DOC Update Oct 09 final.pdf

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DOC Update June 09 (2).pdf

May 20, 2008

For Immediate Release:

OSR Disturbance Spotlights Prison Issues

Oklahoma City—A deadly fight at an Oklahoma correctional facility this week is shining new light on continuing problems inherent in the state’s prison system.

“We first want to commend our legislators for their increase in funding for Corrections,” said Sterling Zearley, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Public Employees Association (OPEA). “But the underlying problem in our prisons remains--and that is overcrowding and the lack of personnel.”

Two inmates were killed Monday and more than a dozen injured during a fight at the Oklahoma State Reformatory in Granite, one of the state’s oldest prisons.

“There continues to be severe problem areas which include recruiting and retention as well as infrastructure problems.  Salaries need to be brought to market price and the number of officers increased.

“Ultimately this is a safety issue, one that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later.  If conditions persist the way they are now, the safety of other inmates, our employees as well as our citizens could be at risk,” Zearley added.

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Oklahoma’s Department of Human Services recently received an incentive payment of more than $600,000 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for finding new, permanent families for state children leaving foster care.

For federal fiscal 2007, DHS finalized 1,250 foster care adoptions, 86 more than the baseline set in 2006.  DHS also finalized 591 special needs adoptions, an increase of 144. 

Each foster child adoption above the specified baseline earned the state $4,000; each child under the age of 9 with special needs earned the state $2,000.  The Adoption Incentive Payment Program pays incentive funds to states that increase the number of children adopted in specific circumstances.  ACF rewards states that exceed the overall foster child adoption, older child adoption or special needs adoption baselines.

“Finalized adoptions indicate true, forever families,” said DHS Director Howard Hendrick.  “Our success is due to many, many persons.  Our permanency, planning staff and our Swift Adoption team work together with the prospective adoptive families.  Mostly we are grateful for the wonderful commitment of the families who fold these special children into their existing families.  Their commitment makes a great difference.”

Oklahoma Public Employees Association Executive Director Sterling Zearley said that, all too often, all the good news from DHS gets overshadowed.

“Last week, during our lobby day for DHS workers, we had an opportunity to get the message out that these are dedicated, hard working public servants,” he said.  “We plan to help spread the word about our fine members of this agency.”

Over the past few weeks, OPEA has collected information from DHS workers about the work they do and how the increasing caseloads and high turnover has affected the services they provide and their families. The stories tell of workers who stand between the working poor and despair, who rescue abused children and rock them to sleep, who help the elderly left behind by mobile families, and bring dignity to the disabled in homes or in facilities. They are keeping the promise for the citizens of Oklahoma that we will be a compassionate people. Where is the promise to them that they can have adequate pay for a long day, and often night, of work and care for their families?

These stories were told on the condition of anonymity.

The stories of DHS workers are divided into four sections; “Challenging Jobs and Dedication”, “Compensation”, and “Staff Shortages and Turnover”. Please take time to read Our Side of the Story.

Challenging Jobs and Dedication

" I specifically remember a time when my aunt had passed away. I was out of town with my amily and got a call and had to leave and come back immediately. There are times when my family goes places and I have to stay home because I am required to be within 30 minutes of my work county. My job takes me into homes that require the presence of law enforcement. I have been chased back to my car by vicious dogs. I have gone into homes that were so infested with roaches I had to undress at my back door and immediately put my clothes into the washer. Every time I go out on an investigation or assessment my life is at risk."

 

"A day in the life- it’s a good title but not exactly correct. Once I work with
a child- in many cases that child is connected to me for life. I worked with one girl who disclosed to me that she had been sexually abused by her father. She had an eating disorder due to the abuse. I was able to get her in a safe home, and she worked hard and later enrolled into college. She continues to contact me to tell me how she’s progressing. I’m happy to talk with her and we’re in each other’s lives for much longer than a day."

 

"I worked with a young boy much beyond the 9 to 5 hours. There were times I spent more time with him than with my children. He’d show up on my front porch and need to talk at the most inconvenient times. He was moved to numerous foster homes and we had many hours on the road together. Today he is married, a dad and has children of his own. He’s told me the therapeutic foster dad who he claimed to hate (because he insisted on structure and discipline) is now the model of the dad he wants to be for his children. No, these children are not in our lives for a day! A social worker is happy when a child remembers us for more than a day because we certainly remember them longer."

 

"I’m retired now and work part time in Child Welfare and I’m still getting more and more children in my life. A day in my life will probably always have a child in it at some time. That’s the way it is- that’s the way I like it!"


