Commission Adjusts Human Services Director's Salary to OPM-Recommended Mid-Point

OKLAHOMA CAPITOL --- Following an executive session of its regular monthly meeting, the Oklahoma Commission for Human Services approved adjusting the salary of Oklahoma Department of Human Services Director Howard H. Hendrick to $155,000, effective June 16.
The salary adjustment is just below the mid-point recommended for a human services director in the Oklahoma Office of Personnel Management Annual Compensation Report compiled in 2004.

Human Services Commission Chairman Richard DeVaughn, DDS, Enid, said the increase was long overdue.

“For the level of responsibilities Howard Hendrick carries for this state, he has been one of the most underpaid public servants in Oklahoma,” DeVaughn said. “Since the Oklahoma Constitution states that the commission is charged with setting the salary for the human services director, we thought it was a timely decision.

“Director Hendrick came to the Department with excellent academic credentials and outstanding business and political experience. He has used them very well in recent years to keep the agency fiscally sound during tough and difficult times. This adjustment is long overdue, and we don’t plan on letting this go so long again.”

Hendrick holds a law degree and a Master’s of Business Administration degree from the University of Oklahoma and is a Certified Public Accountant. He had a private tax law practice for 17 years and served in the Oklahoma State Senate for 12 years before coming to OKDHS as director.

The Commission had not adjusted Hendrick’s salary since he took the position July 1, 1998, becoming the 14th director of human services in Oklahoma. Hendrick’s current salary is $125,000 annually and is below the minimum salary recommended for such a job in the OPM report. The approved salary adjustment amounts to a 4 percent increase per year over the seven years.

Hendrick leads Oklahoma’s largest government agency, which has a $1.6 billion budget and nearly 8,000 employees with offices in every county in the state.

Article XXV, Section 4 of the Oklahoma Constitution states the Human Services Commission selects the director who serves “at the pleasure of the commission” and fixes the director’s salary.

In addition to his duties as human services director, Hendrick also serves as Cabinet Secretary for Human Services in Gov. Brad Henry’s administration and served as Cabinet Secretary for Health and Human Services in former Gov. Frank Keating’s administration.

###