Yesterday I took a little time to read through some back issues of newspaper. Here are some gems I found:
Darcie Harris, CEO and founder of EWF International in Oklahoma City is one of 15 finalists for the cover story in We Magazine’s fall issue.
Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction Sandy Garrett announced that she will not seek another term. Currently in her 5th consecutive term, Garrett is the first women elected to this statewide position. I know some great Oklahoma women who should run for this position.
The Oklahoma Department of Human Services reported that – for the first time since they started collecting past due child support – the majority of its child support case load is related to clients who have never been on public assistance. “Deadbeat Dads” come from all strata of society. Call me old fashion but I am still shocked and disgusted that men with good jobs and impressive incomes choose to not support their own children.Thank goodness for the DHS Child Support Enforcement Division!
Good news - for the third straight year, the number of confirmed cases of child abuse in Oklahoma has dropped. There were 64,293 abuse and neglect cases confirmed (down by 3,000 from the previous year and down 5,000 from 2006); of those, 4,850 children were victims of abuse in the last year. Why are the numbers down? DHS says more kids are going into (safer) adoptive homes versus placement in the foster care system. Also, DHS has collected more child support money which translates into more financial security for those families - ie, less stress and strain. That is due in part to the fact that Oklahoma leads the nation in establishing paternity – which is needed to collect child support. Finally, one in four children in Oklahoma currently receives food stamps which averages around $4 per day (federal money) – not a lot but, again, this reduces stress on the family.
For girls and young women, poverty correlates with high teen birth rates, dismal school drop out rates and poor health. So it is bad news that the percentage of poor children in Oklahoma increased from 19 percent in 200 to 22 percent in 2007 and is very probably higher than that in today’s economic recession. A recent study ranked Oklahoma 44th among states in the well-being of America’s children – down from 38th place in 2005. Good news: we rank well in immunizations and are dropping rate of child abuse. But overall, Oklahoma sucks at kids.
The recent Kids Count report shows Oklahoma ranks 5th in the nation in teen birth rates with 60 births per 1.000 females ages 15 to 19 years of age. Why? Lack of information; Oklahoma requires no health education in our schools. God forbid that – as they experience raging hormones, they might actually learn about sexuality and reproduction – and how to avoid getting pregnant
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