Oklahoma Human Services turns InSIGHT into impact at fourth annual PossABLE statewide training
OKDHS staff and DDS providers from across Oklahoma focus on using data and lived experience to improve outcomes
OKLAHOMA CITY (Aug. 19, 2026) – Oklahoma Human Services Developmental Disabilities Services (DDS) today brought staff and community providers together across the state for PossABLE 2026: InSIGHT, the fourth annual DDS Statewide Training.
The one-day training focuses on the simple idea that better information can lead to better decisions, but only when it is connected to the people DDS serves. Participants explored how data, observations, conversations and lived experience can help identify opportunities, strengthen person-centered planning and improve outcomes for Oklahomans with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
“Over the last several years, Oklahoma has shown what is possible when we set an ambitious goal and bring the right people together to achieve it,” said Oklahoma Human Services Director Jeffrey Cartmell. “DDS eliminated a 13-year waitlist, and today more than 10,000 Oklahomans are receiving waivered and state-funded services. Now the challenge is to protect that progress and keep getting better. That means looking closely at what the information tells us, listening to the people we serve and making better decisions because of it.”
PossABLE began alongside Oklahoma’s historic effort to address the DDS waitlist. In 2022, more than 5,000 Oklahomans were waiting as long as 13 years for services. Through legislative investment, partnership with providers and changes to how DDS works with families, the historic backlog has been eliminated and the wait for new applicants has been reduced to roughly one year.
This year’s training represents the next phase of that work: moving from solving a historic challenge to building a culture of continuous improvement.
“Data is all around us, and it is much more than numbers on a spreadsheet,” said DDS Director Beth Scrutchins. “It can be something a family tells us, a pattern a case manager notices or a change a provider sees in someone they support. We want our teams to be curious enough to notice those things, ask the next good question and act on what they learn. Data is not the destination. People are.”
The statewide training included featured speakers Diana Kander, a New York Times bestselling author and innovation consultant, and Jenny Grant Rankin, Ph.D., an internationally recognized researcher and author specializing in the effective use and communication of information.
Throughout the day, staff and providers worked through practical sessions on quantitative and qualitative data, the enhanced Individual Plan, person-centered decision-making and ways to turn information into meaningful action.
“You can change a process, make an investment or reach an important milestone, but lasting improvement happens through the decisions people make every day,” said Oklahoma Human Services Deputy Director Deborah Smith. “PossABLE is about building that capability across the entire DDS system. When our staff and providers understand the goal, ask better questions and learn from one another, the people we serve feel the difference.”
PossABLE 2026 was held simultaneously at designated locations across Oklahoma through a shared live experience, bringing DDS employees and community-based providers together for discussion, activities and practical learning.
DDS currently serves more than 10,000 Oklahomans through waivered and state services and continues working toward a sustainable no-wait system while strengthening person-centered services, provider partnerships and opportunities for greater independence.
For more information about the OKDHS PossABLE event, visit https://www.ddspossable.com/. For available services from Oklahoma Human Services Developmental Disabilities Services, visit oklahoma.gov/okdhs/services/dds.html.
