Practice & Policy Lecture: February 2012

Cheri Fuller: I'm delighted to be here. And Connie, I appreciate your kind introduction 
and the opportunity to present in the lecture series. 
Today my theme is called "Tell Me a Story: The Reality of Oklahoma's Children 
of Incarcerated Parents." I want to thank each of you. 
I recognize several of you who work with DHS, with CASA, with Family Services, we have Whiz Kids. 
I want to thank each of you for what you do for children and families in Oklahoma 
and for all of you who care enough to be here, because you're making a difference 
in the lives of our most vulnerable citizens. 
I also thank Redeeming the Family board members and volunteers 
who are present for your service in supporting our mission of helping to rebuild families 
torn apart by incarceration and helping children, these children, know that they are loved. 
There's a proverb that says, "Speak up for the people who have no voice for the rights 
of the down and outers. Speak out for justice, stand up for the poor and the destitute." 
To do this, I will begin by sharing with you a few facts, data and research on the many 
adverse effects when a child's parent goes to prison, both on their physical, emotional, 
behavioral, psycho-social and cognitive well-being. 
But I will also tell you some true stories. Names are changed for privacy but they are true stories. 
For that is how we realize that these children are not just numbers or faceless, nameless data, 
but they are real children, like yours and mine. 
They have committed no crimes but they endure a harsh punishment and an often very painful reality. 
I will also share with you our innovative program, the Oklahoma Messages Project. 
Which truly, I was inspired to look all around the nation at the most effective way 
of connecting parents who are behind bars and can't go home for a visit 
and children who often cannot go to see their parents and thus lose touch, 
and thus become very disconnected with even more enduring lasting damage to the child. 
As I taught the over 380 moms at Mabel Bassett my parenting course, day after day they would come in 
and they have a badge, their DOC badge, but on the back they would have 
their children's pictures all grouped together. 
They would pull out pictures from their pocket that they carried. They'd tell me about their children. 
And many times, when I ask them, "Do you get to see your kids? Do they ever come and visit?" 
the majority of these women hadn't had a visit since they'd been there. 
And I knew, if they're so heartbroken, how must their children feel? 
I'm a child... as a child, I lost my father when I was 11 years old. 
And when I woke up, one day in September 1958, my daddy had passed away 
of a massive heart attack in the middle of the night, leaving my mother a widow with six children. 
I know what it's like to lose a parent. 
And that's one of the reasons that I'm an advocate for these children. 
So I'll also share with you the Oklahoma Messages Project and share with you our video. 
Because our mission is to maintain or rebuild the connection between the parent behind bars 
and the children left behind. 
By having our teams visit correctional centers throughout our state and filming mothers and fathers 
sharing a loving, positive message that we burn on DVDs, and we bring beautiful children's books 
that they get to pick and personalize and read to their children. 
And by doing this the Messages Project, provides a way for these children to know 
they are not forgotten, but loved and greatly missed. 
It's a way also for parents to say, and many of them do, 
"This is not your fault, honey, and I take responsibility for my mistakes, but I'm working 
to become a better parent so I can be there for you." 
It goes a long way towards the healing process, both for the child, for the parent and for the family. 
You know, those who work hard to build a great state, love to hear 
that we're number one in areas of achievement. 
Whether that's a vibrant economy, whether that Oklahoma is a leading oil and gas energy state, 
or that we're home to one of the greatest NBA basketball teams in the nation - Thunder. 
Don't we love to be first with something positive?
I have often heard it said that, and Oklahoma is my adopted state, I'm a native of Dallas, Texas, 
but I have been here for oh, almost 40 years so, this definitely my adopted state. 
And, I often have heard it said from people who visit Oklahoma that Oklahoma is number one 
in having the most friendly, warm, caring people in the country. And I agree. 
But one statistic Oklahoma holds is not positive. It's one you may be aware of. 
And that is that, per capita, Oklahoma has the highest, number one highest incarceration rate 
of women and mothers in the United States and in the world, and number four for men. 
Well that leaves over 26 children on any given day with one or both parents in prison. 
