First DHS Joint Citizens Advisory Panel Meeting Scheduled Today

OKLAHOMA CITY --The Oklahoma Department of Human Services (DHS) Joint Citizens Advisory Panel will hold its first meeting Wednesday, August 14, at the Credit Union House, 631 East Hill Street in Oklahoma City, beginning at 10 a.m.

House Bill 3137 from 2012 established four citizen advisory panels in the areas of administration, aging issues, children and family issues, and disability issues.

They will serve to provide advice, information, findings and analysis to the Director regarding policies and practices of DHS and their impact on outcomes. The panels will study and make recommendations to the Director regarding the management and operation of DHS, and will also offer recommendations for the implementation of the Pinnacle Plan.

Each advisory panel will meet at least four times a year; the entire Joint Citizens Advisory Panel will meet at least once a year.

The Human Services Commission for the DHS was abolished by the voters of Oklahoma on Nov. 6, 2012 with the passage of State Question State Question 765.

Previously, the Commission had oversight of DHS, but the passage of SQ 765 means that the Director of DHS makes all decisions for the agency and reports directly to the Governor.

The four citizen advisory panels will report to the Director and provide advice and recommendations on Administration issues, Aging issues, Children and Family issues, and Disability issues. Each advisory panel has five members, with one member on each panel appointed by the Governor, the Speaker of the House, the Senate Pro Tempore, the Minority House Leader and the Minority Senate Leader.

Agenda:

DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES
JOINT CITIZENS ADVISORY PANEL MEETING
Aug. 14, 2013 10 a.m.
CREDIT UNION HOUSE
631 EAST HILL STREET
OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA

AGENDA
Call to Order and Roll Call

Welcome and Opening Comments – Ed Lake, Director

10:15 a.m. Legislative Intent of House Bill 3137 –Senator Greg Treat and Representative Jason Nelson

10:30 a.m. Co-Neutrals –Eileen Crummy, Kathleen Noonan, and Kevin Ryan

10:45 a.m. Open Meeting Act and Open Records Act – Jan Preslar, Attorney General’s Office

11:15 a.m. Finance and Administrative Services –Melissa Lange, Finance Division

11:45 a.m. - Lunch

12:15 p.m. Media Relations – Sheree Powell, Director, Communications and Community Relations

12:30 p.m. Services under the oversight and direction of Chief of Staff:
12:30 Diane Haser-Bennett, Director, Human Resource Management
12:40 Connie Schlittler, Director, Planning/Research/Statistics
12:50 Samantha Galloway, Coordinator, Intergovernmental Relations/Policy

1:00 p.m. Legal Services – Richard Freeman, Legal Services Division

1:15 p.m. Community Living and Support Services - Mark Jones, Chief Coordinating Officer, Community Living and Support Services

1:45 p.m. Adult and Family Services – Jim Struby, Director, Adult and Family Services

2:15 p.m. Child Welfare and the Oklahoma Pinnacle Plan – Deborah Smith, Director, Child Welfare Services

Adjournment

Go to http://www.okdhs.org/divisionsoffices/panel/default.htm for additional information and a complete list of scheduled meetings.

STATEMENT on DHS Director Ed Lake Decision to Cancel Contracts for Recruitment, Retention of Bridge Resource Families

OKLAHOMA CITY – The bipartisan group of four members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives who constituted the working group on the state Department of Human Services reforms created in 2011, issued the following statement today in response to the cancelation by Oklahoma Department of Human Services Director Ed Lake of recently awarded contracts for the recruitment and retention of foster care Bridge Resource Families:

“We are in complete agreement with the decision today by Oklahoma DHS Director Ed Lake to cancel recently awarded contracts for the recruitment and retention of Bridge Resource Families.

“The reasons cited by Director Lake as the basis for his decision to cancel the contracts are the same problems we identified and shared with the agency. 

“Our biggest concerns are the arbitrary geographic boundaries which ignore the reality of what it takes to recruit a foster family and that only one vendor was selected for each geographic area. These concerns were shared by everyone we heard from concerning the results of this contracting process. 

“We realize that this move by the department will unfortunately further delay the essential step of partnering with private organizations to recruit, train and support foster families. However, we believe moving forward with the current process would yield significantly worse results over the long run compared to a delay in the short run necessary to address these significant issues. 

“This public-private partnership is the centerpiece of recent DHS reforms including the Pinnacle Plan.

“We have no concerns with any of the entities that were awarded contracts and the canceling of these contracts are not a reflection on those private agencies. We understand that every vendor who submitted a bid is a licensed child placing agency each with impressive credentials.

