OKLAHOMA CITY, OK (Jan. 11, 2022) – Oklahoma Human Services (OKDHS) announced today a series of child welfare worker recruitment and retention incentives intended to bolster hiring of positions that are critical to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of Oklahoma’s children and families. These incentives will benefit Oklahoma families by bringing back seasoned, well-trained employees who understand the needs of the agency’s customers while also reducing the cost of hiring a new employee.

Current OKDHS Child Welfare Specialists and Supervisors who recruit former Child Welfare Specialists who left the agency in good standing to return to employment will be eligible for the following incentives:

• Upon hiring of the returning employee, the recruiting employee will receive $1,000.
• Once the returning employee has completed any trainings necessary to carry a caseload, the returning employee will also receive $1,000.
• At the returning employee’s one-year anniversary with the agency, both the returning employee and the recruiting employee will receive $2,500, if both are still employed with the agency.
  • Both the recruiting and returning employee must work in CWS to be eligible for the incentives.

The total value of incentives is $7,000 per recruited employee, roughly 10% of the cost to hire and train a new child welfare specialist.

“Our workforce make significant positive impacts in their communities every day by ensuring that children are safe and families have what they need to truly thrive,” said Dr. Deborah Shropshire, OKDHS CWS Director. “We are building a child and family wellbeing network to help families for generations to come and are excited to offer these recruitment and retention incentives to employees who help us carry out this critical mission.”

The recruiting employee’s name must be listed on the returning employee’s employment application in order for either employee to receive the incentives. Returning employees must have been recruited by an existing OKDHS employee.

To learn more about a career with Oklahoma Human Services, visit https://oklahomadepartmentofhumanservices.applytojob.com/apply.

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