Sen. Burrage hopeful DHS plan will better protect children; raises concerns about funding plan if tax cuts are pushed through

Sen. Sean Burrage, Democratic Leader of the State Senate, issued the following statement after the governor and legislative leaders unveiled planned reforms for DHS.

“The plan to hire 200 new child welfare workers, recruit more foster parents and phase out shelters is extremely encouraging. I’m hopeful these initiatives will mark a real turning point in how Oklahoma deals with at-risk children and families.

“The reality is current funding levels for DHS are inadequate to implement these reforms. It will cost tens of millions of additional dollars. Yet even as this plan is being made public, there’s still a huge push to approve another income tax cut. I am concerned that it will be virtually impossible to do both. For the sake of the children of this state, it is time to get our priorities straight.”