Plus the hundreds and hundreds of kids who have a parent in county or other jail today. 
You see, children are our greatest resource. 
And those 26-28 or 30,000 children are part of the next generation of Oklahomans. They are our future. 
Each of them has tremendous potential and talent, hopes and dreams, just as our children do. 
They just want to be kids, and grow up and be in a happy family, but they have enormous obstacles. 
Instead of having the stability of a loving mom and dad at home, they experience damaging long-term 
effects on their lives, their development, and their future because, 
though they committed no crime, they have a parent behind bars. 
And without intervention, research shows that many, many of these children will be behind bars 
at some point themselves without intervention. 
So I want to share with you a few important facts. 
And a true little portrait of three children and then show you our video, so you can see 
some Oklahoma moms and dads sharing their messages to their children. 
Studies show that children with incarcerated parents are stigmatized by society. 
It's said that the kids who have a parent in the military who is deployed, 
they are the children of heroes. 
And that the children who have a parent in prison and absent because of that, 
are parents of zeroes. It's a very sad saying. 
Children with incarcerated parents tend to have behavior problems, learning in school struggles, 
they suffer from shame - especially those with a mom behind bars - experience lasting separation trauma, 
acute traumatic stress and reactive behaviors. 
These children worry about their parents being in danger. 
They see the images on TV and that's one of the reasons that in the message that they do, 
we encourage them to address this in the way that they can do from their heart, 
and many of them say, "Honey, I want you to know that I'm safe." 
And here's... they look...  you'll see that they look safe. Not that there aren't problems in prisons. 
But we know that with the officers and our Department of Corrections, 
it's a very high priority to keep these people safe. 
So, when the children see them safe and sober and clearheaded, they go, "whew" 
because they worry and they have nightmares. 
These children often feel guilty, thinking, "Surely this wouldn't happen if I'd been a better kid 
or gotten mom or dad to stop using drugs." 
A great majority of these children have impaired parent-child bonding, 
especially if the imprisonment happens in early childhood. 
They become sad, they suffer with low self-esteem. 
And, because in early childhood their brain wiring depends on the quality of their relationships, 
especially with their parents, and depends on their experiences, 
they have struggles with brain development. 
Because of loss and grief and chronic stress they're in a constant emotional turmoil 
which makes it hard to focus or pay attention in school. 
The odds of delinquency and engaging in at-risk behavior are higher for this population of children. 
So rather than giving you more statistics, before we show the video of the Oklahoma Messages Project, 
I want to tell you, to illustrate, a true story about three children in our state. 
Prior to their dad's arrest, they were a loving middle-class family who lived 
in a good neighborhood in a very growing, prosperous Oklahoma town. 
Brittany was close to her dad. We have a picture of a little girl just like Brittany. She was younger. 
It was a few years ago when he was arrested, but before that she was close to her dad, 
loved him dearly, was happy and outgoing, involved in gymnastics and soccer and cheer. 
Her little sister Cara I was active and playful and curious. 
And big brother Max was in the gifted and talented program, a high achiever in his middle school, 
and played football, and dad coached his baseball team and spent lots of time 
with these three precious children he loved. 
But their life changed when he was arrested and sent to county jail, and then state prison, 
because of a crime related to an addiction that grew out of a surgery. 
And then, their whole life took a turn for the worse. 
The day he was arrested, and for days afterward, his family's emotions were out of control. 
Mom was in disbelief. Brittany was in complete shock and overwhelming sadness. 
Max shut down and couldn't eat or talk. 
He thought, being the oldest, he should have done something to prevent this. 
Little Cara just cried and cried and cried, missing her daddy. 
But that was a few years ago. 
The shock that Max initially felt grew into chronic depression. 
There was no one to take him to sports, so he dropped out. 
His grades declined steadily and he withdrew from family and friends. 
Brittany began to exhibit symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder which often happens 
when a child sees a parent arrested and has a parent that is ripped out of their life. 
Though, she was a, you know almost a preteen, she started bed wetting and having nightmares. 
