiting doctors to come to rural Oklahoma. That job was already difficult for Starkey, the CEO of the nonprofit Great Salt Plains Health Center. He competes for physicians with the private sector, which can often offer doctors a larger salary and other perks. However, recent federal budget cuts have made Starkey’s job even more difficult. Because of federal sequestration, funding of the National Health Service Corps program was cut by $15 million, or 5.1 percent, in 2014, according to the Association of Clinicians for the Underserved.
In Lawsuit Over Oil and Gas Tax Law, Two Ways to ‘Test’ a Revenue Bill in Oklahoma
The State Supreme Court on July 29 heard a lawsuit and constitutional challenge to House Bill 2562, a measure that would change the effective state tax rate levied on oil and gas production. Both parties agreed that the measure was written to reduce taxes, but is HB 2562 a “revenue bill?” That definition is important because this court battle isn’t about policy, it’s about procedure.
Big win for OklaEd
Of all the results in last month’s primary elections, none was as remarkable as the Republican primary for state superintendent of instruction. Despite spending a large amount of her personal fortune, enjoying the backing of Gov. Mary Fallin and being the favorite of powerful national organizations, Janet Barresi finished third, garnering just 21 percent of the vote. How did it happen?
Read more from the Journal Record.
Fallin, Hofmeister signal new cooperation
Gov. Mary Fallin’s campaign issued a press release Wednesday stating that she is working on her education agenda with state superintendent candidate Joy Hofmeister. Hofmeister pulled off a surprise win in the Republican primary in June, taking 58 percent of the vote to defeat incumbent Janet Barresi and fellow Republican challenger Brian Kelly. On Aug. 26, John Cox and Freda Deskin will face off in a Democratic primary runoff election. Hofmeister is set to face the winner in the general election on Nov. 4.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
What Would an End to High-Stakes Testing Mean?
The Democratic challenger for governor released new details of his education plan this week that would eliminate all high-stakes testing, move Oklahoma to an assessment aligned with Common Core standards and potentially place the state back under strict No Child Left Behind regulations. Joe Dorman, who is looking to unseat Republican incumbent Mary Fallin, called for eliminating the third-grade reading retention and end-of-instruction tests that high school students take to graduate. He also called for assessing high school students by giving them the ACT, which he hopes would encourage more students to apply to college.
Read more from Oklahoma Watch.
The pros and cons of holding students back in school in light of third grade reading test results
Teachers are rushing to get ready for the new school year. But this year third grade could look different, especially for Tulsa Public Schools. Almost a third of its 3rd graders failed the state reading test which means they could be held back. There are exemptions for some students who did not pass the state reading test including English Language Learners, special needs students, good performance on a new reading test or a student portfolio that shows students are reading above level.
Workers Comp Commission spending includes $1,600 chairs, PR contract
Since it began operations in February, the Workers Compensation Commission has spent $30,000 furnishing its commissioners’ offices and signed a $4,500 contract with a consultant for a “communications strategy” at the same time it employed a full-time public information officer, a Tulsa World analysis shows. Also, the commission has hired more administrators than counselors to assist injured workers, records show. Executive Director Rick Farmer said that because the commission is a new agency, it is expected to have one-time costs such as furniture.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Lawyer is gone from Oklahoma attorney general’s office after giving bad advice to commission
The assistant attorney general blamed for giving incorrect Open Meeting Act advice to the Workers’ Compensation Commission no longer works for the attorney general and will no longer be advising the commission. The announcement came five days after the attorney general’s office issued a statement acknowledging that some of the advice given to the commission about the Open Meeting Act was wrong. Meanwhile, The Oklahoman has learned that a report calling for Rossier’s firing and the termination of commission Executive Director Rick Farmer was sent Monday to Gov. Mary Fallin by two attorneys who served on Fallin’s Commission on Workers’ Compensation Reform.
Impact of Mississippi abortion ruling on recent Okahoma law uncertain, officials say
The impact of a recent federal appellate court decision on a new state law requiring abortion clinics to have a doctor on site with admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles remains to be seen, officials say. “The Oklahoma law has not yet gone into effect and not been challenged,” said Amanda Allen, state legislative counsel for the Center for Reproductive Rights. “It is hard to speculate on the impact of yesterday’s decision on that law.” On Tuesday, a three-judge panel of the Fifth U.S. Court of Appeals in New Orleans blocked a law in that state from going into effect after doctors tried unsuccessfully to obtain admitting privileges.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Oh SNAP: Food assistance program errors at record low
The Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP for short, sometimes referred to as food stamps) is a lifeline in Oklahoma, providing food assistance to nearly one in six Oklahomans. Now a new report shows that the error rate for SNAP is at a record low. This report also means that virtually all Oklahomans receiving SNAP benefits qualify for them honestly — another reminder that Oklahoma’s economic prosperity is leaving many behind.
