[Region4] Fw: LISTSERV: OICA 2004 Legislative Agenda for Children and Youth

[Melanie Buchleiter]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dawn Parton" <dparton at tulsa.cc.ok.us>
To: <Earlychildhoodworkgroup at topica.com>
Sent: Wednesday, October 15, 2003 8:32 PM
Subject: LISTSERV: OICA 2004 Legislative Agenda for Children and Youth


Child and family advocates from across the state met at the Annual Fall
Forum in Edmond on October 14-15, 2003. Forum participants heard from a
number of experts on poverty, social inequality, and social justice.
Forum participants then had the opportunity to learn more about
Oklahoma's state budget forecast, the legislative budget process, and
Oklahoma's Self-Sufficiency Standard. Finally, workgroups in eight key
areas prioritized possible legislative solutions to problems identified
by Forum participants. These priority items were then placed on a
ballot, and the entire assembly
of Forum participants voted to elect the following items:

COVERING THE UNINSURED
1. Increase the number of Medicaid providers through liability
exemptions and higher rates of reimbursement for those providers by
raising the tobacco tax or through other state revenues.

PROGRAMS FOR YOUNG CHILDREN AND FAMILIES
2. Support state agency funding requests for programs that support
families of young children to ensure a seamless and comprehensive early
childhood education, prenatal to school entry, and require collaboration
between programs, building on the strength of each. Programs include
Children First, Oklahoma Parents as Teachers, Child Guidance, Office of
Child Abuse Prevention and the High-Risk Families pilot project at DHS.

3. Provide state funding so that the current structure and benefits of
the DHS Child Care Subsidy Program are maintained for low-income working
families and their employers. Ensure that the progress made in improving
rates and incentives for higher quality child care is maintained.

YOUTH DEVELOPMENT/JUVENILE JUSTICE
4. Correct the provision in state law that allows for the jailing of
youth on the second violation of county-established curfews.

5. Support the provision of after-care services to youth exiting
juvenile facilities and other out-of-home care, and transitioning to
independence, including those provided by the Office of Juvenile
Affairs, Community Opportunities for Youth, and secondary / post
secondary educational opportunities. Explore funding strategies such as
the 15% of Governor's discretionary funds from the Workforce Investment
Act.

MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH
6. Exempt breastfeeding mothers from public indecency statutes. Support
legislation to address the needs of breastfeeding mothers in the
workplace and public places in order to prevent harassment and
discrimination.

CHILDREN'S MENTAL HEALTH
7. Expand the Systems of Care Model and its principles statewide through
expanded dollars, coordinated by families and child-serving agencies.

ALCOHOL, TOBACCO, AND OTHER DRUGS
8. Complete the Tobacco Use Reduction Initiative, to include: increasing
the tax on tobacco products by $1 to be used for health-related issues,
and strengthening laws to reduce youth access to tobacco.

9. Increase the tax on alcohol products by a nickel per drink and direct
the resulting revenues for alcohol and drug abuse prevention, treatment,
enforcement and related health care issues.

FAMILY ECONOMIC SUCCESS
10. Prohibit exploitative lending practices that drain assets and create
unmanageable debt loads; ie. payday lending, predatory lending and
Refund Anticipation Loans.

These ten items will form the lobbying agenda of the Oklahoma Institute
for Child Advocacy for the 2004 Legislative Session. Mark your calendars
for the Fall Forum Follow-Up, which will be held Wednesday, November 19
in Oklahoma City. At this strategy session, advocates will begin to
organize and mobilize to support these issues. Come join us!




ABOUT THE LISTSERV
The message that you just received was posted to the Early Childhood Work
Group listserv, which is a moderated forum. The Early Childhood Work Group
is a child advocacy group that exists to support the early childhood
legislative agenda of the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy. This
listserv has been created to allow open communication between individuals
across Oklahoma who are interested in supporting early childhood advocacy
efforts of all types. This forum is also used to share items of interest to
the early childhood professional community across Oklahoma.

Your postings are welcome. To post your own message to the list, either
reply to this message and change the subject line as needed or send a new
email to:
Earlychildhoodworkgroup at topica.com

To read archives of past postings, visit:
http://www.topica.com/lists/Earlychildhoodworkgroup

This listserv is maintained by Dawn Parton, Marlo Nash, and Lindsay Ames.
Please call 918-595-8039 or email dparton at tulsacc.edu if you have questions
or comments about the listserv.
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