She became more introverted and felt shame and embarrassment at school. 
The youngest starting acting out. 
Throwing big tantrums at home and at kindergarten, and she missed her dad terribly. 
A series of mom's boyfriends and her party lifestyle contributed to more instability for these children. 
Their environment changed also which often happens. 
From a nice home in a neighborhood, to an apartment complex that had frequent noisy conflicts 
among the people who lived there, and that people walked around, that the kids said scared them. 
And so they never went outside. 
Well, I'd like you to now see our Oklahoma Messages Project video 
and I will share the rest of the story with you. Thank you, Sharon. 
(MUSIC PLAYS)
No Audio: Video presentation begins. 
Dad 1: Hi girls, how ya'll doing? 
Dad 2: Hola hijos. 
Dad 3: Hey Zack, Zoey, guys, big surprise. 
Mom 1: You know who it is. It's Mom. I love you guys. 
Mom 2: Hi, Littles, this is your mom. 
Mom 3: Brandon, it's Momma. 
Mom 4: Hi, babies. It's Mommy. 
Mom 5: Hi, boys. This is Momma. 
Cheri Fuller: Our state of Oklahoma has the highest incarceration rate of women in the United States. 
About 85% of those women are mothers or grandmothers. We also have many, many fathers in prison. 
Oklahoma has fourth highest incarceration rate of men in the country. 
Son 1: I was three or four years of age when my mother went to prison. 
Daughter 1: I think I was eight months old when she went to prison. 
Daughter 2: When my mother went to prison I was six years old. 
Son 1: We are missing her ever since. 
Daughter 3: Well, my heart was hurting because she was gone and gone and gone. 
No Audio: Cheri Fuller, Executive Director Redeeming the Family - Oklahoma Messages Project
Cheri Fuller: That leaves about 28,000 children or more in our state who feel very forgotten, 
very alone, and don't have a mom or dad there to kiss them in the morning when they go to school, 
to tuck them in at night. 
And those kids are some of the most disadvantaged, vulnerable children in our state. 
And if there's not intervention in their lives by sixth grade, 70% of those kids go to prison themselves. 
Since 2008, when I began teaching a parenting course to mothers at our maximum security prison 
in Oklahoma, I began to realize that many of these mothers had not seen their children in a long time. 
One mother had not seen her boys in almost four years. 
There were moms who hadn't seen their children in ten years... one in fifteen years. 
And I begin to think of a way that we could help these parents 
and children to reconnect because otherwise they become strangers, 
and when their mothers get out of prison, that leads to higher recidivism.
No Audio: Cheri Fuller being escorted into Eddie Warner Correctional Center, Oklahoma
DOC Guard 1: Four, please. 
DOC Guard 2: There you go. 
DOC Guard 1: Thank you. 
No Audio: Carolyn LeCroy, Founder The Messages Project
Cheri Fuller: So our nonprofit, Redeeming the Family, connected with the National Messages Project 
that Carolyn LeCroy founded and in May, we launched the Oklahoma Messages Project. 
And so, our teams go in, and we videotape parents, moms or dads, 
sharing a loving, positive message with their children. 
Carolyn LeCroy: You okay? 
Mom 6: Yeah, I'm okay. 
Carolyn LeCroy: All right. 
Mom 2: Hi Dylan. It's mom. First of all I want to say Happy Birthday! 
Mom 7: I know it's been a long time since I've seen you. 
But I just want you to know that I love you very much, and that I'm always thinking of you. 
Dad 2: You haven't seen me in two years, but you know that Daddy's coming home soon. 
Dad 1: I still quit smoking. I ain't smoked since February 19th. I'm pretty proud of that, too. 
I'm trying to be as healthy as I can be by the time I get out, so I can live a little longer for y'all. 
Dad 4: Alynn, you're a little princess. 
And I don't know what to say to you but just keep running around and being the little kid that you are. 
Mom 1: In your daily activities as a child, you want to make sure that you hold yourself 
accountable for your actions. 
Mom 4: I'm sorry for being away but soon this will be over. 
