Child advocates, community leaders, law enforcement and social service providers gathered Friday at the state Capitol to oppose proposed cuts to the state Health Department’s Office of Child Abuse Prevention.

Health Commissioner Terry Cline last week said if the Health Department’s budget is cut by 5 percent he would eliminate the Office of Child Abuse Prevention, a statutorily created office aimed at providing services to at-risk families to prevent child abuse.

“Our state legislature and the state agencies that are responsible for the health and well-being of children must protect children – especially children who are at risk of being victims of abuse or neglect,” said Linda Terrell, executive director of the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy.

The Office of Child Abuse Prevention has contractors across the state and in rural areas that provide services where risk factors such as poverty and low income are prevalent. A loss of state dollars to the Office of Child Abuse Prevention will also mean a loss of federal dollars that help pay for the home visitation program for parents in need of services.

“The best approach to limited resources is to invest what we have where it will do the most good, and have the greatest impact. There is no doubt that preventing child abuse and neglect should be our first priority,” said Dr. Robert Block, Oklahoma’s chief child abuse examiner and president-elect of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

“The health and mental health consequences of ignoring the lifetime consequences of abuse and neglect are many, complex, and very, very expensive,” Block said. “We must think beyond the dollars of a one year budget if we are ever going to move Oklahoma out of last place in almost every measure of health.”

Block, is also a professor of pediatrics at the University of Oklahoma-Tulsa School of Community Medicine.

Sgt. Jennifer Newell with the Norman Police Department said officers who investigate cases of alleged abuse are not seeing a decrease in their work.

“As a police officer, our job is not getting easier,” said Newell, who is also the president of the board for the Center for Children and Families, Inc. in Norman. “Detectives who investigate alleged abuse and neglect are busier than ever.”

As lawmakers draft the budget in the upcoming legislative session, they are grappling with a nearly $400 million to $600 million budget hole. In these tight budget times, lawmakers and agency directors must make tough decisions. However, the budget should not be balanced on the backs of children — who can’t vote and have little voice in the political process.

“We are looking at economic development and ignoring the development of our human capital – and doing that at a time in a person’s life when they are most vulnerable,” said Pat Potts, president of the Potts Family Foundation. The foundation supports investment in early childhood programs.

“If we discontinue those prevention programs that we know work, we are staying in a state of punishment, instead of prevention,” Potts said. “I don’t believe that’s what legislators want and I don’t believe that’s what citizens want.”

Charlie Swinton, a board member for the Parents Promise Program, a child abuse prevention program affiliated with the Exchange Club, urged Cline and lawmakers to fund child abuse prevention programs that have proven results.

“This is playing the political game of ‘which program can we cut to match the funding cut’ and it impacts children who can’t vote. We think Oklahoma can do better that,” Swinton said. “We need to protect children. Prevention programs work.”

Terrell pointed out that cuts to preventative services violate OICA’s Guiding Principles, a set of principles formulated by hundreds Oklahomans during OICA’s Children’s Fall Legislative Forum in October 2010. The principles were drafted to guide lawmakers and agency heads as they consider budget cuts.

Eliminating critical programs that serve children violates a key provision that says: Cutting programs that serve children, including the vulnerable adults in their families, should be the last place to look for savings.

Some of the other principles include:

• Invest in prevention.
• Protect services to high risk/high needs populations.
• Avoid cutting state dollars that will impact federal funding.

The Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy, is a non-partisan, 501(c)(3), non-profit organization. For more information go to www.oica.org.

Lawmakers this legislative session will draft a budget for the next fiscal year. The budget will be based on revenue figures finalized in February. Officials are predicting a nearly $400 million budget hole for the state. Lawmakers and agency directors must make tough budget decisions. But, the state’s budget should not be cut on the backs of children, who can’t vote and have little voice in our political process. Dollars invested in prevention are cost effective. These programs help parents across the state be better parents and keep children at home with their families – not in state custody.

AT A GLANCE:

WHAT: Press conference with child advocates, community leaders opposing cuts to child abuse prevention services at the state Department of Health.

WHEN: 10:30 a.m. Thursday

WHERE: State Capitol Broadcast Press Room, Room 432B

It’s clear that state budgets are tight, so it is critical to shore up federal funding for early learning programs for the coming year. Without additional federal funding, states could make further cuts - closing classrooms and adding more children to child care waiting lists.

This week is our last chance to make sure the Senate stands up for funding for early learning programs in an omnibus appropriations bill. Take action today by making two quick phone calls – one to each of your U.S. Senators. Calling is easy and quick:

1. Call 1-202-224-3121
2. Tell the operator who answers the phone the name of your Senator.
3. Once you are connected, tell the staff person who answers:
   • Your name, that you are a constituent from (city, state).
   • Support the omnibus appropriations bill with significant funding for child care, Head Start, and the Early Learning Challenge Fund.
   • We are counting on you here in (state). Thank you.

So why contact the Senate now?

Right now Senators are figuring out which strategy to use to pass the appropriations bill - which is responsible for funding our government, including early learning programs. You’ve heard how tight your state budget is. You know how much more you and your families stand to lose, too, as state budgets are prepared for the coming year, especially as the “Recovery Act” dollars run out. Remember, child care funding is a partnership between your state and the federal government - and Congress needs to hold up their end of the deal!

