OKLAHOMA CITY – In Tulsa, much attention over the past several months has been focused on the Tulsa County Family Center for Juvenile Justice. More than 20 people have accused employees of sexually assaulting and harassing them while they were detained.
The allegations range from adults having sex with minors in detention to drugs being provided to these children. This would have continued if not for one whistleblower raising awareness of the crimes.
This tale rings far too familiar to similar circumstances that happened in the 1980s with the criminal activity that led to the “Terry D. Lawsuit” filed against the state of Oklahoma; the lawsuit which led to the creation of the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy (OICA).
By all appearances, multiple failures occurred in procedures and policies designed to protect these youth. Instead of helping them on their way to overcoming issues that led them to allegedly becoming a risk to their community and themselves – the entire concept behind the term “juvenile justice” – most faced worse circumstances.
Oversight and the abilities of the employees have been a critical failure. Policies to ensure that these workers from the center performed their jobs and did not stray into illegal activity were easily ignored.
A solution which would have helped prevent this catastrophe would be to have a law in place to allow for easier monitoring by watchdog organizations from the state. Rep. Mark Lawson, R-Sapulpa, and Sen. John Haste, R-Tulsa, wisely authored HB 2312 in 2021. That measure would have modified the duties of the Office of Juvenile System Oversight (OJSO). The measure, had it been signed into law, required the OJSO to conduct inspections of privately operated children’s facilities not less than annually or as needed. OJSO needs access to all children and youth facilities to conduct site visits and speak with residents, not just those under the state.
OICA encourages lawmakers to take this legislation up again next session, and this time pass it into law to help prevent the tragedy in Tulsa or anywhere else in Oklahoma from ever happening again.
Other problems cited are the ability to pay workers adequately to attract a pool from which to select the most qualified staff, along with inadequate mental health programming provided for the youth. Resources must be sufficient from the city, county, and the state to alleviate these failures.
Additionally, the educational programs offered through Tulsa Public Schools need to be restructured. The Office of Juvenile Affairs operates a charter school for youth housed at the Central Oklahoma Juvenile Center in Tecumseh to specifically focus on needs and a similar model should be considered for Tulsa. This would allow for specialized programs for addressing the many students on Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) and keeping them up to speed for when they return to the classroom upon release.
To be even more proactive, efforts must be made to help prevent youth from even being led into harmful situations. The school-based social worker program operated by Oklahoma Human Services helps provide support for young people in public schools which provides helpful resources to survive. OICA would like to see at least one of these workers in every school building to help ensure children are receiving support services which will only enhance their learning and keep them out of trouble.
Additionally, finding ways to alleviate issues such as childhood hunger goes a long way to preventing negative outcomes.
People want to point at one specific person or policy, but by all appearances, this is more a collapse of the overall system on many fronts. I hope the ideas presented here will provide a roadmap to overcome the failure of this system.
