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OKLAHOMA CITY – When supporters of State Question 779 gathered at the state Capitol on June 24 to promote passage of the ballot initiative, commonly known as the Boren penny tax, one parent lamented her financial inability to send her children and grandchildren to private school.

The Oklahoma Pinnacle Plan came about as a result of the settlement of a class action lawsuit in 2012.

Oklahoma has made a substantial and wise investment over the past four years in improving its child welfare services. I have the privilege of leading the Department of Human Services (DHS) and the opportunity to see and hear stories every day that demonstrate why we do this work with such passion. This work isn’t just about following sound and effective policies and practices; it’s about people—children, families, foster parents, and case workers.

In an age of increasing political polarization, consensus is hard to come by. But sometimes when a problem is so glaring and so damaging on multiple fronts, all of us see the same thing no matter what ideological lens we are peering through. In Oklahoma, criminal justice is one of those issues.

Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines “pinnacle” as the point of greatest success or achievement. Pinnacle is the word used to describe the aspirations of Oklahoma’s child welfare system as published in the “Pinnacle Plan” by the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS). The Pinnacle Plan is the response to a federal lawsuit against the State of Oklahoma alleging chronic maltreatment of the more than 10,000 children in state custody in the child welfare system. The settlement agreement to end the lawsuit required the state to undertake extensive reforms to improve the child welfare system.

It started with a tug on our heartstrings. A few years ago, my wife and I began to feel called to foster after being challenged by our pastor, Craig Groeschel, and his wife, Amy. Life.Church consistently reminds its members that we’re called not to be spiritual consumers, but spiritual contributors. Stings a little, doesn’t it? Good. We saw a need, the tug was there, and it was time to act. The way to get started is to quit talking and start doing. So (after a lot of talking) that’s what we did.

This was a great year in Oklahoma for criminal justice reforms. Not since the passage of Justice Reinvestment legislation in 2012 have we seen such significant measures make it through the legislative process.

Governor Mary Fallin signed HB 3052 at a public ceremony in 2012 with a great deal of fanfare. The bill created the Justice Reinvestment Initiative, or JRI. The event was supposed to signal the end of one era—a “lock ‘em up and throw away the key” philosophy on criminal justice—and the beginning of a smarter approach that emphasized rehabilitation for nonviolent offenders, especially those with mental health or addiction issues.

At a private school in a secluded, somewhat upscale backstreet in northwest Oklahoma City, children are arriving to begin their day. Class sizes are small; there are about 16 children in each class. This school is exclusive; its daily capacity is 58 students. It has turned away hundreds more in the last few years.

Conservatives, as the readers of this magazine well know, emphasize the principles of individual liberty and personal responsibility over those of collective well-being and communal responsibility. Where there is a problem or a societal ill, we do not reflexively look first to government agencies for a solution.