The Oklahoma Family Network (OFN), Oklahoma’s Family-to-Family Health Information Center, assures family involvement in Title V work at the direct care, organizational, governance, and policymaking levels. The OFN utilizes a statewide network of families to engage families as partners and connects them to opportunities to share their voices. MCH has a multi-year agreement with OFN to ensure family involvement at the state and local levels through family participation and engagement in Title V activities. Family members are hired as paid staff or consultants for CSHCN via contractors, including OFN. OFN staff members work closely with the Title V MCH Director and Title V CSHCN Director, attending monthly planning meetings, participating in quarterly calls of Region VI Title V Directors and Region VI Health and Human Services Administration (HRSA) partners, as well as participating in multiple state-level efforts as part of Oklahoma Title V. Financial support (financial assistance, technical assistance, travel, and child care) is offered for parent activities, parent groups, youth leadership activities, and sibling support groups.

Family members are involved in both the CSHCN and MCH elements of the MCH Title V Block Grant application process. OFN participated in the planning, information gathering activities, and prioritization process for the 2016-2020 Title V Needs Assessment and the ongoing 2021-2025 Assessment. OFN staff members also attend the annual review for the block grant, providing valuable insight into programmatic activities, family needs, challenges, and participation opportunities.

Family and youth leaders participate in advisory roles statewide and OFN offers training, mentoring, coaching, and reimbursement, when appropriate. Some of the committees and advisory councils include: hospitals serving children across the state; Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) Developmental Disabilities Services; Interagency Coordinating Council for SoonerStart; Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) Preparing for a Lifetime Breastfeeding Work Group and Maternal Mood Disorder Work Group; Screening and Special Services and Newborn Screening Advisory Groups; Children with Special Needs Advisories; Oklahoma Perinatal Quality Improvement Collaborative and their leadership team; Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services Deaf and Hard of Hearing Advisory; Oklahoma Transition Council; Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Systems of Care State Advisory Team and Children’s State Advisory Work Group and multiple county coalitions; Oklahoma Health Care Authority Member Advisory Task Force and Medical Advisory Committee; and, Child Welfare and Office of Juvenile Affairs activities to reduce the number of children in custody, improve family and youth voice and to support HOPE Centers.

In partnership with Evolution Foundation, OFN has implemented a statewide Minority Advisory comprised of individuals who are Black, Native American and/or Hispanic. Members come from across the state and have been available to provide lived experience insight and guidance to the work of OFN and Evolution Foundation as well as DHS Child Welfare, Office of Juvenile Affairs, Oklahoma Mental Health and Substance Use Services (ODMHSAS) and others. Agenda items for the near future include OSDH MCH and ODMHSAS. The group has guided Thriving Families Safer Children work by Evolution Foundation and OFN as well as the Children’s State Advisory Workgroup, a state-level group comprised of agencies’ top leadership, OFN, Evolution Foundation, and individuals with lived experience guiding change within all child well-being systems. The Evolution Foundation and OFN have also helped the Office of Juvenile Affairs start a Statewide Parent Advisory which has had great success in making changes to the system. OFN and EF are moving forward with projects to improve the voice of individuals with lived experience in child welfare and other systems in Oklahoma.

OFN has and will continue to provide podcasts that include a family story about parenting a child with special needs and the sharing of resources for a number of MCH and CSHCN topic areas. All podcasts are highlighted in the quarterly OFN newsletter, promoted on OFN Facebook pages, are available on the OFN Podcast Platform, entitled “We Saved You a Seat.” Podcasts can be accessed through the listener’s favorite podcast listening app and are linked to the OFN website. The podcasts have also enabled providers to share information and resources about important topics like maternal mental health, breastfeeding, and other specific topics from agencies that partner with families. OFN has published 106 episodes with more than 7,400 total downloads, from at least 30 different countries in the last 24 months. Currently, the podcast has 106 followers through the Podbean platform. There is a long list of families who have expressed a desire to share their stories to encourage and support others, as well as advocates, agencies, and community partners willing to share information. Podcasts have been proven to bring awareness, conversation, education, and support to others as they listen to family stories and hear about community and agency resources.

OFN impacts the workforce of those in public and private health services as well as early childhood systems by providing training on topics such as: supporting families of children/youth with special needs and disabilities, family-centered care, OFN Overview of Services, Community Resources, Charting the LifeCourse, Care Notebook, Parent-Nurse Communications Class, and LEND participation and feedback activities as well as LEND mentoring from a family’s perspective. Tribal and Hispanic families are involved to promote culturally respectful service delivery. Service area training for CSHCN staff and providers is given by family members. Training on Charting the LifeCourse, family-centered care, the importance of family/professional partnerships, and family involvement at every level of decision-making have been given to state MCH staff and home-based visitation staff, the University of Oklahoma (OU), OU College of Nursing and School of Medicine, Oklahoma Health Care Authority, Oklahoma Autism Network, The Oklahoma Transition Institute, Autism Symposiums, various early intervention and school district staff, and other professionals across the state.

Family and youth leaders across the state participate in community county coalitions and advisory groups, comprised of multiple state agency staff, community leaders, clinic and hospital staff, school personnel, law enforcement, and many others. Their voice is meaningful as it drives the work of the coalitions to meet the needs of families in their counties. Some counties have youth advisory councils, which provide a venue for youth to review services being provided, attend health literacy training, and learn of opportunities for raising awareness regarding bullying and mental health in their communities, along with other important advocacy efforts.

