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2017 Annual Report Oklahoma Institute for Child advocacy | A Year of success

A Message from Our CEO — Joe Dorman

Greetings! The Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy (OICA) has been recognized over our 33-year history as the voice for the children of our state. Whether it is advocating for kids through better policies, programs or mobilizing our base of supporters, OICA has been on the forefront of championing the cause of Oklahoma’s youth.

It is critical that we continue to shape the issue for policymakers through the statistical data we provide with our KIDS COUNT Data Book, our various programs which we administer to improve the lives of children, or shed light on the problems faced by citizens of the state and help them find solutions.

OICA is committed to advocating for children and families and we hope you will join us in this effort! In order to make the next year even more successful, we need our advocates joining us in whatever way possible for them to help make a difference for the children of Oklahoma!

Joe

About the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy

The Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy (OICA) began in 1983 as the result of an investigative report by national news media which exposed a horrific story of cruelty and abuse experienced by Oklahoma children who were in the state’s custody. That media report, “Oklahoma Shame,” spurred child advocates from every corner of the state into action to create an organization whose mission was to ensure the protection of Oklahoma’s children. OICA has remained vigilant to that mission, fighting for policies that improve the lives of children and families by being their voice at the Oklahoma State Capitol and in the communities throughout our state where these children live and learn. For more than three decades, the Institute has informed and educated state policymakers and other citizens about the importance of investing wisely in children and families. We understand that when children thrive — our state thrives. Whether working with state legislators or agencies, or with health, education, business and community organizations across our state, Oklahoma’s children — and our state’s economy — are reaping the benefits of the work we do together as voices for our youth.

Mission Statement

“Creating awareness, taking action and changing policy to improve the health, safety and well-being of Oklahoma’s children.“

Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy Executive Report

Terry Smith, CEO (January - June 2016)

Joe Dorman, CEO (September 12 - December 2016)

An important aspect of OICA’s work each year is identifying and building support for priority policy efforts at the state and local levels that align with our mission and are important to improving the well-being of the state’s children and youth, especially those most vulnerable to poverty, poor health, educational and economic disparities and other situations that put their safety, well-being, development, opportunities and future at risk.

2016 was a time of transition for the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy as CEO Terry Smith became the Deputy Director of Residential Placement Support for the Office of Juvenile Affairs. In September, former state representative Joe Dorman became the new CEO.

Through the early part of 2016 and the legislative session, OICA was active on several different fronts. The Oklahoma Juvenile Justice Collaborative, which was created by OICA, continued its work to implement the Oklahoma Juvenile Competency Act, which OICA supported and was passed in the 2015 legislative session. OICA worked with the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth to create standards for competency evaluations and to certify a network of psychologists in Oklahoma to assess youth in the juvenile justice system for competency.

OICA partnered with the National Campaign to Reform State Juvenile Justice systems. OICA advocated for the passage of SB1200 which prohibited “status offenders” from being detained or locked up. An example of a status offense is truancy. There is no benefit to locking up a youth who is truant from school with offenders that are potentially violent or involved with drugs or gangs.

The Institute continued to partner with the Annie E. Casey Foundation to advocate for improvements in the child welfare system in Oklahoma, and worked with Governor Fallin’s “Oklahoma Fosters” initiative to recruit foster homes throughout Oklahoma.

OICA also participated in a race equity conference which helped lay the foundation for several initiatives which will be pursued in 2017.

Terry Smith and Joe Dorman participated in the Oklahoma Fosters and Count Me in 4 Kids coalitions, which focused on foster care family recruitment and support.

About Oklahoma KIDS COUNT

Lani Habrock, KIDS COUNT Director

Jeff Sullivan, Research Consultant

The work OICA does beneath the capitol dome, and in partnership with organizations and communities across the state, is supported by current data and research on children and families in Oklahoma. Our KIDS COUNT Data Center provides data on hundreds of indicators, both statewide and by county, over a five-year period. In addition to providing an extensive list of indicators for Oklahoma, the national KIDS COUNT Data Center allows for the creation of customized factsheets on select state indicators, or comparing indicators among states.

Oklahoma KIDS COUNT is part of the national KIDS COUNT Network generously supported by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Each state and three territories have a local program to collect and disseminate data, and OICA is the program for Oklahoma. Each year, the national KIDS COUNT Data Book provides Oklahoma’s state ranking in four main areas of child well-being, as compared to the other states. Each of the four areas – economic well-being, health, education, and family/community – represents a series of key indicators and provides a snapshot of trends over time. For the 2016 national KIDS COUNT Data Book, click: http://www.aecf.org/resources/the-2016-kids-count-data-book/.

OICA completed all 24 deliverables for the Annie E Casey foundation. These include action alerts, e-newsletters, infographics, and fact sheets which promoted national publications on KIDS COUNT data. OICA did this through press conferences, press releases, and through day-to-day social media and news outlets.

OICA produced our biennial data book and releasing in conjunction with the opening of the 2017 legislative session for an added emphasis to use accurate statistical data for shaping policy.