"First and foremost I love my job as a CWS but I see problems. I feel most of the problems stem from lack of funding…Someone needs to tell the press that we need more money so people will have to pay more taxes… I wish someone would ask the press. Whose fault is it? It is the parents and abusers, not DHS. If parents treated their children right in the first place then we wouldn’t even have a job.

We put our lives on the line every time we knock on a door because we do not know what is on the other side. We are on 24-hour call and go out any time it is necessary. We can’t tell people they will have to wait until morning. When we go out in the middle of the night, our families are left to fend for themselves, because it could be 2 hours or 20 hours before we return. I have a permanent attachment called a cell phone on my hip, it has replaced my child, because the cell phone comes first. Our jobs are stressful enough, we should not have to avoid newspapers because who knows what comes out next."

"I will call her Jane. This case was assigned to me straight out of training. She
was 14 and tired of the system. I was able to reunify her siblings and her with their mother only to remove them again six months later. I stood at the bench with her when her mother relinquished her rights in court. I held her hand at the hospital, when she suffered a miscarriage after becoming pregnant at 16. Answered my cell phone at 2:00 a.m. on more than one occasion when she needed someone she could trust to talk to. Jane has since grown up and will be 18 before the end of the year. She called a few months ago and told me that she wanted to get a picture taken with me. I told her I was not the most photogenic. Her response is what keeps me going when I wonder about how much simpler life would be in a different job. She said “I need it for my photo album. I have pictures of everyone important to me that I love in there”.

You see, for some of us this is not just a paycheck. This is a calling. We suffer from long hours, almost unmanageable caseloads, no time to take ourselves to the doctor when we have walking pneumonia and losing out on valuable family time. We spend our days trying to mend broken families while ours are being neglected.

There are days that it all seems worth it. The day a parent thanks you for showing them how to make their lives better. The day that a child hugs you and says thank you for finding me a safe and permanent home.

There are also days that you wonder if you are a worthy parent. The days when you miss your daughter’s first homerun. When your husband has to fix your daughter’s hair on picture day because you are still at the ER with a child and have been there since 7:00 the night before. When you have to look into the eyes of your own child and tell them you can not be there for their Valentines Day party at school or the field trip to the zoo because the judge does not want anyone but you in court or you have to take another child to the doctor when the foster parent can’t. Only to be told by your kiddo that it is ok because “mommy helps to keep kids safe”.

No amount of money can make up for what we miss out on or what we endure. It is the premise that we would at least have some sort of consolation that we are recognized and it is understood that our duties never end, we are on call 24/7 and willingly go.

Do I love my job? Absolutely. But I love my family more. There comes a time that you have to ask if the lives of others are worth more to you than your own health, your ten year marriage, and the lives of your children." 


" When I go to work every day I always think of my own trials and tribulations, the
struggles I faced. I put 100% in my work so the kids receive the child support that they should get. I worked on a case which the non-custodial parent was really hard to locate due to him living in another state. The custodial parent would tell us that he is hiding and we probably won’t be able to locate him. Our hard work and dedication paid off. Not only did she start getting child support we were able to deliver her a lump sum of back child support." 


"Just last night our Child Welfare unit picked up four children that are the victims of sexual abuse. I was on my way to pick up my son from daycare, running a little late as usual due to work, and received a call from our intake worker stating that she needed a placement for four children. I picked up my son and took him with me to the office, giving him some crayons and coloring sheets to keep him busy, and got on the phone to try to find a foster home that could take four children. My son, who is only four years old, became restless and hungry waiting for me to finish my job. Finally, after exhausting all of my options, I left with my son. At this point, I had resigned myself to the fact that these children were going to have to spend the night in the shelter and would look for more options in the morning. The good news is, we have managed to place each of the four siblings within our county, with one another, close to everything that they know."  


" Everyday we as social workers face an extremely challenging job and that is
helping people meet their basic needs of survival. The most important things in a person’s life that are necessary for families to function are food, clothing, shelter, medical and daycare and those are the things that we as social workers touch daily…There are days when client’s walk into the office who have no income, no education and are crying because they can not find jobs or feed their children. Then there are also days when you have a young couple who apply for FS because they too can not feed their children but due to a different situation. Their mortgage payment has sky rocketed, they are loosing their house and they have a new car payment and they have drowned themselves in debt and do not qualify for benefits because they are over income. It is even in these situations that it is up to the social worker to provide some kind of hope for the person that walked through their door surrounded in a cloud of gloom. In both situations you search through your books of information and try to give them contacts to other organizations that might be able to help, you make phone calls to see if they would qualify for low income housing and you provide them with the GED locations. As a social worker you do as much as you can to try and make someone else’s life comfortable and worth getting up the next day. After that you go home and although you are not supposed to take the work home with you it is hard to not think about the family that you had to deny for benefits, who are losing their house next week, who can’t find a job and have three little kids under four, who you certified for $426.00 worth of food benefits, but can’t afford to buy diapers or toilet paper. Then you look at yourself, your own kids come home from basketball practice asking what you’re fixing for dinner. The ice box is empty, no milk, no meat, only tea and peanut butter, no money in the bank and you don’t get paid for another week. There’s one roll of toilet paper left in your own bathroom and you have a tooth ache because you can’t afford to go to the dentist because of the portion that you are responsible for." 