The U.S. Senate has just one more chance to do their part for child care and your Senators need to hear from you TODAY. The Senate must pass an Omnibus Appropriations package that includes boosts for child care and Head Start and includes funding for the Early Learning Challenge Fund. Every call counts. Make your call today.

Please call your Senators TODAY at 1-202-224-3121.

Thank you, once again, for taking a stand. Please help spread the word about this effort by forwarding this alert to your friends and coworkers!

To view the bill click here: S.3307

Congress returns today, November 29 and could decide on critical funding for child care and Head Start by the end of the week. We told Congress how important it is to not cut child care and Head Start funding, and now it’s time to tell the White House.

On Tuesday, November 30, advocates from across the country will contact the White House to ask them to remind Congress not to drop 300,000 children from child care and Head Start, and to support the Early Learning Challenge Fund.

So why contact the White House now? The President and his important staff are key players in these funding decisions and we need to continue to let them know that young children and families should not lose out on the early care and education they need during these difficult times.

• Please take action today by contacting the White House. There are two ways you can contact the President: Leave a message for President Obama on the White House Comments line in support of early childhood education programs:

1.    To call the comments line dial 202-456-1111. (You may need to call more than once if you get a busy signal.)

2.    Leave a message in the voicemail. Here is a sample script: My name is ________ and I’m from (Insert Organization) in (City), (State). Please urge Congress not to drop 300,000 children from child care and Head Start. Make sure that continued funding for the Child Care and Development Block Grant and Head Start is NOT REDUCED in the appropriations bill and that the Early Learning Challenge Fund is included. Thank you.

• Send President Obama an e-mail in support of early childhood education programs.

1.    To e-mail the President, go to http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact.

2.    Use the web form to send the White House an email. Here is a sample message you can type into the form: Dear President Obama, Please urge Congress not to drop 300,000 children from child care and Head Start. Make sure that continued funding for the Child Care and Development Block Grant and Head Start is NOT REDUCED in the FY 2011 appropriations bill and that the Early Learning Challenge Fund is included. These programs help children learn and develop skills they need to succeed in school and in life. They also help families get ahead by giving parents the support they need to be productive at work. Thank you.

Please tell your networks and friends to take action on Tuesday, November 30. The more people who take action, the more our voices will be heard in this very important time.

* This information comes from Voices for America’s Children- a partner organization of the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy

The toolkit’s purpose is to:

• Assist in education at the state and community levels
• Be used by health care providers, to include hospital staff, in their personal interactions with patients and their families
• Be used by females seeking to become pregnant, pregnant females, or their family members to educate those around them to enhance their support for a health outcome for mother and infant

You can download and print the toolkit here.

*All of the information listed above has been provided by the Oklahoma State Department of Health.

Please join the Oklahoma Fit Kids Coalition and the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy as we help Feeding America build momentum with grassroots efforts to urge the House to pass Child Nutrition Reauthorization.
With several must-pass items to complete in the lame duck session and only two weeks to do it, we need your help making sure Child Nutrition Reauthorization is at the top of the agenda when Congress returns next week.

This Week: Join our social media campaign to put CNR back on Congress’s radar and build momentum to pass the child nutrition bill.

Share this video on child hunger and obesity with your friends and networks.

1. Post the video on your Facebook page.

2. Tweet about the video using this message: “watch this video to fight child hunger and obesity: http://bit.ly/cffYxi ”

3. Email the video to your friends and colleagues and ask them to pass it along.

Sign our Twitter Petition on CNR and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Follow the link to sign the petition and share it with Congress, the White House, and your friends:

1. Sign the petition to send a message to @tweetCongress and @Whitehouse about CNR and SNAP.

2. Re-tweet the petition to your Twitter followers using this message: “petition @tweetCongress @whitehouse to pass the child nutrition bill (S. 3307) and fix SNAP!

3. Post the petition on your Facebook page.

Next Week: Save the date to join a national grassroots call with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Monday, November 15 at 2pm EST. Hear why the child nutrition bill is so important and what you can do to help get it done this year. Get ready to participate in a National Call-In Day November 15-16 to urge Congress to pass CNR. Look for details in an email later this week!

To find your Congressional Delegate just click here.

The House must pass the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act as soon as Congress returns next week. Visit http://ow.ly/36kIA to learn more about child hunger and obesity and to send an email to Congress in support of the child nutrition bill.

The deadline to register for the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy’s (OICA) Fall Children’s Legislative Forum is this Friday, October 8th at Noon! Please visit our homepage for registration details.

If you would like to see a copy of the agenda, please click here to see the wonderful speakers and activities we have planned for the two day event.

For driving directions to the University of Central Oklahoma campus in Edmond, please click here for a map that you should find useful.

For parking directions at UCO, please view this map and follow the green arrow to find the correct parking lot. Parking is free at all of our events, but you must pull a parking ticket from the stand to open the gate. When you leave, you will hand your ticket to the parking attendant and tell them you attended the OICA event, at which point they will let you out of the gate free of charge. For the evening event on the 12th, you will pull a ticket from the stand when arriving, but they open the gates at 6:00pm for the remainder of the evening, so you will not have to give your ticket to an attendant when leaving.

If you are attending both day’s events and need lodging in the Edmond, OK area, please go here for hotel options.

If you haven’t already registered, we encourage you to do so. Please join us as child advocates from across the state come together to Protect Kids.