Oklahoma KIDS COUNT, in conjunction with New Jersey, won best the campaign strategy at the Annie E. Casey conference in March.

In addition, the KIDS COUNT staff did several presentations on KIDS COUNT data to various civic groups and organizations.

Youth Initiatives

Healthy Teens OK! promotes evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention approaches that blend quality youth development strategies with effective risk reduction programs and policies. It provides a go-to resource for Oklahoma factsheets, research, trainings, and community collaborations on teen pregnancy prevention and healthy adolescent development. For downloadable materials and links to national and state resources, Check: www.healthyteensok.org

Power Through Choices Demonstration & Evaluation Project Teen Pregnancy Prevention

2016 OICA Project Summary

Staff—Janene Fluhr, Director; Eboni Rhodes, PTC Project Coordinator; Laura Taylor, PTC Data Collection/Facilitator; Jonathan McElroy, Facilitator; Kyle Carter, Facilitator; Elizabeth Rutledge, Communications; Sharon Rodine, Partnerships and Dissemination

Power Through Choices (PTC) is an innovative sexuality education and skill-building curriculum designed with and for youth living in foster care and juvenile justice out-of-home care settings to help reduce risks related to teen pregnancy, HIV, and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The 3-state POWER Through Choices (PTC) Demonstration and Evaluation research study moved from the data analysis to dissemination phase in 2016, with findings that show positive outcomes. The multi-year research project has been funded by the HHS Administration on Children and Families, Family & Youth Services Bureau. Additional funding for the research study was provided by the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Evidence-Based Practices section. For information on PTC and the evaluation reports, check: www.powerthroughchoices.org

Purpose: To test the efficacy of the updated Power Through Choices (PTC) sexuality education curriculum designed with and for youth in foster care congregate care settings. The federally-funded research project was conducted with over 1,000 young people in 3 states (OK, MD and CA) in both foster care and juvenile justice systems. The independent evaluation was conducted by OUHSC. (Dr. Roy Oman moved to U of NV/Reno in 2016 and completed the evaluation there.) The project was part of the large federal evaluation conducted by Mathematica Policy Research.

Funding Source/Duration

  1. HHS/Administration for Children & Families (ACF) Initially a 5-year project, a Year 6 carry-over was approved for 10/2015 - 9/2016 to complete the evaluation phase. A final no-cost extension was approved for specific dissemination activities of the research finding for 10/2016 - 9/2017.
  2. Annie E. Casey Foundation/Evidence-Based Practices Section. This funder provided $100,000/year in support of the 5-year PTC research project through December 2016. That funding has ended with the end of the research project.

Key Project Accomplishments — 2016

  • Successfully completed the data collection, data analysis and evaluation phases
  • Refined the PTC curriculum manual based on lessons learned during the research study
  • Final evaluation report prepared by Mathematica Policy Research and released by ACF. Link to final report: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/fysb/resource/power-through-choices-sept 2016
  • Four manuscripts written from the PTC research study for publication in peer-reviewed journals: 1 published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, 2 under review with the American Journal of Public Health, and 1 under review with Health Behavior and Policy Review.

PTC — 2016 Program Summary Report (01-10-2017)

  • Met with the Annie E. Casey Foundation program officer and key Evidence Based Practices staff to share information about the project (Baltimore, June).
  • Provided the PTC curriculum to 112 youth in 8 group home facilities and 3 cohorts of youth in the OK County Juvenile Bureau as part of the Year 6 program delivery activities.
  • Presented PTC workshops at 3 national conferences: HHS/OAH/ACF/CDC Grantees Conference (June), Healthy Teen Network Conference (October) and the National Sex Ed Conference (December).
  • Presented a PTC workshop at one statewide conference (AZ).
  • Will present PTC project information on at the Texas Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy Symposium in March 2017; other conference presentation applications for 2017 are pending.
  • Conducted 3 training events to prepare program facilitators to implement the PTC curriculum. A total of 46 individuals were trained: 20 in Indiana and 26 in Oklahoma.

Oklahoma County Teen Pregnancy Prevention Collaboration Teen Pregnancy Prevention 2016 OICA Project Summary

Staff—Janene Fluhr, Research and Training Director and Sharon Rodine, Youth Initiatives Director

Teen Pregnancy Prevention Community Collaborations

  • Oklahoma County: OICA provided training, technical assistance, resources, and professional development for the Oklahoma County Teen Pregnancy Prevention Collaboration, the Wellness Now Adolescent Health Workgroup, and the new Central Oklahoma Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, thanks to support from the Kirkpatrick Family Fund and a subcontract from the Oklahoma City-County Health Department. Check: www.healthyteensok.org/resources/
  • Tulsa County: OICA worked in partnership with the Tulsa Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, providing training and technical assistance in support of their community-wide prevention initiative. Check: www.healthyteensok.org/resources/

Funding Source/Duration

  1. Kirkpatrick Family Fund (KFF) grant ($46,500, 1/2016 – 12/2016) Training and TA provided to the Oklahoma County TPP Collaboration and its partner organizations to assist in carrying out the community TPP plan; specific activities included providing Oklahoma County teen birth factsheets, resource identification, participation in Collaboration meetings and events and partnership development.
  2. Oklahoma City-County Health Dept. (OCCHD) contract ($15,000, 7/2016 - 6/2017) Program planning, implementation and evaluation technical assistance provided to the staff and organizational partners delivering the TPP evidence-based TPP replication grant in Oklahoma County and delivery of specific TPP training for project partners.