" I have been a Long Term Care Nurse in DHS for 10 years. I received an
application for services on a 58 year old consumer and made arrangements with the client for a home interview and assessment. All of our assessments are completed in the home unless we are aware of a danger and then can arrange for the client to come to the office or for someone to go to the home with the assessor. Very rarely do we know what we are walking into when we go to the home as with this particular incident. I knew the neighborhood was known for crime and drugs but knew nothing about the client. During the interview, there were multiple interruptions with visitors to come and see the client. The client would get up, (using a cane to ambulate) answer the door, take the visitor to a back room, an exchange of money would take place and the visitor would leave. This happened approximately five times during a two-hour interview. I do admit to having a very uncomfortable feeling while in the home, but when I asked the client if he could finish the interview in the office, he reported that he had limited transportation and did not “feel” like coming to the office and requested that the application be finished in his home. I did complete the application, even as uncomfortable as I was. About two weeks later, this client was apprehended and taken to jail for selling drugs out of his home, but was later released on a formality. Although I was not harmed in this situation, I did know what was taking place and tried to play dumb to the incident so that I would remain safe. This is just a simple example of the impending danger that continues to escalate in our communities. I think the legislature needs to understand the lengths state employees have to go to provide services." 



" As a DHS permanency worker, I was called at 10:00 p.m. to drive to the Ardmore
shelter to pick up Oklahoma County teenagers because they had violated policy at the shelter. In that type of situation, you pick them up and have no place to take them. So, you have them at your cubicle while you call every shelter in the state. Once you find a shelter by telephone, then you and the children get back in the car and you drive to Woodward or Guymon or wherever you were fortunate enough to find a temporary placement. Keep in mind, you already went to Ardmore and back to pick the kids up. I do have positive stories of parents whom no one thought could make it……..get their kids back because of the changes they made in their lives. I also had a kid who took advantage of the Independent Living process, made a 26 on his ACT, and went to OSU." 


"At the Tulsa Laura Dester Shelter, my work day starts at 6:45 a.m. when I am
assigned to a group of children ranging in age to two-days old to 18 years old of varying sizes abilities and disabilities with a pretty good chance of getting punched in the face, bitten or worse. No it is not a detention center, we are the rescuers or the Heroes! We cuddle the abused and neglected we talk down the child who is about to run away from us the second day they are here because they were told, “Oh don't worry you will only be at the shelter for 24 hours at the most” In reality our six-year olds to 18-year olds average stay is around a month. We are the counselor who reassures the child knowing that what we say will only pacify for a short time, perhaps only for a shift. We are not trained counselors! We get to answer the questions of “Why am I here? or when can I go home?” All the while thanking God that we made it almost through another day of this child’s heart ache and pain. At least until the call comes from the supervisor saying they need three staff to stay over and you are the next on the mandate list. When was the last time you had 30 minutes to get a sitter for your own child or someone to pick them up from school because you make so little you qualify for daycare assistance and are only allowed nine hours per day? So when the parent is out buying drugs, we are rocking their kids changing their diapers and encouraging their first steps and or praising them for how well they did in shelter school."


Compensation 

" My plea is that workloads will be less so that we can work with the parents and be
able to put services in the home. That we are provided with staff, who are willing to stay at DHS. I ask that those of us who have endured the job receive incentive to stay. I believe we need regular pay raises."

 
I have been employed by OKDHS for a little over 18 years…..I also am a foster mom. I have adopted two girls (16 and 11) that I had in my care for four years. I am in the process of adopting two more (20 months and 3 years old). We have received three raises in the last ten years. The price of everything has gone up it’s not just the cost of gas. My check does not go near as far as it went four years ago. We have to be more selective in the things we choose to do. I believe that with what the four of them have been through, they deserve the best of everything. Even though I now know that I may be on a road of a lot of bumps with them – it won’t change the fact that I will adopt them.

 
"As an OKDHS employee I just wish that my wages would raise up to the level that they were four years ago even. How is this fair – my work load has not gone down but the strength of my wages has? Please help us – not just for me but for my kids that I have been blessed to have in my home and blessed even more to be able to adopt them. Help me give them the life they deserve." 

