The Republican and Democratic leaders of the Oklahoma State Senate commented on the passing of former Sen. Sam Helton, D-Lawton:

A child abuse registry created in 2010 to help child care providers screen out potential employees with findings of abuse or neglect has glaring gaps that could leave many Oklahoma children at risk. That’s according to Sen. AJ Griffin, who requested an interim study to look at the issue. The Senate Health and Human Services Committee heard testimony Tuesday about the child abuse registry known as Joshua’s List, named for a two-year-old killed by a family child care home provider.

Nationwide, more than 70 percent of wrongful convictions in criminal cases were tied to misidentification by eyewitnesses. In Oklahoma, that’s the case in about 30 percent of such cases. On Monday, members of the Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony on the need for law enforcement to adopt proven methods aimed at improving the reliability of eyewitness identification. State Sen. David Holt requested the interim study.

The Senate Education Committee Wednesday held an interim study on child sexual abuse in Oklahoma’s schools.

“Creating a safe environment in our schools is a top priority,” said Sen. Kyle D. Loveless (R-Oklahoma City), who requested the study. “As the father of two daughters, I want to know they are safe and learning while at school-that’s why I will continue to work on this issue.”
Much of the study focused on preventing abusers from moving from district to district.