Standing alongside lawmakers and church leaders, Gov. Kevin Stitt announced the new office at the state capitol on Thursday.
“I love President Ronald Reagan's quote when he said government is not the solution,” Stitt said. “The Office of Faith-Based Initiatives is not meant to be another government program.”
The government program at the center of the office is called Be a Neighbor. It’s an online platform to connect churches and non-profit organizations with state agencies to coordinate social services.
Andrea Stasyszen, who has served as the Strategic Engagement Deputy Director for the Oklahoma Department of Human Services for nearly a decade, will lead the office. She says Be a Neighbor will act as a database of local resources for Oklahomans who need them.
“Organizations update their information so resources are always current, and individuals can search local communities and services that they need,” Stasyszen said. “ It's my deep belief that we can’t do the work we do alone, that we are stronger together.”
State Representative Ajay Pittman, D-OKC, co-sponsored House Bill 3840, which would have created this office through the legislature. The bill didn’t make it to a full vote in the Senate but seemingly inspired the office Stitt announced today.
Pittman says the office is not a violation of the separation of church and state, merely a collaboration between the two.
“This is just good government,” Pittman said. “We know that the churches already have the infrastructure, they already have the resources, and they already have the relationships.”
The office hopes to leverage those boons to address social issues in the state. Stitt says the office’s focus on family, fatherhood, food security and foster care dovetails with his agenda of what he’s deemed pro-family policies.
Then-President George W. Bush established a similar federal office via executive order in 2001. Stitt emphasized that the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld that governments cannot exclude faith-based organizations from programs and that this office will work with secular non-profit organizations as well.
