By Joe Dorman
OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Legislature has completed committee work on bills in the house of origin. The only bills left alive among those filed this year are the ones approved by committees and some legislation carried over from last year.
Traditionally, about 60% of bills filed don’t make it out of committees. The Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy is grateful that several issues on our legislative priority list cleared that first hurdle. Others we support did not. This week I want to discuss an idea of particular concern. The push to consolidate certain state agencies as a supposed cost-saving measure is troubling to those of us who fight for children. We encourage lawmakers to proceed with caution: Oklahoma has a dangerous history here.
A perfect example of an agency that grew too big is the Department of Human Services (DHS) from 40 years ago. The infamous “Terry D.” lawsuit, in which it was proven children in the state’s custody were neglected, abused, and in some cases raped, by those charged with their care and rehabilitation, is what forced the agency to be broken apart. This tragedy happened, in part, because the agency was too big to properly monitor remote facilities and the vast duties of multiple departments.
A comprehensive exposé by Gannett News Service called “Oklahoma Shame” – along with a lawsuit filed by Steven Novick of Legal Aid of Western Oklahoma on behalf of seven plaintiffs – forced the needed changes through the legal system. This case resulted in the break-up of the DHS’s juvenile responsibilities.
It is no exaggeration to say this could happen again. Not a single member of the Legislature was in office when the “Terry D.” case ended in the 1990s. Each generation of government is only as good as those you elect to oversee government and the employees who are hired to maintain those departments. If we forget the hard lessons of the past, we risk repeating them. In the case of abuse and neglect of children, we who fight for them every day simply will not allow that sad history to repeat itself. We also have heard the call by state leaders to increase whistleblowing provisions as a way to enforce correct actions by state employees. This is dependent upon the protection of the identity of the employee who is informing on others and the guarantee that person will not receive punishment for reporting wrongful actions.
Far too many good people who depend on their jobs could be afraid to lose those jobs if they speak up should the protections be too weak. That was the case with employees who witnessed the mistreatment of children decades before. Whatever form the whistleblower policy takes, we will demand that it has iron-clad assurance of protection for those who point out wrongdoing. Consolidation to save costs may be penny-wise, but if there is another failure because an agency has grown too big, such a move may be dollar dumb for taxpayers. The lives and the safety of thousands of Oklahomans could be at risk, along with millions of taxpayer dollars to correct those mistakes.
Joe Dorman is CEO of the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy, which was established in 1983 by a group of citizens seeking to create a strong advocacy network that would provide a voice for the needs of children and youth in Oklahoma, particularly those in the state’s care and those growing up amid poverty, violence, abuse and neglect, disparities, or other situations that put their lives and future at risk.