OKDHS Commission Meets to Discuss Budget and Increasing Demand for Services

STILLWATER -- Oklahoma State University President Burns Hargis welcomed members of the OKDHS Commission and OKDHS Director Howard Hendrick to the OSU campus as the Commission opened a two-day retreat and its monthly meeting.
Commission Chairman Richard L. DeVaughn read a commendation for Commission Vice Chairman Ron. L. Mercer for his years of service to the Commission. Mercer is retiring from the Commission.

“I am proud to have served on the Commission,” Mercer said, as he thanked his fellow Commissioners for their support over the years.

Director Hendrick presented his monthly report on the agency, including several pieces of good news.

During the recent U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Tri-Regional Conference, OKDHS received its fourth consecutive Southwest Regional Director’s Award for its outstanding performance in administering the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for federal fiscal year 2009.

The USDA has also awarded a nearly $1 million grant to OKDHS for the OK Lean and Green program, which will improve processes and efficiency within the SNAP program by moving to an almost entirely digital record keeping system.

The agency also learned it will receive a $1.2 million high performance bonus from the U.S. Administration for Children and Families for increasing the number of finalized adoptions for federal fiscal year 2009.

OKDHS and Public Strategies received the first of the official reports on a study for the Family Expectations program that showed couples are benefiting from the program. More couples stayed together after going through the program, compared to couples who did not participate in the program. Family Expectations was also found to improve the quality of the couples’ relationships.