StateImpact Oklahoma

Drug court participation fell in Oklahoma and Tulsa Counties after voters passed State Question 780 in 2016, records show. The ballot question reclassified drug possession and low-level property crimes as misdemeanors instead of felonies. District attorneys warned  the state question  would drive down drug court participation because it would hurt prosecutors’ ability to bring addicted people into...

Twenty-nineteen means a new governor for Oklahoma and a fresh class of state legislators — nearly 40 percent of whom have zero political experience. It’s a new year, but the state government’s slate hasn't been wiped clean. Here’s a roundup of some of the biggest policy issues on deck for the upcoming year and legislative session.

This year the Trump Administration said it would support states imposing “community engagement” requirements on Medicaid. That means, for the first time in the program’s history, states can require people to work a certain number of hours to be eligible for the government health program for low-income Americans. Oklahoma submitted its plan — and the state already has some of the strictest Medicaid...

Oklahoma has a shortage of drug treatment programs. People struggling with addiction who can’t afford or access private treatment have limited options — and many turn to unlicensed recovery programs that put them to work for local employers. A new joint investigation by StateImpact and The Frontier found problems at some of these programs — including reports of confiscated disability checks and fe...

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State funding covers less than half the cost of criminal prosecutions in courts across Oklahoma, state budget data show. District attorneys say this has turned local prosecutors into bill collectors, a strain prosecutors say affects attorney workloads and could lead to mistakes in the courtroom.

Nursing home staff are expected to bathe, dress and completely take care of elderly residents. But dental care is slipping through the cracks.

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Officials estimate about half of Oklahoma’s rural and mid-sized hospitals are at risk of closing. As more traditionally Republican-led states with vast rural areas consider Medicaid expansion, supporters in Oklahoma say it’s the best solution make sure rural hospitals survive.

Most defendants who are screened are released into court-ordered supervision and possibly treatment, according to agency officials who said courts that use the screening see fewer prison sentences for nonviolent felonies. They said some counties that have the program reduced the number of days people spend in jail. In Pontotoc County, the screenings are also credited with reducing the amount of ti...

The federal government is once again considering whether to use the Endangered Species Act to protect the Lesser Prairie Chicken, a finicky bird struggling to thrive in increasingly fragile western grasslands. Some landowners and environmentalists say Oklahoma and other states' conservation efforts are off track.

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Pawnee County is one of the only counties in Oklahoma without a drug court. Past attempts to set up a drug court in Pawnee County were stalled after a feud between a judge and a district attorney whose recent Republican primary loss may give local officials an opening to create their first drug court.

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This November, Oklahomans will decide if big box stores, like Walmart and Target can offer eye exams. But some optometrists say corporate involvement will lead to conveyor-belt eye exams.

This year, Oklahoma became the nation’s top incarcerator — a title that formerly belonged to Louisiana. But officials in the Bayou State said it reduced its prison population by 7.6 percent in less than a year by passing a sweeping package of reforms.

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Oklahoma is one of the few states that have no specific diagnosis listed in medical marijuana regulations, leaving it up to doctors to suss out who are serious medical patients and who are thinly disguised recreational consumers.

State Question 794 , which would give crime victims new rights under the state constitution, goes before voters on Nov. 6. Oklahoma already has a bill of rights for crime victims that includes many of the provisions the ballot initiative provides, but advocates like Vierling say the changes will help future crime victims navigate a confusing criminal justice system. 

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A brief summary of this episode

Seven people have walked away from minimum security prisons in 2018, and four of those escapes happened at Jess Dunn. In 2017, the prison had zero escapes.

Doctors in Oklahoma are barred from recommending medical marijuana to women of “childbearing years” without first conducting a pregnancy test.

The 100th Meridian passes through Oklahoma and splits the continent in two. An explorer and geologist in the late-1800s suggested this map line marked the start of the arid American West. Scientists now say he was right — and that climate change is moving it, which could have profound effects on farmers and ranchers.

Mothers struggling with addiction often have a hard time making connections with their children. This can be especially challenging for moms facing criminal charges and the prospect of jail or prison time. Experts say rebuilding these relationships can help mothers overcome their addictions — and even steer their children off the path to prison.