" My beginning DHS salary is about the same as my co worker who has worked
for the agency for 12 years. Shouldn’t 12 years of service be better recognized than a 2 year person?" 


" I would like to start at the beginning and tell how I got where I am today. I was
a single mom struggling trying to make it, I did not receive child support from my children’s father, I decided I wanted to further my education I got focused and had gone back to school. It was hard working a full time job, going to school and taking care of three children, alone but I did it. I then pursued a career with the Department of Human Services Child Support Division. I still struggled after employment; unfortunately I had a career and still had to seek help from the Department of Human Services Social Services because I didn’t make enough money to pay my bills, pay back student loans and feed my kids. I was amazed that I still qualified for food stamps and the help was still needed for my children to eat." 

" We have to be able to pay our mortgage and we are trying to pay off student loan
debt to the tune of $39,000. I put myself in this situation, but I could not work at this job without a college degree. A pay raise would make an eternal difference to our family. If my wife cannot stay home we will have to put my son in daycare, which is extremely costly."

 

" This after noon, I will be missing my son’s soccer practice, as well as another
family dinner, due to the fact that an issue is still not resolved. I have never realized the amount of time that I have to spend away from my family. Even worse, the time that I am with them is filled with distractions (a cell phone that does not stop ringing or a pile of paperwork). I would expect this kind of stress and time to be dedicated to a business owner, a lawyer, or a doctor. The only difference is that I only receive $31,000 per year to carry a similar burden. My husband and I both have to work and our son is raised in school and daycare. The rising costs are hitting us hard. I went to college because I believed that I would be compensated for my degree and my time. I never knew that I would be making as much as high school graduates, but with student loans to bear."


Lack of Staff and Worker Turnover 

" We are expected to do more work because when employees leave they are not
being replaced. The office I work in is probably one of the best in the state, but up until now we have had an adequate amount of workers. I don’t know what will happen since we are short one worker. My biggest concern or issue with this is that we have to make decisions that highly impact the lives of children and families. If I am stressed to the maximum how is that going to affect my decision making abilities?"

"Our office is down two workers for FSSD and that means that my caseload
averages approximately 430+. I ask anyone how a worker can maintain quality work on every single case when the numbers are that high? Yet we are held to state standards whereby we get written up, are required to sign monthly reports that focus on the negative aspects of your caseload, or are made to feel like we could get fired if you miss a deadline or make a mistake in the endeavor to serve people the best we can. No one mentions the good work performed on a daily basis to serve our clients." 


" Due to high worker turnover in some county OKDHS offices, elders and adults
with physical disabilities have died or have been forced into a nursing home while waiting for their ADvantage Program application to be processed. This is primarily an issue in larger counties where the job market is lucrative and worker salaries are not sufficient to retain qualified employees.

Medicaid applications are among the most complex eligibility determinations that OKDHS conducts. Learning the rules and regulations to successfully determine if someone is Medicaid eligible can take months. Workers often leave the OKDHS for other employment leaving a vacancy for supervisory staff to attempt to fill. As this cycle continues, ADvantage Program applications sit unworked and constituents go Unserved.

Complicating this matter is that federal Medicaid rules allow for persons to enter a nursing home while the application is pending and permits payment back to the date of the nursing home admission. Federal rules do not support this arrangement in programs like ADvantage. So, the family has no choice but to place their loved one in a nursing home at a Medicaid cost to the state of around $24,000 per year instead of ADvantage at around $12,000 per year. Once they are in a nursing home, they likely won’t be able to leave.

In the worst case scenarios, persons who would otherwise be eligible pass away before services begin. Those services could have lengthened their lives and permitted more time with family to say goodbye."


"Although a high turnover rate creates more cases for others, workers are
already experiencing an overload. We as workers average about 400 cases. It is important to realize that cases are not equal to people. Some cases have 10 to 12 people on each case. The only appropriate way to combat these problems is to recognize that workers are paid substantially lower and to bring them up to par with other professionals. An increase in wages could alleviate the high turnover rate and help retain the current employees.

I’ve worked for Developmental Disability Services for the past 5½ years. We work every day to help Oklahoma’s citizens with constant needs. These are people who have mental retardation, other disabilities, and in many cases cannot care for themselves.

Just this month we had three workers leave. I’ve seen others leave to go on to better paying jobs or because of increased demands. I myself have interviewed four times for other better paying job. There are some workers in my group who are going to have to carry as many as 37 cases to cover for those who left. The most I have ever carried was 29. To say the very least it can be very stressful to try to get everything done we are required to do when we have that many cases.

