Week of June 22, 2014

Beginning in August 2014, Cherokee Nation Health Services is hosting enrollment fairs for Veterans Affairs Health Benefits.

In May 2014, the Nation signed an agreement with Veteran's Administration for reimbursement for veteran's medical care.

Specifically, the tribe is to be reimbursed for primary health care provided to Native American veterans.

The agreement should increase health care access and shorten wait times for veterans who are citizens of Federally-recognized Tribes.

The reimbursement applies only to those veterans who use Cherokee Nation health centers for their primary care.

The agreement allows the tribe and the VA to share patient information as needed, and gives the veterans more flexibility in where they receive their health care.

The agreement allows tribal health employees to enroll veterans for military benefits and bring in more revenue for the tribe to continue improving and expanding its health services.

The Cherokee Nation operates a hospital and employee health center in Tahlequah and eight additional health clinics inside the Tribe's boundaries.

Claremore Indian Hospital is an Indian Health Service facility and thus owned and operated by the Federal government.

Contact any of the Cherokee Nation Health Clinics or Hastings Hospital for their enrollment date and times starting August 1, 2014.

Veterans are asked to bring a copy of their DD Form 214.

The Oklahoma Department of Veteran Affairs (ODVA) will also be available for claims filing and lost DD 214 filing.

For questions, please call Rhonda Cochran at 918-772-4014, John Alley at 918-577-4261 or Bunner Gray at 918-577-3977.

For questions about Cherokee Nation Veteran Services, contact Dr. Ricky Robinson at ricky-robinson@cherokee.org and 918-453-6147 or Raymond Vann at raymond-vann@cherokee.org and 918-453-5695.

If you have questions, issues or concerns about the Cherokee Nation government, please email me at cara@caracowan.com or write me at P.O. Box 2922, Claremore, OK 74018.

For daily news and event notices, ask to be added to my Cherokee Nation News and Events email listserv. You may, also, find me on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google+ and Twitter. Lee Keener is at lee-keener@cherokee.org.

To contact the Tribe, call (918) 453-5000 or visit www.cherokee.org.

Cara Cowan Watts is an elected Tribal legislator within the Cherokee Nation for portions of Rogers and Tulsa Counties.

Cara Cowan Watts
caracowan.com

“This bill is about holding custodial parents more responsible for honoring visitation schedules. Unfortunately, the visitation rights of law-abiding noncustodial parents are continually trampled because they simply can’t afford the court costs of taking the custodial parent to court after every visitation violation,” said Sharp, R-Shawnee. “This bill keeps noncustodial parents from having to go through the hassle and expense of getting a lawyer when the custody schedule isn’t upheld by the custodial parent. They can simply fill out a form at the courthouse detailing the visitation schedule violations and the courts will reevaluate the visitation schedule and punish the violator if needs be.”

SB 1612 modifies the procedure for enforcing visitation orders of the court. It requires any order of the court providing for visitation to contain a provision stating that the custodial parent has a duty to facilitate visitation of a minor child with the noncustodial parent. In addition, the measure directs a court to award reasonable attorney fees and court costs to the prevailing party on a motion for enforcement of visitation rights.

Echols, who is a family law attorney, says violations of court-ordered visitation by custodial parents are growing at an alarming rate but the noncustodial parents typically cannot afford to fight for their rights. He also noted that a majority of District Attorney’s office in Oklahoma have a division dedicated to securing child support payments from noncustodial parents, and he’s pleased to finally see more focus being given to protecting the visitation rights of noncustodial parents.

“Currently, if a noncustodial parent is late on child support, they can face fines and jail time. Our state takes not paying child support very serious but we also need to be just as serious about custodial parents following court orders and allowing the other parent to see their children,” said Echols. “A common problem we see is that noncustodial parents usually can’t afford an attorney to fight for their visitation rights after having paid all of their child support and other support obligations. No one should have their rights violated because they can’t afford to defend themselves. This bill will give noncustodial parents the ability to fight for their visitation rights without having to worry about the expense.”

The bill allows the noncustodial parent to directly file a claim to the District Court, similar to completing a small claims form. The court will then decide whether or not an attorney is necessary to restore the visitation rights. The bill provides a template of the form that noncustodial parents can use.

“It’s emotionally devastating when one parent keeps a child away from their other parent especially because of past animosities. Those emotional issues aren’t the child’s fault and children shouldn’t be used as pawns following messy divorces,” said Sharp. “Both parents have a right to be a part of their children’s lives. This is an effort ensure both parents act responsibly and in the best interest of their children by following court orders.”

SB 1612 was strongly supported by numerous district attorneys, family law attorneys and community leaders from around the state.

The bill will go into effect November 1, 2014.

- END -

For more information, contact:

Sen. Sharp: (405) 521-5539
Rep. Echols: (405) 557-7354

Week of July 6, 2014

"Do not get sick after June" is a common saying among Native families who use Indian Health Service. In Indian Country, this time frame applies to almost every program and not just Indian Health Service.

With the $155 million Job-Driven Nation Emergency Grant from the U.S. Department of Labor, Cherokee Nation is poised to provide "training for workers who have lost their jobs in high-demand industries."

One new partnership to emerge is the welding apprenticeship with the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers Union. The apprenticeship is supposed to be a 10-week program which would normally take one year.

The grant adds an additional 100 spots for on-the-job training and vocational training.

If you have been turned down for Career Services assistance in the past year, the time is now to apply again. Do not wait!

Cherokee Nation is partnering with area businesses and employers in the fields of health care, office support, education and construction. Some partners include Cherokee Nation Businesses, as well as Cherokee Nation’s child care facilities and health services.

Enrollment for qualified individuals is now open. Participants must be members of a federally recognized tribe and reside within the Cherokee Nation’s 14-county jurisdiction.

For more information, contact Career Services at 918-453-5555.

The local Cherokee Nation Career Services Office for Rogers and Tulsa County is at 23205 South Highway 66, Claremore 74019 or one mile South of Wal-Mart on Highway 66. To call and make an appointment, call (918) 342-7453.

To find your local Career Services office, go to http://www.cherokee.org/Services/Career/OfficeLocations.aspx.

If you have questions, issues or concerns about the Cherokee Nation government, please email me at cara@caracowan.com or write me at P.O. Box 2922, Claremore, OK 74018.

For daily news and event notices, ask to be added to my Cherokee Nation News and Events email listserv. You may, also, find me on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google+ and Twitter. Lee Keener is at lee-keener@cherokee.org.

To contact the Tribe, call (918) 453-5000 or visit www.cherokee.org.

Cara Cowan Watts is an elected Tribal legislator within the Cherokee Nation for portions of Rogers and Tulsa Counties.

Cara Cowan Watts

caracowan.com

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