National Child Welfare Experts to Present to Human Services Commission

OKLAHOMA CAPITOL— The Commission for Human Services will hold a regularly scheduled meeting, Tuesday, September 27, at 9:30 a.m. This will be the first meeting of Commissioners Brad Yarbrough and Wes Lane, the new appointees to the nine-member board by Governor Mary Fallin.

Presenting to the Commission will be Dr. Page Walley and Dr. Sue Steib of Casey Family Programs regarding their findings of a recent review of Oklahoma’s child welfare safety assessment practices.

Casey Family Programs is a private foundation based in Seattle, Washington, that is devoted to providing, improving, and ultimately preventing the need for foster care in the United States. Through its systems improvement and strategic consulting services, Casey Family Programs partners with public child welfare systems across the nation to support them in finding safe alternatives to foster care and in improving outcomes for the children and families they serve.

Walley, Ph.D., serves as managing director of strategic consulting for Casey Family Programs. In this role he works with states to reduce the number of children in out-of-home care. Walley previously served as the Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Human Resources since January 2004.  Prior to that, he served as Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Children’s Affairs.

Steib, LCSW, Ph.D., is a senior director of strategic consulting at Casey Family Programs. Dr. Steib currently leads the foundation’s consulting work in Oklahoma and Louisiana and participates on a consulting team doing work in 14 states.

Meetings of the Human Services Commission are held in the basement of the Sequoyah Building at the state Capitol complex and are open to the public. 

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Editors note:  The agenda for the Commission meeting will be forthcoming on Monday.  Members of the media are welcome.  Recording devices and video cameras are permitted during the meeting.