My wife works for child welfare. She has seen many people come and go this past year. They have impossible deadlines to meet. They have a shortage of foster parents. They are under increased stress due to the child welfare lawsuit."


"The hard work done by FSSD (Family Support Services Division) is unheralded
by the local media. Let’s face it. Who wants to hear that people were fed, or that medical needs were met? Who cares that old people got the medicine or personal care they needed. That certainly will not sell any papers. We don’t mind not being made out to be heroes. We do our jobs to help people because we want to help people, .regardless of the local media and its lack of fairness. We do our job in spite of the fact that our own legislature doesn’t care enough for our well-being to keep our pay levels on scale with other states. We do, however, get sick of the constant turnover of employees here. Good grief! How much money is wasted sending workers to Academy? Just to see them leave the agency when they actually get a caseload, which is unmanageable. Stop beating around the bush. Start compensating DHS employees properly and thus stop wasting training money. Use long-range planning skills instead of day-to-day short-term vision."

"I am working out of my classification a good deal of my day, every day, to fill in
because of the shortage of staff in other positions. We cannot retain staff, particularly young staff, because of the long hours (12 plus daily), having to stay over after working the 12 hours and then being mandated to work on regular scheduled off days. This happens every week and has been happening for months. It is so bad that staff are being denied more than a week’s vacation at a time, even if they have the accumulated time. Some are denied any extra time unless it is an emergency. A pay increase would go a long way to help alleviate some of these problems."

"I love to help people, but it is so frustrating when you cannot do the job you would
like to do because of the heavy caseload and the turnover. I was in Oklahoma County Child Welfare and there were supposed to be eight people in the unit. The turnover was so great that when I had been there seven months, I had seniority. People would come and go like a revolving door. I would say that all of the people that came (200% turnover) and went really had a desire to help children and families. The frustrating part is that as a child welfare worker you get the old gut feeling about a lot of your “children” that they will end up later in the criminal system. You feel this way because you know that they have been first abused by their caregivers and then the system continues to abuse them in other ways by having a new caseworker every other month, not enough foster homes, and caseworkers that are so stretched they cannot spend the time to help these children. The system is like an “underground community” the people that make the laws and are supposed to serve the people do not really want to know about. It is filled with drugs, violence, and small humans that do not have a voice. The worker tries the best they can but all the time knowing they are stretched so tight that they cannot do what needs to be done to move this underground community to the light. We put a band aide on it and the law makers turn their head away from the ugliness afraid to get their hands dirty. I would suggest that some of them spend a week with a worker so they know what is going on. I no longer am in Oklahoma County or work as a child welfare worker. I work in another county helping the aged, blind and disabled but the underground community is not ever very far from my mind. Workers need lower case loads, less turnover (which means a competitive salary to keep good people) and if we don’t help the children now, we pay later in the criminal system."


"Our jobs are very stressful and often involve dealing with angry and difficult
people. When you are trying to take someone’s money, even though it is for child support, they get a little angry. Last week my life was threatened by an out-of control non-custodial parent. Workers in our office often complain of headaches, stomach ailments, high blood pressure etc, which is related to the stress we face daily.

Our jobs are very complicated and involve not only learning a complex computer system and but also learning law, policy, and the preparation of legal pleadings. We also conduct settlement conferences and assist in court. It takes most child support workers two years before they begin to feel competent and confident in their jobs. Low pay, the learning curve for the position, and the on the job stress have caused a high turnover rate of employees. When employees leave, the positions are difficult to fill and it takes a long time to get someone new up to speed so that they can be helpful. In our office we lost two employees and for two years I carried a caseload of over 1100 cases. In that situation, it was impossible to proactively work any cases, and I was mainly “putting out fires.” We work hard each and every day to enforce child support orders for the families that so desperately need it, without much thanks or praise."


"I am a 58 year old registered nurse working for aging services for almost 12
years. My county has the one of the highest rates for methamphetamine uses in the state. The incidents of health related diseases and just sick people using it has caused us to be first in line when these people are in such a health state as to be unable to meet all their needs. Only this week I returned to a home that three years ago I first went to do an advantage application. Then the house was so filthy I could barely find a place to sit. The roaches actually had to be brushed off constantly by me as I sat there for over an hour doing an assessment. This home has been involved with drugs for years. The man I was there to see had a debilitating disease and was unable to care for himself. We are often in homes that have drug activity and have no way of knowing what we are walking into. Several of us have been dog bit and the places we go are a lot of times remote and the people every thing from schizophrenic to paranoid. There is probably not a nurse in this state who hasn’t a harrowing story. We go because we are nurses and many go way above and beyond to meet the needs of the sick. We use any source to help our clients, advantage, hospice, home health, DDSD and APS to mention a few. If the state legislature continues to treat us like second class citizens and force our families to suffer financially more than they already are, there is no doubt that a lot of us will seek other employment. There is nation wide shortage of registered nurses and we will be hard to replace."


