The Oklahoma State Department of Health has said it will cut services to handle the $1.3 billion budget shortfall. One of those is the Start Right child abuse prevention program, which costs about $2.2 million, and affects 700 families who receive help raising their kids through educational activities and home visits.
Samantha Hanaway said that when her son was born, she didn't have anyone to turn to for advice, according to The Journal Record’s Dale Denwalt:
Hanaway said she needed someone around who could answer questions about normal newborn behavior, milestones and routines. . . . Hanaway, who met with her family support specialist, Kourtney Waganer, on Thursday, said having people to lean on helps keep her and her son on track. “She’s been around since he was 3 weeks old, so he’s used to seeing her,” Hanaway said. “It’s part of his routine to see her every week. The consistency helps his development, as well, knowing she’s going to be here to help me work with him and meet the next big thing in his life.”
The goal is to identify households with certain risk factors and intervene before things get a chance to go bad. OSDH Commissioner Dr. Terry Cline said in a statement the cuts are painful, but necessary.
From Denwalt:
Parent Promise Executive Director Sherry Fair said she expected the program to feel the sting of budget cuts, but that she was surprised when OSDH announced it would not renew its contract. “We want to be a line item for the Health Department so we can be proportionally cut like other programs and services, instead of just being completely eliminated,” Fair said Thursday. Parent Promise and the other agencies in the child abuse prevention program fill a gap in early childhood services, she said. Without it, kids could be harmed. “When you think of a child abuse prevention program being completely eliminated, that’s really inconsistent with the way Oklahoma treats their children,” she said. “It almost seems cruel.”
If lawmakers decide to directly appropriate the money, Hanaway could stay in the program another four years. If not, the program will fold.
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