The Anne Roberts People’s Choice Award celebrates an individual and an organization serving youth in our state. It is named for the longest serving executive director for the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy (OICA). Please go to our website https://www.oica.org and vote for your favorites until Saturday afternoon!

Here are the nominees: Sarah Herrian – As the director for the Foster Care Association of Oklahoma, Sarah’s passion for her work helping foster children and their foster families is life changing.

A Jaye Johnson – A Jaye is the VP at the Boys and Girls of Oklahoma County and acts as a mentor for children that have no father figure in their life.

Te’Ata Loper – As the founding executive director of the Oklahoma Indian Child Welfare Association, Te’Ata has over 20 years of experience shaping impactful programs and policies.

Shelby Lynch – Shelby Lynch has been the Director of Education at The CARE Center and has spearheaded the nonprofit’s vision to end child abuse in Oklahoma County through prevention education.

Pamela Neeley – Pam works with Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma, Inc., providing civil legal assistance to low-income persons throughout Oklahoma, works in Kid Space, and represents and helps many families across Oklahoma with pro bono services.

Mary Beth Talley – Mary Beth has taught for 18 years and is but one of the many early childhood educators in Oklahoma who deserve recognition, and her award would be symbolic for all educators in our state.

Angels Foster Family Network has been fighting for better policies, procedures, and outcomes for children in foster care since 2008. Their model of care is unique in that we only place one child or sibling group per family so that we can help create strong trust, bonding and healing for children and families.

Anna’s House Foundation is a faith-based organization whose mission is to provide immediate, stable, and loving homes for Oklahoma’s children in state custody, offering a future of hope and faith to foster children and foster families by providing housing, support, training, and resources in a Christian community setting.

The Comeback Kid Society is a nonprofit that teaches young people of all ages that are at high risk for incarceration. The organization meets kids in every component of where they are at: Juvenile Detention centers, treatment centers, schools, foster homes, and group home facilities.

The Demand Project fights child trafficking in Oklahoma. From rescuing children from trafficking situations to working with legislators to tighten child pornography laws, they are making a difference in the lives of at-risk youth.

Parent Promise has helped more than 7,500 Oklahoma families develop loving and nurturing homes where children can flourish into healthy adults since its inception in 1988. They collaborate one-on-one with parents to provide resources and guidance through free, voluntary programs administered by child development professionals.

Peaceful Family Oklahoma has provided care to children living with addiction in their homes, usually one or both parents, and sometimes a sibling for 10 years. Based on the same therapeutic model used for children at the Betty Ford clinics, PFO provides a free program that helps children understand the addiction is not their fault, that their job is to be a kid, and that it is OK to love the person but not the addiction.

The Toby Keith Foundation encourages the health and happiness of pediatric cancer patients and to support OK Kids Korral, a home for children battling cancer. The Toby Keith Foundation has been helping children with cancer since 2006 and has streamlined its efforts around no-cost housing for children with cancer.

These individuals and organizations are wonderful Oklahomans doing very important work. OICA is proud to celebrate each!

– The Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy was established in 1983 by a group of citizens seeking to create a strong advocacy network that would provide a voice for the needs of children and youth in Oklahoma, particularly those in the state’s care and those growing up amid poverty, violence, abuse and neglect, disparities, or other situations that put their lives and future at risk. Our mission statement: “Creating awareness, taking action and changing policy to improve the health, safety, and well-being of Oklahoma’s children.