“We believe the action taken today by Director Lake is a bold and necessary step for the success of this public-private partnership which is vital to meeting the goals of the Pinnacle Plan. 

“We support this action and commend the employees of the Department for their extraordinary commitment to recent reforms.”

Members of the House working group on DHS:

House Majority Floor Leader Pam Peterson
Representative Jason Nelson
Representative Pat Ownbey
Representative Wade Rousselot

Read the letter sent to contractors by OKDHS Director Ed Lake

SQ 765 necessary to rebuild Oklahoma’s broken Department of Human Services

Supporters say the welfare of Oklahoma’s children need a voice

OKLAHOMA – Passage of State Question 765 is a major component of Oklahoma’s effort to rebuild and improve the state’s broken Department of Human Services (DHS). The welfare of Oklahoma’s children, families, aging and disabled need a voice, supporters and authors of the ballot measure said Friday at a news conference at the Oklahoma State Capitol.

“Currently, the Department of Human Services is largely governed by a volunteer board which, however well-intentioned, does not answer to voters,” said Governor Mary Fallin. “The passage of SQ 765 will put authority for appointing an agency director in the hands of the governor, who was chosen to represent the people of Oklahoma and whose job it is to be responsive to their concerns. I am supportive of SQ 765 because it offers the governor more flexibility to pursue the reforms and improvements needed to keep Oklahoma children safe and to deliver higher quality services.”

See also: DHS will be improved, not abolished by SQ765

See also: Vote YES on SQ765 for Real DHS Reform

Under the watch of the DHS nine-member board, the Oklahoma Commission of Human Services, numerous child deaths, lawsuits and the resignation earlier this year of the DHS chairman have occurred.

Five-year-old Serenity Deal died while in the custody of the state in 2011, after repeated concerns were expressed by her foster parents about the danger she was in. DHS employees testified as to the safety of her father’s home, despite proof of repeated physical injuries.

Linda Terrell

“The Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy fought hard last session to bring bold reforms to the broken child welfare system through the Serenity Project,” said Linda Terrell, OICA executive director. “The next crucial step is for voters to say yes to SQ 765 to abolish an antiquated oversight commission to bring greater accountability and ensure the safety of our most vulnerable Oklahomans.”

“The death of any child is tragic, but when a child dies because a government bureaucracy failed them is simply unacceptable,” said Annette Deal, grandmother of Serenity Deal. “Voting yes on State Question 765 means we are doing everything in our power to ensure no family has to endure the pain of losing a child the way our family lost Serenity.”

Under the watch of the DHS commission, DHS recently paid $9,500 to settle a lawsuit filed after a temporary DHS worker picked up the wrong girl from a Harrah elementary school in 2006. Additionally, the agency is involved in a lawsuit with a New York-based child advocacy group, Children’s Rights, that alleges Oklahoma’s system of caring for abused and neglected children is so bad that children are being injured and otherwise harmed while in shelters and foster homes. Earlier this year, the state of Oklahoma paid $300,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by a mother who hid her young girl after DHS workers allegedly rejected concerns the girl had been molested.

“The agency’s governance structure is broken. It’s a 1930s governance model that fails to meet the needs of a complex 21st century agency,” said Rep. Jason Nelson, R-Oklahoma City and leader of the House DHS Working Group. “Nearly all the agency’s major problems can be traced back to an unaccountable commission and the historical tendency to insulate the director from any real accountability. If DHS is really going to improve, it must start at the top.”

In 2009, 3-year-old Ryan Weeks was beaten to death after being placed back in his mother’s custody from foster care despite pleading with the agency not to return the boy to the home. The mother’s live-in boyfriend eventually pleaded no contest to first-degree murder.

“Weeks spent his entire life in a home plagued by drug abuse and domestic violence,” said Steven Dow, executive director of the Community Action Project of Tulsa County and former DHS commissioner. “Children like him need the support and encouragement of a child welfare system that works and acts as a savior.”

DHS Commission meeting earlier this year

Three former or current Oklahoma Commissioners of Human Services, including Dow, are in favor of SQ 765 and getting rid of the commission altogether. The additional members include, Anne Roberts and former chairman Brad Yarbrough, who is a current commissioner.

Voter approval of the measure would end Oklahoma’s distinction as the only state where the director reports to an unelected commission rather than a governor whose elected position makes them directly accountable to the people ofOklahoma.

If the state question passes, HB 3137, passed in the legislature earlier this year, would require the DHS director to be appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate. Currently, the director is hired by the Commission for Human Services.