"I am a Long Term Care Worker for DHS. I have been with DHS for almost two
years now and I truly enjoy my job. I am actually one of the older workers at my office as there have been at least 20 to come in after me. It is all about the income and workload. As our office works harder with all the new regulations and rules, our caseload gets bigger and bigger as the economy is in a recession. We continue to work and more and more as cases are assigned to us, however, we do not receive any more benefits. I believe we should be paid at least as much as teachers as we do as much if not more work, and work all year long. For me it’s about helping my little elderly clients receive the help they are entitled to as having worked their whole lives, however, it would be greatly appreciated, to be compensated for that work. I can’t think of any other job I would want to do."

"I believe we have a moral duty to try to help others and working in Family
Support as an intake worker (Foodstamps, short-term Medical and Daycare) allows me to do this. I believe people should be treated with respect, kindness and fairness. That is why the services we provide are so important… Foodstamps and medical benefits meet some of the most basic needs of people and lives can be changed when those needs are met. If people are not fed, if they are so ill they cannot function, it does not matter what educational opportunities are available because they cannot make use of those opportunities.

At this point, I have two children in college that my husband and I are trying to help as much as we can. Today, in processing reviews for Foodstamp and Medical eligibility, I found that one client made $15/hour working at Gatorade in Pryor and another working for Firststaff made $13.20/hour. They are essentially making the same and more than I do, My job requires a college degree, theirs does not. My job does not want me to have overtime, they are paid for their overtime. My job does not reward workers for good work as there are not any step increases, and my job does not offer yearly cost of living increases. We all know that in the past year, gas prices, the costs of food, medical costs and insurances have all increased, but not my pay! I find it more difficult now to help two of my children than several years ago when all four of my children were at home as my paycheck just does not go as far as it did.

If the past few years are an indication of what a state employee should expect, I would not encourage anyone to want this realm of public service as a career. We have been told over and over that the good feeling we get from helping others is a reward in itself. One needs to have another source of support if that is all the reward we are to have. The huge turnover in our agency, the lack of experienced workers, the deadlines that we are to meet at every turn, the constant interruptions and demands made on our time while we are trying to serve, make our job very difficult. The lack of a living wage may make it impossible!"

 


" I feel like quitting my job every single day. And I am a helper, a service
person, a human service person, it is basically all I have ever done. But this job sucks every bit of life out of me, leaves me feeling like I have failed, and like I have not corrected or made anything better. And, I sure didn’t get those 12 investigations done this month, either.

What is it like to be the spouse of a DHS worker, or the parents of a DHS worker? They all carry the stress with me. I cannot tell you the number of times I have cried, all the way home, either due to a case I was working on (normally one I had taken custody of), or the stupid politics in the office. My family has to deal with my upset. I don’t just magically transform into the wife and mom, who is listening to what is going on with her family, able to help emotionally.

When a person comes to DHS to work and serve they generally come with a desire to help people help themselves. The case manager inevitably turns to another line of work. A possible solution could be to lower the case load and hire more case managers to adequately serve the needs of the public. I have seen almost 20 or more employees throw up their hands and state I can't do this work anymore, it's too stressful. This is an area that can no longer go ignored. To keep good qualified people the system must somehow address the reality of the responsibilities and the measures by which employees are evaluated. Realistic expectations with the required tools will increase productivity and make the small incentives given more meaningful. Most of the long time employees really aren't in the business of social work for the money-they are there to serve because they care."


"I don’t think people truly understand the life of a Child Welfare Specialist. I have
been in my county for almost six years. I have seen many people come and go. Since my employment there are only three workers that I originally was hired to work with still employed in Child Welfare, granted two of those three have moved to foster care or left and then come back. I have missed many activities that my children have participated in due to long hours at the office. I am a single parent and often have to juggle my work and home, with work often getting more of my time. I have had to find sitters in the middle of the night to come sit with my children so that I can “do the job thing”. I have spent the night at DHS sleeping on the concrete floor due to there not being any placement for children who were removed. I have spent the night sitting with children at the hospital. I have cried myself to sleep at night after working a difficult case. I have received phone calls in the middle of the night from foster parents or parents, whom I have removed their children. I have had to be a mentor to new workers, carry my caseload, and do supervisor duties, due to the high caseloads and lack of workers. I have cried with the children when placing them in the “Unknown” and tried to encourage them that things will be okay. I go into less than desirable homes not knowing what I may encounter. I have had to deal with parents who are often angry with my presence who may decide to go into a rage and I have to immediately leave the home and attempt to visit with the family when they are not so angry. I have to be able to hold my ground and remain professional when a parent is yelling and cursing at me.

