The mission of the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy (OICA) is to create awareness, taking action, and supporting policy to improve the health, safety, and well-being of Oklahoma’s children.”
Funding from the PPF grant will help support the Inaugural Advocacy Boot Camp, originally known as the Kids Count Leadership Program, and will consist of six different sessions spread across the year. Participants will learn legislative procedures, how to educate legislators and the public about important issues to support the well-being of Oklahoma’s children and gain a deeper understanding of the resources that exist across Oklahoma. The goal for class size is 35 for the initial program.
The six sessions will include a kickoff at St. Crispin’s Conference Center + Camp and meetings at the State Capitol, in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, with tribal nations, and rural communties. The meetings will provide a history of child advocacy in Oklahoma and the current conditions faced in our state.
The outcome is similar to the intended outcome of the Leadership Program. OICA intends to build a strong advocacy network of individuals who work in various areas of child advocacy to acquire and/or improve their advocacy efforts and skills.