Agency remains steadfast in building a child and family wellbeing system for all Oklahomans

OKLAHOMA CITY (Jan. 31, 2022) - Oklahoma Human Services (OKDHS) has received the latest co-neutrals commentary for progress on the Pinnacle Plan, the state's foster care reform plan. During this reporting period, spanning from Jan. 1 through June 30, 2021, the agency achieved continued positive performance and good faith efforts to improve Oklahoma’s child welfare system, even as the state faced unprecedented challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The agency worked collaboratively with the Plaintiffs and co-neutrals to develop a COVID Recovery Period Agreement to pause the assessment of seven COVID-impacted measures where performance had been significantly affected by the pandemic, including the recruitment and retention of Therapeutic Foster Care homes and permanency performance measures. As a result of this agreement, OKDHS will have an 18-month recovery period during which judgements on these performance measures will be suspended.

For the remaining 23 performance measures, the co-neutrals determined that OKDHS made good faith efforts to achieve substantial and sustained progress recognizing Oklahoma’s investment and OKDHS’ efforts to create a safer and more effective child welfare system. The co-neutrals also noted that the agency is well-positioned to continue in its good faith achievements by remaining focused on its performance and nimble in advancing any practice changes necessary to continue that performance.

OKDHS has continued to make significant improvements to ensure children and youth don’t linger in the foster care system but rather return home, are adopted or enter into a legal guardianship, as well as streamlining services focused on the needs of individual children. Additionally, there were continued improvements in staff workloads, overall reduction of shelter usage, particularly for older children and the continued development of a continuum of care to meet the specific needs of each individual family served by the agency.

“In multiple conversations each day, whether at the Capitol or over a cup of coffee, I speak about the heroism of our workforce,” said Secretary of Human Services and OKDHS Director Justin Brown. “Under the visionary leadership of Dr. Deborah Shropshire, child welfare staff are continuing their work toward gigantic system reforms, building a self-correcting system that is worlds away from where we were a decade ago. It is this leadership, as well as that from Assistant Child Welfare Directors Tricia Howell and Daniel Herring that drives the team to dream bigger and work harder to make positive generational impacts for the children and families they serve.”

Dr. Shropshire became the Director of Child Welfare Services in June 2019 and has served in various roles within the child welfare space for more than two decades. In this commentary, the co-neutrals specifically praised the skill and experience of the OKDHS senior management team, including Shropshire, saying they are focused, transparent and deeply engaged in and committed to this work.

“I am grateful to the teams of incredible professionals across the state, both within Child Welfare and the partner agencies who come alongside us, who continue to pour into their communities and work tirelessly to improve the futures of Oklahoma families,” said Dr. Shropshire. “While we celebrate the accomplishments we’ve made thus far, particularly in the face of a global pandemic, we are dedicated to building a child and family wellbeing system that meets the needs of all families. This work is hard, but it is rewarding. COVID continues to put extraordinary stress and strain on families and our work with partners and communities across the state is critical to ensuring families have what they need to be successful. We need more people to join us. Whether that is becoming a foster parent, particularly a foster parent for a child with significant behavioral health needs, or coming to work with the greatest bunch of heroes in our state within Child Welfare, we need you and there’s a place for you to help. We can’t do this work alone.”

OKDHS also recognizes the incredible commitment of Governor J. Kevin Stitt and legislative and community partners who have supported the agency over the years to ensure these massive system reforms were possible.

“At the beginning of my human services journey, Gov. Stitt spoke of his Top 10 vision, including for our team to build a better than Top 10 child welfare system,” said Secretary Brown. “We are reaching that pinnacle, but with a dedication to only climb higher. Along with Gov. Stitt, we are grateful to Senate president pro tem, Greg Treat, who was at the table as the Pinnacle Plan was drafted and continues to stay engaged and committed to this work. In more recent times, so many of our legislative partners including Speaker Charles McCall, Senator Paul Rosino and Representative Mark Lawson have continued to advocate for our customers, drive accountability and support the agency’s work to create systems of excellence to benefit all Oklahomans.”

“There will be no retracing of our steps toward these important efforts,” continued Brown. “Our eyes remain focused on honing best practices, continued innovative improvements and investing in strategies that can truly change the trajectory for Oklahoma families.”

For more information about becoming a foster parent and serving the needs of children in your local community, visit https://okfosters.org/ or call 1-800-376-9729.

Interested Oklahomans may also visit https://www.ourokdhs.org/s/ to raise their hand and join the agency's efforts to better serve the community through innovation and collaborative partnerships.

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About the Pinnacle Plan

In January 2012, OKDHS settled a class-action lawsuit filed against its foster care system by a child advocacy group. As a result of this settlement, OKDHS created, and in SFY 2013 began to implement, the Oklahoma Pinnacle Plan which was a measurable plan to improve the foster care system. The three out-of-state child welfare experts referred to as "co-neutrals," issue reports every six months on OKDHS' progress and determine whether the agency has made good faith efforts to make improvements in the state's foster care system. This latest report covers a period of time ending June 30, 2021. The 17 co-neutral commentaries can be found on the OKDHS website.