There have been nine suicides at the Oklahoma County jail in three years. Another six people with documented mental health issues died of other causes. One woman’s death has helped jumpstart a diversion program.
Oklahoma anti-abortion lawmakers are in a dilemma: Support legislation that could make it easier for some women to get abortions, or risk successful legal challenges and backlash from voters.
Oklahoma doesn’t have the funding or systems in place to ensure families get well-trained lawyers quickly during a child welfare case. Many hope a new statewide program will help.
People experiencing homelessness must be able to do basic tasks like bathing or eating on their own to get a bed in the state’s only respite center. But many can’t, and the need is growing.
Lawmakers said earlier this year they believed there would be momentum this session to pass bills addressing Oklahoma’s maternal health care problems and expanding family supports after the state enacted a near-total ban on abortions last year.
A statewide, five-year plan to address homelessness will likely go unfinished. No other group exists to track homelessness across Oklahoma.
Administrators say staff are frequently working 12-hour shifts, and though they try to avoid them, 16-hour shifts are sometimes necessary. Forty-eight out of 115 front-line positions are currently open.
In Oklahoma, parents have a right to an attorney, but the state doesn’t currently have the funding or systems in place to ensure high-quality legal representation. Judges and lawyers say it contributes to fewer family reunifications and kids spending a longer time in state custody.