Library: News Releases
OKLAHOMA CAPITOL -- Bringing creative energies and keen leadership to Oklahoma Welfare Reform programs, Mary Stalnaker was recently named to head the Oklahoma Department of Human Services Family Support Services Division. The division oversees policy development and training for the Food Stamp, Child Care, Medical Services, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families programs.
"We are very pleased that Mary has accepted this position on the OKDHS leadership team," said OKDHS Chief Operating Officer Farilyn Ballard. "She has experienced success after success during her 30 years in the Department. From her work as a field social worker to the many supervisory, staff and administrative positions she held, Mary has prepared herself to help reengineer our human services systems in Oklahoma as we move further into the 21st Century."
Stalnaker is known for helping lead the efforts to reduce Oklahoma’s cash public assistance programs during the last decade. She was especially active in the implementation of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, transforming Oklahoma’s Aid to Families with Dependent Children program to TANF.
Oklahoma’s AFDC roles had dropped by 21 percent before the Act became law and have decreased cumulatively by 70 percent since October 1992. Then, an all-time high of 52,764 families received more than $14.7 million dollars that month.
In June 2002, Oklahoma’s TANF roles are at 14,073 cases with families receiving $2.9 million in benefits.
In Stalnaker’s new role, she will head efforts to address reauthorization of the 1996 Welfare Reform Act, along with major funding and policy issues on federal Food Stamp and childcare authorizations. FSSD also has a hand in Medicaid changes on the horizon, since the OKDHS field offices administer and operate the applications processes of the Oklahoma Health Care Authority for more than 450,000 Medicaid clients.
"We have a large responsibility to Oklahomans as we work with our state and federal partners to deliver the most amount of services to every citizen that needs them in the most cost-efficient manner," Stalnaker said. "Looking around, we all see that there are fewer resources available to do this work, so our future successes will have to come from new and improved ways of accomplishing the task before us.
"We will be working diligently to meet the needs of staff to make sure that the policy and procedures are in place to support them in their front-line duties."
She has already reinforced to FSSD leadership team, moving several members to key positions to assist her in these efforts.
The Midwest City native holds a bachelor’s degree from Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, and a master’s in social work from the University of Oklahoma, Norman.
###
