Oklahoma Watch
Are there about 6,000 children in the Oklahoma foster care system?
Oklahoma's foster care population is declining, yet the state faces a high rate of child maltreatment compared to national averages, according to federal reporting data.
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2mIs Oklahoma No. 3 in the nation for law enforcement turning people over to ICE?
Oklahoma ranks among the highest in ICE arrest rates nationally as new legislation seeks to mandate local law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration authorities through 287(g) agreements.
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13mStill Waiting: Oklahoma’s Mental Health System Leaves Defendants Waiting in Jail Despite Court Order to Fix Delays
Oklahoma is violating a federal consent decree by leaving hundreds of defendants with serious mental illness waiting in county jails for months without competency restoration treatment. A federal judge found the state fell short of required reforms, and average wait times of more than seven months remain far above court-ordered targets.
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14mStill Waiting: Oklahoma’s Mental Health System Leaves Defendants Waiting in Jail Despite Court Order to Fix Delays
Oklahoma faces federal scrutiny as mentally ill defendants languish in county jails for months, awaiting court-ordered competency restoration treatment in a system struggling with capacity and constitutional delays.
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26mSealed Records, 11-Minute Hearings, Hidden Conflicts: Inside Oklahoma's Broken Guardianship System
Oklahoma's guardianship system is failing the vulnerable people it is meant to protect, marked by sealed records, compressed hearings, undisclosed conflicts of interest and judges without adequate training. Three cases from a single Oklahoma County courtroom expose structural weaknesses that experts say are widespread but particularly acute in Oklahoma.
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17mOklahoma's Housing Paradox: Vacant Units Everywhere, Affordable Ones Nowhere
Oklahoma has more than 220,000 vacant housing units, yet faces a shortage of 80,000 rental homes affordable to its lowest-income residents. Rising construction costs, aging housing stock and a broken financing system mean empty buildings coexist with a housing crisis — and experts say there is no single fix.