In light of a recent lawsuit filed against the Oklahoma Department of Human Services regarding child welfare and other issues, State Representative Susan Winchester (R-Chickasha) is suggesting a comprehensive outside audit, much like the one recently completed within the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.
HB 2748 calls for an outside company to perform the audit, which, according to Winchester, would provide an unbiased look at where the system is failing Oklahoma children.
“Hopefully we can address some of the proactive solutions rather than react to a lawsuit,” Winchester said. “These dollars that could ultimately go into a lawsuit that could take anywhere from 10 to 30 years could be better spent if we respond ahead of time.”
Winchester investigated the state’s foster care system during an interim study this summer.
“We’ve heard over and over DHS does so many good things and I’d like to take those good things and make sure that they’re working the very best as they can and look into any problems that we might have and see if we can’t correct them,” she said.
Winchester estimates the audit costs to range from $100,000 to $750,000.
House Speaker Chris Benge said that at first pass that he supports the idea but wants further details.
“It’s one of at least a couple of ideas I know of that are addressing DHS in light of some of the things we’ve been hearing about the children’s services,” he said.
Oklahoma Public Employees Association Executive Director Sterling Zearley said that his association supports running the government as a business in this regard.
“Our members have had to increasingly do more work with fewer resources for many years,” he said. “An unbiased audit would most certainly show the citizens of Oklahoma the value they receive from their state employees.”
Statistics bear Zearley out – an Oklahoma Social Services Specialist makes almost 16% less than their private sector counterpart, while a Child Welfare Worker Specialist II makes almost 15% behind the market. Also, there is currently a 40% turnover rate for many positions within DHS.
Zearley said a similar audit performed on the Oklahoma Department of Corrections detailed exactly the complaints of his association for the past ten years.
“What we learned from the Corrections audit was that state employees are providing quality, diligent services to the Oklahoma taxpayers,” he said. “Now the public and legislators have a third party to confirm our suspicions. The same now should probably happen within DHS.”
Posted on Monday, February 25, 2008
by Bud Elder