By:
Jill Mencke
June 13, 2024 // Updated: June 17, 2024

Oklahoma is not known for being a safe and hospitable place for children. Oklahoma, for the second year in a row, ranks 46th nationally in overall child well-being. Lawmakers sought to address this problem in the 2024 session by passing budget increases to vital services like the child welfare and youth justice systems. However, Oklahoma’s structural budget deficit has meant that state agencies and service providers in the child welfare systems have continually been forced to do more with less year after year.
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Proposals to criminalize homelessness are harmful and counterproductive. Research shows us that the best way to combat homelessness is to increase access to affordable housing.
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By:
Cole Allen
March 22, 2024 // Updated: October 15, 2024

Some lawmakers and others have shared OSBI data purporting to show a dramatic increase in larceny, shoplifting, or other property crimes. OSBI has said those spikes were created by changes in data reporting, not increases in crime.
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By:
Jill Mencke
November 2, 2023 // Updated: November 8, 2023

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With the overall occurrence of youth delinquency and detention at a historic low, Oklahoma has the opportunity to invest more resources in delinquency prevention and alternatives to incarceration in the youth legal system. The legislature has taken…
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By:
Steve Lewis
November 1, 2023 // Updated: November 1, 2023

Rep. Amanda Swope, D-Tulsa, who in her life outside the legislature is the Tribal Juvenile Justice Program Director for the Muscogee Nation, brought her passion for helping troubled youth with her when she was elected to the House of Representatives.…
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By:
David Gateley
September 4, 2023 // Updated: September 4, 2023

During Oklahoma’s 2023 legislative session, lawmakers made some positive improvements in the state’s criminal legal system, including investments into diversion programs and significant reforms around court fines and fees. While these changes are commendable, they are only the beginning of…
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Now that the Oklahoma state legislature is roughly halfway through the 2023 session, there is still time for lawmakers to prioritize criminal justice issues. In recent years, Oklahoma has made some progress in modernizing the state’s justice system and alleviating…
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By:
David Gateley
February 22, 2023 // Updated: February 22, 2023

Over the last six years, Oklahoma has seen a marked reduction in the number of people going to prison, with the largest reductions coming from drug convictions thanks to recent voter-approved justice reform efforts. However, there’s more lawmakers can do.…
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By:
David Gateley
February 13, 2023 // Updated: February 28, 2023

NOTE: This version corrects the amount of marijuana that an individual would be allowed to posses. [2-28-23]
State Question 820 will be on the ballot on March 7, 2023.
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The Gist
Background Information
Ballot…
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Oklahoma’s parole process — which allows conditional early release from prison — has played a key role in lowering the number of Oklahomans behind bars. The use of parole has reunited families, protected public safety, and saved the state hundreds…
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