And basically I just need you to know that I do love you so much and I can't wait to see you, 
and hold you in my arms. And give you (blows kisses) so many kisses. 
No Audio: Paul Folger and Jessica Schambach, Reporters for News Channel 5
Paul Folger: Tonight a Mother's Day mission is helping thousands of Oklahoma children. 
Jessica Schambach: A nationally recognized group is here rebuilding bonds 
and broken families separated by prison bars. 
(MUSIC PLAYS)
No Audio: Photos of the Oklahome Messages Team and Carolyn Le Croy.
Cheri Fuller: So the Oklahoma Messages Project is a very effective relational intervention. 
In fact, a criminologist, Marty Lababera, says in decades of working in the prison systems in America, 
it's the most effective intervention he has ever seen. 
The inmate themselves gets the feedback from the children of how they love this 
and how much it meant to them. 
Daughter 2: I don't know how it would be, but I think this program is really great. 
Daughter 1: Someone can do for their child that's going to prison 
would be to have as much contact as possible with him. 
Daughter 2: I love my mom to death. 
Daughter 3: Dear Mom, I miss you. I wish you would come home today. Love your daughter, Naja. 
(MUSIC PLAYS)
No Audio: "Reasearch shows that communication between incarcerated parents and their children 
reduces the children's trauma and improves their social adjustment, 
as well as reduces ricidivism for the parents.
Cheri Fuller: The Oklahoma Messages Project inspires and motivates that person who's in prison 
to become a better parent, to become a better citizen and it really influences them 
in a very, very positive way. 
Mom 2: Like I said, I know it's hard, but it's gonna be great. 
Mom 3: My promise is to be there. 
There will never come a day when you turn your head again and see Momma go away. 
Dad 2: I don't want to leave your sides ever again. You're gonna grow up. 
I'm gonna see you all grow up. And daddy's gonna be there for you, too. 
Dad 3: Kinda nervous here, but I just wanna tell you guys that I'm proud of you, 
I love you, and I miss you terribly. 
Cheri Fuller: This is a great way to reconnect families. 
Often kids say, night after night, "Please put the DVD in. I want to see Mommy." 
Dad 4: Take good care of y'allselves. I love you. (blows kisses) Bye. 
Mom 2: Bye. I love you. (blows kisses)
Dad 1: Bye, y'all. I love you all. 
Mom 1: Hope to see you soon. (blows kisses) 
No Audio: Moms 5 and 3 blow kisses at the camera.
Mom 2: I love you. (blows kisses)
(MUSIC PLAYS)
Cheri Fuller: And so if you'll go on our website at redeemingthefamily.org, 
you can see three new stories of three different dads doing messages. 
There's also an Opubco, wonderful article by Carla Hinten. 
There's a Tulsa World article and videos, and you can actually see some dads this Christmas. 
We go at Christmas and Mother's Day and Father's Day. 
So we are gearing up right now to go back and start filming in just a few weeks 
as many of these facilities as we can do, because those are three very painful weeks for children. 
Christmas and Mother's day and Father's day, when most kids are with their parents. 
And so you can go to our website and also if you join us on Facebook we would love that. 
And you'll see some more of our backdrops that have been designed by Allie Plum 
and a precious mom named Rebecca who wanted to help. 
Also, I want to mention to you before I go on with our story, that the parents 
don't just come in and just blindly start talking, okay? 
They... and if anybody would like to see this, I have with me, this is a single spaced...
Oops, I touched it.
(video begins to replay) 
Cheri Fuller (continues): I am really thankful for Sharon. She's techie-er than I am. 
No, that's saying a lot. Okay, I'll try not to have my folder touch that. 
But anyway, we send ahead a week or two before we come, they get a guideline sheet, 
single-spaced, two pages to prepare them... They start preparing their message.  
They start taking notes. And then when we get there... you saw the small groups? 
And we have two small groups for training. We have a coaching after they do all their paperwork. 
And by the way, they have to sign forms that they have the verification, 
the legal right to be in contact with the children. 
