Grant Fuels Oklahoma's Vision for Incarcerated Parents and Children's Futures
By Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth
The Oklahoma Department of Corrections is excited to receive the FY 22 Department of Justice Second Chance Act Addressing the Needs of Incarcerated Parents and Their Minor Children grant for $741,960. This grant will provide resources to improve services for incarcerated parents and their children by developing strategies that foster positive family engagement.
The grant will fund services through partner sub-awardees for eligible parents located at the Dick Conner Correctional Center in Hominy, Okla., and the Mabel Bassett Correctional Center in McLoud, Okla., through September 2025.
The Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth (OCCY) will facilitate collaborative planning and function in an advisory capacity to increase coordination between ODOC and the three sub-awardees who will provide services to the incarcerated population and families. Girl Scouts of Eastern Oklahoma's Girl Scouts Beyond Bars Program will present opportunities for children to participate in reunification visits and parenting programming. New Hope Oklahoma will provide after-school programs for the children of incarcerated parents as well as referrals to community resources to meet unmet needs. OK Messages Project will provide the children with videos of their incarcerated parents reading to them several times a year and books for the children to read. Dr. David A. McLeod with the University of Oklahoma Anne and Henry Zarrow School of Social Work will assist with evaluating the program outcomes.
About the sub-awardees
The OK Messages Project launched in May 2011 with a mission of improving children's lives through shared reading via video with their incarcerated parents to boost literacy and school achievement, strengthen the child-parent connection, pave the way to a brighter future, and break the cycle of incarceration. OK Messages takes trained volunteer teams into prisons to coach and film incarcerated parents reading a book to their child and sharing a positive, hopeful message like, "This is not your fault, Mommy is safe, I love you, I'm proud of you; Now let's read a book together…" OMP mails the book and DVD of the parent reading to approximately 1,000 children each year before Christmas, Mother's Day, and Father's Day.
Girl Scouts of Eastern Oklahoma
Since 1914, Girl Scouts of Eastern Oklahoma has been a catalyst for girl empowerment, building girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place. Grounded in values of inclusivity and sisterhood, GSEOK provides a safe and supportive environment for girls in grades K-12 to grow life and leadership skills through outdoor adventures, STEM activities, entrepreneurship, and community service projects.
GSEOK's Girl Scouts Beyond Bars program has worked since 2002 to interrupt the cycle of intergenerational incarceration for children with incarcerated parents. The program provides in-person reunification services, peer-to-peer and adult mentorship support, and a Nurturing Parenting curriculum to strengthen families.
New Hope Oklahoma is a Tulsa-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 1992 to serve children with a parent in prison. The organization's primary goal is to utilize a highly focused staff and evidence-based programming to interrupt the generational cycle of incarceration, one child at a time. New Hope's programs include summer camps, after-school programs, family gatherings, and case management services. Their work envisions a future for children with an incarcerated parent that is filled with opportunities to pursue academic, career, and personal goals despite the staggering odds they face. New Hope works daily towards this future and provides quality programs that meet the emotional, social, and psychological needs of some of Oklahoma's most vulnerable children.
Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth
In 1982, the Oklahoma Legislature created the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth (OCCY) because of the "Terry D. Case," which exposed the horrific conditions children in state custody faced while living in state institutions. OCCY is an independent agency overseeing and supporting child-serving systems in Oklahoma.
In 1990, the legislature established the Office of Planning and Coordination for Services to Children and Youth at OCCY. The office facilitates collaboration between child-serving state agencies, other public and private sector service providers, and stakeholders to effectively address these systems' deficits.
The Children of Incarcerated Parents (CIP) Advisory Committee at OCCY collaborates with agencies and service providers to meet the needs and improve the quality of life for children of incarcerated parents. The committee serves in a leadership and advisory role to the Oklahoma OJJDP Second Chance Act: Addressing the Needs of Incarcerated Parents and Their Minor Children Grant.
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