Key Project Accomplishments — 2016

  • Participated in OCCHD’s Oklahoma County TPP Collaboration meetings.
  • Assisted in identifying resources and partnerships to implement the TPP plan.
  • Provided on-going technical assistance to KFF in the promotion and implementation of the community TPP plan, including communication messages/talking points, factsheets, professional development support and linkages with regional/national organizations.
  • Provided on-going technical assistance to OCCHD for their federal TPP grant, including program planning, evaluation tools and protocols, staff development and curricula selection.
  • Presented training on the Getting To Outcomes framework for the federally funded Tier 1B Projects in Oklahoma; one for the OCCHD project partners and one for the Tulsa Youth Services project partners.
  • Coordinated activities with the Tulsa Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy.
  • Promoted the Collaboration and its accomplishments with regional and national TPP organizations.

2016 OICA Funding Sources Through Grant Support

Dept. of Health & Human Services (DHHS-ACF) Power Through Choices Teen Pregnancy Prevention (TPP)

$929,750

  • Provide PTC program to 100 youth
  • Analyze and publish research findings
  • Disseminate the PTC program model and research findings

Janene Fluhr — Completed — Financial Status Report submitted by 12/31/2016

Annie E Casey Foundation KIDS COUNT Data — Annual State Grantee funding

$100,000

  • Produce a 2016 Oklahoma KIDS COUNT data book
  • Keep OK indicators updated on National KIDS COUNT Data Center
  • Complete other deliverables and performance measures included in 2016 proposal

Lani Habrock — Completed

Annie E. Casey Foundation Power Through Choices (PTC) Teen Pregnancy Prevention

$100,000

  • Publish revised PTC manual
  • Pilot young adult adaptation to PTC
  • Conduct PTC implementation training with professionals

Janene Fluhr — Completed — End of 5-year grant period

Annie E. Casey Foundation Support for Families for Oklahoma’s Children Child Welfare Collaboration

$60,000

  • Support DHS Child Welfare improvement efforts
  • Organize an Oklahoma Child Welfare Collaborative
  • Develop and implement strategies with judges, legislators, Tribal Child Welfare, OKDHS, and residential providers
  • Develop and implement media campaign

Terry Smith/Joe Dorman — Completed

M & R Strategic Services Juvenile Justice (JJ) Policy Support

$60,000

  • M & R support for juvenile justice policy changes

Terry Smith — Completed

Kirkpatrick Family Fund (KFF) Grant

$46,500

  • Training and TA provided to the Oklahoma County TPP Collaboration and its partner organizations to assist in carrying out the community TPP plan
  • Specific activities included providing Oklahoma County teen birth factsheets, resource identification, participation in Collaboration meetings and events and partnership development

Sharon Rodine — Completed

AECF Consulting Support of DHS/Child Welfare Improvement Issues

$35,000

  • Provide independent consulting support for DHS/Child Welfare Improvement issues

Terry Smith/Joe Dorman — In Progress

Potts Family Foundation 25 x 25 Project Early Childhood

$25,000

  • Define indicators that impact children ages 0-5
  • Expand KC data indicators by race/ethnicity and age
  • Track trends in indicators on children’s well-being
  • Data & issue education on early childhood policy issues
  • Create online database of services & resources for each county
  • Produce a series of podcasts
  • Disseminate a KC product on promoting investments and protecting programs in early learning and education
  • Partner with state agencies to create action alerts, fact sheets, blog posts, data mapping, infographics, social media

Lani Habrock — In Progress

AECF Grant for communications consulting, policy and support of DHS/Child Welfare improvement plan

$20,000

  • Provide communications consulting, policy and support of DHS/Child Welfare improvement plan

Terry Smith/Joe Dorman — Completed

Oklahoma City-County Health Department Evidence-Based Practices — Teen Pregnancy Prevention

$15,000

  • TPP technical assistance provided by S Rodine & J Fluhr
  • Training on TPP evidence-based practices

Janene Fluhr — In Progress

AECF Grant to Cover Expenses for Consulting From the National Perspective Regarding Child Welfare

$14,000

  • Cover expenses for consultants at national level to provide perspective regarding local child welfare reforms

Terry Smith/Joe Dorman — Completed

TSET Grant to Assist with 2016 KIDS COUNT Fall Forum Conference

$2,500

  • Covered printing costs for annual conference

Lani Habrock — Completed

2016 OICA Individual and Group Giving

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