Oklahoma Task Force To Study Children of Incarcerated Parents

House Bill 1197 -- which creates the Children of Incarcerated Parents Task Force -- passed both chambers of the Oklahoma legislature and has been signed by the Governor. Authored by Rep. Jeannie McDaniel and Sen. Patrick Anderson, the law creates a 21-member task force to look at needs of children of incarcerated parents. There will be subcommittees on safety issues; data on the number of children with a parent in prison; outreach; education; economic supports; and research. The task force will also be a clearinghouse for resources and will review existing legislation that affects children of incarcerated parents. A final report is due  Jan. 1, 2012 including goals, desired outcomes and recommendations.

Want to learn about other Oklahoma bills impacting children? Check out the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy's website at http://www.oica.org/legislative-news.

Increasing Numbers of Oklahoma's Children Raised in Poverty

Last week the Tulsa World ran an article on children and poverty in Oklahoma entitled Tulsa, state schools' free meal eligibility rises. In the article, State Superintendent of Schools Sandy Garrett and Anne Roberts, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy, and others talked about the challenges of teaching children from very poor families. They also acknowledged that the percent of children in Oklahoma schools coming from very poor families is increasing over time (see below).

Today, The Oklahoman ran an editorial entitled Going Hungry: Poverty devastates children. It didn't offer solutions but at least acknowledged the problem.

The following are statewide percentages of public school students qualifying for free-reduced meals for the last five school years (note the disturbing trend):

2007-08: 55.50 percent
2006-07: 55.40 percent
2005-06: 54.84 percent
2004-05: 54.11 percent
2003-04: 53.23 percent

Source: Department of Education

Forty-Sixth Star Press Publishes "It Wasn't Much"

Forty-Sixth Star Press, a wonderful new Oklahoma publishing company, focuses on telling Oklahoma's story. As part of their "Oklahoma Portraits Series," they recently published It wasn't Much: Ten True Tales of Oklahoma Heroes by Jana Hausburg with portraits by Cheryl Delany. I loved this book!

Aimed at a young audience, this collection of short biographies tells of ten Oklahomans who have contributed in big as well as small ways to the state, the nation and the world. I am delighted that half the Oklahomans featured are women.

Those women are Rosemary Hogan (the angel of Bataan), Fern Holland (who was assassinated for her work on women's rights in Iraq), Bartlesville's gutsy librarian and civil rights leader Ruth Brown, environmental activist Carrie Dickerson, and Oklahoma City Red Cross volunteer Felicia Daugherty.

In addition to the book, there are http://www.fortysixthstarpress.com/extraheroes.htmlextra materials and activities that supplement each chapter including resource materials, websites and discussion questions.

Oklahoma historians, parents, teachers and librarians, you will want to add this book to your collection. I plan to take several copies with me next time I travel to Kenya to add to our library collections in Meru! Here are a few locations where It Wasn’t Much: True Tales of Ten Oklahoma Heroes is available in Oklahoma City:

Best of Books 1313 E. Danforth in Edmond

Cokesbury, 6907 N May Ave in OKC

The Learning Tree 7638 N Western Ave in OKC

Oklahoma Historical Society Gift Shop 2401 N. Laird Ave in OKC

St. Thomas More Books and Gifts 7904 North May Avenue in OKC

Susan Illgen Named Director of Smart Start

Congratulations to Susan Illgen who has been named Executive Director of Oklahoma's Smart Start. Illgen was the 2005 Oklahoma State Teacher of the Year and early childhood director with the Oklahoma State Department of Education.