We do not film any sex offenders because we don't want to re-victimize 
any of these children or anyone one in the family. 
And so they do paperwork that involves all of that, they're screened by their unit managers 
and case managers, and they also have to meet criteria. 
I have that sheet with me if you'd like to see that or I can e-mail it to you. 
And they have to not have had any infractions in six months 
- some of the facilities say in one year - 
so it's a great incentive for them in their rehabilitation. 
So when we get there and we film... and then these three kids actually got... 
Oh, and we also bring a literacy specialist who, if she's with us, 
and then she trains others of our volunteers. 
We have volunteers from age 22 to age 70 around 70, and they're all part of our messages teams 
that actually go in to these different correctional facilities. 
But our literacy specialist trains them to read a book so deliciously 
to the children that they'll want to read along at night. 
And they hold it so they can see the pictures, they interact with the characters in the book, 
and we send both to the children. 
So when these three children - Cara, and Max, and Brittany - got their envelope one day, 
last year before Father's Day, they were in the first group that got it. 
They opened it up, and inside was a children's book their dad had personalized for them called, 
"Love You Forever" and then they put the DVD in. 
It says, "A message from Dad", and he began to share his love with them. 
He began to read, "I'll love you forever. I'll like you for always. 
As long as I'm living, my baby you'll be." 
Were the kids a little weepy? Were they a little sad? Yes. 
Right at first they were just overcome with emotion that dad would do this for them. 
A family member who was right nearby in the room said it was like, though, 
that they were reconnected for the first time long time with their father. 
She said, "This DVD in great part is what keeps him alive as a father and not just a memory." 
When it came to the part in the video where their dad had a loving message, 
we encouraged him to do a loving, particular message to each of the children 
who are going to see this video, about what they're proud of, what they... 
"I love your smile. I love your blue eyes. I love your giggles." 
And when they got to their part of the video, where their dad addresses them, 
they had the biggest smiles they'd had in a long, long time. 
Brittany carried the DVD around in her little purse, and showed it to aunts and cousins 
and grandparents, and they said, "He's a new man. He's in college classes. He's rebuilding his life." 
All three of the children felt supported and encouraged in a way they hadn't for months and months. 
And they watched this DVD, because it belongs to the children, 
they watched it over and over and over, and they're still watching it today. 
Their aunt said she wrote us and said, "It still amazes me how far reaching 
the effects of The Messages Project are. 
It makes all the difference between true rehabilitation and just being locked up. 
When the children received their second one, the Christmas message, they were overjoyed. 
The impact has been profound. 
And they are looking forward to getting their DVD from dad this Father's Day." 
Well, Brittany and Max and Cara's dad has a few more years to serve. 
And these kids still have big challenges at school and at home. 
But the connection that he and his children are rebuilding is helping them cope, 
is giving him hope and his children hope that they'll be a family again some someday 
and it's sustaining all of them until his return. 
Most important, these children when they receive their message and their book 
and they get to watch it over and over,  they have something priceless that every single child needs. 
And that is the gift of love. 
Hearing and seeing and knowing deep in their hearts that their daddy loves them, 
that they're the apple of his eye - every single child needs that. 
I do want you to know that there are thousands and thousands of children 
just like these three that I described. 
They are all around us, the hidden victims of crime and incarceration. 
Or as some sociologists call them, they are the "invisible population." 
They're in rural areas, they're in cities and towns, elementary schools. 
In fact in one Putnam City elementary school, 50% of the students have a parent in prison. 
This is not out there somewhere in the sticks. This is all around us. 
There's a zip code in North Oklahoma City that 90% of the children have a parent in prison. 
There are many kids in Edmond and Crooked Oak, in northeast Oklahoma, in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, 
South Oklahoma City, Tulsa, all over the state who have a parent behind bars. 
That's why we do the Oklahoma Messages Project. 
In partnership... and we're grateful 
for the Department of Corrections which allows us to do this 
and partners with us, we do it for the children. 
And yet, it has significant ripple effects in the inmates themselves, in the correctional centers, 
and most of all in the families and in the kid's lives. 
