Linda Smith Named New Director of OKDHS Children and Family Services Division

OKLAHOMA CAPITOL--- Linda Stecker Smith, a 27-year veteran of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, has been named Director of the Division of Children and Family Services. In her new duties, Smith will lead a staff of 331 child welfare professionals statewide, as well as oversee adoptions, foster care, the state shelters for children and the agency’s statewide child welfare information network.
Smith replaces outgoing Children and Family Services Director Farilyn Ballard who was recently promoted to Chief Operating Officer, overseeing and coordinating the Family Support Services, Children and Family Services and Field Operations divisions.

"Linda is an excellent manager who has a commitment to excellence in all of her job responsibilities," said Ballard. "I have complete confidence in her ability to lead the Children and Family Services Division and feel very fortunate to have her in this position."

This promotion also moves Smith to the 32-member OKDHS Executive Team that oversees administrative operations of the agencies $1.2 billion budget and 8,000 employees statewide.

"Working for this agency has been an incredible experience," said Smith. "The opportunities I’ve been given, the people I’ve met and the challenging work we do have made my career rewarding. Because of this and the importance of the mission of OKDHS, I can honestly say there’s not one day that I haven’t wanted to come to work."

Smith began her career with OKDHS as an Own-Home Services Worker in Oklahoma County before serving as a Child Welfare Worker. She later moved to the state office where she served in the foster care unit before becoming the Child Welfare Programs Training Supervisor. Before assuming her new position, Smith served as the Child Welfare Programs Administrator for Permanency Planning.

"We have many challenges facing us in the upcoming year," said Smith. "We are applying for reaccredidation through the Council on Accreditation for Children and Family Services. In 1985 Oklahoma was the first state to receive national accreditation for its children and family services programs and has been fully accredited since then. Oklahoma is one of only two state child welfare system to accomplish this. We are also preparing for the first federal Child and Family Services Review in the spring."

"Another challenge that we’ve been dealing with for some time now is recruiting and maintaining child welfare staff across the state," Smith added. "It takes six months to train someone for these positions and up to two years for them to become comfortable and knowledgeable. Because of this, high turnover makes it difficult to maintain an experienced, stable and confident workforce to serve the people of Oklahoma."

A graduate of Blackwell High School, Blackwell, Smith holds a bachelor’s in Sociology from Oklahoma State University and a master’s in Social Work from the University of Oklahoma.

Smith is a Certified Peer Reviewer for the Council on Accreditation of Services for Families and Children and has served as an adjunct professor for the University of Oklahoma School of Social Work. She and her family attend the United Methodist Church of the Servant in Oklahoma City.

Smith is married and has two children, Adam, 22, and Allison, 19, both students at Oklahoma State University. 

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