“It puts the agency’s leadership closer to the people because the governor is accountable to all the people of Oklahoma,” Nelson said. “The pressure will be on the agency director to do what is right or they’ll have to answer to all the people ofOklahoma rather than an unelected, unaccountable commission. This agency is too important to leave it in the hands of people who don’t directly answer to the public.”

HB 3137 would also establish advisory panels that would monitor each of the agency’s divisions to help agency leadership make informed decisions. The legislation was developed and supported collectively by a bipartisan group of legislatures comprised of House Speaker Kris Steele, R-Shawnee; Reps. Wade Rousselot, D-Okay; Jason Nelson, R-Oklahoma City; Pat Ownbey, R-Ardmore; Pam Peterson, R-Tulsa; and Sens. Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City and Rick Brinkley, R-Owasso.

“The state question would not only abolish the commission but also a bad statute that goes back to 1936, Dow said. “Nothing has happened or can happen to improve the system because of the laws that are currently in effect. It’s time to change our system and SQ 765 is the first step.”

“A vote for SQ765 is a vote to fix DHS,” said Sen. Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City. “It is a vote to bring greater oversight and accountability that is desperately needed.”

Ceremonial Signing Held for Victims’ Rights Bill

OKLAHOMA CITY (June 22, 2012) – A ceremonial signing held today recognizes the passage of an important new law that will allow Oklahomans to obtain lifetime victim protective orders, according to the bill’s author, state Rep. Wade Rousselot (D-Okay).

House Bill 2396, authored by Rousselot, extends the time in which a victim protective order remains in effect from three to five years and allows for a continuous victim protective order under certain conditions.

“Oklahoma, along with the rest of the nation is plagued with domestic violence,” said Rousselot. “The victims of this mental and physical abuse are usually, but not always, women. When a victim fears for their safety because of escalating threats or even instances of violent behavior, they seek a form of protection, just as any of us would. A protective order sets boundaries between the victim and their tormentor. If violated, the tormentor goes to prison.”

Rousselot said in order to renew a protective order, a victim has to face their tormentor in court. Extending the length of time in which the order remains in effect and allowing for a continuous protective order in certain cases, places less of a burden on the victim, he said.

“The continuous protective order ensures the victims who have the most egregious tormentors do not have to face them every five years in court in order to renew the order,” said Rousselot.

House announces major DHS reforms

OKLAHOMA CITY – House Speaker Kris Steele and the House DHS Working Group today announced plans to finalize legislation designed to significantly improve components of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services.

The legislation comes as the agency prepares to implement the Pinnacle Plan, the child welfare services improvement plan the agency is developing with a panel of national experts.

“DHS is on the verge of the sweeping culture change it has so desperately needed for years,” said Steele, R-Shawnee. “The House DHS Working Group was just as involved in making the Pinnacle Plan the strong plan it is today as it was in developing these vital reforms. If these measures pass and the Pinnacle Plan is implemented, the most vulnerable Oklahomans will be far better served and the state as a whole will benefit tremendously.”

Among the group’s policy recommendations this session are to:

• Vertically integrate the agency’s child welfare division;
• Abolish the Commission for Human Services;
• Allow for gubernatorial appointment of the DHS director;
• Disclose more information on child welfare cases;
• Establish a worker certification program.

Specific legislative language outlining those proposals and others will be introduced this week into DHS reform measures that are awaiting action in conference committees.

The policy proposals were developed collectively by the bipartisan House DHS Working Group comprised of Reps. Jason Nelson, R-Oklahoma City, Pam Peterson, R-Tulsa, Pat Ownbey, R-Ardmore, and Wade Rousselot, D-Okay.

“This legislation is about culture change from the top to the bottom,” said Nelson, the leader of the working group.

Since October, the House DHS Working Group has engaged in an aggressive, four-pronged strategy to improve DHS through significant study of and reforms to the agency’s governance, structure, personnel policy and resource allocation. Steele formed the group in response to a shared desire between House members, agency officials and other stakeholders to improve delivery of services by DHS, particularly for children in state custody.

The working group operated in an unconventional manner by holding nearly all of its meetings outside the Capitol, often times on the front lines with DHS workers across the state. So far, the group has met with more than 400 workers in 22 counties. The group will continue working in the future.

“Many of our recommendations are based on what we’ve learned from the DHS workers who do these critical jobs day in and day out. We wanted to hear from them rather than them hearing from us,” Peterson said. “A lot of our group’s ideas went into the Pinnacle Plan. Some of these bills complement parts of the Pinnacle Plan and others go beyond it with reforms that will reshape DHS for the better.”