My plea is that workloads will be less so that we can work with the parents and be able to put services in the home. That we are provided with staff, who are willing to stay at DHS. I ask that those of us who have endured the job receive incentive to stay. I believe we need regular pay raises. As a single parent, it is often difficult to manage with the rising cost of everything and my paycheck not rising with the cost of living."

Legislators attending the meeting were Tulsa Democrats Rep. Jeannie McDaniel and Sen. Tom Adelson, while OPEA was represented by Board member and Mental Health Council Chair Dixie Jackson, Executive Director Sterling Zearley and Deputy Director Scott Barger. 

“We have some major issues in the Department of Mental Health that we need to be discussing and offering solutions for,” said Jackson. “For instance, there are problems with salary, staffing and in the number of consumers accessing services. Many of the same issues splash across agency lines, and state employees can all relate to them.” 

Barger opened the meeting with a briefing about the association’s Legislative Program and an update on HB 3108. 

“Many employees are still not aware of how this bill would have hurt the benefit allowance,” Barger said. “It is great for them to have the opportunity to discuss its impact with legislators.”

Lawmakers followed up with their concerns about the current legislative session. 

“Taxes are being cut at an alarming rate,” said McDaniel. “This limits the amount of revenue that is available for improving your situation.”  

Adelson admitted that he had voted for the tax cuts.

“Often times you have no choice but to vote for the package of cuts that are presented,” he explained. “Many Oklahomans support the measure, even though they may not know the impact.”

Mental health employees expressed their concerns about the tax cuts. 

“This cuts into our services, which are already stretched thin,” said one employee.

“Many of us have advanced degrees and licenses and could be making more money elsewhere but choose to stay because of a sense of purpose,” said another. “Without us, most of these folks would end up in prison or living less-productive lives. Some might even die.”

“We save lives here at this facility,” said another.

The employees at the Tulsa facility expressed many of the same concerns expressed by other employees at other town hall meetings. For example, they felt that legislators who vote to cut taxes should be held accountable when they tell state employees that “a pay raise will be difficult.” Most people in attendance at the meeting said a pay raise is not only deserved but essential because the purchasing power of state employees continues to go down hill. A number of employees talked about how difficult it is to make ends meet, and many have taken second jobs in order to “keep the lights on” in their homes.

Adelson, who chairs the Senate Subcommittee on Health, stated that additional money had been appropriated for the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.

“We have increased the DMHSAS budget every year for the past three years,” he said. “It is the only agency that has received this type of increases.” 

Jackson, a DMHSAS employee, responded: “Employees in the department are not sure where those increases in funding have gone. The hospitals are not seeing any increases in funding and requests for services remain high.” 

She pointed out that DMHSAS hospitals are experiencing high turnover rates in clinical areas – registered nurses, for example – as well as in the ancillary support areas. The same problems exist with the mental health centers in retaining many of their clinical positions, and it is difficult to replace those who leave because the salary structure is not competitive.

When questioned further, Adelson placed responsibility on the agency. He said the Department could use its increased funding for salaries if it chose to do so.

Jackson told the Tulsa employees that Commissioner Terri White had agreed to meet quarterly with OPEA Mental Health Council members and that the concerns raised at the Tulsa meeting would be shared with White. 

Zearley suggested that DMHSAS might benefit from the popularity of performance audits at the Capitol.

“In light of the recent reports on News 9 about the lack of beds, the continued increase in census and the exploding issues with mental health in prisons, the agency might benefit tremendously from an audit that would expose the continued lack of funding for treatment,” he said. “It is an issue we may look into with Commissioner White.”

(from left) Bobby Boone, Deputy Director of Institutions; Rick Moham, Assistant to the Warden, Jackie Brannon; Emma Watts, Warden, Jackie Brannon; Marty Sirmons, Warden, OSP; Art Lightle, Deputy Warden, OSP and William Jones, Chief of Security, OSP.

OPEA’s Executive Director Sterling Zearley and Membership Representative Alicia Wright traveled to the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester on March 26 to attend a staff meeting held to focus on longtime facility issues.

“OPEA was first contacted in October by OSP staff and the association then held a Legislative Town Hall meeting, which allowed our members to discuss ongoing concerns with their legislators,” Zearley said.  “Actually what was held on March 26^th was the second follow up to that original meeting and there were some 75 members in attendance.”