Read more from the OK Policy blog.
See also: Policy Basics: Oklahoma’s Food Security Safety Net from OK Policy.
Smaller is better when it comes to feeding food deserts
When trying to eliminate a desert, digging small watering holes may be more effective than creating a single, large oasis. That’s the approach a local anti-hunger advocate says will work in getting food to neighborhoods that are starved of reasonably priced, quality food. With Tuesday’s closure of Gateway Market, 1601 N. Peoria Ave., the problem of a food desert in north Tulsa only expands. The area joins west Tulsa and pockets in east and south Tulsa without a grocer within a mile of most residents.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Unemployment rate ticks up in 72 Oklahoma counties
State labor officials say unemployment rates increased last month in 72 of Oklahoma’s 77 counties. The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission on Wednesday released county and metropolitan area unemployment information. The report shows that Latimer County in southeast Oklahoma had the highest county unemployment rate last month at 8.5 percent. McCurtain County had the second highest rate of 7.8 percent, while McIntosh County was third at 7.5 percent.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Northeast Oklahoma City area declared blighted
A large portion of northeast Oklahoma City centered at NE 23 and Martin Luther King Avenue was declared “blighted” Tuesday by the Oklahoma City Council after the panel received a new study showing the area is struggling with high unemployment and crime, plummeting home ownership, unsafe conditions and crumbling buildings and infrastructure. The blight declaration allows the Urban Renewal Authority to pursue a redevelopment plan for an area bounded by Phillips Avenue, Sooner Road, NE 36 and NE 20.
Medical marijuana petition creates surge of new voters
Medical marijuana may be the state’s newest gateway drug — to voting. Oklahomans for Health is spearheading a ballot drive to legalize the use of marijuana for medical purposes. The group has collected approximately 100,000 of the 156,000 signatures of registered voters it needs to get the issue on the ballot, according to its chairman Chip Paul. In the process, Paul said, the group has registered 24,000 new voters. “It’s kind of been an ancillary effect of doing this,” he said. “It’s interesting. There’s people who have never voted before.”
Read more from the Stillwater News Press.
Questions remain about program to house unaccompanied immigrant children at Fort Sill
After speaking at a recent meeting of the Greater Lawton Rotary Club, Mayor Fred Fitch was asked a question about the federal program that has temporarily housed more than 1,000 children who fled Central America at Fort Sill. His answer, he said, was only going to take two minutes. The program to help handle a flood of unaccompanied children crossing the U.S. border illegally largely has been kept under wraps, frustrating city and state officials. An agreement to loan three facilities — at Fort Sill, Texas and California — to the Department of Health and Human Services has been extended to Jan. 31, said Lt. Col. Tom Crosson, a spokesman for the defense secretary’s office.
See also: Debunking myths about migrant children at Ft. Sill from the OK Policy blog.
Jenks Public Schools works to accomodate Burmese population in south Tulsa
An influx of Burmese refugees in Tulsa poses special challenges for Jenks Public Schools, but it’s nothing they can’t handle, officials say. “It’s been challenging for some of our teachers, but it’s a challenge that we accept,” said district spokeswoman Bonnie Rogers. “It’s the American dream — to come to America and your life can change.” Most of the children have come to Tulsa straight from refugee camps in Malaysia or India, said Jennifer Daves, English language coordinator for the district.
Read more from the Jenks World.
Quote of the Day
“We are now cutting personnel, cutting services and trying to see where there might be alternate sources of income, which is mostly donations. We are in a very difficult and untenable position.”
-Jim McCarthy, CEO of Community Health Connection, one of over a dozen community health centers in Oklahoma that provide services regardless of ability to pay in underserved areas. These health centers are under threat because the state’s uncompensated care fund ran dry last December and will not be replenished until January (Source: http://bit.ly/XhVzn6).
Number of the Day
212
Number of unaccompanied child migrants who have been placed with sponsor families in Oklahoma, less than 1 percent of the 30,340 child migrants who have been placed nationwide.
Source: U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
Amid Tensions, Legal Immigrants Fear Signing Up for Obamacare
The wave of unaccompanied undocumented minors entering the U.S. has captured national attention. But a new Kaiser Family Foundation survey reveals a very different immigration issue. In California, legal immigrants entitled to health coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are afraid to enroll because they worry that doing so would expose an undocumented relative to investigation and deportation. That’s despite assurances from the government that any information gathered about immigrant families from ACA coverage applications will not be used toward immigration enforcement.
Read more from the Wall Street Journal.
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