The Messages Project is now in every prison in Virginia and Nebraska. 
It started in Virginia and it's in every prison in Nebraska. 
And what they've found, because one of the incentives is, if you're in a parenting program 
or some kind of a very, very effective behavioral program, then you're on first 
of the list to get to do a message for your children. 
And in Nebraska, the attendance has shot up so high, and the commitment to these parenting classes, 
that they do not have enough parenting classes for all the moms and dads 
behind bars who want to do them, because it's a great incentive. 
We do it for the children, but it has ripple effects in the inmates themselves in our whole community 
because we want bring awareness to people in our state and in our communities 
that these children are precious. And they need support. 
They need support groups. They need empathy, not judgment from any of us. 
Well, the benefits to children are many. 
And if you would like a brochure, feel free to pick one up back there on the table before you leave. 
And we list some of the benefits for children who get the messages and the very positive outcomes. 
Because, you see, this is something... we didn't reinvent the wheel. 
This project won the CNN Hero's Award several years ago for the Top 10 
Humanitarian projects in the world. 
And we brought it to Oklahoma and we're going to operate it as long as there are children 
who have parents that are locked up. 
So there's been research on outcomes of the children who get these. 
They tend to bond better with caregivers, teachers and adults. 
They act out less at school and their behavior improves. 
They have fewer nightmares and less anxiety. 
Their reading skills are encouraged as they read along with their parents, 
while their parent reads the book in a very engaging way. 
And we have parents now, and we encourage them to do this, who bring whatever books they're reading 
and they show... we say, "You can be a role-model of someone who loves books. 
And you're going to be helping your child." 
And, see a lot of times they don't feel like there's anything positive 
they can do for their children there. 
They feel really helpless and they realize that, on camera, they can be a positive influence 
and this impacts their children's reading skills. And they'll read along. 
Night by night they'll say, "Get me my video. I want to read along with daddy or mommy." 
And then family reunification and reentry of the inmate is improved. 
This spring, a group from New York and Virginia is coming to begin filming a documentary 
on how the Messages Project positively effects reentry and family reunification 
and we are going to go with them as part of that team. 
And then I wanted to tell you about what someone said who's really been there. 
She's been one of these children, who looked from behind the fence 
when everybody else's mom and dad were picking them up at school. 
Kristin was young, very young, when her dad went to prison, 
and she wasn't allowed contact with her dad. 
She said, "I always thought half of me was missing. It made it harder to know who I was. 
And as the years moved on, they became more estranged." 
And here is what she said and this is why she's a volunteer with Redeeming the Family. 
She said, "All of us want to know where we came from. 
Getting a message and staying in contact helps kids know that although their mom or dad is away, 
although they have made major mistakes, they care about their children and love them." 
The Children of Incarcerated Parents Task Force that was appointed by Governor Fallin, 
starting last spring, has done fine work. 
And they have made a number of important recommendations. 
Including, the first one being, to support activities to maintain contact between incarcerated 
parents and their minor children when it is in the best interest of the children. 
Second, to improve the parent-child relationship with more parent education. 
We have prisons in our state that do not have parenting programs. 
There are a number of men's facilities that do not have parenting classes. 
And to help support a healthy, strong parent-child connection is another one of their recommendations. 
They made others such as the need for support and counseling for these children. 
I would add empathy instead of judgment from all of us. 
They need the parents to be schooled in what their responsibilities are 
regarding child support and their financial responsibilities. There are so many needs. 
But especially the number one that they identified was 
to maintain contact between the parents and the minor children. 
Well, children want and need to stay connected. 
As one case worker said, "They have a different kind of family, 
but nevertheless, it is their family. We can help them heal. 
Their parent made big mistakes, but they're still their mom and dad. 
And they still need to know they're cared about." 
The problem is that although these children need contact, 
few get to see their parents on a regular basis. 
For mothers it's much more rare to have visits. 
More than half of moms behind bars never get a visit from their children. 
I've taken surveys of classes of 80 women at our maximum security prison. 
