OCCY Parent Partnership Board Member Appointed as Co-Chair of the Alliance National Parent Leadership Council

Left to Right:  Mark James, OCCY Assistant Director; Betty Hawkins-Emery, ANPPC Co-Chair; Jerry Milner, Former Children’s Bureau Associate Commissioner; Annette Wisk Jacobi, OCCY Executive Director.

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK (February 17, 2022) – Betty Hawkins-Emery from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma has been appointed as the co-chair of the Alliance National Parent Partnership Council (ANPPC) for the Children’s Trust Fund Alliance (CTFA).  Hawkins-Emery is the first person of color to hold this position.

The ANPPC is an advisory group whose work aligns with the CTFA’s Theory of Change and priorities. The ANPPC raises awareness about the CTFA and its mission to strengthen all parents and communities from a prevention point of view.

“I am honored to have been selected by the Children’s Trust Fund Alliance to serve as the co-chair of the Alliance National Parent Partnership Council,” said Betty Hawkins Emery.  “To work with such an incredible group of parent leaders is both a blessing and a privilege.”

The CTFA created the ANPPC in 2007 and its members come from across the nation.  They were nominated by their state children’s trust funds to serve on the council. ANPPC members are parent leaders who have experience as well as expertise that is helpful at the national level.

“The Alliance National Parent Partnership Council is an integral part of the Children's Trust Fund Alliance and Ms. Hawkins-Emery has been a valued member for many years,” said Teresa Rafael, Executive Director of the Children’s Trust Fund Alliance.  “She is now in a position to help lead and guide the overall work of the organization and the Alliance is fortunate to have this opportunity to work with her.”

In addition to her service with the CTFA, Hawkins-Emery serves as an active member of the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth’s (OCCY) Parent Partnership Board (PPB).  The aim of the PPB is to connect individuals with lived experiences with OCCY Commissioners and advising them of its efforts to improve Oklahoma’s child-serving systems.

“Ms. Hawkins-Emery’s experience with serving the children and families of Oklahoma is a great asset to the Alliance National Parent Partnership Council,” said OCCY Executive Director Annette Wisk Jacobi. “She has the heart of a volunteer and her leadership skills have been instrumental in the development of OCCY’s Parent Partnership Board.”

Hawkins-Emery also serves as the director of Hawkins House Inc., a non-profit child advocacy group that assists children and parents who are separated by the order or action of child protective services.  Since 2003, she has served on Oklahoma’s Safe Families Parent Partners Board and she is a certified health and wellness administrator.

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ABOUT OCCY:  Since 1982, the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth has helped create quality systems for children, youth, and families by bringing accountability and independent oversight into Oklahoma’s child and youth service system.  Its mission is to improve services to Oklahoma’s children by planning, coordinating, and communicating with communities as well as between public and private agencies. Programs within OCCY include the Oklahoma Child Death Review Boards, the Post Adjudication Review Boards, Freestanding Multidisciplinary Teams, the Office of Planning and Coordination and the Office of Juvenile System Oversight.

ABOUT THE CTFA:  The Children’s Trust Fund Alliance (CTFA) is a not-for-profit organization established in 1989. It is the only national organization that provides support to state children’s trust and prevention funds (CTFs). The Alliance’s mission is to ensure that all states have a strong and effective children’s trust or prevention fund capable of leading and investing in strategies, policies and best practices to prevent child maltreatment before it occurs.  Learn more about the CTFA at https://ctfalliance.org/.