Lives are at Stake: Delay Oklahama SORC and NORC Vote
For Immediate Release
October 25, 2012
VOR
The newly-hired Director of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, Ed Lake, has said he wants to “hit the ground running” when he takes office on November 1.
One national organization is hoping he will trade his running shoes for walking shoes, at least to decisions pertaining to the futures of Southern Oklahoma Resource Center (SORC) in Pauls Valley, and the Northern Oklahoma Resource Center (NORCE) in Enid, which now serve 126 and 115 residents, respectively, with severe intellectual disabilities.
VOR, a national organization advocating for high quality care and human rights for all people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, has raised questions about the ability of the new Director and the Oklahoma Commission for Human Services to make an informed decision when it meets on November 1.
“November 1 marks the first day of Director Lake’s new job and only the second or third meeting for the four newly appointed Commissioners. Even the five veteran Commissioners have spent the vast majority of its time on the Children’s Rights lawsuit,” said Tamie Hopp, VOR’s Director of Government Relations & Advocacy. “For the past 11 months, the SORC family association has been allowed less than 30 minutes in public sessions of the Commission’s meetings to discuss its concerns. 10 of these minutes were only offered after a vote was tabled due to alleged Open Meetings Act violations.”
