OkCountyKids Task Force

Helping to Prevent Child Abuse and Neglect in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma
Home
About Us
About Child Abuse
How You Can Help
Report Abuse/Neglect
Programs to Help Families
Events
Prevention Hotline
CAP Month Committee
Oklahoma Foster Care
Site Map
Contact Us
Court Involved Parents
Help for Foster Parents
Adult Victim of Abuse/Neg
Bears for Foster Kids
Blue Ribbon Trees
Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention is a Community Responsibility
In a prefect world, all children would grow up in safe, loving homes. Our children are our future and they are our most precious resource.  But in reality,  child abuse and neglect harm our children every day. The OkCountyKidsTask Force has organized to help make a brighter future for our children through public, private, and volunteer cooperation to help prevent child abuse and neglect  in Oklahoma County.
 
About our Site:
Welcome to our site. This site tells you about us. It also provides information about some of the programs available to support families as supporting families reduces the stress of parenting which, in turn, reduces the occurrence of child abuse and nelect. If you have suggestions about other supports you feel we should include, please contact us.
 
 
 
Next  OkCountyKids Task Force Meeting Date:
05/29/09 at 10:00 at Rainbow Fleet 3024 Paseo, OKC, OK.
 
 
 
CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION NEWS:

New Prevention Plans for Oklahoma

BY JAY F. MARKS
Published: May 23, 2009

A state board Friday approved a new plan to protect Oklahoma children from abuse and neglect.

 

With it, officials hope to get communities more involved in creating and nurturing families.

Department of Human Services Director Howard Hendrick said reports of child abuse and neglect have dropped in the past few years due to record child support collections and more participation in programs like SoonerCare and food stamps.

He said that has obscured a larger problem: poor relationships among parents and children.

Hendrick said he is optimistic about the new plan approved Friday by the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth.

"The plan identifies an array of promising prevention programs,” he said.

State officials are required to create such a plan at least every five years, but the existing plan — which is about 2 years old — was not financially feasible, said Annette Jacobi, chief of the state Health Department’s Family Support and Prevention Service.

The new one is meant to offer cheaper alternatives for the short term.

"We don’t want to create a wish list that we can’t accomplish,” Jacobi said.

One of the strategies in the new plan is more training for people in agencies that typically aren’t involved in child welfare.

Jacobi said substance abuse counselors and similar professionals can be taught to recognize stressful situations for parents, the ones that can lead to child abuse or neglect.

The plan also suggests enlisting community support for parents in need.

Jacobi said prevention works best if parents have a network of friends and neighbors to rely on when they need help.

"These things are low-cost or no-cost ideas because we don’t have the money to do something new right now,” she said.

The plan was crafted by the Health Department with insight from parenting groups and other experts in areas that need to be addressed, Jacobi said. 

CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION NEWS: 
 
Oklahoma lawmakers draw fire as abuse toll spotlighted
 

With a field of 1,530 fluttering flags behind them, advocates for child abuse prevention held a ceremony outside the Capitol on Tuesday to raise awareness of the issue.

 

 
Bagpiper Sam Hall of Yukon plays "Amazing Grace” among flags placed on the south lawn of the state Capitol. Hall plays at St. Augustine of Canterbury Episcopal Church in Oklahoma City. Photo by PAUL B. SOUTHERLAND, The Oklahoman

"Look at those flags; that’s a sterile image,” Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater said. "But to really illustrate child abuse, you need to see a dead child at the base of each of those flags. It’s the most violent crime that can be perpetrated against an innocent victim.”

Tuesday was national Child Abuse Prevention Day. In addition to the ceremony, advocates also streamed into the Capitol to meet with lawmakers and to staff information booths for social services and parenting resources.

In 2008, 32 Oklahoma children died as a result of child abuse, according to the state Department of Human Services. To represent those victims, 32 Oklahoma flags were placed among the 1,530 American flags representing the number of children killed by abuse in the U.S. The Healing Fields project is presented each year by the National Exchange Club.

Prater urged lawmakers to keep funding programs to prevent child abuse and push legislation to protect children. The state is facing a $900 million budget hole and eyeing cuts to agencies and programs.

"They want to be tough on crime, but the harm has been done if we’re prosecuting someone,” Prater said. "We cannot incarcerate this crime away, and there’s not a damn thing being done.”

He said lawmakers have spent more time "talking about garbage than doing the people’s business and protecting children.”

He drew applause.