OFN staff, family leaders and youth leaders have impacted state policy and governance by coaching families to share their stories at the Capitol, during public comment hearings, at state agency boards and committees, by participating in Newborn Hearing Screening efforts, and by having a presence on state level advisories. Some of those advisories include: State Department of Education Part C, Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, State Department of Health Information and Education Committee, the Oklahoma Perinatal Quality Improvement Collaborative and Leadership Team, the consumer advisory of the Medicaid agency and others. Participating in other state-level meetings with Title V partners, as well as hosting and participating in advocacy events in communities across the state and at the Capitol, are all forms of family and youth advocacy in Oklahoma.

For 16 years, OFN has hosted Joining Forces Family Professional Partnerships Conference. A Pre-Conference Virtual Session was provided to 49 attendees by 2022 Keynote Speaker, Eileen Forlenza providing a recap and setting the stage for the 2023 conference. The Joining Forces Conference provided by OFN and partners was hosted on March 31st, 2023, with 128 in-person and 27 virtual attendees. Keynote Speaker, Dr. Valerie Williams shared the 7 Partner Values and the importance of partnerships. Seven Breakout Sessions were provided including one hosted by Title V leadership and the Oklahoma Family Network to share family leadership opportunities within the program. Sessions were available in Spanish and ASL interpretation was provided. The annual conference contributes to activities that serve to strengthen and advance family partnerships throughout the state and in multiple programs and systems, including Title V.

OFN trainings are provided statewide in various formats and are available in Spanish and ASL interpretation upon request. The Children's Behavioral Health Conference was held in Norman at the Embassy Suites Hotel in person April 11-13. OFN staff assisted in creating the application for families to apply to attend the conference as well as the approval process & family registration. OFN also provided two sessions during the conference, as well as translation accommodation for a family. OFN assisted families when arriving and provided them with a snack bag. There were 45 families registered with their children. OFN also managed and created the youth track registration for the conference, with 60 youth in attendance. One evening during the conference a family gathering with a meal was provided for 50 people to eat and network.

In collaboration with Heartland Regional Genetics Network, OFN has the Care Notebook Training available in Marshallese, Spanish, and English. The partnership has also successfully completed videos to help families who speak Spanish understand genetics and what to expect during a genetics appointment. Additionally, the Care Notebook documents will be available on an app for ease of use on May 24, 2023. In collaboration with Family Voices, OFN has provided telemedicine training to families and professionals in English and Spanish. An effort has been made by American Indian staff and families to assure OFN trainings are agreeable to families from their culture. All trainings consider aspects of other cultures, beyond race and ethnicity, such as single moms, military families, rural and urban families, disability-specific, child welfare experience, etc. Training from a family’s perspective has been provided to the Kickapoo tribe’s early childhood program staff and foster families. Future training is planned for the Chickasaw Nation and the Choctaw Nation early childhood staff and families.

OFN staff continue to provide NICU Folders for families with OFN information, breastfeeding, safe sleep, maternal mental health education, and NICU tip sheets in English and Spanish. Staff recently added materials highlighting the period of purple crying, newborn screening information, developmental milestone items, and resource tips that support bonding with their baby.

OFN staff assist in identifying youth to provide consultation for Oklahoma Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) and MCH-related activities. Youth leadership and input into Title V and OMHSAS is becoming more and more vital to ensure the needs of youth and their families are served. These efforts assist MCH and OMHSAS in marketing efforts, planning conferences with content relevant to youth, and engaging youth to become advocates for public and mental health. OFN provides stipends for very specific leadership participation, as well as gift cards to youth/young adults who participated in focus groups and committee work all funded by OSDH MCH and OMHSAS.

OFN staff partner with community leaders to help bring awareness and conversation to maternal mental health and perinatal mood disorders through the Postpartum Support International (PSI) walk and Climb Out of The Darkness (COTD). This walk provides awareness and raises funds to support the community and those experiencing a perinatal mood and anxiety disorder.

Oklahoma Family Network continues to promote maternal mental health via support provided through the work we participate in through hospital NICUs and labor and delivery units, as we connect with families. OFN staff encourage families to educate themselves on PMADs, through conversation either during antepartum, shortly after delivery, and when the infant goes home.

Oklahoma Family Network’s work within neonatal intensive care units (NICU) to help promote maternal mood disorder awareness during the month of May included opportunities for former NICU moms and community organizations to engage in service opportunities to raise awareness. Family leaders gathered self-care items to help celebrate and support mothers in NICU which were distributed in one local NICU and included the OSDH Mom Are You Okay materials as well as self-care cards. Oklahoma Family Network family leaders hosted a tea on the Saturday before Mother's Day, and OFN staff took OFN coffee mugs full of candy and included the Mom's Minds Matter brochures from OSDH. OFN Tulsa staff brought awareness to PMADs by providing Muffins to Moms with self-care materials, information about the Mental Health Hotline, and Mom Are You Okay pamphlets. To help maintain strong and engaged hospital partnerships OFN continues to organize family-centered care perspective training(s) and support to staff. OFN hosted an informal gathering of families to assist a local hospital in understanding the needs of those they serve. Oklahoma Family Network collected comments from families and recorded conversations with two family leaders as they provided dialogue and information pertaining to nurse attentiveness and patient/family response involving core concepts such as family-centered care, helping families bond with their babies, and preparing families for discharge.