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.”

In a tumultuous week for DHS, revised Pinnacle Plan unveiled

By Patrick B. McGuigan and Stacy Martin at CapitolBeatOK (Published: 14-Jun-2012)

In the midst of a tumultuous week for governance at the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, a revised version of the transformational “Pinnacle Plan” has been released. 

Circulation of the new draft (dated June 1) came just 48 hours after Human Services Commission Chairman Brad Yarborough – facing a no-confidence vote pressed by at least three of the commission members – resigned from the top job, while agreeing to stay on the panel. 

Peter J. Rudy of Oklahoma Watchdog.org covered Tuesday’s “contentious meeting” and has the details here. 

The revised Pinnacle Plan has been sent to the three “co-Neutrals,” out-of-state analysts and decision-makers empowered by litigation settled earlier this year. The work of the co-Neutrals, as result of litigation administered by the federal courts, is not subject to Oklahoma’s open meeting and open record provisions. 

The new rendition of the state’s comprehensive reform plan for DHS is the result of several revisions crafted since March 30. The new version is characterized in a release from DHS as “an outline of improvements the [state] DHS will make in targeted areas of the state’s Child Welfare System. It will serve as a guideline for the agency to follow as it works to improve the care of Oklahoma’s foster children.

“The plan was revised after feedback from the plaintiffs, co-neutrals, legislators, Governor’s staff, OKDHS Commission members, and OKDHS staff. The plan contains minor revisions that ensure clarity of the goals and initiatives. Some changes were made to move initiatives forward in Years One and Two, such as ensuring children under two are not placed in shelters and the supervisor training/mentoring program is developed earlier.

 

“During the next 45 days, the plaintiffs and co-neutrals will once again review the document and the co-neutrals will either endorse or not endorse the Pinnacle Plan. If endorsed, OKDHS will finalize the baselines and metrics over the next several months. If not endorsed, the co-neutrals can modify the plan to meet their expectations as outlined in the Settlement Agreement. During the approval process, OKDHS and the co-neutrals will begin the work of establishing baselines and targets along with the data experts.”

Deborah G. Smith, Director of the OKDHS Children and Family Services Division said, in comments sent to CapitolBeatOK, “We hope this becomes the final version.  We have made some minor adjustments, and believe this plan will provide a valuable outline with which we can operate in the years to come. We are ready for an approved plan so we can begin implementation.”

Chairman Yarborough disclosed his resignation from the top job on Tuesday (June 12). He had sought to continue drawing on the expertise of two former commissioners (Steven Dow and Anne Roberts) for working panels, but that idea now appears inoperative. 

Yarborough said he had to stop being chairman because “an excessive investment of time. It has been a privilege to serve as Chairman these past eight months. I accepted at a time when the DHS faced many significant challenges. The role has been difficult and demanding. I’m pleased that, with the help of other Commissioners, agency staff, the [attorney general], Legislature and Governor, the DHS has turned a critical corner. Recent achievements have, by most accounts, been historic. Serving as the Chair has been satisfying and I hope that it has benefitted our state.

 

“The duties as Chairman have required an excessive investment of time. But, because of the critical and worthy nature of the assignment, the sacrifice was merited. However, this level of involvement is unsustainable. Business opportunities and personal priorities now require more attention. To adequately accommodate, it’s necessary to resign as Chairman,” he said.

Governor Mary Fallin first appointed Yarbrough on Sept. 8, 2011.  On the same date, she appointed former Oklahoma County District Attorney Wes Lane, who is now reportedly under consideration for the chairmanship. Lane and Yarborough, conservative Republicans, had worked closely with Dow and Roberts, liberal Democrats and appointees of former Governor Brad Henry.

Several of the board majority’s steps toward accountability and better performance have been opposed by other Henry-era commissioners. Dow and others have said the commission structure is outdated and not adaptive to contemporary needs of DHS. 

As a result of many factors – legislative enactment, judicial scrutiny, litigation, and new legislation, the governance structure for the agency is on the verge of comprehensive transformation, including the role of the governing commission.

The Legislature boosted DHS funding by $50 million this spring; half of that increase is to finance early stages of the Pinnacle Plan. 

If voters agree in November, the commission will be abolished and the governor empowered to name top employees at the agency. Rudy reports this week’s contentious meeting “will certainly be an example used by those who want the reforms as a reason for why they are needed.” 

It is quite conceivable that whomever is named to succeed Yarborough will be the last Human Services Commission Chairman. Meanwhile, commissioners (and the governor) were unsatisfied after a first round look at potential candidates to replace DHS Director Howard Hendrick, and beginning a broader national search for additional candidates.

Ethics Commission to Reconsider Steven Dow Reprimand

The Oklahoma Ethics Commission has called a Special Meeting tomorrow, Friday, June 15, to discuss a request by Steven Dow to rescind or expunge from the record his public reprimand.


The meeting will be held at 10:15 a.m., at the State Capitol in Room 432A.


The agenda indicates former DHS Commissioner Steven Dow has submitted "written evidentiary materials in support of his request to rescind, set aside or expunge from the record his public reprimand." 


Last month Commissioners Steven Dow and Anne Roberts of the Oklahoma Commission for Human Services resigned from the Commission after a letter by the Oklahoma Ethics Commission identified a conflict of interest concerning Dow’s simultaneous service as both a DHS commissioner and chief executive officer of the Community Action Project, a charitable corporation which operates daycare and child education facilities. 

Roberts, although not named in the Ethics Commission letter, resigned to address a potential conflict between her service as a commissioner and her employment with Integris Heath.

Former Commissioner Dow on Eliminating the DHS Commission

Two DHS Commissioners Resign

OKLAHOMA CITY—Governor Mary Fallin today accepted the resignations of Commissioners Steven Dow and Anne Roberts of the Oklahoma Commission for Human Services.

The resignations were offered after a letter by the Oklahoma Ethics Commission identified a conflict of interest concerning Dow’s simultaneous service as both a DHS commissioner and chief executive officer of the Community Action Project, a charitable corporation which operates daycare and child education facilities. Roberts, although not named in the Ethics Commission letter, resigned to address a potential conflict between her service as a commissioner and her employment with Integris Heath.

(See Commissioner Steven Dow's letter to Gov. Mary Fallin)

Rep. Jason Nelson, R-Oklahoma City, worked closely with both commissioners in his role as chair of the four member House Working Group on DHS and as a participant in The Pinnacle Plan working group.

“The reality and timing of Steven and Anne’s departure is very unfortunate for the ongoing reforms that both played such a critical part in helping bring about,” said Nelson. “It seems Commissioner Dow went out of his way to avoid any conflicts so the news is even more disappointing. 

"Steven and Anne are exactly the kind of volunteer public servants we need more of and I’m sorry to see them leave the commission. Because of the relevant experiences both Steven and Anne brought to the commission it made them extremely effective in helping prevent an ill advised trial in the Children’s Rights class action lawsuit and in helping craft the first-of-its-kind plan to reform our child welfare system under the unique settlement agreement in the lawsuit.”

Governor Fallin said she valued the service of both Dow and Roberts.

“Both Steven Dow and Anne Roberts are dedicated public servants who have poured countless hours into their roles at the Department of Human Services.” Fallin said. “Their work on the Pinnacle Plan, for example, will help to ensure that a new wave of reforms can be implemented at DHS that better care for children in state custody. Both have also been essential in the search for a new director.

“My thanks go out to Steven and Anne for their years of service as well as the selflessness they continue to exhibit by their actions today.”