THE LEGISLATION

Speaker Outlines New DHS Strategy, Rep. Nelson to Lead Effort

Speaker Kris Steele
R-Shawnee

OKLAHOMA CITY – House Speaker Kris Steele and a bipartisan group of five representatives today unveiled the first steps of a strategy to reform the Oklahoma Department of Human Services.

The House’s aggressive, four-pronged strategy is designed to improve DHS through significant study of and potential reforms to governance structure, agency structure, personnel policy and resource allocation. The plan is in response to a shared desire between House members, agency officials and other stakeholders to improve delivery of services by DHS, particularly for children in state custody.

“Today we begin working together to find a better way,” said Steele, R-Shawnee. “The Legislature has made incremental DHS reforms over the years, but more improvements are needed. The comprehensive reform we seek is only achievable if we all truly cooperate and work toward a common goal. It won’t be easy, but what we’re saying today is we’re going to buckle down and get there together.”

Steele has asked a bipartisan group of five representatives to engage in a strategic review of DHS to develop policy to consider next legislative session.

Governor Mary Fallin released a statement today after the announcement.

“When I appointed Brad Yarbrough and Wes Lane to the DHS commission, I asked them to pursue reforms that would allow the agency to better protect our children and increase accountability, transparency and efficiency,” Fallin said. “The goals outlined today by Speaker Steele, a bipartisan group of legislators, and agency officials is the logical next step in that process.”

Leading the group will be Rep. Jason Nelson, R-Oklahoma City, who has spent this summer and past years reviewing DHS to look for potential reforms. Other members of the group are Reps. Pam Peterson, R-Tulsa, Pat Ownbey, R-Ardmore, Rebecca Hamilton, D-Oklahoma City, and Wade Rousselot, D-Okay. All members of the group have certain areas of expertise in human services.

“Make no mistake: This is no typical legislative committee. There will be no sitting in hearings making motions and watching PowerPoints all day,” Nelson said. “DHS faces serious challenges that necessitate us getting out of the Capitol and into the field.”

The group will operate in a unique manner, with much of its work occurring in small meetings with DHS workers in the field, where the group will observe how policies are implemented and analyze organizational strengths and needs. The group will also meet with other agency officials and leaders, DHS commissioners and other stakeholders.

“The Legislature already has a wealth of knowledge about this agency, so there is no need to duplicate what we’ve already done. Instead, we’re taking a somewhat outside-the-box approach,” Nelson said. “I’m confident this is exactly the type of approach needed in order to achieve real reforms that ensure DHS delivers the results Oklahomans expect. Our sense of urgency could not be any higher.”

The group’s meetings with workers will be private to allow for candid conversation and disclosure of sensitive information. The group will also engage in an in-depth study of the agency’s structure and resource allocation to determine if better results could be achieved through reorganization and reprioritizing resources. A public report on the group’s findings will be presented during a public meeting sometime next year.

Steele said DHS reform will be a policy priority in the House next session.

“My expectation is one I believe most Oklahomans share, and that is to do whatever it takes to produce serious improvement at DHS,” Steele said.

Officials at DHS – the largest agency in state government – pledged to give the group the access it needs to the agency in order to do its work.

“We thank Speaker Steele and the House for their willingness to work together to find solutions and look forward to assisting in every way possible,” DHS Director Howard Hendrick said. “This process will do a lot of good and I’m glad to be part of it.”

DHS commissioners also expressed support for the group’s plans.

“We are fully committed to building a better DHS for the 21^st century and appreciate the opportunity to collaborate with Speaker Steele and all legislators in this process,” said incoming Oklahoma Commission for Human Services Chairman Brad Yarbrough. “It won’t be easy, but the best work never is. We stand ready for the challenge.”

The Oklahoma Public Employees Association also expressed support for the House plan.

“We appreciate these representatives for their willingness to get out of the Capitol to spend time with the workers who are on the ground protecting Oklahoma’s children,” said OPEA Executive Director Sterling Zearley. “The front line employees’ unique perspective and their experience will be valuable in this critical process.”

Rep. Ron Peters, chairman of the House Appropriations and Budget Subcommittee on Human Services, said he is appreciative of the work the group plans to do.

“I am thrilled to see my colleagues and DHS working together on solutions. It’s the right thing to do and I commend them for it,” said Peters, R-Tulsa. “I stand ready to assist in any way.”

“As a state, we must all work together to prevent the abuse and neglect of our most vulnerable citizens,” Fallin said. That’s especially true when it comes to child abuse and the heart-breaking deaths of children in state custody. We have, unfortunately, seen too many instances of both recently, and the current results are unacceptable. Today’s announcement puts us on a path to reform our systems of child welfare and better protect vulnerable Oklahomans.”