"Let them know that we will not stand for cuts in the child abuse prevention programs,” he said.

 

 

OK-Child Abuse Prevention Month seeks community involvement

03/24/2009 by OSDH

(OK) Small, positive actions can make a difference in the life of a child. The focus this year for April, Child Abuse Prevention Month, is to highlight those actions that each of us can take to help raise safe, healthy, resilient children. The theme "It Only Takes a Minute to Make a Difference in the Life of a Child," brings hope that all children can get a good start in life if the adults around them take small actions that add up to a pattern of supportive community and family environments in which children can grow and develop into productive citizens.

According to statistics from the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, in 2007 in Oklahoma, there were more than 13,100 confirmations of child abuse and/or neglect. In 2006, the latest data available indicates 32 Oklahoma children died as a result of child abuse and neglect.

"Even one victim of child abuse and neglect is still one victim too many," said Interim Commissioner of Health Rocky McElvany. 'Survivors need counseling, social and health services for the rest of their lives in order to recover and to try to break the vicious cycle of abuse and neglect. This affects the health of families and entire communities for generations."

"There are lots of small, positive things we can all do to help protect and nurture our children as well as caregivers that only take a minute," said Sherie Trice, community-based child abuse prevention grant coordinator with the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH). "A few words of praise and encouragement to a child or the caregiver, listening carefully to what a child has to say, showing a child you care, saying 'I love you' all are simple actions that added together have been shown to have a profound impact on a child's life. In these very real ways, we can all support children and strengthen families," Trice said.

The OSDH Family Support and Prevention Service offers the following parenting tips to help build healthy families:

� Help your children feel loved and secure. Make sure your children know you love them, even when they do something wrong.

� Encourage your children by praising their achievements, talents, and efforts. Recognize the skills they are developing.

� Spend time with your children doing things that you both enjoy. Listen to them.

� Learn how to use nonphysical options for discipline that are appropriate for your child's age and development or redirect your child's attention by offering choices, and/or use 'time out' appropriately as a way to discipline.

� Seek help if you need it. Sometimes special circumstances like unemployment, or a child with special needs, can add stress to the family. If you need additional support, try to talk to a friend, health care provider, faith leader or counselor or join a support group for parents.

Finally, the FSP Service encourages you to get involved with some of the local activities being planned in your area related to Child Abuse Prevention Month, including the following:

� Buy a "Child Abuse Prevention" specialty license plate. Applications for the specialty license tag called 'Start Right' are available at your local tag agency. The tag costs $35.00 and if by mail a $2.00 shipping charged is added for a total cost of $37.00, which will take a couple of weeks to ship. Money will go into the child abuse prevention fund to support prevention programs across the state.

� Participate in "Build a Blue Ribbon Tree for Kids" in your neighborhood. Find a highly visible spot to place your blue ribbon tree and add a blue ribbon for the number of children abused and neglected in your county; or the number of new babies born in your community; or to represent something important in your community to show your support for children.

� The University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) college students in Edmond are 'ribboning' the trees around the lake for April while the UCO Child Study Center class of 3-year-olds will host a very special "Blue Ribbon Tree Parade" with instruments and decorated vehicles on Wednesday, April 8, at 11 a.m. For information about the tree decorating and parade, contact Dr. Kaye Sears at (405) 974-5786.

� Participate in "Child Abuse Prevention Day" at the State Capitol on Tuesday, April 14. There will be speakers, display and information booths, and the winners of the statewide poster contest will be recognized. For information about the poster contest or the "Child Abuse Prevention Day", call the Child Abuse Prevention Service at (405) 271-7611.

� Visit the art poster contest display at the State Capitol on Tuesday, April 14, to see the winners from posters from all across the state. The Arts Council of Oklahoma City will select an impartial panel of judges to select the winners, and award the certificates and prizes to 13 talented children.

� Call your local library to see what types of materials and videos are available for parents and childcare professionals on ways to prevent child abuse and neglect and on learning good parenting skills.

� Volunteer to serve on the statewide Child Abuse Prevention Month Action Committee during this year for next year and plan to help with future activities.

� To get involved in Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer efforts to assist children through the legal system, contact Jennifer Hunter at 1-800-742-2272.

� To get involved with Prevent Child Abuse Oklahoma, call Micah Stirling at (800) CHILDREN.

For general information about child abuse prevention month activities, to request materials for your community, and to discover ways to get involved, call the county health department in your area or contact Sherie Trice, OSDH Family Support and Prevention Service at (405) 271-7611.