And 80-90% of them raised their hand and said they hadn't had a visit in a very long time. 
So, it's very difficult to maintain contact. 
Letters are good, talking on the phone, but kids are very, very visual. 
They're in a very visual and digital generation. 
I've met scores of these moms who long to see their children like Janey. 
She was one of the very first moms in my parenting course 
and she faithfully attended every single class and did every assignment.
And that day, the first day, she showed me pictures of her four sons. 
She was serving a 10-year prison sentence for a non-violent crime 
and she hadn't seen her boys in three and a half years. 
She took the course she said because she wanted to be a better mom 
and learn how to reconnect with her boys. 
She wanted them to know how much she loves them, and she wanted to encourage their hearts. 
But two of the boys, you see, were with their grandma 
who was blind because of diabetes and couldn't drive. 
The other two were in another relative's home, who wouldn't take the time or money to come visit. 
And Janie sent letters and called whenever she could 
but her sons were growing more distant with every year. 
The oldest, at age 12, got kicked out of school five times in one year. 
Janie wrote to the principal several times asking for help for her son and never got an answer. 
When Janie heard about the possibility that the Messages Project was coming to her facility, 
she was very excited to be able to give a DVD message to her boys where they could actually 
look in her eyes and see the love she had for them and play it 
whenever they needed a little encouragement. 
Meant the world to them, and she said it would mean the world. 
She's waiting along with hundreds of other moms and dads in Oklahoma prisons to get film a message. 
Their children need hope that their family can be rebuilt. 
They need to be assured of their parents' love and know how much they're missed. 
Our challenge that Redeeming the Family is to have the funds, the resources and the people, 
the volunteers to go to Janey's facility for women and many others in our state. 
So the kids will not feel forgotten. So they will know they are deeply loved and of value. 
Let me encourage you to support activities, to maintain contact in whatever way you can 
with your agency, with your family services. Let's brainstorm, let's find ways. 
And join up with the Oklahoma Messages Project to help maintain contact 
between the children and the parent. 
Community-based sentencing programs which now are, you know, 
starting to expand, let's say, offer hope for these families. 
Especially when it's a non-violent drug or alcohol crime. Eliminating barriers. 
Preventing these children from getting quality healthcare is another 
recommendation the task force made. 
And of course, high-quality parenting courses in every Oklahoma prison. 
I got a letter from one of the moms that I had also taught at Mabel Bassett 
who's now out and reconnected with her daughter, who's now a teenager. 
When she went in, Kanesha's daughter, Miracle, was eighteen months old. 
She's a teenager now. Mom spent 11 years in an Oklahoma prison. 
And, Kanesha was also in two of my classes. And here's what she wrote me: 
"In over ten years here in prison, I have taken many parenting courses, 
but this is the first one that gave me hands-on tools to reconnect with my daughter 
and for me to know how to relate to her." 
And then she went on to say, "I first want to thank you for being the motivator in my life. 
You've been a blessing. 
I will soon be out of this place and able to utilize the tools you've given me. 
My family and my daughter are looking forward to my return. 
Keep the prayers going up so blessings may fall down. 
Again thank you for being you and teaching me to be a better mom." 
We need to have people who are willing to be mentors to these mothers and fathers 
and learn how to rebuild their families. 
May we all speak up for those who have no voice, for the rights of the down-and-outers. 
May we all speak out for justice and stand up for the poor and destitute, 
especially these very precious children in Oklahoma. 
I do want to let you know that we have a sheet on that back table, 
right by our little picture, our framed logo that has... 
you can write your name and email address and we'll get in contact with you. 
We have brochures back there and my business cards will be back there. 
Perhaps one of you say, "You know, I could serve as a board member and provide leadership." 
Maybe another one of you would say, "I've always wanted to teach parenting 
to moms in prison or who have just gotten out." 
We are partnering with ReMerge, the diversion program in Oklahoma City 
and I'm going to be teaching, this spring, my parenting course to these moms 
who are in a year-long program to learn to be better moms. 
And that's what I'm going to bring to the ReMerge Program.