Senate Approves Task Force to Help
State's At-Risk Youth Become Productive Adults
The Senate unanimously approved
legislation Tuesday to create a task force to
find solutions to help Oklahoma's at-risk youth
become independent, productive adults. Senate
Bill 283, by Sen. Harry
Coates, would create the Task Force on Youth
Transitioning into Adulthood.
"We have thousands of Oklahoma youth with
mental health challenges or who have been in state
custody either through the juvenile justice or
child welfare systems. While we offer a variety
of programs including educational, drug treatment,
mental health, rehabilitation and medical services
to help these at-risk teens, all of those programs
stop when these individuals age out of the system,"
said Coates, R-Seminole. "Studies show that
without continued assistance, these people, for
the most part, will not become productive citizens
but will rather continue to be a drain on society,
and we want to find a way to change that."
The task force would study policies and programs
to assist youth as they transition into adulthood
through education, behavioral health, social services,
housing, and employment services. The youth to
be studied would include those who are currently
in or are preparing to exit the juvenile justice
or foster care system or who experience conditions
in their daily lives that place their healthy,
safety, physical and mental health at risk. The
task force would look at issues like financial
independence, life skills, transportation that
directly impact their ability to transition into
adulthood.
"Depending on the level of care, the financial
investment by the state can range from $8,260
for a young person in foster care for one year
to over $108,000 for one in juvenile institutional
care,” said Coates. “Oklahoma’s
investment will be squandered if we don’t
ensure a productive transition for these adolescents
into the job market, stable housing and independent
living.”
SB 283 is part of the 2009 Legislative Agenda
for Children and Youth promoted by the Oklahoma
Institute for Child Advocacy.
The measure will now be heard in the House.
For more information contact:
Sen. Coates' Office: 405-521-5547