Colleen McCarty

Mar 7, 2024 | tulsaworld.com | Colleen McCarty

The first substantive deadline for bills in the Oklahoma Legislature this session was Feb. 29. The first deadline acts as a funeral for many promising policy pieces that simply did not make the cut to get a committee vote. If a bill does not pass this first hurdle, then the bill is dead for the remainder of session. Oklahoma has been on a criminal justice reform journey since 2016, when voters overwhelmingly passed State Questions 780 and 781.

Mar 2, 2024 | prbplus.com | Colleen McCarty

Forging A Clearer PathWatch the videoSignage in Saw Wee Kee Park once consisted of an inaccurate map on a kiosk in the parking lot, and painted stripes on trees along the 11 miles of mountain-biking trails. This not only made the trails difficult to navigate, but local authorities expressed concerns if there was an emergency in the 134-acre park.

Jan 11, 2024 | news.yahoo.com | Colleen McCarty

The issue of domestic violence in Oklahoma is one of such prevalence that it’s difficult to meet someone who hasn’t experienced it or grown up around it. I, myself, grew up with a mother who had been a victim of domestic violence, and she was revictimized by a different partner before I graduated high school. One of my earliest memories is sitting at my still-teenage sister’s kitchen table with her and my mother. Our voices were hushed — though I didn’t know why.

Jan 11, 2024 | tulsaworld.com | Colleen McCarty

In the past seven years, Oklahoma has made great strides on criminal justice reform. In 2016, we had the highest overall incarceration rate in the world, the highest incarceration rate for women in the world, and the highest incarceration rate of African Americans per capita in the nation.

Sep 28, 2023 | tulsaworld.com | Colleen McCarty

In Oklahoma, we’re facing a battle much bigger than when kids should start school or whether districts should move to four-day school weeks. While other states are working on more equitable school funding formulas, providing universal free lunch and considering counsel for families who want to contest their schools’ decisions on suspension, in Oklahoma we’re battling for the very existence of public education.