Commission approves two full juvenile competency evaluators and names provisional candidates after training

The Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth approved credentialing actions on juvenile competency evaluators on June 25, moving two provisional evaluators to full credentialed status and approving additional provisional candidates after a training and assessment process.

Richard Yohola told commissioners the two provisional candidates who had completed a supervised provisional evaluation and were recommended by the Juvenile Competency Evaluation Professional Committee are Dr. Yemi Adeyiga and Dr. Jennifer Lancaster. The commission voted to grant full credentials to both.

Richard also reported two candidates who completed a training on May 30 at the University of Tulsa College of Law and passed post‑training assessments: Dr. Sonny Cornwell (listed in the packet as "sonic/sonny" in the transcript), Al Talakwal and Paulette Pitt (East Central University). The committee approved their provisional candidacies pending assignment to a supervised provisional evaluation; the commission voted to approve them as provisional evaluators.

Why it matters: Yohola said the program had been relying on a single psychologist for competency testing since January and that expanding the pool will reduce backlog and speed court processes. "Since January we've only had one psychologist helping us with testing statements. And so we're really excited about having these brought up for consideration," he said.

Vote: For both the full‑credential approvals and the provisional candidate approvals the commission recorded motions and unanimous roll‑call "Yes" votes from commissioners present.

Next steps: Provisional candidates will be assigned a supervised provisional competency evaluation; the professional committee will review their work and report back. Newly credentialed evaluators will be added to the roster used by courts that request competency assessments.