According to Zearley, continuing issues on the meeting’s agenda included recruitment and retention, disciplinary actions, overtime, poor working conditions, staff and structural repairs to the facility and bi monthly payrolls.

Department of Corrections Deputy Director of Institutions Bobby Boone called the meeting to order and gave the floor to OSP Warden Marty Sirmons, who then took each issue individually and discussed its progress.

“With regard to recruitment and retention, Sirmons admitted there was a shortage of both officers and nurses,” Zearley said.  “Actually, there were several suggestions from the staff with regard to this matter that included more media advertising, job fairs, posters and other literature, while also making an effort to fix shift rotation to accommodate staff.”

Zearley said that previously discussed disciplinary problems had been resolved.

“There had been an issue regarding case managers and offender files that have since been worked out,” he said.

Overtime was the next major issue and, and according to Zearley, a new system is under discussion so that there can be some relief from those having to take over 200 hours per month.

Physical structures and work environments were the next order of business.

“Working conditions at OSP continue to deteriorate,” Zearley said.  “This is, of course, one of the major issues brought forth in the recent DOC audit.”

Zearley said that the age and state of the facility and infestations were the key topics and that some progress has been made to make repairs.

A bimonthly payroll system is currently under consideration, Zearley reported.

 Ed Evans, Associate Director of DOC, closed the meeting and said that it was a learning experience.

“There were some excellent ideas brought forth today,” he said.  “Everything will be considered and discussed.”

A follow up meeting will be scheduled in the near future to check the progress of all topics.

Executive Director Gene Christian began by thanking the committee for increases the agency received in its budget last session, including a pay initiative for direct care and field staff that deals directly with juvenile offenders. 

“You demonstrated to our staff that you appreciate them,” said Christian. 

He then continued with concerns for the fiscal year beginning July 2008.

The federal lawsuit against the state, regarding conditions at the Rader Center, are at the top of the agency’s list of priorities.  The cost of the improvements is $3.146 million for modifications to make the facility more secure to operate.

Christian continued that OJA facilities are different from prisons, because in accordance with the settlement of a former federal lawsuit, security comes from staff and not mechanical locks.  Rader has blind spots on the cottages that must be secure.  In addition, the facility must maintain a 1/10 staff client ratio during waking hours and 1/12 while the juveniles are sleeping.

“Our staff is critical because that is how an OJA facility is secured,” said Christian.  “Suicide prevention initially requires 1/1 eye-to-eye contact at all times.”  As the juvenile is moved to lower risk the security level is decreased. 

“This occurs almost daily,” said Christian in response to a question about how often suicide precautions are needed.  “We are mostly dealing with disturbed kids.”

In addition to the Rader Center settlement, the top priority for the agency is funding for pay increases, to bring classified employees to the mid-point (capped at $2,000).  Christian is also asking for $98,000 to provide an evening shift differential, when the juveniles are idle and not sleeping.

When asked if the assaults on staff had decreased, Christian replied they had, however, the agency was implementing new standards on reporting so that Oklahoma statistics could be compared with the rest of the nation.

One of the issues with the Oklahoma system is that the facilities house youthful offenders of 17 through 20 years of age with the younger delinquents. 

“We are asking that a facility for youthful offenders be included in any bond issue that is considered this year,” said Christian.  Youthful offenders would not be subject to the strict lawsuit restrictions that don’t allow locked doors. 

In addition, the agency is recommending legislation to modify the Youthful Offender Act.  SB 1403 requires that a young person return to their sentencing court at age 18 for one of three options; adult probation, adult corrections, or another six months in OJA custody.  If this legislation is implemented, OJA would not be responsible for offenders above 18 ½ years of age.

The problems in the federal budget will seriously affect OJA’s FY 2009 funding.  A new federal rule will not allow the agency to bill Medicaid for $6.2 million in services provided to juveniles.  This issue is affecting DHS and the Health Care Authority also.  Several states are requesting that the federal government put a moratorium on this rule.

OJA is requesting $131,600 to fund an “internal affairs division” that will help speed the investigation process at the Office of Client Advocacy.  Christian said this would help the agency move cases to resolution and clear the names of innocent workers quickly after allegations or terminate those who are guilty of client abuse.

“OPEA is pleased that funding for salary increases is a top priority for OJA,” said OPEA Research and Policy Director Trish Frazier.  “In addition, our members have told legislators for several years that the new facility is critical for the older, stronger clients.  Too many employees have been injured attempting to provide security for the facilities, without the aid of something as simple as locking doors.”