Studies Starting Soon

By Rep. John Talley

The House Children, Youth and Family Services Committee that I have chaired for the past two years has organized six studies this year which will begin on Monday, September 30. I want to take the time to outline those topics because I believe they are very relevant to the current challenges Oklahoma is facing.

On Monday, September 30, Reps. Randleman and Williams will host a study on behaviors and adolescence from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. They plan to look into teenagers’ mental health issues and ways to get them the help they need.

That afternoon, Reps. Ford and Williams will host a study to explore implementation of the national child ID program for foster care. The study will also look into the current foster care system in our state and the financial threshold required for prospective parents to adopt. That study begins at 1:30 p.m.

On Tuesday, October 1, Rep. Vancuren has a study on the increasing costs of childcare that will begin at 9:30 a.m. We all know childcare costs in Oklahoma have risen dramatically while the number of centers has declined. This study will examine past expenditures of DHS on childcare compared to current and anticipated costs.

That afternoon, beginning at 1:30 p.m., Rep. Pae will host his study on the Annie E. Casey Grant to look at ways to keep youth out of the foster care system and to improve systems for family settings instead of group placement.

On Thursday, October 3, beginning at 1 p.m., Rep. Pittman will host her study to understand why multiple community action daycare centers have closed in recent years. Her study will explore options to increase access to early childhood development services to the pre-kindergarten population for minority communities and underserved populations.

If you’re interested in watching an interim study, you can visit okhouse.gov. Interim studies may be viewed by visiting the News & Media tab and clicking on the “Live Proceedings.”

Events are still happening in House District 33 as well as at the State Capitol. On Thursday, I was invited to give the opening prayer at the MESO Lineworkers Rodeo in Stillwater, which included lineworkers from Oklahoma and Texas. This fun event offers public power professionals from many municipalities the opportunity to improve skills while competing and learning from each other. There were a lot of people in attendance. We often forget what an important job these line workers have until our electricity does not work. I am grateful for their work no matter the weather or time of day.

As always, please call my office at (405) 557-7304 or email me at [email protected] if there’s anything I can help with. Thank you for the honor of representing our district!

Rep. John Talley, a Republican, serves District 33 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, which covers Logan and Payne Counties.