OPEA

A wise old man once said, “If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting!” It’s no secret the Oklahoma Department of Human Services is on the front page of the paper everyday. Child Welfare is the Oklahoma media’s chief focal point which is persistently bashing the means and methods of Oklahoma Child Welfare Services as ineffective and inefficient. So, the crucial question that needs to be asked is, “Does child welfare need a facelift?” Or, a more poignant question rather, may be, what is the answer to having a successful child welfare program?

Recently, several states have been initiating a different child welfare strategy to become more effective; whereby increasing child safety and providing better services for families. There is a beginning trend towards helping families via team effort.

The Child Welfare Services in Massachusetts has implemented a system known as Teaming. The Public Broadcasting Network recently filmed a documentary on this practice. Teaming is when a small group of child welfare specialists tackle a caseload together, rather than alone. In most states, Oklahoma included, child welfare specialists each have a caseload and are expected to be solely responsible for the case. Sounds easy enough, doesn’t it? Not so with overwhelming caseloads and high turnover among Oklahoma’s agency.

In other states, such as Maryland and Utah, a concept known as Family Team Decision Making (FTDM) is being practiced with very successful results. According to Maryland’s advocacy for children magazine Voices for Maryland’s Children, “FTDM is an intervention intended to more effectively deliver child welfare services, thereby increasing favorable outcomes for children and families.” FTDM is structured in a way which reduces risk of children’s needs not being met, through utilizing resources such as community members and service providers. The support system set in place fully optimizes the chances of success through attempting to eliminate any false positives any one child may experience from intake to placement.  

The states using these strategies have been successful since their implementation. They attribute their success to the team effort involved in making crucial decisions for children and families lives. 

In Oklahoma’s current system, the burden is placed on each individual case worker where risk for the children is potentially greatest. This is compounded by the consistently ever-increasing high annual turnover rate in Child Welfare Staff to 30.7 percent, up 5 percent from the previous year.  

In addition, low pay is another contributing factor to the high turnover in Oklahoma’s Child Welfare Specialists. The primary requisite for an entry-level new hire is a four year bachelor’s degree. New hires are typically young, and experiencing their first professional career as a Child Welfare Specialist I. Most are trying to pay off student loans while making an unlivable wage. They tend to leave in search of a lucrative job outside of state government where their education is in proportion to the pay received in the private sector market.  

So, the question still beggs, “Does Oklahoma’s Child Welfare Services need to be restructured? The warnings are evident. The writing is on the wall and the red light is blinking folks. Maybe the wise old man was right. Maybe we need to try something different in order to have a better outcome.

OPEA will be hosting a series of meetings with child welfare workers in order to discuss recommendations for the legislature to consider. The first meeting is scheduled for this coming Wednesday January 21, 2008 at 2:00 p.m. at the OPEA Headquarters located at 13 N.E. 28^th Street in Oklahoma City. If anyone is interested in joining OPEA please contact Brandon Watkins at (405) 524-6764 ext 208 or visit our website at www.opea.org.