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.”

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

House Approves Greater Safeguards for Drug-Endangered Children

OKLAHOMA CITY (March 5, 2012) – Legislation approved by the Oklahoma House of Representatives today would require an investigation to be conducted when a drug-endangered child is identified by the Department of Human Services.

The legislation is designed to increase awareness of the problem of children exposed to the hazardous lifestyles surrounding drug abuse. The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics is in the process of restarting a Drug Endangered Child program, which will provide training to child-welfare workers and law enforcement across the state.

“Nationwide, 40 to 80 percent of families involved with child welfare have substance-abuse problems, according to the federal Office of National Drug Control Policy,” said state Rep. Pam Peterson, R-Tulsa. “There is no doubt a parent’s drug use can put children in danger, and we want to make sure we protect those kids from becoming another victim in Oklahoma’s child-death rate. This legislation will help identify these children and get them the services they need in a timely, appropriate manner and protect their lives.”

House Bill 2251, by Peterson, would require the Department of Human Services to conduct an investigation whenever a child meets the definition of a “drug endangered child” or is diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome. The bill states that the agency “shall conduct an investigation of the allegations and shall not limit the evaluation of the circumstances to an assessment.”

“By requiring an investigation instead of an assessment, we are empowering multi-disciplinary teams to make a quick determination and intervene when necessary to provide the resources and expert assistance required to protect these vulnerable children,” Peterson said.

The legislation defines a “drug-endangered child” as any child at risk of “suffering physical, psychological or sexual harm as a result of the use, possession, distribution, manufacture or cultivation of controlled dangerous substances,” by a person responsible for the welfare of the child.

The legislation was requested by the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and the legal definitions came from the National Drug-Endangered Children’s Alliance.

OBN officials said the lack of a clear definition of “drug-endangered child” in Oklahoma law has impeded response efforts.

“We must protect the most vulnerable in our state when it comes to the devastation of drug abuse,” said Darrell Weaver, director of the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics. “This is a collaborative effort to protect Oklahoma's children.”

House Bill 2251 passed the Oklahoma House of Representatives on an 86-0 vote today. The bill now proceeds to the state Senate.