Over the past 40 years, Oklahoma has been sued twice to force improvements in how the state treats children in public custody.
One of the main reasons NonDoc and FKG Consulting developed the How We Got Here podcast was to create a platform for deep discussions about the history of various Oklahoma policy arenas.
To that end, the How We Got Here team welcomed longtime Capitol insider, children’s advocate and health lobbyist Anne Roberts onto the show for this episode that examines how Oklahoma cares about kids.
“What I’d like to talk about is how we as a nation care about our kids,” Roberts says in the beginning of this episode. “I think we all take for granted that we all love our kids and we hug and kiss on them all the time, but kids have not always been valued. When you think back to the origins of our nation — colonial times — poverty was rampant, and some people actually sold their children to pay off their debts.
“Kids as young as 7 were hired out to work in the mines or factories, and how [parents] disciplined their children was nobody’s business. Everything was sort of a private family affair. In fact, I always tell people the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was founded an entire decade before a similar organization to protect children.”
From ‘Terry D’ lawsuit to new ACEs bill
In this episode, Roberts joins NonDoc editor in chief William W. Savage III, FKG Consulting’s Alex Weintz and current Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy director Joe Dorman to discuss:
- The “Terry D” class-action lawsuit
- The Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth
- The Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy
- Youth services organizations
- The Oklahoma Office of Juvenile Affairs
- The Pinnacle Plan (follow link to find reports)
- SB 1517
- A Milwaukee charter school’s revolutionary approach to ACEs
Roberts, a former director of OICA herself who currently works for INTEGRIS Health, also demonstrates her infamous singing voice at the end of this episode as she recalls a time she used it to advocate for children at the Capitol.
Catch episode seven of How We Got Here by listening to the embedded audio file below or subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Podbean, Google Play and Pocket Casts.
As always, please consider rating, reviewing and subscribing to How We Got Here for future podcasts. If you have any suggestions for topics you’d like to hear discussed, contact NonDoc here.
Catch past episodes of How We Got Here
Episode 6: Wind, guns, budget and a 72-ounce steak
Episode 5: A teacher walkout podcast
Episode 4: Diving Deep on Medicaid
Episode 3: Let’s get gubernatorial
Episode 2: Summing up Step Up
Episode 1: Down to Brass Tax
(Editor’s note: How We Got Here is produced in partnership between NonDoc and FKG Consulting, a lobbying and public policy firm based in Oklahoma City. In each episode, all participants speak freely on the topic at hand. To view a list of FKG’s clients — including the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy — go here.)
